Weddings are always a good time.

So right after i got back from my trip to Utah, i had a quite the wedding to attend. Now i love weddings no matter what but this one was extra fun because my Sister In Law, Lauren was there with her husband (Casey's brother) and my new adorable nephews. Her oldest son, Maverick was a ring bearer and the best dancer on the floor! I had such a fun time but the BEST part of the reception was the photo booth! I love how Lauren looks fabulous even when shes super preggo! Also, i cannot believe Lauren and I were able to convince Casey to do the photo booth with me.

I just wish i got a picture...or video... of Mav dancing with me and Lauren.

Congrats Allie and Britt! you put on quite the party and are quite the couple!

It has been a while... forgive me

I was trying to figure out how to catch up on everything that has happened since the last time i blogged...and have come to the realization that there is no way for me to do that. Ill do my best. I am sure i will forget something important... here we go.

In May i celebrated my 22nd birthday. It was quite the Disney Event. I had a Minnie Mouse birthday party and I got the Disneyland Annual Pass that Ive always wanted. The one with no blackout dates so i could go whenever i want and has parking included. Ive already used it a ton.

June started Summer Camp at work which means field trips and long days with crazy kids and being more used to being referred to as Bambi instead of Kendell.

Also in June, My dad and i went to Disneyland together where we had a mini family reunion. That pass i got really came in handy. I got to see my cousins that i haven't seen in forever and my aunts (dad's sisters). It was really fun.

July was a long month.

Whitney and i celebrated the 4th of July together while Madison traveled the world.

My dad left for his new job on July 8th... in Afghanistan. Saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things i ever had to do. He is doing wonderfully and if you want to know about his Afghan Adventure you should check out his blog. I'm so proud of my dad!

After my dad left for Afghanistan and Whitney went back to Utah, i had to say goodbye to my little kiddos at work and being known as "Bambi". I left my job at Sunshine and am now focusing on finishing my real estate as soon as possible. I didn't realize how much i love those crazy kids until i had to say goodbye to them. I miss them so much!

The end of July, Casey and i took our annual trip to Lake Mead with his family and this year we took with us a new toy. Sure was a fun trip! I did the best i had ever done wake boarding before which says something because the waters were really choppy. i cant wait to try again. The sad part was that because it was so windy and choppy, riding our new toy was not as much fun as it could have been. I'm hoping to go again before the season is over.

With my new found freedom with not having a job, i decided to take a quick road trip with Madison to Utah to visit Whitney. It was my first time going anywhere without Casey. It was harder on me then i thought. but i had a really good time. We went to Temple Square, saw the Utah Mylers and visited my Grandpa Boyd's resting spot in Provo.

That brings us up to date. Last week i decided to use my time at home to Casey's benefit and make some yummy cupcakes to cheer him up after a long day of work. It really made him happy and made it tough for me to stick to my eating healthy thing. Next time I bake a bunch ill have to give most of them away.

UPDATE: I told you i would forget something important:

-Madison Graduated High School and soon leaves for BYU-Idaho!

-Garrett left for Basic Training in the air force shortly after my dad left for Afghanistan.

This is QUITE the year for my family. Can't wait to see what the other half of 2011 has in store for us. :)

Easter Weekend Getaway

Casey and I decided to go away for a weekend just to spend some time together. Things have been so busy lately. This is how we celebrated our anniversary even though it was a month late, it was perfect! We chose to go to San Diego and stay with my grandparents in Temecula.

We left Thursday night after we dropped Lady off at Casey's brother's house. We got to my Grandma's house at about 10 and quickly went to bed. The next morning we drove from Temecula to San Diego to go to the Safari Park. It was packed in line but once we got in, it was super fun. I have a new favorite animal, Porcupine! so stinking cute! We saw a lot of cute animals up close and got a lot of walking in. We went in to this butterfly jungle and were surrounded by literally thousands of butterflies. Casey said it was creepy... i had to somewhat agree. But we got an adorable picture out of it.

