1/4 of a century

To my wonderful hubby….

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Yes it is true today is my wonderful Hubby’s Birthday… he is officially one quarter of a century old! :O) Wow, where did time go… I swear yesterday we were just 18 and high school sweethearts! Even though he will never read this, I just want to tell him he is the bestest in the westest! He is so good to me, such a hard worker, and makes me laugh EVERY SINGLE DAY! I am pretty sure I tell him he is crazy at least 25 times a day…. Cuz he is cRaZy!! And I love him for that! I hope you have a wonderful Birthday babe… you deserve it!

Just one of those Days....

Why is it that Satan works in such tricky ways?? I have had a lot on my mind lately, and so has Zack. So we decided that a trip to the temple was needed. We have many questions, and have spent many days praying for help. So what better help than to be close to our Heavenly Father? And then it happens…. I have a HORRIBLE day at work. Things happened that made me think and even speak not so nice words. And as I was thinking about the events that transpired at work, and my reactions to what had happened… it hit me! Of course it happens today! Satan is so tricky. It is the small things like this that make it hard to feel the spirit, and to be a good person! We are tested! So I sit here, taking deep breaths, trying not to let what happened at work affect me so emotionally that I cannot control the thoughts that were raging inside as my blood was boiling. And I am grateful that we are all human, and we all have these moments. And grateful that our Heavenly Father understands that we are only human! The blood has cooled, and the thoughts are a little more humane! Good thing work is almost over :O)



O and PS.... I'm an aunt to a BEAUTIFUL Summer Gracie :O) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Yesterday... Takes the Cake!

A friend of mine at work had a baby shower yesterday, and her mom had asked me to make a cake for the shower. I was so excited, because I love to bake. And I am always looking for a reason to make something sweet :O) My good friend Loke graciously offered to help me make the cake. I was so excited because we always have so much fun together, and I am always grateful for another person's opinion. Well, Friday night we started our adventure (it was the first time either of us had attempted to use fondant and the first time either of us had tried to tackle a two tiered cake) Well, after 8 hours of hard work we were done....

This is the cake minus the cute umbrella on the top because it still wasn't dry

These are the super cute 3-D flowers that Loke made out of the fondant

We were both so excited because for first timers we thought we had done a pretty good job. We went to sleep very satisfied with ourselves!

Then at 8 am Saturday morning I got a phone call.... Loke?

Groggy and a little incoherent ( the phone call woke me up) I can hear the uneasiness in Loke's voice. "Tori you will never believe what happened! I woke up this morning and McKayla -her 4 year old daughter- snitched in the cake. I need you over here for damage control!"

I was still trying to wake up, and was a little unsure if I heard her correctly. We talked for a minute, and I was on my way back over to her house. We kept the cake there because I didn't want to try and transport the cake from her house to mine all by myself and at 2 in the morning. With my tool box (cake decorating supplies) and Kitchen Aid in hand I walked into the house. Loke answered the door with tears in her eyes, apologizing for what happened. I really didn't think it could be that bad!! Her daughter is the best behaved 4 year old I know!!! I was assuming she stuck her little fingers in the icing to take a little taste... totally fixable, right? So I went into the kitchen, reluctantly, afraid of what could have really happened. And this is what I saw..........

This is the picture after I had started "Operation Fix Baby Cake" I took off all of the fondant pieces and the green dot borders before I realized I should take a picture... eventually I would laugh about this, right? She had taken about 4 big chunks out of the cake just like this one, a few smaller ones, and added some extra fondant dots and flowers. We had also made some cupcakes to go on a cute cupcake stand. She had managed to touch every single one of those as well. How, I have no idea. She is always so eager to help whenever we get together to do little projects, and I have a feeling she thought she was just trying to help on this one as well.

Well after another 3 hours of adding another layer of frosting, and adding the decoration back on we ended up with this......

Not too bad, eh?!?! I can't tell you how happy I was that we were able to fix the cake. And how glad I am that Loke was able to help! We learned a few lessons tho...

1. Keep cakes (no matter how well behaved your children are) up up up and away! Those little fingers, and adoring eyes can't help but "snich" a little taste

2. Frosting can do, and cover, about anything!

3. After all is said and done, you will laugh about what happened :O)

ITS FRIDAY

ITS FRIDAY!!!!!! WOW THIS HAS BEEN THE LONGEST WEEK EVER!

hope you all have a great weekend :O)

Baby Shower and Family Fun

This last weekend Zack and I were able to go to Aurora.... ah Home Sweet Home!! We had a baby shower for my sis-in-law Sam and Baby Summer (hopefully she gets here soon! Can't wait to meet her:O) It was so nice to be home. And even better because I could feel the start of fall in the air. It was wonderful. Here are a few pics from Saturday. We were able to have almost our whole fam together. We were only missing Landon, who was driving back to Utah from D.C, and Alex, she was in SLC doing some soccer stuff. And it was so nice for us all to be together. We had a great time.

