Christmas Break

Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break. Zack and I sure did.

I had Christmas Eve off, and that morning I got to do a little catch up with one of my best friends, Mrs. Penny Owens! She was staying in Vegas so I met up with her and her hubby for breakfast. It was so much fun to see her. Love ya Pen!

Zack got off work at 10ish. We packed up and headed north. We made in to Salina for his families tradition of Christmas Eve dinner. It was delish!! We stayed there for a little bit, then headed to Aurora to drop off presents at my house and say hi.

Christmas morning was awesome. We had breadfast with his family and opened up presents.I got alot of socks... Zack is tired of me wearing his :o) Some workout clothes and some perfume that I have wanted since last Christmas!! His parents gave us money a little while ago for our Christmas.... we bought a deep freezer!!! It is such an awesome thing to have. Then we headed to the Hallows residence to open gifts with my fam. My parents went way overboard, like always. We got a card table( the small square ones that come with the folding chairs) And I was so thrilled. Whenever we have friends over for dinner and what not we never have enough chairs. They also gave us a picture of Jesus by Greg Olsen.... and the best part is that it is that on the back it says "To Zack and Victoria.... Greg Olsen" It was signed by him!! I was so excited. It is the most beautiful picture of Jesus, in a beautiful frame. We gots lots of other little things from my parents as well! O and I also got a SUPER CUTE purse from Landon and Sam! Thanks guys!!
Zack was super excited about his Christmas too. He got some shoes he has wanted for a while now, clothes, and other little things. He was so pumped about his shoes, he wanted to wear them all the time. He was way too cute.

The rest of the weekend we just relaxed. Until Saturday that is. Zack woke up and he had the flu!! He was so sick. We were planning on going back home to watch the UFC fight, but he was so sick. Then he got a call from a buddy and he had FREE TICKETS to the FIGHT!!! Zack mysteriously got better... a little bit. We headed to Vegas. We got about to Beaver before he had to get out. He was so dang sick! We made it to the fight just in time to see his favorite fighter get knocked out!!! We even RAN the entire way into the arena. He wanted to see the fight so bad. However he paid for it later. He had a horrible fever! But he was super happy he got to go to a fight.

Thats about it for our weekend. I will have to post pictures a little later.

Merry Christmas

Zack and I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. We leave later today after Zack gets off work for good ol Utah!!! We are so excited to be able to spend the holidays with our families!We hope that you all will be safe this weekend and have a wonderfull Christmas!

Grateful

Two days ago the attorney that I work for asked me to come into his office- I was hoping it could only be good, he seems to like me :o) Well my instincts were right! He asked me if I was interested in going full time, and learning more about the work that I'm already doing. Of course I said yes! The next day the office manager asked me to come into her office. She was sitting there with the main paralegal that works for the attorney. Not only were they offering me a full time job, but a great promotion!! The next day (yesterday) I started my training as a paralegal! I was so excited/scared/nervous/grateful for this opportunity. Most of the paralegals have gone to school and have done paralegal studies, but the firm that I work for is just going to train me on the job!!

After my first two days all I can say is- INFORMATION OVERLOAD!! I work with 4 different clients, and thousands of files! It is going to be such a challenge, but I'm up for it.

Other than that things at the May residence are pretty much normal! Just enjoying this holiday season, and looking forward to spending Christmas with our families. We don't head home until Christmas Eve. However I'm sure that a lot of you will be taking off sooner than that, so we would like to wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Winter Wonderland

It was such a wonderful day yesterday... about 1 in the afternoon it started snowing. SNOWING! At first I thought it would just flurry and then stop, but then it really started to come down. It wasn't sticking to the ground. And I figured it would soon stop. About 6 hours later and 4 inches of snow it finally started to slow down. I think I was the only one who was so excited that I couldn't stop grinning! I blasted my Christmas music and drove home (so glad that drive a 4-wheel drive truck) to a winter wonderland

