Lauren + Joey

An Oldie & A Goodie

2011-12-21T16:56:00.004-07:00

I love everything about this photo.
Sister and me, circa 1987.

Christmas Collage 2011

2011-12-12T18:01:00.004-07:00

I put together one of these Christmas decor collages every year and I'm in love with some of our new stuff! It's really so fun going through our collection of things each year. I try not to get carried away, but do love coming home to a Christmas Wonderland!

My new faves this year: Wall-E ornament (I have wanted this exact one since the movie came out and was thrilled to find it FINALLY in July at Disneyland - what took those designers so long!?) and the "Black Dog Mistletoe Co." canvas - 'smooch from a pooch - guaranteed' (I got this off Etsy last year)! LOVE!

Oh Willow

2011-11-14T12:49:00.002-07:00

Yes, this is exactly what I want to look at while working all day today...your tush. Silly dog.

Two

2011-11-08T10:22:00.004-07:00

Joey and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary last month. I know I say this all the time, but my goodness how time flies. I'm so lucky to have such a loyal and loving husband who makes me so happy! I love how he keeps me grounded and always knows how to make me laugh and feel like the most important person to him in the world. Love you Joe-Man! Happy two!!

**Photos borrowed from Leah & Spencer's blog :) ** I will post about our awesome trip to Orlando hopefully soon!!**

Brooklyn

2011-10-24T20:21:00.005-06:00

One of my roommates from college got married this weekend in Brooklyn and I was able to take a quick venture out there for a jam-packed 48 hours of total fun!

I met up with my girlfriends Colleen and Kaesha Friday night and Saturday afternoon and celebrated the night away with the bride and some of my Chapman friends Saturday night at Amy's wedding. It was wonderful! Here are a few quick photos - yes, that is the NYC skyline behind them - just gorgeous! I definitely did not take enough to capture the weekend, but the memories will be a highlight for a lifetime!

Congrats Amy & Anthony!

And thank you to my other roommate Lauren (Rugs) for being once again the hostess with the mostess - I think everyone needs her in their life - she is AMAZING!

P.S. And everyone should have a photo booth at their wedding - Amy's & Anthony's was too much fun! I will post the digital copy of Lauren and my photo sesh when received!

The Latest & Greatest

2011-09-15T12:56:00.012-06:00

I've been a little MIA to the blogging world lately, but for good reason as life has been undeniably crazy lately! And it's not letting up anytime soon. So, you are probably wondering what's been going on in the Land O'Judkins? Let's fill ya in...

My parents were in town this weekend for lots of celebration fun. I called my Mom back in May (or was it June?) and said I wanted to see her for my birthday and was hopeful we could all go see "Mary Poppins" on Broadway in September. She told me she'd think about it and then called me back 20 minutes later letting me know she was booking her and my Dad's flight - I am seriously spoiled, aren't I? What was even better is that we began scheming to throw Spencer and Leah a "surprise" elopement dinner at one of our favorite family restaurants, Grub Steak (that surprise was later squashed by my dear Father who claims he had no idea about the "surprise factor" - haha :) - it's okay Dad, probably worked out for the best).

Anyways, this past weekend we did just that! We had a lovely family/friend dinner at Grub Steak hosted by my parents to celebrate the two love birds. We even got them a fancy wedding cake from So Cupcake - amazing! My Mom found their cake topper on Etsy - seriously the cutest ones I've EVER seen - fit the beach/"Getting Maui'd" theme perfectly!

A couple of days prior, Spencer's Mom hosted a really fun bridal shower for my Sister as well, complete with an array of yummy food and leis for everyone! It was really fun!

Sunday we went to go see "Mary Poppins" - just the girls (the boys stayed home and watched football). It was FANTASTIC! I thoroughly enjoyed it and think you should all run out and see it if you can - it's playing through the end of the month at the Capital Theater.

And here's what the next six weeks look like for me: California, Texas, New York, and Florida...all before November 1 (and only one of them is work related - woohoo!). Throw a few Utah football games in there, Joey and my 2-year anniversary, my 5-year work anniversary party, and one of the biggest projects I've ever run for my company right smack in the middle of October and this will prove to be one of the most filled and hopefully most fun Falls yet!

I love this time of year :)

My Birthday

2011-09-02T09:02:00.000-06:00

27 is looking pretty good this year! I always love celebrating birthdays, especially when they are mine! This year I got to spend a lot of time with family, which is always a treat! I feel very blessed.

With all of the traveling I've been doing for work lately, Joey bought me a Kindle so I could start reading during my layovers and waits at the airport. I LOVE IT! I'm not much of a reader, but this thing makes me want to read read read!

Leah took me horseback riding this year, something I haven't done for at least 15 years. It was a blast. We went on a trail through Deer Valley and it was such a beautiful morning, I couldn't have asked for anything more - spending time with my Sis in the gorgeous landscape of Park City!? Don't mind if I do! My horse's name was Romeo, and he really was such a love.

Mom and Dad spoiled me as usual - with a trip to come see us in Utah nonetheless (more details on that in a couple of weeks). Mom is taking Leah and I to see "Mary Poppins" as well - I can't wait!

It doesn't end there, but I will say I have the BEST family who I'm so grateful for. They make me feel so loved each year and always, really!

Cheers to year twenty seven! Can't wait to see what's in-store!

Bachelorette Weekend!

2011-08-22T09:43:00.010-06:00

This past weekend we celebrated my Sister and her upcoming wedding with a fun bachelorette weekend!

We stayed at The Grand America hotel - super lux, I was very impressed - and spoiled ourselves rotten with fun. We spent the afternoon Saturday at the pool just relaxing in the sunshine and talking. Saturday night we got Leah all dressed up and had a sushi dinner out with close friends, some of whom Leah has known since she was five years old, and then went to a martini bar and enjoyed some jazz. Sunday morning we ordered breakfast in and spent the morning getting facials, massages, and manicures - oh what a treat that was!!! We also indulged in some delightful cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries from the candy shop in the hotel that is oh-so-cute. After we left, we headed up to Park City for the Silly Market (since we've never been) and just had a blast being together.

Congrats to my Misses! Love you!

The bride-to-be with all her "bling":

"Naughty and nice" gifts:

Sushi dinner!

The Grand American hotel lobby before heading to The Red Door:

Sisters!!

XOXO

Awesome August?

2011-08-18T08:10:00.007-06:00

Where are you? This month is supposed to be full of fun!

The month started off with us losing our air conditioning system followed by eight miserable days of heat and the hottest days of Utah summer until we got it fixed, which was a huge expense. If your air conditioning system is 10+ years old, start saving for that replacement NOW. Our dog I'm sure almost passed out a few times from heat exhaustion and we had to keep feeding her ice chips or send her to daycare just to cool off. Poor thing.

Second (and really, most important), Spencer was in a terrible car accident and his car was totaled - see Leah's blog here for those scary details. We are soooooooo lucky.

Monday I got the flu...nice. I felt like it was finals week all over again. I got the flu every semester during finals week because of stress...maybe I'm doing too much?

And this morning I woke up to fraudulent activity on my bank account - wonderful. And because someone has created a security password that I know NOTHING of, they can't help me over the phone, so I'm stuck visiting a branch where they can hopefully sort this out for me before my account is tampered with even further. Wish me luck.

For the last two weeks, let's switch things up a bit, okay? A good day or week would be nice.

Thanks August.

Our Home Away From Home

2011-07-07T11:50:00.008-06:00

I had a team meeting out in California last week which I LOVE because I get to stay with my parents while I'm there. It's the best!

Our meetings went great - I have the most awesome work fam! I'm also celebrating my 5-year anniversary with this wonderful company. They have been so good to us!

I extended the stay and Joey flew in Thursday so we could spend two fun-filled days at our "home away from home" - DISNEYLAND! And some time with Mom and Dad :)

Kali and Chad met up with us on Friday and it was also Chad's birthday! We had tons of fun seeing those two and hanging out with them all day. It was HOT. At least we were able to indulge on some refreshing margaritas from Tortilla Joe's - and not to mention their chips and salsa - yum!! We did not get one single photo from the day...oops.

My parents met up with us Friday evening and we were able to see World of Color again at California Adventure. That show is really just amazing. Aaaannnd, I cried during the show again...twice. Poor Joey. The show is really incredible though.

Saturday we spent another full day at Disneyland, just the two of us. I took this picture of us in the morning as we got on the monorail into the park. Boy do we look TIRED, but we weren't going to give up such a fun day!

With the holiday weekend, I expected the park to be PACKED, but it wasn't - we walked or waited minimally on almost every ride (except for the new Star Tours - a NEW FAVORITE by the way - so fun) and by 6pm we just needed to take a rest! So I got to indulge on a little people watching and some delicious Disneyland popcorn - totally addicting!

Spiffed up new Star Tours ride:

My favorite guy from the old ride - now "defective" - LOL:

We also did the Wilderness Adventure from the film UP in California Adventure and got our pic with Doug (which of course made me miss my Willow baby even more - thanks Diane for taking care of her!!). We had a blast and really needed a fun weekend away from the grind!

Cali trips are definitely the best!!

A Wedding at Millcreek Inn

2011-07-05T10:41:00.005-06:00

Our dear friend Jeff,

married the girl of his dreams, Vanessa,

on June 23, 2011.

We are so thrilled for their union and couldn't be more happy for them!

CONGRATULATIONS VANESSA & JEFF!!

For more photos, click here.

The Birthday Girl!

2011-05-04T09:41:00.004-06:00

It's our Willow baby's birthday today! We are so lucky to have her in our lives. She is the most caring, laid back, EASY pet I've ever had (considering my last pet was a gold fish, that says a lot - haha). We love her so much! Look at how cute this face is (pic courtesy of Dulce Photography):

Willow has now been a part of our family for a little over a year and a half. She makes us laugh daily and has just the sweetest personality ever. She has definitely taken on the role of our baby and I don't think she minds one bit. Some things we love about her are...

*the way she tries to contain her excitement when any member of Joey's family or Spencer and Leah come over (Spencer is totally her best friend - it's so cute) - when she can't hold it in anymore her butt wiggles all over the place - it's too funny
*the way she runs to Joey when she's ready for a pet and then turns around and plops her booty on the ground to get a back rub - she knows what's up
*in the morning when I'm still sleeping (or trying to at least) she will quietly get thisclose to my face to wake me up, but I will tease her and keep my eyes closed so she goes and lays down again for five minutes, then gets up again to try and get me out of bed...when she has had enough, she grunts and shakes until I get up
*her "gremlin face" - the face we get when she's laying at the top of the stairs looking down at us
*whenever we vacuum, Willow loves the way the fibers in the carpet stick up and she could scratch her back all day long (she also pig snorts when she's rolling around, it's kinda hilarious)
*she is such a sun baby and will lay in the sun whenever and wherever she can - our patio (she will cry until we open the door for her if she can see sun outside), my office window, Joey's parents house...etc.

*her "Willow hugs" - when she is sitting and facing you if you you slap your legs twice she will prop herself up onto her back legs and reach her arms out for a hug - seriously the cutest thing ever (and sometimes you will get some kisses as well)
*she LOVES getting her teeth brushed - we have to tag team her because she would lick all the toothpaste off the brush before we ever got to scrub her ivories otherwise so Joey holds her mouth open and I brush
*the way she STILL doesn't get how to play catch - I think it will forever be a work in progress
*how she lights up when Joey gets home from work - again, butt wiggles all around :)
*her "mutant arm" - we have found her lately laying with one arm totally tweaked back
*how she fluffs her bed to get comfy
*her "bark" - she doesn't bark at all except for a rare occasion (like when the UPS guy comes to the door) and her bark is so timid - I think she sometimes spooks herself
*her various smiles a.k.a. the "Elvis lip" (self explanatory) and "creepy smile" (fang smile)

Anyways, I could go on and on, but I think I've already passed the point of dog obsessed, so I will cease here.

Happy birthday again Willow girl!

Naughty Pup

2011-04-07T13:36:00.005-06:00

Let me preface this post by saying that we have an angel dog and there's nothing she does that could ever make us mad at her, even this new habit she's acquired, which I will detail below...

About a month ago Willow started this naughty behavior of chewing her leash. I have NO idea where she learned it and she only does it when she gets really really hyper - it's almost her way of letting out some energy as her eyes get really big and she just gnaws and gnaws until I can snap her out of it. Up until today it was me who had won each battle (I think there had been three of them until this morning) as I was able to get the leash out of her mouth before she chewed through the entire thing. This morning I was not so lucky...

Once she snapped through it, it was almost as if she immediately knew she had done something she shouldn't have. I got this look like "Uh oh, sorry Mom!" I didn't say a thing and she followed me right into the house. I think she felt bad because this is where I found her a few minutes later...

