Touch Of The Masters Hand

I am so blown away by the work that my father has done!!!
I just recently had the opportunity to go to a few of the homes that my dad has done the cabinetry for to take some photo's of his work. I was absolutly BLOWN AWAY by what he and his partner Chris can do! They truly are masters at what they do! My dad and his partner design, build, and install all of this beautiful work. I just can not believe it!
I just wanted to post this because I am just so proud of my dad for what he has learned to do over the years. It truly is a talent that I admire so much! I also LOVE that he is my father and I dream of someday having cabinetry in my home with all of the perks and glory his work can bring!
Here are some shots of the kitchens he recently has done! If you are interested in checking out his blog it is ctcustomcabinets.blogspot.com, it is also in my list of links! If you need ideas for your kitchen you may find some there!
Enjoy!

100 Things about Sarah

1. I was born in Anaheim, CA (way too long ago)
2. My original name was Sarah Lyn Wyrick
3. Parents got divorced when I was young, don't remember it much!
4. I am the only kid in my family not baptised by a father, doesn't bother me though.
5. Mom got re-married For Time and All Eternity when I was 8
6. My new dad Tyler adopted me and I became Sarah Lyn Carlson
7. Moved from the end of the line in school to the front, thought it was way cool!
8. Have always had a Great relationship with my Biological Father Danny, and am so grateful for that!
9. Grew up in San Diego my whole life
10. Did gymnastics for many years....
11. Dreamed of becoming an Olympic Gymnast
12. Have ALWAYS LOVED HORSES!!!!!!
13. Love, adored, admired, loved being around, my Grandpa Carlson!!!!
14. Went up to Winnemucca, NV many summers to Grandma and Grandpa Carlsons
15. Rode horses ALL THE TIME THERE!!!
16. Was in a Jr. Rodeo and did the Barrels
17. Got 2'nd (to last) place but was still proud!
18. STILL LOVE HORSES!!!!
19. Going to decorate my baby nursrey in Horses! SO EXCITED!!! (someday)
20. Made my husband promise to buy me 2 horses before I die so we can ride together all the time!!!
21. Kip took me horseback riding the day he proposed to me! SO SWEET!!!
22. So devistated when Grandpa Carlson Died!
23. Spoke at his funeral representing the Grandkids
24. First funeral I really cried at!
25. Played Basketball 4 years in High School, LOVED IT!!!
26. Ran Track 3 years in High School
27. Missed a year of track due to tearing my Left ACL in Basketball my Sophmore year, recovery time.
28. Ran 400, 4*400, 200, 100, 4*100, and many sprint or distance medlys at invitationals.
29. Went to CIF my Freshman year in the 400
30. Got Best Freshman Sprinter at our Banquet
40. Got Best Defensive Player in Basketball my Sophmore year (when I tore my ACL), and Most Motivational Player in Basketball my Senior Year.
41. Have broken both wrists and torn both ACL's and had to get surgery both times.
42. Threw up every single time I ran the 400 at a track meet. EVERY TIME!!!
43. Threw up on the starting line at a huge invitational in front of hundreds of people..... After cleaning up the puke set a school record.
44. Got Vocal Chord Surgery in High School due to Nodules
45. Have only thrown up 1 time since High School
46. I graduated in 1998
47. Guys did not ever want to date me in High School
48. .....and college...
49. Every Guys BEST FRIEND or LITTLE SISTER
50. Its OK I found a winner that I LOVE SO MUCH!!!! SO WORTH THE WAIT!!!
51. Total Tom Boy growing up...
52. Still am kinda...
53. Gotten Stitches in my head twice
54. Love being one of the boys,
55. ...and one of the girls!
56. Lived in Provo for 3 years
57. Meet some of my Best Friends in Utah
58. LOVE IDAHO!!!
59. Meet hubby on Blind Date in Utah
60. Moved back to Cali 2 weeks later!
61. Fell in LOVE RIGHT AWAY!!!!
62. Dated 2.5 years before married....
63. Married for 2 years now, together for 4.5 years
64. Husband is MY BESTEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!
65. Still wonder why he married ME he is SO HOT and AMAZING!!!
66. We are a GREAT TEAM!
67. I am SO IN LOVE EVERY DAY!!!
68. I love to stick my finger in Kips Belly Button because it makes him CRAZY!!!
69. I love to tickle him too for the same reason, he is such week sauce when being tickled
70. I have developed a small sourt of OCD since I have been married
71. HATE WATER SPOTS
72. Can only fold cloths while warm straight from the dryer, not in a pile!!!
73. LOVE CARPET LINES after Vacuming
74. Love a clean smelling, and BRIGHT HOUSE!!!
75. Dream life...live in Idaho, lots of land, 2 horses, lots of toys like dirtbikes and snow mobeils, 5 bedroom, 1 story house, 3 or 4 car garage. I could go on.
76. Only still in Southern California to be close to all our family
77. LOVE ALL MY FAMILY!!! Inlaws and imediate!
78. My little sister Amanda is my second Best Friend right behind my husband!
79. My Mommy is "The Wind Beneth My Wings", she is my angel, and HERO!!!
80. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being an Auntie!!! Ra Ra is what I am called by my niece.
81. We are trying to make a kid...
82. I love the process of trying to make a kid....(wish us luck)
83. All I have ever wanted to be is a wonderful wife and mother!!!
84. Dream to be an AMAZING Photographer..
85. I strive to be like the Ellsworths and Melissa Niu as Photographers....AMAZING!!
86. When my kids are grown and off to big kid school I would love to go back to school and become a nurse and help deliver babies!
87. I love that my husband is trying to be a Firefighter!!!
88. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a MORMON!!!
89. I love my ward!!!
90. I love my home!!!
91. My dog!!
92. MY HUSBAND
95. My LIFE!!!!!!!
96. I am learning to love to read!
97. O' I LOVE SPORTS, especially playing Football!
98. I LOVE TO DANCE!!!!
99. My friends are AMAZING!!!!!
100. I AM SO BLESSED!!!
I am so sad I had to stop, I would have loved to keep going on. I hope you know me a little bit better now. I tag all of you that have the time to do this, it is really fun to get to know people better by doing this!
Take the time, it is actually fun, like I said I did not want to stop!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
And have a FANTASTIC DAY!!!!