A Very Merry Christmas from the Men in my Family

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper for sure!! That is one thing that my mom loves, and always goes all out, and I take after her. I love to wrap presents and make them look super snazzy and cute. I love the presentation part of the presents. They look so fun and festive under the tree.
2. Real tree or Artificial? I would prefer a real, but I am allergic to them.... so fake it is :o(
3. When do you put up the tree? The weekend after Thanksgiving. Putting up all the decorations around the house is so much fun!
4. When do you take the tree down? Well, I think it's usually the weekend after Christmas... I can't really remember.
5. Do you like eggnog? Eeewwww YUCK!! NO WAY!!!!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? O goodness, I don't know. I loved all my dolls... I got a doll every year, and I loved them all. In fact I remember the first year I didn't get one, it was kinda shocking!! (I don't know why, I think I had graduated from high school)
7. Hardest person to buy for? Definitely my parents!! I always want it to be so good and special... they are hard to buy for.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Probably Zack, and any of my sister in laws. Girls are always pretty easy to buy for :o)
9. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but I would love to have the Willow Tree nativity. However I must say that the Nativity at my parents was ALWAYS my thing to put up. Under the Nativity was Angel Hair, and no one else wanted to touch it. So I always did, it was my "thing"
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither... we are lame
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't remember a bad gift, "Santa" always did such an amazing job!! I did have a really bad Christmas one year though. It was the year that my brother Landon left on his mission. He left right before Thanksgiving, and so Christmas was especially hard. I was the only one home, and it just wasn't right!!! In fact my parents had to come wake me up.... that never happened, I was always the very first up. Needless to say it was a very Blue Christmas for me, and my parents.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf, definitely!!!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As soon as I can, however I have been a slacker this year!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nopers
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? PULLAPARTS!!!!! MMMMmmmmm they are so dang yummy. They are our traditional Christmas breakfast. We usually don't have them any other time of the year, so it is a very special occasion. They are the yummiest gooiest things EVER! For those of you who have had them before you know what I mean!!
16. Lights on the tree? Of course... and usually clear. All growing up we had a flocked tree with really pretty colored lights, but now its just clear for us!
17. Favorite Christmas song? ALL OF THEM!!!! I don't think there is one that I dislike. In fact from the day after Thanksgiving it's all I have listened to :O)
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We travel, but I'm sure there will come a day when we will stay, but until that day its home sweet home in Utah for me!
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen & Rudolph of course!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Neither this year- We have some really cute bead/garland that I bunched up and stuck on top... it sounds weird I know but it actually looks really cute!
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Usually one on Christmas Eve (PJs) and the rest bright and early on Christmas morning.... I love that feeling of waking up having fun surprises. And I love the surprise part of it!! I hate knowing ANYTHING I am going to get.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? All the people, they seem to forget that we are celebrating our Savior's birth... Most people seem to be in such a rush, and so RUDE!!!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? This year it is lime green and red... traditional and a little funky. I bought some awesome ornaments from Costco.... they are so much fun.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We usually have turkey, ham and all the fixins. We meet at Grandma and Grandpa Sorensons for lunch. It is great to get the whole family together. Even better cuz there is lots and lots of super yummy food.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I already have my Christmas. Our couch and table is good for us. It is such a wonderful gift to ourselves! It makes our home feel so much more like a home... exactly what I wanted for Christmas. The other thing I want and will get as well is to be with my family. I love being able to spend time with family... there is no better feeling in the whole entire world!
26. What do you like most about Christmas? EVERYTHING! The smells, decorations, food, treats, family, friends, music... the list goes on and on. I am very excited for our first Christmas together... This will be the 6th Christmas since we have started dating, and they keep getting better and better.
27. What are your traditions for Christmas? O goodness, where do I begin. With my mom's side of the family we do a lot... They usually do a family home evening with the entire family, and pick a family in the town that needs a little help during the holiday season. We also have a Sorenson Family Christmas Party, and it's a blast. We eat, of course, Santa stops by, we do white elephant gifts, and play some games. IT ROCKS! We also have a Christmas Eve party. Another tradition I'm going to miss this year is wrapping presents with my mom. We would get lost for hours wrapping presents. It has always been something I look forward to. There are many more, I just don't want this to be too long :o)
28. Favorite memory of Christmas? I think being a young girl and knowing that Santa had visited. All the kids would go into my parents room and get them up. Then dad would go into the living room and turn all the lights on and get everything ready. He would always come in the room and say "Sorry, Santa must have forgot you this year" Then we would say a family prayer and line up youngest to oldest and head out to the living room.... the anticipation would kill me!
29. What is your favorite Christmas activity? Napping.... aahhhhh the holidays!!
30. Name the people you want to TAG to join in the Christmas Memory Lane?! Mistie, Shauna, Marie, Chelo, Amanda, Trisha, Tatum, Penny, Clarissa, and anyone else that wants to join in. Do it, its lots of fun!