There's $20 we'll never see again! I'm going to try to salvage what I can as a back-up leash, but what the heck!? Has anyone else had this problem? What do you do to get them to stop!?

Coolangatta

2011-03-25T10:34:00.040-06:00

We were fortunate enough to plan a Spring Break for us this year and took a 10-day vacation to the Gold Coast in Australia! To sum it up, our vacation was super relaxing and so much fun. This was my third visit back to Australia but Joey's first time and I was really excited to get away from the grind for a few days.

My parents flew out a week prior to us kids meeting up with them. We got a few email updates about how wonderful the weather was and how warm the water was and it didn't help the anticipation - we were ready to get out there already!

We left March 10th, headed out to LAX, and prepped for our 17 hour flight overseas. We flew V Australia and were very impressed by the luxury of even the economy class --- personal tv's, spacious seats, and even the food wasn't all that bad! It was somewhat difficult to sleep, however, you could definitely bypass the time with all of the fun movies we had to watch! We watched "Tangled" and "Harry Potter 7," among other films on the way there. After the long leg of the flight, we had a quick layover in Melbourne before finally landing at the Gold Coast.

Joey looks totally thrilled, doesn't he? Such a cheeseball...

We were greeted by my Dad in the airport, who you could tell was more than thrilled we were there! We grabbed a cab and headed to our hotel where we met up with our Mom. We stayed at a three bedroom timeshare RIGHT ON the beachfront. We were on the 8th floor, so we had an AWESOME view of the ocean.

Each room had their own personal deck, but we also had a patio with the view in the pictures above. I spent every morning reading out there (the sun came up around 6am, so of course I was up around 6:30am taking it all in). It was so peaceful.

We grabbed a bite to eat at Outback Jacks before taking a stroll around our neighborhood for the next week. My parent's used to live in Coolangatta in the 80's (I am bummed because we actually walked by the house my parents used to live in, which apparently looks the exact same as it did in the 80's, and didn't get a picture!!). We then went to take a dip in the ocean and ohmygosh the water was SO warm - even my Mom was enjoying it (my Mom NEVER goes into the ocean in HB). I guess you can't beat bathwater temps! It was so refreshing.

The next day was my Sister's birthday! Leah and I began the day with a little run around Rainbow Bay and then strolled through the farmer's market on the beach with the rest of the clan. We met these cute cute cute little "entrepreneurs" who were selling hand drawn bookmarks for $.10 - we couldn't resist. They reminded Leah and I of ourselves when we were that age...totally something we would have done!

We spent the next couple of days just laying out! We had just a couple full days of sun while we were there - which was probably a good thing considering how terrible the ozone layer is down there - no one came back with ANY sunburns!

That night we had dinner at Crust, a local pizza joint (so yum!) with all of our parent's friends and their families who live in Australia. It had been 18 years since Leah and I had seen them last and it's very safe to say a lot has changed! It was definitely fun catching up and seeing where everyone was in their lives.

From left: Leah, Spencer, Lauren, Joey, Sophie, Johno, Lily, Kruse, Dad, Richard, Krystal, Judy, Lynne, Harry, Mom

We got a rental the next day and set out on a little trip to Byron Bay. We visited the lighthouse and got to stand on the eastern most point of Australia. The beaches are seriously so gorgeous anywhere you go. The views were incredible! We had a great time walking around the town checking out all of the fun surf shops and indulging on some baguette sandwiches and gelato!

Afterward we visited another family friend, Mike, who is from Laguna Beach but moved to Australia either 20 or 30 years ago (I can't remember). Anyways, he bought this beautiful piece of land in the 90's and is an excellent landscaper. He is turning his property into a small wedding venue and it's gorgeous.

One of our goals this visit was to get a picture of Joey with a baby joey - and success! We visited the Carrumbin Sanctuary and got to see a ton of cute Australian furballs...koalas, kangaroos, dingos, tasmanian devils, etc. It was awesome! We also got to hold a baby crocodile that was only a year and a half old.

We were excited to endure the ropes course they had on site. It was VERY challenging, but SO FUN! There were three courses, green, which led to red, and then to black (in order of toughness). Once we got through the green and red courses, we decided to give the black course a whirl. Oh man, I think we all had thoughts of "what were we thinking?" when going through each challenge, but we made it! I was very proud of ourselves. It was difficult - especially the tightrope and rope ladders!

We spent the next day hiking up Mount Warning - the first peak the sun hits in Australia. It was a 4-hour hike up and down - thank goodness we kept ourselves entertained playing 20 questions. It was overcast once we reached the peak, but being surrounded by so much tropical nature was awesome and I loved just hearing all of the forest noises!

We had lunch at Marvis' after our hike.

We spent the rest of the time shopping, hanging out, playing cards during the rainy afternoons, going for walkabouts, and relaxing. It was definitely a much needed vacation!

27

2011-03-22T08:21:00.001-06:00

My Joey turns 27 today! Happy birthday lovey!

Happy Birthday Sister!

2011-03-21T18:13:00.002-06:00

We got to spend my Sister's birthday in Coolangatta, Queensland in the land down under! More to come on that vaca later, but just wanted to send a huge birthday shout out to my lovely lil sis and bestest friend in the whole wide world! Happy 25!!

And yes, we spent the morning running around Rainbow Bay in our awesome vintage Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella tees - it was a princess day for sure! I'm bummed this picture is blurry, but we were trying to indicate the "25"!!

Taking A Break!

2011-02-25T22:18:00.005-07:00

Well blog, it might be time for a little hiatus. Not to mention as I read through my posts I wonder if anyone finds any interest whatsoever. I appreciate those who would like to keep up on our lives, but I gotta tell ya - things are movin' like crazy in the Judkins household and I just don't even have a minute to organize my thoughts (or my laundry, dishes, etc...) enough to write a sufficient post! :)

I feel like a blogging slacker, but maybe in a few weeks after I'm refreshed from an upcoming vacation and settled into my new job role at work, I will be at it again!

Until then............

Thanks Coach

2011-02-11T10:20:00.002-07:00

Enjoy your well deserved retirement! Utah will miss you!

Whirlwind Week!

2011-02-01T08:44:00.004-07:00

Happy February! Hope everyone had a wonderful January!

So as a follow-up to my previous post about my dear old Jetta (tear*), Joey and I finally bit the bullet and bought a new (to us) car! We've been fortunate enough not to have any kind of car payment for the last nine years and we've been seriously talking about getting a car for one/both of us for the past couple years but kept putting it off because of the payment undertaking.

Thankfully things were just meant to be and I'm glad we waited because we got a steal of a deal on a Subaru Tribeca that is PERFECT for us and our needs! We bought it from Carmax and seriously take my advice and don't ever buy a used car anywhere else! Knowing what I know now about the car industry, Carmax does it right! :) Our car is so cute, runs wonderfully, and for a 2008 looks (and smells) BRAND NEW! It will be nice for Willow to have her own space in the back - she didn't really love the backseat of the Jetta too much because it was hard for her to look out the back window.

In other news, my parents came to visit for a ski weekend! Boy that was a fast four days. I was lucky enough to take Friday and Saturday off so we skied Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley and I'm still sore three days after the fact...but it's worth every ache. We had fun on "our mountain" at PCMR, explored way more of Deer Valley than we ever have before, and definitely enjoyed spending the weekend together. For more, please visit our Sister Blog!

This week we have more family coming into town (yay Kali and Chad!), a couple birthdays to celebrate, and (for me), a lot of work to catch up on! :)

Have a wonderful week and enjoy the "feels like -8* weather" today! Yikes!

Dear Jetta,

2011-01-27T08:41:00.003-07:00

Thank you for all of the memories...being my first car and probably the only brand NEW car I will ever own...being my reliable transportation through college, my first big-girl job, and moving me back to Utah...being the go-to vehicle for all of those last minute road trips to Vegas...for always healing yourself (like when your check engine light would go on and then magically disappear)...for NEVER having to have a major repair under 100,000 miles (so unheard of for a VW, so thank you)...for getting me through two winters in your 2WD...you will be missed!

P.S. I'm sorry that I bawled like a baby when I sold you. I hope you will treat your future owner just as you did me. Have fun, ride on.

Lauren

Engagement!

2011-01-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

So happy to announce that these two love birds are getting hitched! We could not be more thrilled that Spencer is "officially" joining our family (since he is pretty much our brother already)!!!

Congratulations Leah & Spencer! We love you!

Thank You Twenty Ten!

2011-01-02T11:07:00.006-07:00

Everyone always tells me the years go by even quicker as you get older...they are soooo right! 2010 was definitely a year to remember!

Some things to mark this amazing year (in no particular order, just as they come to memory)!

-Joey and I celebrated our one year anniversary as well as ten years of being together! Seriously love that boy so much!
-We helped celebrate almost a dozen marriages and engagements of friends and family!
-Leah moved back to Utah! It's been so awesome having her so close by!
-We vacationed to: San Francisco (girls trip!), Texas (boys trip!), Indiana, Las Vegas, Huntington Beach...next year (or I guess this year!) we're going international, can't wait!
-Camping trips and Lake Powell!
-My first race!
-New P/T jobs for both Joey and I (to help PAY for the international vacation - haha)!
-Our first full year with our Willow baby - she's been so wonderful and is the best dog we could have ever hoped for!

And we also rang in the new year with some wonderful family news (no, I am not having a baby)...something oh so much more fun! But that news will come in a few days when I'm allowed to shout it to the world!! :)

Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T22:27:00.003-07:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas!

Reason for the Season

2010-12-20T07:48:00.005-07:00

Only six days until Christmas! With all of the fun things we have planned this week, I'm sure it will slip by so quickly - I can't wait to spend time with family and friends and enjoy all that this season brings!

This weekend was wonderful. I came home from work Saturday to a stack of Christmas cards in the mail from family and friends and could not help but smile as I opened all of them to find notes and pictures of people who really mean so much to us!

Last year we started a "Friends Holiday Dinner" tradition and had such a great turnout we decided to do it again this year! We made the trek up to main street in Park City and enjoyed a delicious dinner at Easy Street (the restaurant where Spencer works) and it was so wonderful getting to slow down during this busy time of year and catch up with friends. Definitely a tradition we will keep going as long as we can!!

Yesterday we got the last of our gifts wrapped and under the tree. Willow keeps getting more curious as to what the heck all of the goodies are that we keep putting out and actually found one of HER gifts a little early...Joey left one night for a quick few minutes and came home to her having ripped off the packaging of her new Kong - silly (smart) girl!

Merry Christmas!

Holiday Decor Collage

2010-12-13T11:06:00.001-07:00

Our tree is up and our halls our decked! It's Christmas time!

9 hrs. to Thanksgiving Break!

2010-11-24T08:40:00.004-07:00

It's quite possible I've never been more ready for a break! I will be literally counting down the hours today until I can shut down work for the weekend. What am I most looking forward to? Well...

- Making my first broccoli casserole - Mom's recipe of course! She may get tired of my calls tomorrow asking for help, but all I can hope is that it tastes half as good as how she makes it! I will for sure be missing her amazing Thanksgiving meal.

- Sleeping in - let's hope our Willow girl understands her Mom and Dad are both off tomorrow ;)

- The UTAH vs. BYU football game Saturday - go UTES!

- Black Friday shopping!!!

- Watching Christmas movies, LOTS of Christmas movies

- Having time to clean and do laundry - don't really know why I'm excited, but I guess I'm just happy my house won't look like a tornado went through it come tomorrow.

- Starting to get out our Christmas decorations...I'm making myself wait another week to get the tree - can't wait! It's one of my favorite things to do each year!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful, safe, and fun-filled Thanksgiving weekend!

A Whole Decade

2010-11-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to think it's been 10 years since Joey and I first started "going out" in high school (photo circa 2001). We've been through so much the past 10 years (relationship growing pains, long distance, breaks, moves, etc.), but I wouldn't want to have experienced it with anyone else and I know it's made us who we are as a couple today. I am so excited to see what the future holds for us - it's going to be an awesome adventure.

Happy 10 Joe-Man.

Also, a big thanks to our family who have seen us through from the beginning - your continuous love and support makes it all worth while. We have the best families in the entire world!

Family Photos!

2010-11-10T10:09:00.008-07:00

A great big thanks to Carissa for taking our first family photos this past Sunday...she is too wonderful! The photo shoot idea began because Joey and I really just wanted photos of our Willow baby (and boy did Carissa get some good ones!!), but it turned into a great opportunity to start documenting our family changes each year. Joey is still not thrilled with the whole thing (he's not much of a picture taker, even though I totally think he's photogenic), but I'm trying to convince him that when we're much older, we can show our grandchildren pictures of us each year...it'll grow on him :)

So here are a few takes from our shoot...to see the full post on Carissa's blog (and some of her other awesome work), click here. Enjoy!

