Family Time

For Christmas Kip and I bought my family a photo session with our good friend Lyndzee Ellsworth. We have not had family pictures in quite a while so we figured this would be the perfect gift.
We had a great time together down at the beach, it was such a blast just playing together and having Lyndzee capture the it. This was one of the first times that Kipper actually enjoyed getting photo's taken, you might see why in the pictures that follow.
I just want to also take this time to let all of you in the Internet world know that I LOVE MY FAMILY, we are nothing close to perfect, actually we are quite imperfect and that is what I love so much about us! I love all of the things that we have been through together, the rough spots that we have had to work together to smooth out. I love that we all started together at such a humble beginning and have just worked so hard as a family to get where we are today. I love the examples my parents are and have been to me and all of us kids. They are some of the hardest working people I know! I truly know that I can thank them for my work ethic and the success I have had in my life. One of the first things I think of when I think of my parents is their love for the gospel. Both of my parents are converts to the church and since they have found this gospel the have hung onto it with a death grip. They love the lord so much and are such active members of their ward. They have always been in leadership positions for as long as I can remember. I just feel so blessed to have been raised by such amazing individuals. I Love every single member of my family for who they are, with all the blemishes and perfections that come along with them. My life has been so blessed by each person that appears in these photos. Thank you family for all of your love and support! I would not be who I am today without even one of you. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Me Mama and Me Papa!

Us three girls. We are so, so, so close! I think it is not even normal how close the three of us are. I just love my mom and my sister so much and look up to each of them more than they will ever understand. They are both the mothers and wives that I pray to become! I am so grateful for their pure love for me. I just know that no matter what happens in any of our lives, our bonds will never ever be broken.

The boys, they all crack me up so much when they are together. I would have to say, I have a silly family and I LOVE IT! I'm so happy that Kipper is a part of our family, my dad and brother just love him to death!

For all of you out there that do not think my sis and I look much alike, I sure think we do here. I'm the blond white one and she is the brown brown one. But I think there are for sure times in life where we look like sisters. I sure am lucky to have her!

My little Moosey, she is totally my little buddy. I really think her and I have a special relationship. I am so blessed to be her Ra Ra. She brings so much joy to my life!

The rest are of me and my BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD, My Kipper! We have so much fun together, I gotta tell ya!

A Step Forward..

I have been intending to get a photography website started up for quite a while and now it is here. I have just gotten it started so there are not a ton of photo's on it yet but I hope for it to grow quickly with work. Bare with me right now, it is a work in progress but I did want to let you all know out there, I FINALLY GOT MY WEBSITE UP!!! YEAH!!!!
The address is www.slrdigitalphotography.blogspot.com! Long address I know, but what can you do? Check it out, and thank you all for your support and encouragement.

Viva Cafe Rio!!!

So HOW COOL IS THIS???
My sister and I share this deep, deep LOVE for this restaurant called Cafe' Rio that we used to eat at all the time when we lived in Provo, UT.
Well recently they opened a restaurant down in Las Vegas, this being the closest Cafe' Rio to us. My husband and I got to visit this wonderful place on our one year anniversary while up in Vegas celebrating. But my poor, poor sister has not had Cafe' Rio in 4 years!!!
Well to make a long story short, my sis is prego at the moment and has had intense cravings for this wonderful food to the point where it has left her teary eyed (ask her, no exaggeration on my part), SO her husband has the week off of work and they decided to make a day trip up to Cafe' Rio just to eat there for lunch and dinner.
I was blessed enough to be able to hitch a ride up there as the babysitter and entertainer of Makenna (my little niece who is a total joy to my life). NO PROBLEM FOR ME!!! My little Bro David came along as well. We left at 6am, got to Vegas and ate Lunch right away (a salad for lunch) then walked the strip for a few hours in the 108% weather and back to Cafe' Rio for dinner (a burrito this time) and takeout to bring home to our family! I got back home that night at 12:30am. What a day, and boy was it worth the drive with a 22 month old!!! She was a champ by the way!!!
I also have to mention that little Makenna ate her food there better than she has eaten in a really, really long time, and Amanda said that Kellen was doing flips for hours after her meal as well. Apparently the love runs in the blood. We are so proud!
Here are some of the pics!!! Me in the car just thinking about what I am about to eat!!!! Can you tell I am just a little excited???
The woman and the baby to thank for the cravings that inspired this heavenly trip!



I stole Makenna's hat, ok so she dropped it and I decided it looked good on me instead. What do you think?
Lookin like a big girl, and diggin the caffeine!
Both of us coming down from our caffeine rush on the way home, can you tell we are pooped from the long fun day?