Christmas came early......

Christmas came a little early at the May residence this year! And we are so excited to have it here. We finally got the couch we wanted, and it is just perfect. We also had our friend Jordan make us this beautiful table for out entryway. All of it is exactly what we have been looking and waiting for- and we finally have the home we have been dreaming of :o)

This is the table.... we love it!

This is our new couch, newly painted walls, and out Christmas decorations. We love being in this room now!

Another pic of the couch- It fits perfectly, and its pretty dang comfy!

This is just a cute pic of my hubby. Relaxing at my parents house.

I had decided one night after we went to the movie with some friends to start painting... It was a Tuesday night at about 7:30!!! Zack wasn't very excited!! I had promised that after we painted the kitchen in the middle of the week that I would never start a project during the week again. Well, a few days later I started to repaint the living room. It was pretty late, and all Zack wanted was to go to sleep... I came downstairs to this.... SLEEP!!!!!!! He is very subtle :o)

Our wonderful weekend

Thanksgiving weekend was so awesome for us. We were lucky enough to get to go home :o) We were there all weekend, and had a blast the entire time!! We had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner (we both got so full that it was almost impossible to move afterwards...) Friday morning my mom and I got up at 3 to be in Richfield for the big sales. We had so much fun, and always do! Friday night we went to Ephriam with both our parents and went to the best Chinese restaurant ever, and saw 4 Christmas'. Saturday My dad brother and Zack went coyote hunting. Then we put up Christmas at my parents house and played Spankie.... and not spankie in a dirty way. It is an awesome card game!! We had lots of fun. Well, that pretty much sums up out weekend. It was so much fun going home, and it will be great going home again for Christmas. We just love our families so much, and LOVE spending time with them.

Zack and I with my parents at our Thanksgiving dinner... Yes it's at the church. We have so many family members that come that we had to go to the church, it is AWESOME!!

My cousins Melissa, Shauna, Amanda and me. We were "hiding" in the basement of the chuch trying to get out of cleanin up.... Mostly just hanging out. No one even noticed we were missing.

This is my silly mom and her silly twin cleaning up after dinner. They are so dang funny when they get together.... wait a second my whole family is hilarious when we all get together. LOVE THEM ALL

The boys before the big hunt. It was too early for Zack to pull faces... And well, the other two are just flat out CrAzY. You can see it in their eyes :o) lol

This is how our weekend ended. We were all "watching" Baby Mamma. I started getting things packed and when I came back in they were all lounged out.

Gobble Gobble

Zack and I want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving weekend. Please be safe in all your travels and enjoy the time you get to spend with family and loved ones. We are all so blessed to have special people in our lives. We love you all!!

This and That...

I just wanted to give a little blurp about whats going on in our life, and what has gone on. Well we went to see Twilight.... yes I said WE!!! Zack was such a good sport and came with me. Him and the other 2 husbands that got conned into coming. We had fun, and he seemed to semi enjoy it. I on the other hand had a few issues with the movie. I'm not going to go into it, because it was expected. Movies can never compare to the books!!! Although I will say some of the acting was a little over done (Jasper?? and Edwards face- it seemed like he had a dirty diaper under his nose the whole time, and Bella's weird ticks) Anyway we saw it and enjoyed it, and and can't wait for the next one.

I am getting so excited to go back home for the holidays. It has been a few months since I have seen my family, and it is very past due! I am so grateful for my family and can't wait to spend some time with them. I never imagined that at 23 years old I would be home sick... but I am. And the closer it gets to the holidays the harder it gets to be away from what I am used to. However I do have to say that Zack is so great and is so amazing when I have my moments.