Happy One

2010-10-21T11:38:00.004-06:00

We made it! One whole year...what may be even more exciting is Joey and I are celebrating 10 years together next month. Our wedding really just solidified this union we've had for so long...a milestone in this adventure we've been on together since the year 2000. We balance each other out more than we probably realize and it's so nice to have so much trust, loyalty, and love in someone we've grown up with and will get to grow old with. We're so lucky.

So, without further ado, happy one to my honey and me. And to many, many more.

Photo taken the day after our wedding in 2009...and heck yes we're wearing the "Just Married" Disney pins!

Halloween Throwback

2010-10-20T12:17:00.005-06:00

Found these while cleaning off my hard drive...Joey is for sure the cutest little wrestler I've ever seen!

Happy Halloween!

(Oh, those bangs! Haha.)

Wednesday What-Nots

2010-10-13T09:17:00.006-06:00

Today was the second day in a row we had frost on our grass (frost = brrrrr) -- but, Willow loves it and tries to lick it all up! Keeps her entertained for a good 30. Silly dog.

My space heater has found its permanent spot next to me in the office while I'm working. Joey refuses to start the house heater because there's no sense in heating the whole house when I'm in my 10x7 office most of the day - I guess I see his point. Except for when I feel inclined to put a blanket on Willow to keep her bat ears from freezing. I give it one more week.

Case in point (we never could break her habit of hiding away in the closet - oh well):

We got up our Halloween decorations and have started to receive anniversary cards - October is definitely here! Now we just need some pumpkins.

Some of our Disney Halloween decor (of course):

Has it really {almost} been one whole year since we got married?

If anyone visits Disneyland during HalloweenTime, please post lots of pictures -- we're having withdrawals.

I lost my sunglasses Saturday, went and bought a new pair Sunday, then found my "lost" sunglasses in the back seat of my car Monday - typical.

I can still keep my new sunglasses, right?

Happy Wednesday!

Josh + Bri 10/01/10

2010-10-04T09:23:00.013-06:00

It was the perfect setting on a beautiful fall day in Park City for a wedding of two dear friends. We've known Josh and Brianne for quite some time and it was such an honor to be able to witness their union as husband and wife. I remember meeting Josh freshman year of high school at a Halloween party and Brianne we've known since middle school! We went to countless dances together in the same group and Josh also played basketball with Joey throughout high school and has always been such an amazing friend. Even after high school, one of my favorite memories was visiting Josh and Bri in Seattle during college. We had so much fun and I'm so glad we've been able to continue our friendship throughout the years. Congratulations to the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Rusk!

At the top of the Empire Canyon in Deer Valley:

Josh waiting at the alter for his bride-to-be:

Brianne looked STUNNING!

It could not have been a more beautiful day! This was after their vows (not a dry eye in the place) and the "I do's"! Now husband and wife!!

Park City falls are gorgeous! Look at those trees in the background!
The garter toss during the reception; Spencer didn't get it, even with Leah coaching him on in the background saying "catch it honey, catch it!!" Haha :)

Spencer, Bri, Josh, me, and Joey:

More friends from high school! Cannon bros. and Kristin; so fun catching up with everyone!

Happy marriage you two! Have fun on your honeymoon!

On My Mind

2010-09-28T14:54:00.004-06:00

I'm just full of random thoughts today...

***

I've discovered the Easy Listening genre on Pandora and I ♥. It makes me feel like I'm in Nordstrom.

***

My top {5} favorite cities in the U.S. I've visited:

1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. San Diego
4. Seattle
5. Boston

***

{5} cities I want to visit:

1. Chicago
2. Miami
3. Portland
4. Napa
5. Dallas

***

Joey and I made every dinner at home last week and dang! I'm proud of ourselves. This week got off to a rough start as it was mac and cheese with toast for me and I don't even know what Joey ate for dinner last night...

***

My Sister and I are starting a new little hobby that will hopefully turn into a big business venture (and if not, at least it fun to do!!)! More to come when our Etsy shop opens and our blog is up! We're hoping for an official 12/1 launch.

***

Sadly, I think I just finished my last vacation of 2010. We planned a girls trip to San Francisco - full of shopping, dining out, visiting with family, and more shopping. Check out our Sister blog for details!

***

Joey went on a boys trip to Houston for a Texans/Cowboys game. First professional football game Joey's been to - I'm sure it spoiled him!

***

In the last six months we've attended {8} weddings - it's been so fun! Our last scheduled wedding of the year is Friday - congrats to Josh and Bri! We are so excited to celebrate with you.

***

I ♥ Groupon (thank you Leah for introducing me to this awesomeness). If you don't know what that is, I highly recommend you check it out here. You can get some great deals in the city you live - everything from restaurant discounts, to retail coupons, to health and beauty! It's awesome!

***

I'm in the midst of planning an outing for Joey and my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! I can't believe it's three weeks away. We've decided to each plan every other year's events, so I'm starting with year one! I'm sure I'll end up planning all of them, and that's okay! It's what I love to do!

***

I'm excited to order my anniversary cake{s} from this place. I say cakes with an "s" as I may do a His and Hers since Joey and I have VERY different tastes when it comes to desserts. His would be chocolate with chocolate filling and chocolate frosting while mine would be white with some sort of fresh fruit filling {begin mouth watering}! And since the only bit of cake we had at our wedding was the one bite we "fed" to each other, I'm really looking forward to indulging in our very own slices of heaven!

***

Have I ever mentioned how cute our dog is? Well, she's just the cutest. That's all :)

***

And, Go Utes!

The end.

Holy canoley, it's September!

2010-09-01T12:04:00.005-06:00

Is it just me or do the months keep going by more quickly than the previous? It is completely insane to me that it's September already!

I enjoyed my August, as I expected I would. It was full of vacations and birthday celebrations with tons of family time - couldn't ask for anything more!

Who ever thought turning 26 would entitle me to make out like a bandit on my birthday this year! I was just spoiled, as usual. I am so lucky. Among many things, I now have a reason to go shopping (gift cards, yes!), take Joey out on a date to Cheesecake Factory (thanks M&D!), and my Sister got me sewing lessons at the finishing school! I'm so excited.

We just got back from a 5-day vacation in Lake Powell. It was nice to relax and not have to worry about taking calls or answering emails all day long - mostly because I couldn't even if I wanted to due to no service! I did get up on a wakeboard my very first try (but then my snowboarding instincts kicked in and I did a major face plant) - but after a few attempts, I ended up with a good ride! And it was soooo fun!! We also had a celebration for Tasha (Joey's cute cousin), Jay (Joey's Dad) and my birthdays as well as Joey's grandma's retirement on the Judkins' Surf Shack (the houseboat that Tasha adorably decorated for the occasion). All in all, it was a great trip!

The celebration continues this week with the Utah Utes game tomorrow night - can't wait! And then this weekend I am seeing "The Lion King" with all of the Judkins' girls. I have seen the show twice and I am already getting chills at the thought of seeing it again!

Happy September to all! Enjoy it!

Watch us "LaLe"-gag Around!

2010-08-23T08:37:00.003-06:00

The Sis and I have started a new blog documenting our fun Sister adventures (travels, races, outings, thoughts, etc.)! If you want, you can check it out here!

Home Sweet Home

2010-08-16T10:45:00.011-06:00

Trips to California are my absolute favorite. We cram in so many fun things when we're there that I'm totally exhausted by the time I get home, but it's 100% worth it! And this trip was no exception!

Last Tuesday I flew into Long Beach and arrived to the chilly beach air that I know and love. It sure beat the dry hot heat we've had here in Salt Lake! Wednesday I ventured into the office to work and see my colleagues. It's a good change of pace having to get dressed for work in business attire and actually going into an office. I definitely miss out on the social aspect working from home (but it's a double edged sword because I get so much more done during the day - no distractions)! :)

Thursday was my Dad's birthday but he got stuck in Kansas the night before on a plane pick-up, so my Mom and I vegged at the beach for a few hours. He got in around the same time Spencer and Leah drove up from San Diego. Joey arrived a few short hours later and it was time to get the weekend started!

The new plane my Dad flies - isn't it just beautiful!? The owner also did not skimp on any amenities, it's just amazing what these planes can include these days!!

Dad blowing out his b-day candles on the yummiest cake from Cold Stone! (Misses, I stole this picture from you...) ;)

Friday we went to DISNEYLAND! We got there early to get our tickets for World of Color and then ventured around each park all day hitting up our favorite rides. Somehow I got pressured (haha, not really) into going on Splash Mountain (worst ride ever) and Joey was complaining about sitting in the front and somehow I ended up volunteering (what was I thinking!?!) to sit in the front and got totally soaked (and I was wearing jean shorts-ugh). Needless to say, August 13 2010, will be the last time I EVER ride SM again (until my own children are old enough to go on it). Geez, I used a lot of the "(...)" in that paragraph...

The sibs: Joey and Kali - love her!

We were lucky to have Kali meet up with us for our day at Disney and she totally showed us the ropes for World of Color! We ended up watching it on the boardwalk and now we will never be able to watch it from anywhere else! The show is amazing. I cried twice (not so shocking, I know). Disney just knows how to evoke emotions from me I guess! Plus, it didn't help that one of the songs they used was the last slow song Joey and I danced to at our wedding. I'm such a softy.

Saturday we went to the beach again to hang out and relax. Kali and Chad came down from Glendale and it was awesome to visit with them. We devoured some cheese strips from Jack's, Joey and Chad took a quick dip in the 58* ocean water (sooooo cold!), and I tried to develop some sort of base tan. That night we celebrated Dad's b-day at Spaghetti Bender on PCH (an old family favorite)...delicious!

On Sunday we drove back the moving van and Passat with Leah and Spencer - 2 years to the DAY from when Joey and I moved back. The drive was great! It was quick and easy, with no traffic, or any hiccups! I am so excited to have my Sister in the same city and can't wait for all of our fun adventures!!

Also, a happy birthday to Joey's Dad yesterday, August 15! August b-days are the best!! :)

Goodbye July, Hello August!

2010-07-30T08:47:00.005-06:00

Whew! To put it simply: T.G.I.F.

The last two years July has always been such a rough month. Living in the retail world, it's BTS-prep (back-to-school) time and for those of you who breathe, eat, sleep, etc. the retail world, then you also probably share in the dread of BTS (July/August) and then also Holiday (November/December).

Well, at minimum I can say that I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! Last year during July I was solely responsible for 1,300 store visit reports for one client, which now that I look back on it, wasn't so bad. This year is a whole different beast! I have three big clients who have jumped on the BTS bandwagon and I'm overseeing DOUBLE of what was done last year - which means I'm about one week short of going cRaZy! :) We have five more days of reporting and visits before things "slow down" for a bit and I will be back to my 50-60 hr. week - thank goodness!

Anyways, enough news on the job front. Let me tell you why my August is going to ROCK this year!

1. This bullet point would normally be "my birthday," BUT something even more awesome is happening this month that takes over the numero uno spot: MY SISTER IS MOVING TO UTAH! That's right family and friends, I've held the excitement in long enough! I CANNOT WAIT to have her here. I know I am probably more psyched than she is that she's moving here (it's quite possible that she is more of a Cali girl than me), but we are going to have such FUN!

2. My birthday, duh.

3. Trip to Huntington for my Dad's birthday, Disneyland, family time, the BEACH, and to MOVE MY SISTER TO UTAH!!!

4. My second trip ever to Lake Powell!

5. My first race, a 10K, up Timpanogus Canyon with MY SISTER!

And I'm sure a few family bbq's will also be embedded in this month 'o fun! So, GOODBYE JULY and HELLO AUGUST! I'm ready!

Little Mama's Boy

2010-07-24T14:16:00.007-06:00

Little Eddie-baby at a couple of weeks old, never left his Willow-mama's side...

Now 8 months old and still loving his mama just as much as ever! They are seriously so cute together (and yes, he is bigger than she is now)!

A million kisses:

Still by eachother's side wherever they go!

How can you not love this face? I am not sure puppies get much cuter than this!!

32 hrs. in Indy

2010-07-18T22:20:00.028-06:00

7/16, 5:13pm: our quick weekend adventure begins with a flight out to Indianapolis where Joey and I have a 80's and Michael Jackson dance party in Row 15 during a majority of the flight. I definitely catch myself singing out-loud on more than one occasion. Oh well, these people will never see me again (a motto often used by the Norris family during moments of inhibition). I think Spencer is glad he is sitting a row in front of us...

11:00pm: we arrive and check into our hotel, starving. Spencer and I research our food options for the evening and end up at the overpacked and understaffed hotel lounge where we order some greasy grub and I manage to drop a cup of salsa all over the lobby walkway...oops. After chowing down on a salsa-less quesadilla, it is time to say goodnight.

7/17, 8:00am: we pick up our rental, the Dodge (baller, I know), and set out upon the town. We land at an IHOP for a yummy breakfast and then venture to every sports stadium/arena in the Indianapolis area (can you tell I traveled with two boys!?) to take pictures and look around.