This is Sam and the nieces hands on her cute belly. We are all so excited to meet Summer (she is due to be here in about 3 weeks... we hope it is sooner)

The Girls with Sam again

Of course we ate... its just what we do. Nathan is pretty good at it too!

Like father... like son! Austin was going to town on the corn. He told Zack "The corn is the best part!" I think he ate 2 or 3 ears of corn without touching his burger.

Zack and Lindsay... They were twinners in PINK :O)


We played a mean game of kick ball. All the girls played without our shoes on.. and we paid for it. We all had huge red welts on our feet. It sure was fun tho!

The Boys playin a little kick ball. I think my favorite part about this is just the green grass... I could have just sat on the grass forever.

All the girls, - Alex~ Sammy, Lindsay, Me, Shauna, Tana, Mom, Kiara, Kaitlyn


All the Boys, - Landon~ Zack, Nathan, Rhett, Dad, Jackson, Austin

3's of You Tag!

You've been tagged; so you are supposed to fill in the 3's of You.
At the end, choose 3 people to be tagged.
If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. Have fun!

Three names I go by:
1. Victoria
2. Tori
3. Sis

Three jobs I have had in my life:
1. Paralegal for KSSJ Attorneys
2. Turkey Plant... need I say more! YUCK!!
3. Cal Ranch.... wootwoot

Three places I have lived
1. Aurora, Ut
2. Cedar City, Ut
3. Las Vegas, NV

Three favorite Drinks:
1. H2O
2. Diet Mt. Dew
3. Hot Chocolate

Three TV shows that I watch:
We don't have cable... No TV for me, happily :O)

Three top places I have been:
1. Cancun
2. St. Thomas/St. Maarten/Bahamas
3. Aurora, Ut... LOVE that place

Three of my favorite restaurants:
1. Sushi Mon
2. Cafe Rio
3. Big Island Bouba... shave ice baby!!

Three things I'm looking forward to:
1. Having a few kiddos :O)
2. Going back to school to be an esthetician
3. Maybe some day moving back to Utah... doubt it will happen but I can wish, right?

Three people I tag:
1. Monica
2. Melanie
3. Chelo

O HOW I LOVE THEE....

I have always enjoyed a good snow cone, or shave ice. But this last weekend I was able to have THE BEST SHAVE ICE EVER. I had been craving a shave ice for the last week or so. I asked everyone I knew if they knew of a good place to get a shave ice. Well, I remembered that while driving down Eastern I had seen a little shop that had shave ice. So we invited our friends Drew and Loke to come with us. Loke is from Hawaii and grew up having shave ice. And it was a good thing she came because she told me the best way to get my shave ice. At first, I will admit, I was a little sceptic. I was just used to some good ice with the wonderful flavored syrup. But I was turned on to a whole new treat... you ready for this? Shave ice (with tigers blood syrup- its my fave), vanilla ice cream in the middle with sweetened condensed milk drizzled on top. Who would have thought?? But let me just tell you... it was AMAZING! And it was GINORMOUS!!!!! It took both Zack and I to finish the treat off. Don't worry we didn't let any waste :O) I wish I had my camera so you could see how wonderfully delicious this sweet cold treat was. Don't worry, I will be going again. And I will take pics I promise!



This is just a pic I found that was similar to what I had... but the one I had was at least twice as big :O)

Hallows Family Reunion... Duck Creek, Ut

WARNING... lots of pictures!

This last weekend Zack and I were able to go to Duck Creek and go to our Hallows Family Reunion. We had so much fun and just want to say THANK YOU thank you to my parents for all that they did for us. And for all the hard work they went through to prepare and make the reunion AWESOME!!!! We all had so much fun.

Zack and I left right after I got off work on Thursday. We arrived in Duck Creek @ 10ish and made it just in time to play a little Signs... The funnest camping game!

The next morning we got up, had some super yummy breakfast and got ready to go for a wheeler ride. My parents let us use their 4-wheeler. We went on some beautiful trails! The ride lasted a good 4+ hours. But it was so nice to just be in the outdoors. We don't get much of the outdoors (if any) in Vegas!

My Mom and I waiting at the 4-wheeler corral before the ride.

About an hour into the ride... stopping for a little snack :O)

My Dad, Mom and Zack

Us during the ride. We had so much fun!

Us after the ride.... it was a little dusty the whole time, but not bad at all...... UNTIL about the last 10 minutes. It was just crazy! We got so dusty. I could barely see through my sunglasses. We were big dust balls... it was hilarious!

The whole gang (minus Lori- taking the picture and my cousin Tanner and Bailey- they got pulled over by the "quad cops" for not having helmets on because they weren't 18 OOPS) We were all so dusty, we couldn't stop laughing at each other.