Other than the holidays we have a few other things we are looking forward too!! The Monday after Thanksgiving we get our new couch.... yeeeehaaaaaa :o) We are so excited. We also are getting our entry table that we had Zack's really good friend Jordan make for us. He custom made the table, and from what I have seen so far it is going to be BEAUTIFUL. We are slowly getting out home finished with the little touches that really make it feel like HOME!

That's all from the super warm south.... Utah and the cold here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the time you get to spend with your family.

WE ARE FINISHED

Well, the painting is finally finished. YIPEE SKIPEE!!!!! It has been 3 weeks worth of project after project, and we are officially done. We also got a couch...WoooHoooo :o) Well, we kinda have a couch- It's paid for but we don't get it until December. Merry Christmas to us!!!!! I would post pics of our newly repainted living room, but not yet :o)

Also, I have been getting so excited for Christmas the past few days. But I have very strict rules about actually celebrating Christmas--- NO CHRISTMAS UNTIL THANKSGIVING IS OVER--- I love the build up and the anticipation of the Christmas season, but it's just not right to get out the tree,the music, stockings, and all the super yummy Christmas treats until after the gobble-gobble is safely tucked away in my tummy!! One disclaimer-- It is totally acceptable to buy Christmas presents day 1 of the new year. Nothing like being prepared so the holiday season is stress free and enjoyable!!! I hope all of you are having a wonderful fall.

THE KITCHEN

The top picture is the only pic I have of what it looked like before. Well, with the exception of the the cabinets that we started on. I am so excited with how it turned out. We still have a few things to do ( new light fixtures, lights under the cabinet and some day stainless steel appliances) Some day :o) I hope you all like it as much as we do!!

RED... and a sigh of relief!!

I thought I would post before work to tell you all (well those of you that are interested) that the kitchen is complete!!! And honestly, I LOVE IT!!!!!! I think I freaked out a couple nights ago because it was the first coat.... and it was blotchy and patchy and not very appealing. But after 2 coats last night and getting the cabinet doors back on it looked AWESOME! It still isn't put back together- we are waiting for the paint to dry- but I will put some pics up :o)

And I also have to say THANK YOU to my wonderful hubby for working so hard to get this done with me. I couldn't have done any of this without him. He is just so wonderful!!! And for putting up with my freaking out and crying yesterday (that was before we started painting again and both realized it was going to look exactly how we wanted) And also a big thanks to my Mom- she helped calm me down quite a bit yesterday as well.... LOVE YA BOTH

O and one more person to thank.... that would be my dad. He is the one who taught me how to paint edges without taping!!!! Thanks Dad :o) LOVE YOU TOO

Red all the way!!!!

Even though one of the most historic elections just took place, I am not talking about "red" as a political view. I am talking about my new kitchen. And as I looked around at my newly painted kitchen I said to myself "O TORI WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!?!?!?" We have spent since last Friday painting. We did our kitchen cabinets over the weekend, and I thought I might as well finish the project and paint the kitchen while it is all tore apart. And we had decided a while ago that we were going to paint it RED. Well, its a tiny little kitchen with horrible lighting, and the red makes it look (even though it is hard to imagine) smaller and darker! WHAT DID I DO? So I am calling it a night and hoping that one more coat tomorrow night will do the trick and I will magically be in love with my new mistake. Yikes is all I have to say. If I don't cry too many tears over this I may post pics on the blog.

Tag- Lucky 7s and Crazy 8s

LUCKY 7'S
7 Things I Can Do...
1. Bake
2. Touch my nose with my tongue
3. Decorate
4. Merge (at work)
5. Still wear shorts and a t-shirt comfortably
6. Shop.... Christmas is just around the corner!!!
7. Clean

7 Things I Cannot Do...
1. Keep the closet clean and organized
2. I cannot stop loving Zack.....
3. BBQ chicken, I leave that one to Zack cuz he is a pro!!!
4. Run... I hate running
5. Wait to go home for the holidays
6. Play any kind of musical instrument
7. Keep track of my keys

7 Things That Attracted me to Zack
1. His crooked smile :o) I love that smile
2. He is so strong willed... I wish I had that kind of will power
3. He o-so-sexy back side ;o)
4. He is so cute with the kids in Nursery!!! I love it (o by the way we are the Nursery Leaders :o)
5. How he loves me
6. He can always make me laugh. ALWAYS
7. He is VERY patient

7 Things I say Most Often...
1. "Hey Babe"
2. "Good morning/afternoon, Law office"
3. "Hi Mom"
4. "Love you"
5. "Is it 5 already..... ugh"
6. "What do you want to eat"
7. "Lover!?!?!?"