We stop by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (it made me want to watch Cars):

The Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Colts play:

And the Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the Pacers:

We almost don't get the third photo as parking is non-existent; however, due to a conveniently placed "no park zone" we are able to pull off the road and hop out to snap a shot in front of the arena. Joey doesn't want to bother as he was hoping he would be able to get his photo next to a larger-than-life size poster of Danny Granger (one of his favorite players in the league). But he obliges and it must have been good timing because what is better than a poster of Danny Granger? How about Danny Granger himself!

(I know, I know, it's a photo of him walking away, but what the luck! If it had only been one minute earlier we'd still be outside of the car and could have gotten a photo with him, but Joey didn't want to be one of those fans... I still took a photo for proof and memory.)

2:00pm: we start our journey to the town of Flora for Carl and Summer's wedding, which is set to begin at 4:30pm. We know we have at least a 90-minute drive, so to account for any traffic or unexpected delays, we give ourselves an extra hour just to be sure we arrive on-time (must be the Californian in me - you never get anywhere within the "estimated drive time"). We enjoy the most beautiful drive through the countryside on a 2-lane highway surrounded by various corn fields and bypass a gazillion farms. I am amazed by the beauty of how green and luscious this state is - very different from anything I'm used to. Low and behold, we arrive to the church in exactly 90-minutes. Everyone chuckles at our early arrival - I guess we missed the memo that traffic doesn't exist in this part of Indiana! :)

We visit with Carl (the groom) before the ceremony and some other friends who made the journey to Indiana to witness the momentous occasion. I admire the church where the ceremony is to be held as it is over 100 years old and seriously the cutest and most quaint church I have ever seen; I completely fell in love with it! Summer (the bride) is the 5th generation from her family to attend church here and her parents were married in the same church 47 years earlier - such an awesome story.

And now, for some photos...

The marquee outside the church:

Joey and I on the steps to the entry of the church:

Me and "the boys":

Carl's cute mom:

The inside of the church; I loved the stained glass windows!

Good thing our programs could double as a fan - it is a hot day in Indiana!

Carl and Summer on their way down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Fine!

Butterfly release:

Bride and Groom carriage ride:

The bridal party heads out on a trolley to the reception site - what a fun way to exit the church!

We head to Sharpsville for the reception at the Kelley Historical Museum, which is a darling place! It's set up like a little old-fashioned town with a barn, houses, a schoolhouse, etc. The reception buffet is set up in the barn with a huge tent behind it for dining. It is the perfect setting!

We feast and enjoy possibly some of the best-tasting wedding cake ever! Carl and Summer dance their first dance as husband and wife, toasts are given, and we take in the sights of a lightening storm that has begun in the distance (mid-west lightening storms are one of the coolest things I've seen!).

(This photo does not do the setting ANY justice. As nightfall rolled in there were a million lit fireflies in the soy bean field and it just made me feel like I was on a film set - too perfect!)

11:30pm: we drive back to our hotel still admiring the lightening storm overhead and prepare for our 4am wake-up call.

7/18, 6:25am: we head back to Salt Lake City, deeming this short vaca one of the best and flawless trips yet!

Congrats Carl and Summer! We know you will have an amazing life together! Thanks for inviting us to be a part of your big day!

Happy Birthday M♥M!

2010-07-11T10:51:00.002-06:00

Love you!!

4th Fun

2010-07-06T10:15:00.003-06:00

We had a jam packed 4th of July weekend! Some highlights...

First, a big congratulations to our friends, Joe and Jessica Nicholls, who tied the knot July 2 in a beautiful ceremony at the Mountain Life Church in Park City. It is undeniable how in love those two are! Jessica looked so beautiful and Joe just lit up as he watched his bride walk down the aisle. It was a very sweet ceremony and we're so happy for them!

After the ceremony and luncheon, Joey, Willow, and I headed up to the Washington Lake for a couple days of camping with Joey's parents! After arriving to the camp ground and being bitten by every mosquito in the Wasatch Forest, we enjoyed two days of fishing, hiking, playing with the dogs, good food and conversation. Growing up, my family's idea of camping was a day at the beach, so it's been really awesome venturing out the past two years camping with the Judkins as they know how to do it right! We also had fairly nice weather which was a change from our usual rain and snow camping trips - so that was a treat! However, it did snow a tiny bit as we were breaking camp, but that's just something you can always plan for in Utah! The weather can be so weird sometimes!

Willow had so much fun camping with her Eddie baby (who is not so baby anymore)! They sure do love each other and it was fun to watch them interact. We watched Eddie take a long swim in the lake - he was fixated on a log floating about 25 yards out and was determined to go and check it out. He just kept swimming and swimming and swimming despite our attempts to call him back...when he finally turned around, we were all watching closely to make sure his head didn't go under water because he would have had us all in that lake saving him. But he was fine and glad to be back on shore when he finally made it! So were we, that water would have been coooolllld...brr!

Willow is quite the trailblazer and feels very comfortable in the mountains. During our various hikes she always led the way and sniffed everything in her path. She also did a little forest clean up by finding an empty food package and carrying it about 1/2 mile until we met back with Joey and Jay who were fishing - such a good girl :) After two days, she was so exhausted that by the time we got home I was surprised she made it up the stairs before zonking out for the afternoon.

We enjoyed a birthday celebration Sunday night for Joey's older sister Amber and great aunt Jean. We ate way too much cake/dessert this weekend between the wedding, camping, birthdays, and holiday celebrations!

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to get another day off from work and closed out the weekend with a bbq at a friend's house followed by going to see Eclipse. We ended up having a group of 14 attend the film, both Team Edward and Team Jacob fans, and I enjoyed every minute! I'm definitely still Team Edward!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Oh That Boy

2010-06-29T13:39:00.003-06:00

During our first consultation with the DJ of our wedding he asked "What artist/artists do you absolutely NOT WANT played at your wedding?" And Joey, with no hesitation whatsoever, responded "Rhianna!" I have never been able to pinpoint what Joey dislikes about her so much, but every time a song of hers comes on the radio or my iPod, he is the first to switch it!

So you better believe I was surprised when today I turned on Joey's Computer Playlist and, low and behold, a

Rhianna

song began to play. He is SO going to hear about this later! Silly hubby.

Congratulations Sam + Mitchell!

2010-06-01T12:12:00.013-06:00

It was a wonderful celebration weekend for one of my best friends, Sam, as she became Mrs. Wilson! It's been great being able to spend so much time with her the past couple of weeks (bachelorette party in Vegas, girl's sleepover, and wedding events). I am going to miss her when she goes back to Texas with her new hubby!

Friday began with the rehearsal and then all of the girls went to get pedicures and then out to lunch at Red Rock.

Saturday was the big day! We all got our hair styled at this cute salon in Midway and then it was off to the church to watch Sam get hitched!

The reception was at Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley and we took some awesome wedding party shots on the chair lift. Notice the bride's red cowboy boots she wore during the reception!

Joey and I went to prom together Junior year at Silver Lake Lodge - so to commemorate, what better than our infamous "prom pose!"

We enjoyed dancing the night away with the newlyweds! What a fun party!

Welcome to the "new wives club" Sam!

XOXO!

Wedding Weekend in Vegas

2010-05-24T10:47:00.015-06:00

We just got back from a 3-day jaunt to Las Vegas to attend my cousin Jerred's wedding. Joey and I flew in Thursday night and met up with my Mom, Dad, Leah, and Spencer to kick off the weekend by doing none other than sitting around our hotel room catching up! My Sister had just finished her last final before graduating with her Masters Degree and I had just come off of three 14-16 hr. work days, so we were exhausted! First night in Vegas and my Sister and I had passed out by 11pm while Joey and Spencer ventured on the strip for a couple more hours and strolled in around 3am...good night! Haha.

We stayed at the MGM and of course, like on all vacations, Joey wants pictures next to the animal statues...

After waking up at 6:30am Friday morning, my Sister and I had an awesome workout at our hotel gym (after some serious negotiating to get us in for "free," even though it was already part of our hotel package...ugh). We all then headed out to the pool to eat some lunch and discovered this great drink deal where if you buy the "souvenir" cup for $22 (first drink included), each additional refill is only $9 - a total steal in Vegas. Later that afternoon we ventured over to the Mandalay Bay pool to meet up with my cousin, his fiancee, and some of their friends. It was wonderful to see Jerred - it had definitely been way too long. He looked so unbelievably happy and I'm sure was overwhelmed by all of the family and friends who had come to Vegas to be a part of their wedding. He was surrounded by so much love and support that it really warmed my heart and I loved seeing him so happy.

Saturday we soaked up a few more rays at the pool before getting ready and heading to the wedding ceremony at Valley of the Falls at Mandalay Bay. It was a gorgeous afternoon. The ceremony was beautiful and of course I teared up throughout the entire thing. Lindsay looked absolutely stunning and she and Jerred are just the cutest couple!

Joey and I at the ceremony:

Sisters in blue - totally unplanned, as always!

After the "I do's" - Lindsay & Jerred!

Lindsay & Jerred's beautiful family:

Cousins: Lauren, Jerred, and Leah!

After the wedding and yummy reception at Giorgio's, everyone headed up to The Foundation Room at the top of the Mandalay Bay where we had our own VIP section and we danced the night away. It was a blast!

Overlooking the strip at The Foundation Room:

Joey and me:

I was definitely not ready to go home on Sunday - we were having too much fun! Our flight wasn't leaving until 3:30pm, so we did some of the touristy Vegas things, like went to the M&M and Coke Factory, had lunch, and walked around a bit before heading to the airport.

Lunch at Rainforest Cafe:

Our adventure didn't end after arriving at the airport as we were not having the best of luck getting on our plane! Our security scanner broke when we were entering the gate and of course, it was our stuff that was stuck (the guy before us threw his belt in the last second and it got jammed in the conveyor), so we had to wait for what seemed like forever to get our things out. Once we got to the gate they informed us that Joey didn't have a boarding pass as the flight was oversold and we were going to have to wait to see if he would be able to get a seat (there were 15 people in the same predicament). THEN, as the incoming plane landed that we were to board, they informed us that there was a maintenance issue and they were going to have to bring in another plane (the airline ended up taking a plane away from another flight set to Raleigh, putting all of those passengers at a 2 hour delay). I boarded the plane with our one ticket and crossed my fingers that someone was not going to show up so Joey could get on the plane. Luckily, two people were admitted and Joey was #2! After all that we ended up arriving only an hour and half after our original flight. We were just glad to be home since we both had to work and were exhausted!

Congrats again Lindsay and Jerred - we are so thrilled for you and were so happy to be a part of your wedding!

May 4th

2010-05-04T12:02:00.008-06:00

Today is a special day for a few reasons...

First: it's one of my best friend's birthdays - HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!

Second: after we rescued Willow, the vet gave her a "birthday" of May 4, 2008 - so it's our puppy's 2nd birthday today! She has had a small milestone this week: she finally understands the concept of playing FETCH! She will now run and get the ball, just need to work on getting her to bring it back to us. She's so dang cute.

Third: it's been two years since Joey and my engagement! My, how time flies!

*And because I'm such a believer in signs, the fact that Willow's birthday was guesstimated to be the same day of our engagement, makes today VERY special!

"May the 4th" be with you all on this lovely day! :) Haha, nerd alert!

Husband Tag & Catch Up

2010-04-30T10:40:00.006-06:00

What is his name?

Joey Judkins

How long have you been together?

9 1/2 years

How long did you date?

Almost 9 years

How old is he?

Who said "I love you" first?

Me; Joey was so shy, I was not.

Who's taller?

Joey

Who can sing better?

I think that one's a draw. I think Joey has a pleasant voice when we're singing in the car, where we do all of our singing.

Who is smarter?

Book smarts: me
Street smarts: Joey

Who does the laundry?

Joey washes, I fold

Who pays the bills?

Who sleeps on the right side?

Who mows the lawn?

Our HOA

Who cooks dinner?

Our microwave...haha. We don't cook often, but when we do we actually cook together, which is fun.

Who drives?

Who is more stubborn?

Ohmygosh, Joey! Although he will never admit it.

Who kissed who first?

Me again

Who asked who out first?

Joey, he asked me to Winter Formal...awww.

Who proposed?

Joey, at Disneyland! It was an AWESOME day.

Who has more friends?

We have a lot of the same friends, so that's a draw.

Who is more sensitive?

ME. For those who know me know I can cry at the drop of a hat. But that's one thing Joey says he LOVES about me - I don't know if he's telling the truth or not...it's one thing I definitely could do without - I am not the prettiest crier.

Who has more siblings?

Joey, he has one older sister Amber and one younger sister Kali; I have one sister Leah :)

Who wears the pants?
Not gonna lie, totally me.