After the ride my mom had planned a fun Cowboy Chuck Wagon Dinner. We all wore bandannas. The bandannas were a hit with everyone! Especially my cute nieces and nephews....

My youngest nephew Jackson- Doesn't he make a cute little cowboy?!?!

Kaitlyn, Austin and Lindsay. They are all just too cute.

The Hallows brothers and their wives, and of course Grandma and Grandpa Hallows! It was so fun that they were able to make it up for the evening.

Grandma and Grandpa Hallows

We also had a little visit from a snake... The little kids were too funny. They stood right next to the snake so they could take a look.

After Dinner we had a Pinata. The kids LOVED IT of course! Great idea mom!!!

My brother Nathan getting the kids ready to take their turn bashing the cute little horse.

After dinner we had a HALLOWS vs HALLOWS kick ball game. It got pretty serious! I asked Zack if he wanted to play and he was like sure. I said "well its just going to be a fun game of kickball" and he said "yea right! Hallows' just don't do a "fun" game of anything. You are all so competitive" He was right! It turned out to be a very serious game of ball....

My Uncle Trent, Cousin Erica and Zack- Getting ready to play some outfield

I was the pitcher. It was a lot of fun, even though our team lost. It was so close, then we just let it go. We finally had to stop because the sun was going down. All we needed was a few lights and we could have gone all night long :O)

The next day we just relaxed and had a good time. My mom had some activities planned for the little kids. They did a little craft frame and then we all made some home made ice cream. It was so yummy!

My Dad and his ice cream... we each made out own ice cream.

After the ice cream the heavens decided to open up and it rained a little bit. It was so beautiful to just sit there and enjoy the rain. A bunch of us just sat under the canopy and waited for the rain to stop. It got a little chilly as well.

We hadn't eaten lunch yet... But that doesn't really matter when in the mountains. We sat under the canopy and ate all sorts of treats! I love camping :O)



After lunch my mom got out the marshmallow shooters.. they were a hit! Especially with my mom!! She was by far the fastest marshmallows shooter-.she was dubbed the semi-automatic!

We were all surprised how far and fast those little mallows would go.



The boys got into a very serious (once again the competitive Hallows) game of Washers...

No worries... the May/Hallows team beat the Hallows/Hallows team!!! WAHOOO

Our last night @ camp... my dad was just tuckered out! He fell asleep in the chair sitting by the fire. And for those of you who know my dad aren't surprised at all- he can fall asleep ANYWHERE :O)

The end of the night. We had so much fun.

THANKS MOM AND DAD!!!! YOU TWO ARE THE GREATEST! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

So Long... FAREWELL!!

Yesterday I said my final goodbye's to my car..... HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!! I have had nothing but problems with it ever since it just decided to up and die on us as we were driving back into Vegas about 6 months ago. So we sold it (very happily) to Carmax! I AM FREE OF MY BURDEN!!!! If you can't tell I am so excited. We only have one car for the time being, but its no biggie... I work super close to home so Zack brings me to work and picks me up in the evening. So far so good (although it is only day 2 of this new arrangement) :O)

Just one word to the wise... DO NOT EVER EVER EVER EVER BUY A MITSUBISHI!!!! PLEASE! I PROMISE YOU WILL NEVER EVER REGRET IT!

Anyway, hope you are all having a wonderful Tuesday!

To the love of my life.....

So 2 Sundays ago was our First Anniversary.... wow how time flies! We have had an amazing first year. I am so thankful for my amazing hubby, I love him so much! We had a great day together... we celebrated Saturday since the big day was on Sunday. I had a meeting in the morning and when I got back he told me to get ready and go get a peddi! I was so excited. I love to have my toes look cute! When I got back the house was spotless. And then I just couldn't wait to give him his gift... so we opened them a little early as well- we were both so excited we just couldn't wait! When I came downstairs he had got me the most beautiful flowers. And he is so good- he knows how much I dislike roses, so he looked and looked until he found something with no roses. (pics to come soon) So he opened his gift (new sunglasses ) And he said that because I gave him his big gift he would have to give me mine... So I opened up card #2 and inside was a sheet of paper. I opened it up and couldn't tell what it was. Then I saw it..... 2 tickets for the KINGS OF LEON!!!!!!!! I have wanted to see them in concert for so long. And I was so excited that he got the ticks for me. I had looked and looked to see if they were touring in Vegas and it wasn't on their listings. But they are coming and I can't wait!!!!! After that we went to SushiMon and had some amazing sushi then we went to the Movie. It was pretty much the best day ever!!! Mostly because I just got to spend the entire day with the perfect man.


I love you babe and can't wait for our eternity.... xoxoxoxox

"Come On"

So when Zack and I first moved into our ward we got the calling of Nursery Leaders. It was a really fun calling. And we definitely learn to love the kids that we taught each Sunday. Well, about 3 weeks ago we were released from our calling. And this last Sunday the cutest thing happened....