7 Admirations
1. Zack
2. Mom
3. Dad
4. Cindee
5. Landon
6. Uncle Warren
7. Sam

7 Favorite Foods...
1. Sloppy Joes... I love them
2. Chicken Pot Pie
3. I love any really good fruit... you know when it is in season
4. Chocolate
5. Chocolate... lol
6. Zack's BBQ chicken
7. A really good pork roast with all the fixins'


CRAZY 8'S
8 TV Shows I Like To Watch...
1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8...... We don't have cable

8 Things That Happened Yesterday...
1. I made a batch of sugar cookies
2. I found weevil in my brand new bag of flour.... don't worry I didn't use it
3. Watched 20 children in nursery.... and that was a slow day
4. Laughed so hard I couldn't sing the songs in singing time.... kids are so dang funny!!!!
5. Made 2 different kinds of icing for the cookies
6. Watched My Name is Earl on DVD
7. Decorated cookies :o)
8. Hmmmm..... Ate a cookie, or two


8 Favorite Places To Eat...
1. Sushi Mon
2. Cafe Rio
3. Bajios
4. Our house
5. Lefty's Pizza
6. In & Out Burger
7. Capriotti's
8. Claim Jumper

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To...
1. Painting the cabinets this weekend
2. Painting the living room, again
3. Getting a couch!
4. Becoming a mom (not any time soon though)
5. The Holidays in Utah
6. Spending the rest of eternity with Zack
7. Getting some sleep!!!
8. The holidays in general.... I love CHRISTMAS

8 Things On My Wish List...
1. Um, a new couch
2. A Mini Cooper, or a smart car!!!
3. Some new clothes
4. For 15 lbs to just disappear
5. Snow
6. Did I mention a new couch
7. To finish up decorating the house
8. A house that NEVER gets messy, and is always mysteriously clean :o)

8 People I Tag...
1. Mistie
2. Amanda
3. Shauna
4. Penny
5. Chels
6. Clarissa
7. Trish
8. Chelo

Sugar Cookies.... BOO

For those of you who know me at all- you know that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO MAKE & DECORATE SUGAR COOKIES!!! I made 2 batches of cookies and then the girls came over to decorate. While we were busy being creative the boys were playing (can you guess) guitar hero. :o) We had a lot of fun. These are a few of my favorites. The "ghost" turned out to just look like a monster off of Monster's Inc. He is silly looking, and missing an arm. O and they were super tasty!

These were just a few of them that I did.... there was about 75 cookies that we decorated. Our house looked like a bakery.... YUMMY

And they're off :o(

This morning my cousin Mistie, her husband Ryan, their two absolutely adorable boys Daniel and Logan, and my Aunt Correen left to go back to Oregon. They got here yesterday and we got to spend the entire afternoon together. I was so happy to see them and have them stay with us. When they got here we took off to Famous Daves for a little BBQ dinner. After dinner we came back to the house and watched their 4 year old Daniel ROCK OUT on Guitar Hero. I couldn't believe how good he was, and how his little fingers could move. In fact I have never seen a small child so interested in music. The second he walked in the door he had his ipod on and singin away. It was so dang cute. Then he made his way upstairs to play on the drums! Zack has a new little buddy! And their little one Logan is the smiliest baby I have ever seen! It was such a fun night. I really enjoyed the girl time I got to spend with Mis and Correen- It was definatly needed. I am so grateful for my family and the love we all share. It was so good to see all of them. I hope that I get to see them all again soon. Love you guys and thanks for staying with us!