That was fun. Now for a quick update on the lives of J + L:

I am so thankful it's Friday. I spent last weekend in Vegas for one of my girlfriend's bachelorette parties and I am STILL recovering. It was a blast and I am so excited to be a part of her wedding at the end of May. Yay to Sam and Mitchell!

Pic of the PCHS girls in Vegas: Me, Laura, Sam, and Lindsay

We also only have three weeks until we are back in Vegas for my cousin Jerred's wedding. I haven't seen him for almost three years and can't wait to see him all married up! Congrats to Jerred and my soon-to-be cousin Lindsay! I am ready to celebrate with my whole fam!

My Sister is graduating with her Masters in three weeks. I am SO PROUD of her. She is a rockstar and has worked so hard these past couple of years. She is undoubtedly the most ambitious person I know and inspires me every day. I love seeing how much she has accomplished, it's totally awesome. Go girl.

It snowed this week. After two weeks of 70* weather and beautiful sunshine, we had two days of yucky slush snow. It clears up in the afternoon but really puts a damper on my day when I am SO ready for summer.

We discovered this week that Willow is terribly afraid of thunder. Not so fun.

Joey finishes up his first semester back to school next week! After finally making the decision to return, he has been so motivated and it's been so wonderful seeing him progress to a degree. Proud of you babe!

1,000x, "I do!"

2010-04-18T08:44:00.004-06:00

Happy {6} months!

2010-04-13T11:00:00.001-06:00

I may or may not have just entered Joey and I into a contest to win tickets to see one of our favorite bands. I'll let you know (hopefully soon) if we win, along with sharing all of the embarrassment in the stories I had to submit in the entry (photo too)...let's just hope it was worth it!

Resolution Check In: 1st Quarter

2010-04-08T11:15:00.002-06:00

With the first three months of the year out of the way, I thought it would be a good time to check back on how I'm coming along with my New Year resolutions!

Resolution 1: Work out at least 2x/week

I've been totally on track with this and working out up to 5 days a week! Let's just put it this way: having a dog with a massive amount of energy has its healthy benefits. Willow and I jog together for at least a hour (about 4.5 miles) every day and then I come home and do weights while Willow passes out on her bed from the run. It's been awesome - she gets me out and keeps me going!

Resolution 2: Budget

We've had to tweak this a bit to "pay off debt." We still have my student loan and a couple credit card bills that keep tugging at our heels. My goal is to get the credit cards paid off by the end of the year and make a dent in the student loan (below the $10K mark would totally make me happy).

Resolution 3: Start a hobby

I've narrowed it down to cooking and sewing. I'm starting with cooking. I am also hoping for a sewing machine for my birthday in August! My Mom is an amazing sewer and is totally my inspiration to take on this new hobby. She has been sewing styles from her own patterns since her teen years. She also made my Sister and my Halloween costumes EVERY YEAR. I have a lot of catching up to do!

Resolution 4: Plan honeymoon

I'm still working on this one! See "Resolution 2" as a big obstacle keeping me from booking anything! Good thing we're getting $$ back from taxes this year - this is going straight to the honeymoon fund!

Relaxing Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T09:52:00.004-06:00

We hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend! Ours was definitely low-key and great! Joey had to work a bit on a Saturday so I had some alone time to work out and take Willow for a long run, clean, vacuum, and do laundry - 6 loads to be exact. Then Saturday night we had Joey and Diane's family birthday dinner at Buca di Beppo. It was nice to spend time with everyone!

Yesterday on Easter Sunday I made a waffle breakfast for Joey and I and then we vegged in the living room and watched back-to-back movies all day. An added plus, I took a nap (miss those!) and then we headed up to Park City for dinner at Joey's parent's house...yum yum yum!

After returning home, I indulged in a little - or a lot, whatever - of this (pictured below - thanks for the Easter goodies Mom and Dad!) and watched a little "High School Musical 3" while Joey went out with the boys to see "Clash of the Titans":

We're enjoying the calm before the storm as once the end of April hits, we have non-stop fun for the next three months: weddings, bachelorette parties, and more weddings! Fun fun!

Willow's Magic Trick!

2010-03-31T12:38:00.006-06:00

Look what this dog can do to a tennis ball in the time it takes to boil a cup of water!

Before...

...and voila!

So much for new toys!

I guess I should be thankful she didn't tear apart a pair of shoes!! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOEY!

2010-03-22T09:31:00.004-06:00

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear JOEY!
Happy birthday to you!

Love you!

(P.S. I LOVE finding forgotten photos - this was taken during our "honeymoon" stay at Disney's Grand Californian after our wedding!)

Easter Egg-travaganza!

2010-03-21T16:52:00.007-06:00

Decorating Easter eggs never gets old. This year we bought the "monster" kit and here are the final products:

I love my new decor :)

Birthday Celebration Weekend

2010-03-16T15:28:00.009-06:00

In four days we celebrated {5} birthdays, spent {32} hours at Disneyland, ate at Club 33, visited with {16} different family members, watched Alice fall down the rabbit hole (in 3D), lost a tooth (the 7-year-old did), went swimming (I need a tan!), and overall had a grand 'ol time.

Some photos from the weekend:

March 13 birthday girls: Audrey (7) and Leah (24)!

Birthday Boys: Spencer (26) and Joey (26) in line for Captain EO!

Leah and Spencer on TOY STORY MANIA! Love this ride!

Thanks Mom and Dad for hosting such a great weekend! We had so much fun!

Birthday Month

2010-03-06T13:01:00.006-07:00

March is a BIG birthday month for Joey and me.

March 5 - Joey's Mom, Diane

March 8 - our Best Man, Spencer

March 13 - my Sister Leah; my Cousin Audrey; my Cousin Nathan (yes, all born on the same day, different years - crazy!)

March 15 - my Timothy Grandma

March 22 - JOEY'S B-DAY!

We have LOADS of birthdays to celebrate! HAPPY BIRTHDAY loved ones!

In other news, Willow and I had our first emergency trip to the vet on Thursday as she has a swollen esophagus that made her constantly gag for almost three hours straight! The vet took some x-rays and discovered that she has air pockets in her esophagus which were causing the constrictions (what I thought were hiccups at first). We have since removed raw hides from her diet as we think this may have caused the extra air in her system. She is now on an antibiotic that will hopefully get rid of the inflammation. She has been great the past 48 hours! Thank goodness - poor pup!

This past week was hands down the busiest week of work I have experienced in 4 years. In addition to working 12-16 hrs. a day, I took a quick trip to California for a new client meeting (that went SO well) and I was able to also spend a day with my Dad before heading back home. We went to Disneyland to hang out for a few hours, and let's be honest, INDULGE in a few runnings of "Captain EO" - which is just as awesome as I remembered it 13 years ago.

Next Friday, the whole Norris fam will be together in Huntington as we celebrate many of the aforementioned birthdays. I'm so ready for a vacation.

"I think I ate it!"

2010-02-22T18:20:00.006-07:00

So excited that this is beginning tomorrow... for those who haven't seen it and will get to during its "Limited Engagement," you are in for a real treat...

We are heading to Disneyland in March and I'm sure we will be spending an afternoon in 3D glasses.

CAN'T WAIT.

Olympic Love

2010-02-17T17:30:00.003-07:00

Does anyone else love the Olympics as much as we do?

They just amaze me...and makes me wish I became a professional snowboarder just so I could do the SBX - what fun would that be!?!

Joey and I have been hooked to the television the past week. I have even given up watching some Jazz games just to catch up on who is winning what event - I even watched curling before work this morning! Plus, it might be the ONLY time I can get Joey to watch figure skating (he might even admit to somewhat liking it!).

Which Olympic even do you like best? And do you prefer Winter or Summer? (I have to say that I'm slightly partial to Winter, being that we lived through it in 2002 - best few weeks of Senior Year!)

GO USA!!!

Oh Lent

2010-02-16T19:28:00.002-07:00

What will I be giving up this year?

Two of my snacking downfalls: chips and sweets.

Good luck to me, I will need it.

(And you better believed I indulged in my OWN SLICE of cheesecake from our date night last night...)

Animoto.com

2010-02-14T12:09:00.001-07:00

Honeymoon

2010-02-03T11:25:00.006-07:00

My idea of a perfect destination honeymoon: the beach; and Joey: a foreign adventure. So, let's put those two together and see what we can come up with.

Since it looks like our official "honeymoon" won't be until 2012 with how crazy this year and next year are already shaping up to be, we are definitely trying to lock in on some location ideas to get the ball rolling...

We're thinking a little of this:

And a little of this...

Ooh, I'm already getting excited! Let's hope we don't have to wait two years to make it happen!

What A Week!

2010-01-22T09:30:00.005-07:00

I can't believe it's already Friday - I'm not quite sure where the past week has gone - the past month, really! We're already a week away from it being February for cryin' out loud!

Last weekend my Sister was in town for a long break before she started back to school. It was so fun having her in town - I miss her! She flew in on Friday and that night we went to watch the PCHS boys basketball team and then went bowling where I achieved my lifetime high score of 123 (after a whopping 71 the first game - haha).

Saturday we rode at PCMR and it was a lovely day! The weather was so nice, we often had to take our gloves off on the chair lift because we were TOO warm - can't beat that!

Saturday night we went out to Tepanyaki, where the chef cooked our FEAST right in front of us. Delicious. I highly recommend the shrimp and noodles.

Here is our chef, Andy:

And here I am after catching the flipped shrimp Andy tossed to me!

The rest of the weekend we relaxed, cleaned, and watched football.

On Tuesday we brought our Willow home! It has definitely been an adjustment, being that the pets I had growing up were goldfish, but she has a heart of gold and we are enjoying every minute of being with her.

Some things we love about her:

The way she lifts her paw(s) when you come to pet her - melts my heart every time.
Her cat stretches - she stretches more than any animal I've ever seen!
Her expressive ears and body wiggle when she gets excited.
When she's deep in sleep, she snores like an old man.
The way she nudges me with her wet nose when I'm sleeping to let me know she needs to go outside...thankful for that!
Her mellow personality - she's a keeper!

(Pictures to come!)

And next on the list of fun, my parents will be in town for the weekend and I will be skiing Deer Valley on Sunday with them - the first time on skis in 7 years (I'm a little nervous!). I will also hopefully spend some time on Main Street as it's also Sundance (celebrity site-seeing -- I'm such a nerd)!

Have a great weekend!

New Year Resolutions

2010-01-04T14:57:00.004-07:00

I loved Ellen's quote on her E-mail update today:

"This past year, I resolved not to break any of my resolutions. But I wanted to make it easy on myself, so I didn’t make any resolutions. Mission accomplished."

I never set NY Resolutions because, let's be frank, I think I know deep down that if I'm not 100% committed to keeping them, I won't...but this year I am giving it a try. I am hoping that by putting them in writing that it will keep me honest in actually doing them.

So, here goes:

Resolution 1: work out at least two days a week for the entire year.

This should be totally feasible, because I have been able to do this before. The trouble is that I get into ruts where the gym doesn't see my face for a good month sometimes and I deem myself too "busy" or "tired" to get into some cross-trainers. So, this year I am getting into the routine and keeping myself in it because I really do feel 1,000x better when this is part of my weekly schedule.

Resolution 2: start a new hobby.

I'm not sure what that will be yet, but I want to do something crafty or learn how to cook (more than just pancakes and eggs).

Resolution 3: build a personal/family budget...and stick to it.

To start, we are documenting every penny spent this month and we'll go from there.

Resolution 4: plan HONEYMOON!

This I will consider my fun resolution. We are going to be doing a one year anniversary/honeymoon combined trip in early Fall (because the next six months are already packed with events that it would be impossible to try to squeeze another week away into the "personal/family budget"). This will happen...now I just have to research where to go, timing, fun things to do, etc.! If you have any ideas, let me know!

So there we have it. Cheers to a wonderful 2010!

Our Highlights of 2009

2009-12-19T12:42:00.004-07:00

This year was every bit as amazing as it was expected to be. There were some ups and downs, but the good times definitely outweighed what could be termed as hardships, but we view as just stepping stones in this thing called life.

Here are some of our favorite moments of 2009, with sprinkles on top:

January:
Joey began 2009 in New Orleans watching the Utes win at the Sugar Bowl with his Mom and Dad. As quoted by Joey, "This is the best sporting event I will ever go to in my life!"

My family visits for a ski weekend during Sundance. I hope this becomes a yearly tradition. We had great snow and the mountains were totally empty! Best time to visit Utah hands down! This was also when my parents learned that it may be the time to start renting ski equipment...

March:
Joey turns 25! We spent a long weekend in Huntington Beach and his birthday at Disneyland!

May:
NEW YORK! I celebrated my bachelorette weekend in New York City with my mom, sister, and many close friends! We had five fun-filled days of site-seeing, shopping, dining, dancing, and broadway baby! I also found the wedding dress of my dreams!