As we were leaving the chapel and on our way to Sunday School we ran into one of the little boys that we had in Nursery. Zack reached down and rubbed his head and said hi to him. Jay, the little boy, looked up at Zack with his big eyes and just stared for a second. Then he grabbed Zack's hand, and started leading him to Nursery. It was the cutest thing ever. I just walked behind them and was thinking... I can't wait till our own little one is grabbing his and and leading him to nursery. (not for a while tho :O) And then the cutest thing happened when he was trying to leave the nursery room... Jay looked up at Zack and said, "Come On". It was so adorable. He wouldn't go into Nursery unless Zack went in with him. So Zack went in and then after a second he snuck out. It was just so cute :O)

Time for an update....

So it has been brought to my attention (by a few good friends) that I have been a total blogging slacker! So I decided that I would update! Not much has been going on the last little while. We have just been going and doing and livin life to the fullest.


So, here is a little of what we have been up to...


A little while ago we went home to Aurora to help my grandparents do a little spring cleaning. It was so much fun. I honestly do not know how many of us were there, but I will say at least 30 of us?? And I have to say thanks to my cousin Mis because I stole these pics of her blog. Thanks Mis :O)

The boys worked outside and the girls stayed inside. This pic is of the boys cuttin down the trees. In this pic is my Grandpa, my brother Nathan and my wonderful Hubby on the ground. And yes, my Dad up in the tree.. always a kid at heart :O)



Yup, my dad is CrAzY!!!! He climbed up this tree to cut off the branches. And the wind was blowing SO HARD!! I walked out just to see what was going on and there was my dad, up in this big tree, swaying back and forth as the wind was blowin. Gotta love him!!!

I was in charge of cooking lunch. Well, the onions didn't agree with me. I don't think I have EVER cut onions that made me cry like they did this time. My eyes were watering so hard I had to go outside. From the looks of the tears that were streaming down my face you would have thought I had lost a loved one!

Me and my Grandma Ginny getting the clothes of the line... love ya Grandma :O)

The week after our trip home we went to Cedar City because my big Bro Lando graduated from SUU. It was s great weekend!!!

This is the Big Graduate :O)

Cute Sam (with baby Summer) Lando and Me and Zack


Memorial Day weekend we went our friends Drew and Loke and their kiddos Bela and Ty to their time share to swim in the pool! We had a FAB time!

Bela and Zack chillin by the pool

Ty, chillin on his floaty. He loved the water. In fact he started to get a little cold and his lips started to shiver, but he didn't want to get out of the water.


This last Sunday I was so excited to have a visit from one of my best friends, Penny. She looked absolutely beautiful with her cute baby belly. (She did threaten me that if she looked "bad" in this pic she would be upset with me) So I think she looks great in this pic!!! I hope you like it too Pen :O)

Anyway, that is a little of what has been happenin in our lives! Nothing great, or extravagant, just our wonderful lives. Just how we like it :O)

O Suga!!!!

So I have really been slacking when it comes to blogging!! We have had a fun, busy, last few weeks. The last weekend in February we went to Cedar and stayed with Landon and Sam. We went boarding for the first and last time for the season :O( We are both super bummed that we haven't been able to go more. Especially me because I finally learned how to actually board, and not just plow down the hill :O)

The weekend after that my Parents and Landon and Sam came down for the weekend to visit. It was so much fun to have them here. I always love having family around. My parents are just so wonderful!! They always make everything so much fun. We had given my parents a gift certificate to the BEST sushi place for Christmas- so they came down to use it up. We ate SO much sushi... but boy was it delish!!!

Other than that it has just been work for us! I am still super busy and overloaded with my new position. It is a challenge, but I love a challenge. :O)

Other than that I have been busy baking. I have always loved to bake... and I have been trying a lot of new things. One thing that I have made a lot of (too much if you ask my hubby) are Oreo Truffles. They are so dang good, and so so so easy to make. They are so addicting... here are some pics of them

I have always wanted to be able to decorate cakes... my mom always would make me the cutest cake for my birthday. It was ALWAYS a double decker heart shaped cake with the most amazing lemon flavored icing!!! ( just talking about it makes me want some) My mom was so great at decorating. And I always thought it looked like so much fun. So I decided to try it out. This was my first double cake ever. It was a little lopsided, that's why the icing is how it is. But it was so YUMMY!!! I am planning on making my friend's daughter's birthday cake in a few weeks, so I will need to do a little more practicing!

And my all time favorite to bake is sugar cookies. This year I went to my friend Loke's house and made cookies with her and her adorable little girl McKayla (she is going to be the birthday girl) After a whole day of baking cookies and miniature cheesecakes, making Oreo truffles and then decorating the cookies we were all tuckered out. But it was so yummy, and so much fun.