O and 1 more

There is one more person that I forgot earlier today… and that is my sister Sam!!! Ok she is actually my sister-in-law but none the less, still my sister. I had such a great time with her and my brother last spring right before I moved back to Aurora. She is such a great person and I love having her around. Not only that but she makes my brother Landon so happy. I love them both tons. (o: I can’t wait for you to visit in December. I’m counting down the days…. 75 :o)

To the people in my life

I have always been so blessed with such a great family. I am now blessed with an amazing husband! And lately I have realized that I have great friends that have come into my life unexpectedly. I have had a hard time not being around my family down here in Vegas, as well as the really good friends that I have made the last year or so. But lately that void has been filled with some great friends that we have met down here. I still miss my family, especially that the holidays are right around the corner. But Utah is really only a few hours away. I have been thinking about the people in my life that make it absolutely wonderful, and wanted to thank them.... Zack- I love you. my parents- I miss you every day. Miranda- I can't wait to see you again. Shawn and Steph- thanks for everything you do. Carolyn- I miss our breaks and great talks. LOVE YOU ALL

Tagged... Who I Am

It's who I am ....

I am... just starting my eternal life with my best friend.
I Want.... to finish the basement… couch, paint, decorations, the whole works
I Have.... The most amazing husband ever.
I Wish..... that owning a home right now wasn’t so dang scary.
I Hate... spiders!!!!!!!!!!!
I Fear... That some day there will be some major earth shift and I wont be able to get to my family in Utah and I will be stuck in Vegas.
I Hear.... A beautiful song playing on my computer, the fan running, and people driving by.
I Search... for things I have that I can share with others.
I Always... get up and make Zack breakfast and get his lunch ready. He is such a hard worker it’s the least I can do.
I Usually... fall back to sleep after he is gone. :o)
I Am Not... used to 100 degree weather in September/October. I miss Utah in the fall.
I Dance... Whenever I get the chance. I love to dance!
I Sing... a little bit, but not as much as my hubby. He is a singing maniac
I Never... want to know what its like to lose a loved one. I want them around forever.
I Rarely... go a day without speaking to my best friend, my mom. (best friend besides Zack of course)
I Cry... In movies, church, thinking of the holidays not in Utah, at sad stories on TV. I cry way too much. But I can’t help it- its just who I am.
I am Not Always... on the ball… keeping up with life can be difficult.
I Lose... Nothing. Exercise or no exercise!! HOW FRUSTRATING
I'm Confused... With the economy, government, and how the “greatest nation” has got into such a mess!!! Anybody??
I Need... More hours in the day
I Should... Go change the laundry- it’s a never-ending process.
I Dream... wierd crazy dreams EVERY NIGHT!! And I remember every single one. I should write a book about all my crazy dreams. I'm sure you would all get a good laugh.

I tag Amanda, Mistie, Shauna, Crissie and Trish

Zack's Birthday and Birthday Party

Wednesday was my wonderful Hubby's 24th Birthday. I was so excited to go ALL OUT!!! He is such an amazing husband and I love him so much. And I wanted him to have a birthday he would never forget. I left his presents out in the garage so right when he got home he would see them. I got him a tool box for his new work bench that he built in the garage.

This is the work bench he worked so hard on. And of course the tool box that he LOVES
This is what our house looked like on the inside. I got home about 30 min before him and I was on a dead run trying to get everything done. I was blowing up balloons so fast that when I was tying them I gouged the skin off my finger. I hung up banners everywhere and I printed up a bunch of little happy birthday's on the computer and put them EVERYWHERE... he got a kick out of it.
He wanted German Chocolate Cake for his birthday, but he wanted it for his birthday party on Saturday. So I decided to hurry and whip up some cupcakes so he could blow out his candle and make a wish.
This was the PaRtY!!! We had some friends of ours come over for a BBQ and some guitar hero - Shawn and his wife Stephanie on the left and Drew and Lokae on the right.

My baby ROKIN out. We had so much fun... in fact we almost passed off a whole level. Don't worry, we wont let the stardom go to our heads.... lol

Our friends Max and Faith.... she was loving the G.H.