June:
My family surprised my Dad and "Dad-napped" him for a weekend getaway to San Diego!

July:
We flew in to see my Mom for her birthday and went to a fun Angles vs. Yankees game on her birthday! GO ANGELS!

Joey's bachelor weekend in VEGAS! (No details, no photos...no comment...hahaha.)

August:
Our first sight of snow in the mountains - while we were camping! Our camping trip for Jay's (Joey's Dad) birthday was cut short due to the weather...hopefully next time we'll have better luck! 5th times the charm, right?

I turn 25! And spend the weekend in Huntington Beach with my family and at Disneyland! We also had a really fun mini-family reunion that weekend at the beach as well.

September:
My first trip to Lake Powell! Joey and I got lost on the way to the dock and took a two and a half hour detour (sorry for almost giving you a heart attack Diane!) but we finally made it safe and sound and it was a great trip! I'm excited for more Powell adventures in the future!

Later in the month was our family wedding shower at Tammy's! The whole party was great, but I definitely enjoyed the advice circle. We got some great advice - some very insightful and some very funny!! :)

October:
October 18, 2009 - our wedding day! Joey and I officially tie the knot and I get my MRS. after a whopping nine years. Words can't explain how beautiful our wedding was and how it perfectly fit us...everything about it was amazing.

To view our wedding slideshow, click here: http://www.jimkennedyphotographers.com/movie/judkins/

Later in the month, on the Judkins hunting trip, Joey's family rescues an abandoned dog, who we have affectionately named Willow after the canyon she was found in. A few days later, we find out Willow is pregnant and due in about a month. PUPPIES!

November:
We had our Utah wedding reception November 11 at The Jeremy in Park City with all of Joey's family, my parents, some of our high school teachers/coaches, and some close friends. It was the first big snow storm of the year (of course) and the canyon closed down for a few hours, so the family got comfortable by the fire and we chowed down tacos and definitely enjoyed the company. Amber also made us this awesome DVD with photo slides from the actual wedding and it was so fun to watch (thanks Amber!). The cutest part was Bella (our littlest niece) watching the photos and every time a picture came up with Joey and I kissing, all you'd hear in this sweet little voice is "ewwww!" Too funny!

Our Willow-girl delivers her puppies the day before Thanksgiving...and we got to be there! We have six little miracles - 3 boys and 3 girls - all healthy, perfect, and so lovable!

We spent Thanksgiving at the Norris'! We're already trying to get into the holiday routine.

December:
This month will mark the first Christmas Joey and I EVER spend together. That's right, in the nine years we were bf and gf, Joey and I have never spent Christmas day with each other. It will be pretty awesome that our first time will be as husband and wife.

In reading through this list, I love that so many of our cherished memories of this year are centered around family and friends. Life is really, so good.

Happy 2009! Can't wait to see the memories 2010 brings!

It Feels Like Christmas

2009-12-08T18:18:00.004-07:00

So Thankful

2009-11-30T17:55:00.011-07:00

Stepping off the plane to 85* weather on Thursday in Long Beach was not what I was expecting (especially since we boarded the plane in Salt Lake with a balmy 25* weather). Boy, it was so nice, but we were way overdressed, and we did not pack Joey any shorts (and you better believe I heard about it for the next four days)...

Anyways, we had a great weekend with the Norris clan for Thanksgiving this year. Joey and I flew in Thursday afternoon and were greeted with all the yummy scents of Mom's Thanksgiving feast as we walked in the door - broccoli casserole, ham, pumpkin pie, turkey, creamed corn, mashed potatoes...you name it! Kali and Chad joined us and it was wonderful to see them! We definitely enjoyed the company!

On Friday Joey and I braved it to South Coast Plaza to do a little shopping! It surprisingly wasn't very busy and the sales were very...meh. I'm telling ya, the after Christmas sales are where it's at! That night we saw A Christmas Carol in 3D! Definitely a favorite holiday story of ours and Jim Carrey/Disney did a great job! Two thumbs up for sure!

We ventured to Downtown Disney's ESPN Zone to watch the UTAH vs. BYU game on Saturday (bummer on the Utes loss). They were playing the game on the big screen and the crowd was really into it! Again, too bad Utah didn't win...

Yesterday was DISNEYLAND SUNDAY! It's the best time of year to visit the park. The holiday decorations keep getting better and better. This year I even got a photo with Mrs. Claus! She was just adorable. We love the reindeer, the Main Street tree, the Christmas themed fireworks, and I especially love the short show they display on the outside walls of It's a Small World. We did a lot of window shopping and I indulged in one of my favorite Disney treats: a Minnie Mouse chocolate covered apple - yum!

It was a great Thanksgiving weekend. We have so much to be thankful for in our lives, including family, friends, jobs, our house, health, and happiness. Life is good.

Let's hope the next month doesn't fly by too fast!

happy one hundred and eight

2009-11-20T20:21:00.001-07:00

When Joey and I began dating in high school, I remember how fun it was to count the months we'd been together. Well, today marks 108 months and I love this guy more than ever before. I'll consider it a good sign that I still get those butterflies when I hear the garage open as he comes home from work.

Happy 108 Joe-Man.

The Big Day

2009-11-17T10:21:00.037-07:00

Hair and make-up:

My hair-do from the back - loved it!

The details:

The girls:

Lauren (bridesmaid), Christy (bridesmaid), Shawn (matron of honor), Lauren (bride), Leah (maid of honor), Amber (bridesmaid), Janelle (bridesmaid), Kali (bridesmaid) *not pictured: Sam (bridesmaid)

The boys:

Joey (groom), Spencer (best man), Tyson (groomsman)

Walk down the aisle with Dad - one of the best moments of my life!

First kiss as husband and wife! Swept off my feet!

After almost nine years, now Mr. and Mrs. Judkins!

Norris fam:

Judkins fam:

Honors and Best:

Our awesome wedding party - High School Musical style!

Bride and Groom portraits:

Reception details:

I loved our table numbers! They were Joey and I at different ages - so for example, if you were sitting at table two, you had photos of Joey and I at age 2 - so cute!

Our delicious cake (that we didn't get to eat!) - complete with our ode to Disney (had to get that in there somewhere!):

Sweetheart table:

Introductions:

Bridal party - Tyson and his daughter, Leah (flower girl)

Joey and I were introduced to the "Dark Knight" Batman theme - awesome!

First dance:

Toasts:

I'm glad my face is covered because I barely made it through!

Generations Dance:

We had all of the married couples out on the dance floor and our DJ counted up in how long each couple was married and everyone would leave the dance floor once their year was hit. My Great Aunt and Uncle were the last standing - they have been married 70 years!

My Great Uncle Frank cheering them on!

Married less than four hours and 70 years...a moment to remember...incredible.

Dancing!

PCHS 2002 Grads: Kaesha, Jeff, Joey, Lauren, Christy, Spencer

Cutting and eating the cake - Joey did not smash it in my face - thank goodness! :)

Our wedding wouldn't have been complete without Michael Jackson! And of course, with the wedding in October, we HAD to do the "Thriller" dance!! Check out our Grandmas also joining in on the fun! We rock.

A perfect ending to a perfect day!

Wedding Weekend: Pre-Wedding

2009-11-09T20:16:00.031-07:00

The weekend flew by as fast as I imagined it would.

The adventure began with Joey and I driving our way from Utah to California on Wednesday, October 14. We rented a Ford Edge (my new favorite car), packed up all our wedding goodies - gown, suit, shoes, etc., - and made the 11 hour drive to Huntington Beach. That night we met up with my Aunt Shawn, Uncle Mike, and Cousin Audrey for dinner at one of our favorite spots - Souplantation (a.k.a. Sweet Tomatoes). After dinner I had a fun time showing my Mom everything we had prepared for the wedding: table numbers, prom pic, seating chart, etc...I had such a great time planning our wedding - it was my stress RELIEVER, if you can believe that!

Thursday was awesome. The day began with us attempting to meet up with our DJ to finalize last minute details for the wedding, but when a scheduling conflict kept him in Los Angeles, it just meant more time for us to be at Disneyland! My Aunt Shawn and Uncle Michael treated my family to Club 33 (a yearly tradition but this year in celebration of Joey and I - and as always, absolutely delectable). I wish I had more of an appetite because my food was soooo good, but I could only eat a few bites of my appetizer and entree. I don't think I ate but a meal a day the last week before the wedding - the anticipation definitely got the best of me! After dinner we stuck around for the Halloween fireworks, which were new this year and hosted by Jack Skellington himself. The music and show really got me into the Halloween spirit!

Friday night we had our rehearsal at Strawberry Farms. I loved seeing all of my girls together in one place! I feel very blessed. I was surrounded by an entire lifetime of friends and was so honored that each one of them was going to be standing by me on my big day! I definitely missed Sam, one of my bridesmaids who wasn't able to make it to the wedding as she currently lives out of the country and was not able to get away. Her big day is in May 2010 and I'm so excited that I will be able to be with her as she gets her MRS.

After our rehearsal we made our way to Ric and Carolyn's (my Cousins) house for our rehearsal dinner. We were met with all of our extended family and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. We ordered in Claim Jumper (delish) and Leah and Spencer hosted "The Newlywed Game," where Joey and I and all of the other married couples participated in a laughter-filled game about our 'better halves.' :) Poor Bella (Joey's littlest niece) was feeling ill and so Amber and Tyson left early with her - we missed them!

Saturday was my "day to relax" - ha, right! We went to the beach in the morning/early afternoon to catch a few rays and Joey, Leah, Spencer, our friend Jeff, and a couple of other wedding guests hung out with us for a few hours. The boys had a great time playing football in the ocean and I enjoyed some yummy cheese strips from Jack's while I tried my best to stay out of the sun - no tan lines for Sunday, thankyouverymuch!

Next it was off to the nail salon! What fun to be pampered. I also got to sneak a peak at our flowers for the wedding - g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s; they were absolutely breathtaking. I didn't get to see everything (nor did I want to) but it definitely made me more anxious to see how everything would be displayed the next day!

My Sister had a girl's night out for us planned at The Winery in The District (Irvine). We all got dressed up and waited for our stretch limo to pick us up at the Hyatt in Huntington Beach. It was all spirits for this fun group out on Saturday night. What a blast. Misses, thank you SO much for planning such a wonderful night out - my last "single" night out! After a few sweet text messages from Joey, I finally got comfy and tried to go to sleep...

I didn't sleep a wink that night and woke up to the biggest knot in my stomach. It wasn't nerves or anxiety, it was pure excitement that kept these butterflies in my stomach all day. I was convinced that Joey slept like a little lamb the night before the wedding but after conversations with him, he let out that he didn't sleep either - he was thinking about the wedding and wanted the day to be perfect for me - what a sweetheart.

And so October 18 began...

Gotta Love U2

2009-10-27T16:16:00.005-06:00

Yes, my family was part of the crowd who attended U2 at the Rose Bowl, the fastest selling concert in history (90,000 tickets sold in 40 minutes). Lucky us.

Ever After

2009-10-26T14:36:00.006-06:00

greetings!

The Judkins are finally back in the same state together! After being married a day and a half, Joey left for Utah and I stayed back in California to work and spend time with my family while Joey was spending time with his family hunting. I think it's the most I've ever missed him! I'm very glad to be home.

The wedding was just magical. I am waiting for pictures before writing a post...more to come!

With love,
the judkins

Much on my mind?

2009-10-06T10:10:00.010-06:00

I'd like to say that I'm in full wedding mode right now, but I'm SO not.

Work is BOOMING!, which is great, but it's kept my mind off of wedding things after 5:30pm that I should be focusing on...making a packing list, ensuring all appointments are booked, following up with vendors, the guest count, seating arrangements, etc. etc. etc.

It's gotten to the point where I'm focusing so much on so many things that I'm doing funny things around the house...well, burning my toast to a black crisp is not so funny, but putting Cheerios away in the fridge and not realizing it until lunch? Funny to me!

The one person whole-heartedly keeping me going: Joey. I adore the fact that he can sense when I'm beginning to even slightly stress out and does everything in his will power just to make me laugh, even if that means dancing (and by dancing, I mean continuous pelvic thrusts - haha - see, makes me laugh thinking about it) around the living room. Love that boy.

Well everyone, it's just one more week until we're packing up and heading out on the "road to matrimony" - literally. I can't wait. At this point, it just can't be here quick enough (I'm sure I'll be saying otherwise the Monday morning after we're married...."it's OVER!?!?").

I'll leave you with some pictures from our Wedding Shower a couple of weeks ago with the Judkins fam (thank you Diane for the pictures!). I'm so lucky to be marrying into such a wonderful family!

In less than a month...

2009-09-21T12:56:00.004-06:00

...I'm marrying this cutie pie.