Project Complete!!!

Well, we finally finished our patio by putting the sealer on it and we are so happy with the results! We liked it the way it looked before we sealed it but now we LOVE IT!!!
Here are a few shots of the finished product. It is so funny how home improvements like this are SO, SO, SO, EXCITING when you grow up!



So I have had a few questions asking when we are going to have a BBQ now that we got the patio going on and I do want to assure you all that we will be BBQ'ing it up and inviting y'all but this right here is why we are not yet BBQ'ing....


This right here is the Ghetto Fabulous, Poor White Trash half of our backyard that still needs some work. With the old dirt bike leaning against the wall, weeds, tools, and bricks taking up this half of our yard it is a sight for soar eyes and dirty feet. So this is our project for OCTOBER, we have fabulous plans for this half that we will be doing all by hand and we are so excited to get it done. So plan for a good BBQ the end of October, Okie Dokie Folks!!!

Just Do It

I have recently come to realise that I love the Nike phrase "Just Do It". I never quite got why that was their slogan and really did not appreciate it for what it is worth. I played Basketball all through high school and really did not tie "Just Do It" into the hoops, I am sure the way I was supposed to, but anyway, I get it now!!!
I have just recently started running regularly again and this time I am really serious about it!!!
As many of you know, I was really dedicated to my running when I crashed and tore my ACL in my knee. I was training for a marathon at the time and was up to 18 miles. I have not really run regularly since the tear and it has been killing me!!!!!
I absolutely LOVE RUNNING, I really think of it as ME time and it really is therapeutic and the best part of it is that you really do get the "runners high" that people talk about.
So anyway, back to the JUST DO IT, I really want to put that up on my wall in my closet just to remind me! So many times in our day we know that we are supposed to work out, run, hit the gym, whatever it is, but then we start to think about it all....(I sure have a lot of things I need to get done today, you know what my stomach actually hurts, well...I just ate so I need to wait a while, I really need to clean my house, and on and on) we can always think ourselves out of working out and it sure does not take much effort to do that, everyone agree with me on that one?
So what do we need to do???? JUST DO IT!!!! Don't think about it, JUST DO IT!!! You never regret it during and especially afterward!! NEVER!!! Half the time it really only takes about a half hour to get a good work out in if you get into it. So what is a half hour of your day for your health??? Seriously JUST DO IT!!!
So I am running, I am trying to do push ups before bed and sit ups as well. It is time to be in shape!!! It is time for me to JUST DO IT!!! Anybody with me on this one?
I am also so grateful for my best little running buddy ever who totally pushes me to keep going and going and going and I would have to say, I feel pretty safe when I have him by my side, Thanks Little Echo Man!!!

FOR SALE!!!

MUST SELL!!!
2004 Yamaha TTR125-LE
This bike has only been ridden 4 times by my wife, looks brand new!
Has a front disc brake, BBR Engine Cradle/Skid plate, Electric Start and Kick Start.
Voted Play Bike of the Year!
Perfect beginner bike for the wife or kids!
$1400- OBO
Call Kip (951)858-2852



If you or anybody you know is interested please give us a call. This really is a great bike that is in great condition. Please pass on the word! Thanks!!!

Playing Mommy

This last weekend was such a blast!!! I got to play mommy for 2 days with my wonderful little niece Hailee! Her mommy Laurie and Grandma Sue were running the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon that weekend and I jumped on the oppertunity to have the little one for a few days! By the way congrats to them for that accomplishment, Laurie who just had a baby 6 months ago, and My Mother In Law that is in such better shape than half the people I know, including myself! They are amazing!
Kip, Hailee, and I had such a blast!!! Kipper is so good with little Hailee, she really loves her Uncle, and for me, I was stoked to be able to play "stay at home mommy" for a few days. I got to have the weekend off, I made dinner 2 nights in a row, and got some house cleaning done, it felt like a dream! Little Hailee is such a joy to have around, she is so happy and easy going. I was a little nervous about how I would handle a 6 month old over night, but to my suprise it was not as hard as I had anticipated!
Hailee is seriously one cool little kiddo, she is animated and a total crack up but is so not High Mantinence (well most of the time anyway), she seriously is so good with just going with the flow of things, she is great at entertaining herself, she is WAY strong and she has no fear of our Echo!!! Kip and I love our little niece and had such a blast spending the weekend with her. I did not want to give her back but her mommy insisted! I eventually gave in!
O' and I was so proud of this, she got so attached to me during the weekend that when someone else was holding her and she could no longer see me she would start to cry until she could see me again. It made me feel so special and loved!
Here are some fun pics from the weekend.