Our friends Drew and Lokae's little girl McKayla... she was most of the entertainment :o)

I DECLARE

The "I DECLARE" This is an eclair. Just one!!!! When we went shopping on Wednesday we ate at the Claim Jumper and this was dessert. There is ice cream on the bottom, then the eclair that is filled with Bavarian cream, hot fudge on top and surrounded with whip cream. And don't worry there are only a few calories :o) It fed all 4 of us, the boys even had seconds. Thanks Nathan and Tana it was a blast! This last week has been really fun for us.... Nathan and Tana came down for the Kids Expo and were here for almost a week. It was great to have them down here... I was really starting to miss my family and having them around was good for me. We ended up spending quite a but of time with them. We helped them set up on Saturday-Went to The Cheesecake Factory Monday- The Temple on Tuesday- We went bumming with them at Town Square (the best shopping place EVER) and them helped them load up on Thursday. We had a lot of fun with them- we wish we could see them more, and the kids too. But what little time we were able to be together was fun. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family. I miss them all SO SO SO SO SO much. Love you all

To Paint or Not to Paint

So here is my dilemma- We just got through painting as you can see… However I think I want to paint a different color already!! Not the whole thing just maybe an accent wall, or two!! Zack is so not excited! In fact I am pretty sure that if I do decide to go through with this I will be on my own.

This is why I want to paint a new color already- The original plan was that we were going to do the walls very neutral because we were wanted a RED sectional. We didn’t want to have too much going on because a red sectional was going to be enough color for our fairly small living room. The other dominant color is black, which can be very heavy so we wanted to keep the walls neutral. Well, we cannot find a red sectional that will fit in our living room, and that is in our price range. We have looked high and low and we have found a few but there is always one thing wrong- the color, the price, the size….YIKES and the list goes on and on. So I decided that maybe we should get a sectional that is a neutral color and add the red in as an accent color. I don’t want a beige couch with beige walls- HOW BORING!!! So I thought I would add some color on the walls. I was thinking a really bold and fun color- but Zack isn’t having it. We are going to pain the kitchen red so I don’t want the living room to be red as well. I was thinking a dark grey/blue color but Zack said “No, please” So this is my dilemma….. Decorating with a man is hard to do.

The Paint Project!!!

So Labor Day weekend Zack and I finally got our basement painted. He said his final goodbye to his bachelor pad as we painted over the "sunburst" walls. We were both so excited and ready for this change. We have big plans for the house and this is just phase #1. We only painted the basement- upstairs is phase #2 the kitchen walls and cupboards are phase #3 and getting it all furnished is phase #4. We are starting out with the cheapest projects- the paint. We had such a fun, and long, weekend painting but it has been so worth it. We finally have the beginnings of a home!!

The "sunburst" wall. It was fun to play "find the ......." the paint was so crazy it was like looking at the big fluffly clouds and making objects out of the shapes.

This was such a pain... we had to prime it and then paint it. It was quite the project.
Our first strokes of the color. This is what we called "the cave" it is a little doorway that leads to the garage.
ALL TUCKERED OUT!!! Zack did the hardest part of it all... the small bathroom. He was laying down trying to get around all the pipes and what not behind the toilet.

The finished project.... This was the very first thing we hung back up. Yay
The entry way to our house
The living room. As you can see there are still remnants of a bachelor pad, but it looks a million times better not having the crazy walls. We are looking very hard to find the perfect furniture to go in our new house... that in itself is a huge project.

This is our little bathroom.... the mirror is our favorite. Zack's really good friend Jordan made this mirror for us for our wedding gift. It is such a beautiful mirror. And it went perfect in this little bathroom.

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

So Zack and I LOVE to watch UFC and PRIDE fighting. In fact we occasionally try to have our own matches in our make-shift octagon.... aka the bed!! Its soft and bouncy and its better than the floor because we don't get carpet burns. Well last night Zack had me in a leg bar and I get enough leverage from the side of the bed and I flipped him off... Well mid air in the flip he smacked his head on the corner of the base of the bed. I was laughing and thought I was so great cuz I flipped him off. Well then I saw the look on his face...... PAIN!! I freaked out and moved his hand that was holding his head afraid we were going to have to make a emergency room run. Well needless to say he is a pretty tough guy with an extremely hard head. He only ended up with a goose-egg. I felt so bad that I couldn't help cry... I decided after last night NO MORE MONKEYS PLAYING UFC ON THE BED!!!!!