Love you, my high school sweetheart.

Photo taken Joey and my Junior year of high school, courtesy of Beth Brown :)

What My 25th Looked Like

2009-09-02T12:11:00.021-06:00

I had a great birthday weekend, well, birthday month! It was a long celebration, but I enjoyed every minute! The weekend started off with a family beach day in Huntington Beach. Kali and Chad were able to join us and it was really good to see them! My Dad got there early to grab a fire pit and we had lunch, made s'mores, played Scrabble, boogie boarded, and had a wonderful time. The ocean was a perfect temperature, we could have been out there all day!

On Friday Joey and I also got our marriage license! Ahh!! It's getting so close now, I can't believe it! It was a little surreal having to give the courthouse my new last name after October 18...craziness!

Saturday my Sister came up from San Diego and my Mom made us a yummy dinner and I was surprised with a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake (photo to come)! Delicious!

Sunday was my birthday! It was such a celebration. By the end of the day there was a group of 11 of us trekking around Disneyland...we got on every ride..and Joey finally got me on Splash Mountain (I haven't been on it for at least 5 or 6 years). And of course, I got soaked, but not as soaked as my cousin Ric or Chad!

Picture overload time!

The birthday girl! ME!

Birthday breakfast; heck yes I got the Mickey Mouse pancake!

My love dove!

Joey, Me, Kali, & Chad walking RIGHT ON the Haunted Mansion!

Picture with Minnie Mouse!

Joey kicked my trash on Toy Story Mania; I guess my winning days are over!

Which Disney character are you?

Leah was Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast, such a good one!

Kali's evil opposite was Jafar from Aladdin:

Chad's was the Evil Queen from Snow White:

My evil opposite was Captain Hook from Peter Pan...and I'm clearly excited about that!

I think my favorite was that Joey's nice opposite was Dot from Bug's Life...too funny!

Then it was off to draw Minnie Mouse at the Animation Palate!

And at the end of the day, it was my turn to get my picture next to the parking sign...can you find the hidden Mickey on this one?

Thanks for celebrating with me! I hope each year is just as great!

Adventures in Babysitting

2009-08-31T10:31:00.010-06:00

Meet Joey's adorable nieces: Hailey, Leah, and Bella...every so often we get to tend these honeybugs and we just love them so much. We had so much fun doing chalk drawings last week that I had to share some of the pictures from the little artists.

Leah's self portrait (on the left in yellow chalk):

Bella and the butterfly she picked out all the colors for:

Hailey's bird:

And Joey's masterpiece that Hailey and Leah helped finish - it began as a dog, but finished as a "rat"; Hailey wasn't so sure why Joey was drawing "roadkill"...

We also had fun drawing monkeys, turtles, and snails! These girls have some major artistic talent!

Turning 25

2009-08-27T16:30:00.005-06:00

As I fell asleep last night I was thinking about how it felt turning 18, then 21, and now, another milestone, 25...a milestone because I can legally rent a car! Wahoo! Haha, just kidding...but turning a quarter of a century is a really big deal so I'm told!

When my Dad picked me up from the airport yesterday I got the infamous "I remember when you were this big..." line of his as he held his hands about a foot apart, my baby size. Seems like just yesterday, right Dad?

I love reminiscing about being younger, probably because life was grand! Not that it isn't now, but in a more innocent, zero responsibility, wear-yourself-out-so-much-you-fall-asleep-in-your-dinner kind of way (which, by the way, I did a lot).

This is going to be a great birthday. Not only am I lucky enough to be surrounded by family, but I'll give you one guess where I'll be...you got it: Disneyland! Birthdays are the best! They are inevitable, so you best enjoy them!

Now let's just hope I fit into my wedding dress after all the b-day cake I plan to eat this weekend ;)

Happy Birthday Jay & One Year in Utah!

2009-08-15T19:31:00.001-06:00

A couple of milestones today...

A great big Happy Birthday to Joey's Dad, Jay!!! We love August birthdays!!

Also, Joey and I have been back in Utah for a year already! Can't even believe it!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-08-12T12:22:00.003-06:00

Dad's Birthday Checklist:

Surfing with the boys a
Disneyland a
Walt's Wharf date with Mom for lobster dinner a

Happy Birthday Dad!

This is quite possibly one of my favorite pictures of my Mom & Dad...love it so much!

Mallory & Rich

2009-08-05T11:29:00.013-06:00

August 3, 2009

I have known Mallory Comeau since she was {5} years old. What a little darling. Now, all grown up and married to her high school sweetheart, Rich Morrill. What a perfect couple. Here are some photos from the evening at Le Jardin...

The "I Do's"

The stunning Bride & Leah

Sisters!

Best friends since Kindergarten

Cutting the cake!

Candy bar - yum!

Girlfriend's photo

The send-off...happy marriage you two!

Dear Sister

2009-08-02T08:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Sister Day!

{August 2}

I'm excited to see this face tomorrow!

Photo taken on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, 2005

Challenges

2009-07-30T17:56:00.003-06:00

So many things going on right now...some really great, some really horrible...and unfortunately it's really hard to see the good in the balance. Let's just hope things turn around soon to make the next few months easier than the last few weeks have been.

Surf City

2009-07-24T08:37:00.005-06:00

I'm back!

I just spent 12 fun-filled days in California that flew by like the blink of an eye.

The week started off with a memorial for my Dad's cousin who passed away from bone cancer on July 2. It was definitely tough for the family to get through as he was the first of my Dad's generation to pass away. Cousin Mike, you will definitely be missed.

July 11 was my Mom's birthday! We had many surprises for her. First, Spencer flew in with Joey for the weekend. My Mom screamed when she saw the boys (especially Spencer); she was excited to have all of her "kids" in the same house for the weekend...haha. Then we surprised her with a fun outing to the Angels/Yankees baseball game! GO ANGELS! We ended up sweeping the Yankees that weekend. Here's a picture of the "birthday slugger":

To top off the day, we had a yummy dinner at Claim Jumper. And because the Angels scored more than 10 runs that day - free hot wings! Super delish!

Sunday was, you guessed it, DISNEYLAND day! It was sooooo hot, but sooooo fun! I kicked the boys' trash on Toy Story Mania - AND was the high scorer of the day! YES! It helps that I'm kind of amazing at the Ring Toss - that's the only reason I even score any points! Also, you MUST see the new firework show. They are really cute! They are themed to all of the old Disney movies and I loved them!

The next week is a big blur. I worked the whole week, but did take Wednesday off to spend some time with Mom and Dad. Dad took me surfing for my very first time and I caught three waves! I was so stoked. When I had realized that I caught the first wave and was riding it to shore, I looked back at my Dad who was giving me two thumbs up. I felt as though I had ridden my bike for the very first time without my trainers...he was one proud Papa. I can't wait to do it again!

Let's see, what else...OH, saw Harry Potter on Wednesday...it was great. I really need to finish the books...

The weekend landed my Mom and I in SAN DIEGO to see my Misses. We had dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant, then of course, we hit the Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale and I spent way too much money, and then we had girly movie night and watched Confessions of a Shopaholic...very cute flick!

Then it was back to work for a few days and now I'm home!!! See you in a month California for my birthday! Yay!

CALIFORNIA

2009-07-08T21:15:00.006-06:00

Yes! Huntington Beach for almost two whole weeks! Some things I'm looking forward to...

Seeing my fam
Celebrating Mom's birthday
DISNEYLAND
Bike rides by the beach
Dad's home-cooked breakfasts
Mom's home-cooked dinners
Seeing my Cali-friends
Harry Potter movie date with Mom and Dad
{Hopefully} spending a weekend in SD with my Misses

...and much much more!

Father's Day Fun!

2009-06-23T08:44:00.009-06:00

This weekend I flew down to California to surprise my Dad for Father's Day. I flew to San Diego Thursday night to spend a couple days with my lovely Sister and then my Mom "Dad-napped" my Dad and drove him down from Huntington Beach. We had a wonderful dinner at The Marble Room where my Sister works (a MUST go-to - it's incredibly delicious!) on Saturday night and then on Sunday we surprised my Dad with Padres/A's tickets!

As my Mom and Dad left San Diego yesterday my Dad yelled out "Best Father's Day yet!" and my Mom goes "Oh Lance, you say that every year..." Haha, I love my parents. I'm glad my Sister and I didn't disappoint!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Work Anniversary to Me!

2009-06-16T16:20:00.006-06:00

Today marks my 3-year anniversary with BDS Mktg/Channel Partners. I can't believe how fast time flies...that means I graduated from college 3 years ago, from high school 7 years ago, and that I'm turning 25 in August...yikes!

Anyways, cheers to another great year with this awesome company!

P.S. I love that these showed up at my front door tonight; some flowers from the company CEO :)

New York City: Part Deux

2009-06-05T08:33:00.019-06:00

For Part One, click HERE.

Saturday:

Today was my "Bachelorette Day Out" in New York City and it was a blast!

The morning began with a trip to the American Museum of Natural History, a place I had been really looking forward to seeing. I could have spent the entire weekend there! There was so much to look at and learn about. We breezed through the museum looking at everything, but next time I will definitely make a day of it and stop, listen, and learn. Such an awesome place.

Next it was off the matinee showing of "Guys & Dolls" on Broadway at the Nederlander Theater. This is one of my all time favorites. Lauren Graham from "Gilmore Girls" played Adelaide and she was just hilarious. We scored some great tickets at the price of buy one, get one for $7.77 ("lucky sevens"). I wish we could have gotten to more shows, but there just wasn't enough time!

Next it was time to get ready for our night out on the town!

Leah and Katie got me all dressed up:

We went to Carmine's for dinner (I highly recommend the frozen cosmos and Titanic dessert) and then hit a few spots out in Manhattan. I couldn't have asked for a more fun night out!

Sunday:

First stop was the Circle Line cruise down the Hudson River to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The cruise was great! Too bad our tour guide was so offensive (he wouldn't let up on the racial comments throughout the tour).

We then met up with Lauren and went for a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge; the view of the city was breathtaking:

We visited some other landmarks: Ground Zero, Trinity Church, Wall Street, and then had dinner at Cafe Lalo (as seen in You've Got Mail (1998)).

Monday:

Today we left to go back home, but made the most of the morning by visiting the Today Show set and then we took a walk down 42nd street and stopped off at the New York Public Library, Grand Central Station, The Chrysler Building, and the UN. We then took a subway to 86th and Lexington and walked through Central Park and the headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, only to find that it was closed (gives us something to look forward to going back to!), so instead we went to the Museum of Modern Art.

After that we headed back to the airport and flew home! What a great weekend.

Give my regards to Broadway - until we meet again New York!

New York City: Part One

2009-06-02T18:41:00.024-06:00

"New York is awesome!" - Chandler from Friends

For any of you who know my obsession with "Friends," the scene when Chandler comes home after a day of sightseeing in New York with his future adopted babies mother and Monica pretty much explains my entire weekend in the city. It was amazing.

The weekend began with a red eye out Wednesday night. Let me just tell you that I have a new found love for traveling at night. Not only did I not have to waste a day on an airplane, but my body totally adjusted without a hitch!

I flew into JFK where I met up with the other red eye travelers: Leah and Katie.

Our weekend adventure begins... (since I am using this blog as a mechanism for recapturing the weekend's events, I apologize in advance for the novel I am about to write, but I want to remember everything...)

Thursday:

After an hour shuttle ride from JFK to the city, we finally made it to our hotel. Since it was only 7:30am, we quickly dropped off our bags and headed out. We walked up 7th Ave. and came across some familiar landmarks: The Plaza Hotel, The CBS Studios (where we watched Bobby Flay out on the terrace grill up some yummy fish tacos for a spot on The Early Show), Trump Tower, and the LOVE Statue, among other things. We stopped off for breakfast, headed back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes, and then headed off to meet my friend Colleen at RK Bridal to go wedding gown shopping!

Photos: The Plaza, Bobby Flay on "The Early Show," and The Flatotel (where we stayed)

Upon arriving at RK Bridal, I was matched with my wedding consultant for the morning, Olga. She was fantastic! The girls and I picked out five dresses and low and behold, the very first dress I tried on was the one I ended up buying the next day (I had to show my Mom and she flew in Thursday night). My friend Colleen found the dress on the store mannequin (thanks Colleen!!) and it is just perfect...super simple, light-weight material, little detail - just lovely! If you want to see the dress, email me and I'll send you the link on the designers website!

Then it was off to Macy's at Herald Square for some more NYC shopping! What a store. I could have spent the entire day there. We shopped for about two hours and only got through a couple floors! Everything was 40-65% off so we found some major steals! I'd go back to New York for a shopping trip in a second!

We made our first of many trips through Times Square and caught our first glimpse of 5 o'clock traffic in Manhattan.