Knee Update

Well my knee has made a ton of progress! I am pretty sure I have not re-torn anything which is AWESOME!!! It still feels a little loose and tender and I am not totally walking completely normal but I am heading quickly in that direction. So life is good!!! Thanks for the love and the prayers, I feel like they helped me get better fast!!!
I just could have not handled this being a tare again. I would have lost my mind I am pretty sure! Thank goodness we do not need to worry about that!

POP!!!!!

Yep, POP that is the title of this post and it is because that is the sound my right knee made the other night while out hanging out with friends. NOT GOOD!!! I got reconstructive knee surgery on my right knee a little over a year ago, and here goes again!
I thought that my knee was stronger than it apparently is and it is quite frustrating to me. I have been running regularly and hitting the gym, as well as doing this cool workout through the P90X in home work out cd's! I am finally as dedicated to my fitness as I have wanted to be for a long time now.
Let's rewind....
When I hurt my right knee originally I was training for a marathon and was up to 16 miles in my long runs. I was in the best physical shape of my life when I tore my ACL and had to get surgery. I was completely useless for 3 months and it has been a long recovery since then. Emotionally an injury like this is not good for me at all. I am a very active person and it is really hard for me to be held back by something like this.
So FINALLY, FINALLY for the first time since my surgery, I am totally dedicated to my fitness once again! I have been running with my sister in law and we are up to 10 miles on our long runs. It feels so great to be getting it all back and to see the slow changes and progress in my body. And then POP!!!
All I was doing was attempting a front walk over (for any of you that know gymnastics), nothing you would EVER think would cause a knee injury. I used to be able to do WAY more than a front walk over since I was in gymnastics for many years as a child. I suppose the way I came down on my leg, kinda at a twisted angle with a downward force, sent my knee sliding in all the wrong directions. Everyone that was there with me heard the pop, it was LOUD!! And I felt it!
It was not nearly as painful as the times I tore my other two ACL's so I have high hopes that nothing was torn. I was able to walk on it with a limp afterward, which is also better then prior times, and my knee has not gotten as swollen as the other times. So that is all good news to me! I am still walking with a pretty good Gimp Limp and do not know how long this will last. I am hoping to be running again by the middle of next week so we will see??? Wish me luck!!!
I do refuse to get it looked at because even if they told me that something was torn, at this point I am in no place emotionally or financially to deal with that right now. So it just better get better.
I am trying to have a good, positive outlook on the situation. I was going to start playing in a woman's flag football league every Wed night. I was pretty sure my knee was strong enough to handle it, but this little incident has opened my eyes and made me realise my knee is not as strong as I think it is. I could have gotten hurt much worse if I had been hurt while playing a sport like that. I also wonder if it is the lord's way of making me slow down a little so I can get pregnant since that is the thing I want right now more than anything in the entire world. I now have a good idea of the strength of my knee, which, quite frankly is really depressing to me. I am now beginning to realise that I may NEVER EVER be able to be as active as I once was and as much as I still want to be, due to the knees I am living with. Nothing I can do about it so I just gotta move on and deal with it. Plus, I am still quite blessed, so many people have it so much worse.
Thanks for listening to my sob story. I really just needed to feel sorry for myself.