SweetPea Baby, Deliciously chic, funky & fabulous baby essentials!

SweetPea Baby, Deliciously chic, funky & fabulous baby essentials!

Tatum just asked me if my brother and sister in law still had their baby jewelry line.... i thought this would be a good time to give a shout out to them and their new adorable baby line. They still do the jewelry but they have also added blankets (woobies) burp rags, binkie clips and onsies. If you want to check it out go to http://www.sweatpeababy.com If you go to the about section on their page you will see my niece Lindsay- she was the whole idea for "My Little Sweetpea" and my nephew Jackson. They are just so dang cute- I sure do miss them. Anyway I hope you all check them out. They have adorable jewelry for little princesses and new cute stuff for boys and girls too.

the search is OVER

So I need to give a little update.... I GOT A JOB TODAY. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for this. Yesterday Zack and I fasted specifically for 2 things- for his mom to get better as she is in her 2nd week of radiation and is in Salt Lake during the weeks. She has radiation treatments EVERY DAY. And if that isn't hard enough she is also in rehab from her brain surgery (that has nothing to do with her cancer) and is still trying to relearn her motor skills. She is such a strong person and has the best outlook on her situation. I have never seen anyone smile and joke around when daily tasks such as writing, walking, talking and seeing (she has double vision from her surgery) as her. She is just simply AMAZING. We were also fasting that I would find a job soon. Well, I'm sure as you all know God did an amazing job and presented me with an amazing opportunity. I was hired today at a Law firm. It is only part time for now- 30 hours a week- but if I do well can become full time. It is just 10 min away from our home which in itself is a blessing. That way I don't have to drive an hour to work everyday like Zack saving us so much on gas $$. And another thing is that it is just Monday-Friday. I wanted to find a job where I could have weekends to spend with my wonderful Hubby!!!! I am just so grateful for everything that has happened and for the spirit I have felt today. I have just wanted to cry ever since I got back home. And I am very grateful for my mom's boss... she is a lot of the reason I got my job!! Anyhow I just wanted to let you all know that the search is over.

Wedding Day this&that

Here are some fun things that happened the day of the wedding, and just some really cute pictures. We had so much fun taking pictures and doing different things. And our photographer was so good to do whatever we wanted. And thanks to my fun family we got some GREAT shots



For those of you who know Zack and I really well this is where it all started... in his 72!! The first time we ever "hung out" was in the 72. I was on a mission to find some cereal and he said he had the kind i wanted. So I went with him. We ended up riding around for HOURS that night. That was the summer before our senior year.

Zack's Family- Cheltz, Don, Stanley, Lacey, Tori & Zack, Zeb

My family- Sammy & Landon, Mom & Dad, the little guys Austin & Jackson, Tori & Zack, Rhett & Shauna, their girls Alex & Kiara, Nathan & Tana, their girls Kaitlyn & Lindsay

My Brothers- Landon Rhett and Nathan... And my hubby :o) Aren't they just so cute. We laughed a lot that day. It was all just so much fun. I know some girls say they wish they would have just skipped the whole reception but I would do it again!! It was amazing how many people were there to help and because of them we had the most amazing day.

They just wanted to prove how strong they are.... MEN!!!! And just so you know Nathan is 6'5" So i'm up in the air 7+ feet. They are just Crazy!!! But I love them

My oldest niece Alex caught the bouquet... she is only 15 so lets hope she's not the next to get married...

He is a very happy man right now!!!!!
He was nice enough to only get a little tiny bit on my nose... and then he was even sucked it off!!! What a good man :o)
We decided that we wanted to have fun with the little kids on the tramp!!! He bounced me SO HIGH!!! I was the flying bride. Our first dance
Zack and his mom dancing and me and my dad. I love this picture of Zack and his mom... I think that it is pricelessMe and my daddy... It was such an emotional moment for me. It was really only the second time I cried that whole day. My dad is such an amazing man and I am so lucky to have him. We danced to Butterfly Kisses... and my dad sang to me. I am his baby and his princess.... and I really felt like it that day. This is how my day ended.... holding on to my daddy and crying. Along with the rest of the day- I will never forget this moment. Love you Daddy