Later that night we met up with my roommates from Chapman, Amy and Lauren, for dinner and drinks. We went to a restaurant called Vento Trattoria in the Meatpacking District and it was delicious! Definitely a great choice and I would for sure go back there again. Then we stopped off at Bar to grab a beer and watch the end of the Orlando/Cavs game - GO MAGIC!

"Blankets," "Rugs," & "'Curtains" together again:

Friday:

We embodied all sense of the word "tourist" today. First, it was back to RK Bridal to buy my wedding gown. Here is a picture of Olga (consultant) and I:

Then it was off to the Empire State Building!

We met up with friends for a Thirsty Club NYC Friday night out at the Boxcar Lounge on Avenue B and I got to visit with some fellow Chappies who have moved across the US to New York City. It was great to catch up with some of these people who I haven't seen for 2+ years!

Some other places we visited that day: The Guggenheim Museum, Rockefeller Plaza, Park Avenue (where we decided we'd have to live if we ever ended up in New York) and 5th Ave. (more shopping!).

"New York City: Part Two" to come, stay tuned!

"Start Spreading the News..."

2009-05-27T07:19:00.005-06:00

"...I'm leaving today. I want to be a part of it, New York, New York!"

I'm off to The Big Apple!!!

I feel like I have waited for this vacation forever. I'm so excited to get back to my roots, shop, dine, site-see, and just have a absolutely splendid time.

Wish me luck in that I find my wedding dress!

See you in a few days!

Eye-Phobe

2009-05-20T17:27:00.004-06:00

I have been wearing contacts/glasses since I was a freshman in high school. I have a fear of touching my eyes and have always worn my contacts to bed (but since they were higher quality contacts and the kind I could wear for up to 30 days and nights without having to change them, it wasn't supposed to be an issue). My eye doctors would tell me that wearing contacts too frequently would cause them to become dehydrated, so I used artificial tear drops to ensure they would stay hydrated and I never had any eye itchiness, redness, or dryness... my eyes were just fine...

Until...

About two months ago I decided that it would probably behoove me to get into the habit of taking out my contacts every night and cleaning them to give my eyes a rest and to ensure I didn't become exposed to any eye infectious bacteria. Big mistake. Because my eyes have been conditioned to having contacts in and weren't used to the exposure of bacteria from taking contacts in and out, I now have these lovely white dots on my eyes from bacteria that has gotten under my cornea - ugh. Not so much a sight threatening issue, but because of these little white dots I now have "photophobia" which is a major sensitivity to light and my eyes are totally bloodshot.

I'm on these $70 eye drops for 7-10 days to get rid of this bacteria and then you better believe I am going back to wearing my contacts day and night. I can't believe that I was trying to do something good for my eyes and ended up with something so much more dreadful.

I hope one day I will be able to get Lasik to alleviate me from this eye drama. Too bad my pupils are too big and the technology out doesn't put me as being a candidate for laser eye surgery just yet... maybe some day soon...

Daddy Dates...

2009-05-12T14:27:00.003-06:00

...they are just an absolute must. I was lucky enough to have lunch with my Dad today in Park City as he flew in for just a few hours and I was able to steal him away for a bit. I miss him like crazy.

Love you Dad.

To My Mom.

2009-05-10T13:28:00.005-06:00

To a beautiful, gracious, wonderful woman on Mother's Day...

I wish I could be there to spend this day with you. You mean the absolute world to me! We'll celebrate soon and all the girls will be together again (New York!).... having this much fun...

Thank you for all you do and for being YOU. Happy Mother's Day!

Love. Love. Love.

Big Gulps, huh?

2009-05-07T13:16:00.003-06:00

This work week has been anything but easy...but I can't complain because it's job security in these hard economic times where many are struggling just to find work. We've been crazy with new business opportunities and have had two programs over the past two weeks that we have had to ramp up for in less than 48 hours and execute in five days (which we usually work off a two week schedule)...just nuts. Just to put it into perspective, for one of the projects, Joey (who works PT for my company) had to hit up 25 Wal-Marts in SLC; did anyone even know there were 25 Wal-Marts in Utah? Seriously, it's just been crazy.

And poor Joey, I feel like I haven't seen him for the past week because I've been locked up in my office working on spreadsheets. He's been living off microwave chicken and cereal for the past few days... :(

ANYways, yesterday, Joey must have sensed my caffeine deficiency over the phone because he came home with a BIG GULP of Diet Coke just for me. Seriously made my afternoon... yep, it's been that kind of week.

I do have New York City to look forward to though! Three weeks! YESSS.

{1} Year Ago...

2009-05-04T11:07:00.005-06:00

Joey and I got engaged ago one year today.

We had actually picked out the ring a few months prior while in the Carribean on the Disney Cruise with the Judkins family (our engagement and wedding embodies many things Disney - it's kind of our thing and I love that it is).

The anticipation for the next few months was almost unbearable. But I knew he wanted to do it right by speaking with my Mom and Dad prior and doing it in a spot that meant a lot to us.

Then came Sunday, May 4...

We were on our way to Disneyland as we did every Sunday when we lived in California. We never rode the tram into the park and always walked through Downtown Disney. During this walk, however, I was led to the beautiful wedding gazebo at the Disneyland Hotel.

And that's when it happened and Joey popped the question, I said yes, and we were officially engaged.

I don't think I stopped staring at my hand the entire night. We had our engagement dinner at Pizza Port. It was just us and just perfect.

Five and half more months!

Give Yourself a Green Makeover!

2009-04-22T12:27:00.004-06:00

Try some of these simple solutions to be on the path to a greener lifestyle:

If everyone in the U.S. said "no thanks" to ATM receipts, it would save a roll of paper so long it could circle the equator fifteen times.

Change light bulbs from traditional incandescent to compact fluorescent light bulbs. If every American did, it would reduce greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars.

If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 544,000 trees.

Clean your refrigerator coils; the coils hold liquid that cools the air inside the refrigerator. But it takes a lot more energy to cool the refrigerator when the coils are covered with lint and dust.

More than 38 billion water bottles end up in landfills every year, where it takes an average of 700 years before they even begin to decompose. Switching to (filtered) tap water will conserve valuable resources and significantly reduce waste.

Check the tire pressure on your car; correct tire inflation will increase gas mileage and extend the life of your tires.

Turn your computer off at the end of the day.

Recycle.

Change the margins on your printer; the default margins on the documents you print are 1.25 inches on all sides. Simply changing the margins to 0.75 inches will reduce the amount of paper you use by almost 5 percent. It might not seem like a lot, but if everyone in the U.S. made the change, it would save 6,156,000 trees every year.

Pack a waste-free lunch by eliminating plastic bags, disposable containers, paper napkins and plastic utensils from your lunch.

Get the junk out of your trunk! Driving around town with ski gear and a 25-pound bag of dog food in the trunk reduces your gas mileage. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk can reduce your car’s fuel efficiency by up to 2 percent, so take the time to pack the gear in the garage.

Happy Earth Day!

Spring?

2009-04-15T12:25:00.007-06:00

The poor buds on our trees don't know whether to dance or go back to sleep...

Weather, please make up your mind already!

GO JAZZ!

2009-04-14T11:36:00.008-06:00

We may have been the only fans actually watching the Jazz games the last few days, but even with Utah's disappointing losing streak, we were still rootin' for the home team!

We got lucky enough to get tickets to the final home game of the regular season versus the Clippers (a team Joey and I often watched when living in California). Since Joey didn't have a basketball game this week because of Easter, we were able to go and watch our team win one last time before the season was over!

A big thanks to Joey's brother-in-law Tyson for giving us tickets to various games this year! We had a blast! :)

Next up, the PLAYOFFS!

Best homemade sign of the night: "It's okay, we wanted to play the Lakers anyway!" GO JAZZ!

Engagement Pics!

2009-04-06T12:46:00.008-06:00

Joey and I got our engagement photos done by Lindsey Mangum, an amazing photographer here in Utah. We are really happy with the final photos, they turned out great! Thanks Lindsey!

To view Lindsey's blog and her other work, click HERE.

Six and a half more months! :)

Movie Review: Fast & Furious

2009-04-05T16:48:00.006-06:00

I don't know what gave it away that Fast & Furious opened this past weekend... the many souped up Honda civics in the theater parking lot? The undercover cops? Or the loud music and rev'd engines as you drove down State Street?

And you're probably thinking: "you saw F&F opening weekend?" and I say, "opening night."

If you liked the first two movies, you will probably like this one, too. The reason I like it? One man: Paul Walker (how could I not love an HB boy?). The film is supposed to take place between 2 Fast 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift (did anyone see that?). I also heard that Paul Walker's character wasn't written in until the final few drafts, and I'm so glad that change was made.

What I liked the most about this film (other than PW) was the storyline. It wasn't all about the cars and racing, there was some substance to it.

The only disappointment: that there wasn't a Tyrese cameo somewhere in the film. :)

Overall, I give it two thumbs up.

Earth Day Debut

2009-04-01T20:28:00.002-06:00

This looks absolutely amazing.

Busy Busy Birthday Weekend

2009-03-24T11:07:00.013-06:00

Let's catch up with this past weekend's events...

Thursday: Joey and I flew into California late in the evening for a weekend of wedding planning and Disneyland fun (birthday style).

Friday: we met with the first of three photographers for our wedding consultation. We really connected with the photographer and she understood our vision for the day. It definitely gave Joey and I an idea of what we were looking for in a wedding photographer. After meeting with her we spent the rest of the afternoon/evening at Disneyland. It was so great to be back. I was itching to ride Toy Story Mania because we've only been on it a couple times and even though it was an hour wait, it was so worth it! By far one of the most fun and creative interactive rides ever. Joey beat me by only 1,400 points! I was proud of my shooting capabilities considering Joey is the gamer in the family. My cousin Ric and his son Nathan met up with us for dinner and a couple of rides in the evening. My cousin had recently gotten this "Little Known Facts about Disneyland" book so it was fun to learn little bits of facts about Disneyland --- Did you know that Walt Disney didn't like mice? That the skeletons in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride are real cadavers from UCLA? That when the cast members clap as people get off rides it's because they saw them being amorous through their infrared cameras? Bet you didn't!!! :)

Only 1,400 points! Aww, so close!

Saturday: this was a non-stop 8am-midnight day. I got up early to meet with a second photographer and florist in Huntington Beach. I then picked Joey up and we headed to Lake Forest for our cake testing! I wanted Joey to take ownership on this one and our cake is going to be absolutely delicious. We have a different flavor and filling for each layer that will hopefully appeal to everyone. Plus, we also wanted the top layer to be a bit different so we could order it for anniversaries. With that out of the way we headed to Ric's (my cousin) house to have lunch with him and his family. Ric will actually be officiating our ceremony and I'm so excited that his family will be a part of our wedding day. It's really going to personalize the whole day for us, especially having someone marry us that knows us. We're so thankful. After lunch we headed to San Diego for my sister's birthday party! She has the cutest little flat in downtown and it was great to see her place and to meet some of her friends! I wish I could spend more time with her because hanging out with her makes me miss her so much more! Love you Sis!

A pic of the birthday girl and me:

A pic of Leah and Joey getting ready to blow out birthday cupcakes:

Sunday: Joey's birthday! My Dad made Joey and I a yummy pancake breakfast and then we headed off to Disneyland! The weather was a bit iffy in the morning (it rained - yuck), but by the time we arrived to the park it was sunny, just chilly. Since it was Joey's birthday he got $$ from Disney to spend on merchandise. He ended up getting a personalized sketch drawn for him of Uncle Scrooge at the Animation Palate. It will be a great addition to our office. My parents met up with us for dinner and treated us to a great meal over in New Orleans Square. Joey and I ended up staying until almost the park close (we haven't ever done that I don't think). It was a great day!

We parked on Goofy's level; can you find the hidden Mickey among the confetti?

As we were coming down the escalator we saw this - a "real-life" Mater!

Monday: more wedding planning. I met with the third photographer in the morning and then Joey and I headed to Irvine to meet with the DJ company that we are for sure going to use. Then it was off to Strawberry Farms for our food tasting! Yum! Good thing we were hungry because ohmygosh was there a TON of food! I was only expecting to taste the entrees and sides, but they presented us with ALL of the appetizers, three salads, four entrees, and four sides. Everything was delicious, it was so hard to choose! I can't wait to see how it all comes together. We also went over the floor plan and set our rehearsal date. Things are moving along!

Our vacation ended with me forcing Joey to get off the parking tram at the Salt Lake airport a bit too early and we had to walk about 25 rows to get to our car, haha. Oh well. I think I crashed about 10 seconds after my head hit the pillow. I'm exhausted and now need a vacation from my vacation!

Happy 25th Birthday Joe!

2009-03-22T11:04:00.005-06:00

It's my Prince Charming's birthday!

Good thing we were at Disneyland to celebrate!

Love you to pieces, Joey!