Fall Cleaning!!!

So my goal for today was to get a ton of housework done, to make myself feel at peace once again. I have gotten so behind in everything trying to get used to my new schedule. So today was my Fall Cleaning!
Kip and I slept in until 11am (bliss), from that time on the cleaning began. I did kinda take a break by running to Costco and Petco for grocery's and Echo supplies. Otherwise it was non stop cleaning! I managed to get a crock pot dinner cooked as well.
SO, I JUST FINISHED!!! I have been going pretty close to non stop up until now 11pm!!! And I still have not finished the bathrooms upstairs. I am leaving that for tomorrow! O and cleaning the windows is a tomorrow job too, but otherwise my house should be spotless!!! NO laundry to be done, no dishes to be done, linens are washed, even Echo's bed has been washed, LIFE IS GOOD!!!! I can't wait to relax tomorrow after church, the windows and bathrooms!

I was just proud of my marathon and thought I would share my joy!
O and Kip did about 7 hours outside of yard work, along with a trip to Lowes for our first set of shelving!!!
We are exhausted!
So we celebrated our day with a trip to Coldstone! YUMMY!!!!
Goodnight!

The Big White Fisheys....

That would be us!!!! He,he,he,he... I know, I am just a crack up!
Well Kip and I went snorkeling this last weekend with great friends of our Mark and Lani Braithwait! It was quite impressive, Kip and Mark planned out the whole fantastic day! Those two together always seem to come up with the best date ideas ever, we always end up having so much fun, along with some sort of adventure!
So it was HOT, HOT, HOT the entire weekend before our Snorkel Date... then the week of Snorkel fun the weather decided to cool off quite a bit... we had quite a few days of good haze and fog cover. It was wonderful weather, but not for ocean adventures!!! NOPE!!!
So the morning of our snorkel trip we decide to go, cloud cover or not! While driving down to San Diego Kip checked the weather for La Jolla, CA and it stated a high of 72 for the day, EEEEKKKKSSSS!!! I was not to excited about the idea of jumping into the freezing ocean of on such a chilly day. But the plans were still on!
As we arrive, the cloud cover is still in full effect, but there seem to be quite a few people out in the water being snorkel dorkles in their regular bathing suits. I think to myself..."Self...that water must not be too bad since there are so many people out there...maybe it actually feels warmer because it is cold outside???" I inch my dry little toes over to get the first wave of water to crash over my feet.....HOLY Eeeeekkkkssss!!! That is COLD!!! (I hear it was in the low 60's) I know I am a wimp! But Kipper as well as the rest of the gang did not seem to be worried about this FREEZING WATER the way I was! Needless to say we all got in, at about the same time, Kip was the first brave one! Once in and under for the first time it was A BLAST! You kinda got used to the freezingness of the water and I would have to say it was SO CLEAR!!! For California that is! We saw quite a few fish and I was actually surprised at how close the fish get! We had a blast swimming through the seaweed, big schools of fish, and freezing water! I would say we were in there a good hour! Here are some of the pics we caught with our cheap water camera!

The fish got stinkin close, I LOVED IT!!!
Kipper
Sarah
Mark
Lani
Kipper chasing after....
all the fisheys!!!
And some Big Head Shots!!!
Don't we look HOT???
As we were coming in from finishing our snorkeling adventure the sun began to beam as strong as ever. Of course!!! But it ended up being a BEAUTIFUL DAY!!! We walked around La Jolla for a while, soaking in the sun. Poor Kip soaked in a little too much sun and got a pretty bad burn.
After the swimming and the walking we worked up quite the appetite. So we decided to take Mark and Lani to one of our very favorite places in San Diego... Phils BBQ!!! It is SO GOOD!!!! I give props to Lani who is a vegetarian, she was quite ok with going there and enjoyed her veggie burger. We very much enjoyed stuffing our faces there!
After lunch we headed over to my parents house to hang out in their pool for a while and soak up a few more rays.
Quite the fun and relaxing weekend! Thanks boys for the fun double date!!!!

Total Bliss!!!

Seriously could you have a better weekend??? Spending 24/7 with the one you love who is also your Bestest Friend ever, fantastically amazing food, Horses, Lifted Trucks, and a whole lot of Play Time and Rest and Relaxation!!!!
Kip and I went to Las Vegas for our 2nd Anniversary (we also went there for our first anniversary and have decided this might be a tradition??)
So we LOVED our hotel!! We stayed at the South Point Hotel, it is a newer hotel that is about 3 miles down south of the main drag of the strip. PERFECT!!! It felt like the hotel was more suited for families which we liked, being Mormons in Vegas and all! We will be staying there any time we stay in Vegas again due to our amazing experience!
I will just post our pictures, and most of them will explain why this trip was so stinkin perfect for us! (A cruise is still our #1 FAV TRIP but this is following close behind)!
Fantastic, and might I say, Quite Sexy company for me!Which leads perfectly into the next one, our sweet room, with a Hugemungous Bed that makes our little Queen at home look and feel itty bitty!!! LUV IT!!!Check out the view from our room, that pool was so way sweet!!I always appreciate and love a good horse statue, especially when it it this big!But wait, it gets better, the real thing is there too. The hotel has all the amenities for horses and horse lovers! Is there any better place in the whole world???? We got to go in and watch the people riding their horses in the arena. By the way, Western Style is The Best!!! Kip loved how the horses were skidding with their back legs to stop! Yep, you got it, that is part of the hotel! How sweet is that??? They hold Rodeos and and all types of horse events year around! (side note: anybody know when the Norco Rodeo is???)While I was appreciating my favorite form of horse power, Kip fell in LOVE with his favorite form of horse power. Kip says this truck is his dream truck, lifted perfectly, perfect colors, rims, and what not's, he would just upgrade the stereo system and limo tint the windows, but otherwise LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!!!Another Yep, a movie theater in the hotel!!! We saw a movie the first night, good times!The second night we had a bowling match in the, you got it, hotel bowling alley! We had never bowled together other than Wii bowling. Let me tell ya, Wii bowling does not make you a better "real" bowler. We both were pretty bad at first since it has been years for either of us since the real thing. But by the third game we were both getting strikes! It was a ton of fun. Bowling is going to be a new Robinson event we decided!

Time for the Rest and Relaxation part! O but we had a ton of fun in the pool too! Playing tag, towing one another around, and throwing one another in the air. We most likely looked childish and we LOVED every minute of it!

And then we enter HEAVEN!!! A very favorite part of our trips to Las Vegas is enjoying Cafe Rio, TWICE!!! First trip = Salads, Second trip = Burritos, both trips = SATISFACTION!!!!
It has become tradition to stop by this Honda Dealership after our Cafe Rio trips, why??? I DONNO but we did it last year and this year as well. Back to Kip's type of Horse Power!We viewed my next vehicle that will hold me over till kid #3! It's the Honda Element, made for outdoors folks like ourselves, cool features for sure!We also fell in love with the Hotel's Deli and their Chicken Philly Sandwiches which we enjoyed twice!!! And will be making at home quite often as well now!And the Before Bed Banana Splits that we also enjoyed TWICE!!! They were SO GOOD! Also in the hotel! I tell ya, it rocks! You may be asking, did you even do the strip??? Well we drove down it just so we would feel like we kinda did the strip. We went last year and did the whole strip thing, this year we were never drawn from our car, most likely because everything we needed to make us happy was back at the hotel!
As you can tell, We were sad to leave, especially since it was 3am when we left (when this pic was taken so don't give me a hard time) and we were both headed straight to work from the hotel! YUCK!!! We will miss you South Point but we will be back soon!
Kip and I really needed this trip. We have not been out of town alone together in quite a while. It was so nice to spend so much time together doing things we love! We have decided that this is one of our funnest trips we have taken together thus far! We are grateful for the opportunity we had to do this. VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!!

Yep Another One...

I am sure you guys are thinking, golly, gee, wizzz there have been so many Birthday's posted on Sarah's Blog lately! Well yeah, there sure have been a ton, but pay close attention, this is the most important one of all....... MY BIRTHDAY!!!!
My Birthday was Tues Sept 2'nd! I love being a September Birthday girl, what a great time of the year to be born!!!
Anyway, I am not really going to do much of a tribute to myself, there really are not many good things to say anyway! But I will show you some baby pics of me for kicks and giggles!
And how old am I???? That is for me to know and you to not find out!!! Let's just say I am 25 (again)! I do not feel a day older than 25 so that is what I am claiming!
Enjoy the pics. I really do not think I look like me at all as a baby but then by a year you can start seeing it.



If anybody knows me, this has NEVER CHANGED!!! I still stuff my face like that unfortunately!!!

The Best 2 Years...

OF MY LIFE!!!!
Kip and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary on Tuesday, September 2nd. We had such an amazing day! First thing in the morning Kip had an interview with LA City Fire Department, he was nervous but did a good job at preparing himself before hand by going over questions they might ask, doing a ride along with a department out there, researching LA City, and refreshing his fire skills. I have always said that as soon as Kip gets past the written test and into the interview process he would fly through with flying colors. I believe Kip has a unique look and name that make him stand out, as well as his amazing people skills. Well HE PASSED!!!!!! He is onto the Background Investigation part which I am sure he will fly through since he has no criminal record at all and is liked by many! Then onto a Psyche Eval which I am a bit nervous about him passing, Psyche...(remember that term Psyche, to mean Just Kidding???)!!! After that, I think he is pretty much hired on! Can you believe it??? He has a fire department job it is looking like!!! We hope all keeps going well, we are not putting all of our eggs in one basket, Kip is still applying a lot of places, taking tests, and doing his best to give us plenty of options. If he does get hired on for sure, he probably will not start is LA City Academy for like 10 months! We are so happy and I am so proud of my AMAZING Husband and I am SO, SO, SO Happy that he is chasing his dream! Kip was born to be a Firefighter, I am so happy his dream looks like it may be coming true!!! YEAH!!!
After the interview we both went to work in the morning! (Necessary)
Then we got home, opened presents, it was My Birthday as well as our 2nd Wedding Anniversary! Then we went to dinner at Vons (they make some amazing sandwiches, way better than subway or submarina, try them out). We wanted to go light and healthy!
After dinner Kipper's Parents, sister Laurie, her hubby Gregg, and little girl Hailee came over for more presents and celebrating! We all had a blast together but forgot to take pics, oops! Then celebrated with a big party platter Pizzookie that my work gave to me for my Birthday! It was YUMMY!!!
After that Kip and I shared the rest of the evening together. We have a tradition to dance to the song we danced to on our wedding day, it is really nice to have that 1 slow dance a year! We danced to "The Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts, it was a lovely evening!
I want to take a little time to reflect on this second year of our marriage for some journal purposes as well as to let you know what has been going on in our recent lives.
Right before our 1st Anniversary we moved into our first home in Lake Elsinore, CA!
Since living in the house finances have been expectantly a little more tight and priorities have changed a little bit. During our first year of marriage we traveled a ton, we were always taking trips somewhere, it was a perfect first year! This year we have focused a ton on our home! Kip has LOVED being in charge of the yard work, he looks forward to mowing the lawn each week, it is SO CUTE!!! I have taken charge of the inside and well not much has been done. I keep it clean but need to do more decorating (still nothing hanging on the walls). But we have loved working on our home and are proud of the little things we have accomplished this year with it. Here are a few of our favorites!
First we painted all of the downstairs (accept for the bathroom) 2 shades of brown!
Then we purchased our very first pieces of furniture since we got married, our 2 full sided couches(everything else we have has been graciously given or loaned to us)
Then the HUGE ONE, we got our patio put in!!! Yeah, less dirt, we love it!!!

As well as the front walkway to the backyard, and Kipper built that planter in front of the walkway! What a stud!
We took out the existing plants in the front planters and replaced them with our own, MUCH BETTER!!!
The plants just took off!!!
And FILLED our front planter with COLOR!!!
In early March we added an addition to our family, our little Son Mr. Echo!!! We love him so much and he is such a part of our family, we could not imagine life without him. Isn't he so handsome?
I FINALLY got more serious with my photography business and hope and pray I just get busier and busier so I get to be home more!
Other events that happened this year of our Marriage, Kip's Grandma Lina Robinson passed away in October, my sister got married to Todd McKamey in November, Kip's sister Laurie and her husband Gregg had our little niece Hailee who we love and adore, my sister got pregnant with little Kellen McKamey that will be born any day here, Kip started Personal Training, and more!
Kip and I have been so blessed to have found one another! We truly are the BEST of friends! I feel we share such a special relationship and I truly feel that he is the only one in the entire world for me and I for him! Kip and I have so much fun together and these last two years have been the VERY BEST of my ENTIRE LIFE!!! I love waking up every single day next to the man I love with all of my heart! I love coming home to him, I love cooking together, cleaning together, playing together, and making lasting memories together! I look SO forward to the rest of Eternity that we will share with one another! I am totally looking forward to this 3'rd year which I feel will be a great one for us, hopefully with Kip starting his full time Firefighter Job that he has dreamed of, hopefully with me getting better at my photography and busier with that, which I have also dreamed of, and hopefully, hopefully, hopefully with a new addition on the way, it should be a good, great, grand, wonderful year ahead of us! Wish us luck in all of our endeavors!