We went from there to the safari and it was a huge line but i knew it was worth the wait. I saw giraffes and a lot of Rhinos and random deer looking animals. I loved seeing the Zebras! I was just bummed that the Lions weren't there. (they are remodeling the Lion exhibit) :(

After that we were pretty much done with the whole park. We headed the the front and passed a petting zoo. i couldn't pass up a chance to touch some animals. :)

We headed back to my Grandma's house where we knew we had a home cooked meal waiting for us. My grandma made meatloaf which was amazing and a chocolate cake. (uh oh!) I knew right then that sticking to my diet would be near impossible during our trip. We started to watch Fantasia but i fell asleep so we went to bed. Saturday morning we got up and decided to go exploring. We stopped by Pechanga, which is HUGE by the way and then drove around the wine country. it was so pretty. we found the mall and walked around a bit and then went home and changed for dinner. We went out to dinner and planned on going out to see a movie but the movie times were so late, so we went to wal mart and bought Rebel Without a Cause and watched that on Casey's laptop in our room.

Easter Sunday we went to church with my grandma and hung out at their house. Grandma made an amazing dinner and of course some dessert. We watched Phantom of the Opera with my Grandparents and then Casey and i went to bed. The next morning was so bittersweet. The weekend was perfect and relaxing and easy and it was so hard to leave knowing that we had to go back to reality.

I am so grateful to have grandparents who live in such a beautiful place and are such beautiful people. Even though this was my first Easter without the Easter Bunny or Easter Eggs but it was perfect! I was so happy to come home to our Lady and she was so happy to see us. Now its back to reality!

Who's That Lady?

So it was a beautiful Saturday when i convinced Casey to go to the Fish Hatchery off the 126 and then go to a fruit stand to grab some fresh produce. Afterwards Casey decided to drive towards Castaic lake to see if there were any boat shops that we could look at. After we drove around and realized there were only repair shops and no showrooms or any place that sold SeaDoos or boats, i had the bright idea to stop by the Castaic Animal Shelter...just for kicks.

We walked in and i just wanted to ask someone how long they kept their cats before they euthanized them. Then we walked through all the dogs to get to the cat building but before we could even get two dog cages into the room, i saw the sweetest face ever. We spent a while talking to people in the pound and looking at dogs and cats and stuff. Then we drove to Burt's Mega mall. The whole time the only thing we talked about was this dog we saw. We decided we would pray about it and sleep on it. We drove home and had dinner, did some research on Boxer dogs and went to sleep.

Sunday morning came and right after Sacrament meeting, we drove to the pound and put our names down to adopt her. Monday she got fixed and Tuesday she came home. Meet our Lady!

Lady is a 2 year old Boxer. They say she had puppies before we got her. She's super calm and sweet. She knows how to Sit and Shake. We are so happy to have her in our family. It was such a surprise decision to get her but we know it was the right choice at the right time...and for sure the right dog. We Love Lady!

2 years already!

Today marks two years of amazing marital bliss!

Two years ago today my best friend made me the luckiest girl in the world by making me his wife. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. It feels like just yesterday i was coming home from our first date telling my family how he could be "the one".

When they asked me Why, the only thing i could think of off the top of my head was "We like the same jelly beans!". But there were many more reasons i had even just at that point. He treated me like a lady; and still does. He genuinely cares about what I want/need; and still does. He's a hard worker. He's appreciative. He's down to earth. He's honest. Not to mention how insanely attractive he was; and still is! And all that (and more) i got from the first date.

I had this feeling i couldn't explain our entire first date, and i still have that feeling every time he looks at me. I am so lucky to be his wife. So lucky to have such an amazing guy. I could go on and on. I just am on clouds today thinking about what happened two years ago. From getting ready, meeting up with him at the temple, sitting with him quietly inside the temple before the wedding, and kissing him as his wife for the first time. All i can think of is how very blessed i am!

I'm A Brunette!

so a little over two weeks ago i took the plunge and died my hair brown. I was terrified at first but the second she started putting the color on i was totally relaxed. She had to Double Process my hair; which basically means she did it twice. The first time she did it it was a dirty pond color. A light brown with a tinge of green. She did that color just to soak up all the blonde and the second color would be the REAL color. I LOVE IT! I dont have that many pictures of me with brown hair yet. But i'm keeping it for a while so you will she plenty of brunette pictures in the future.

I'm not sure what i like better. Blonde or brunette?

Oh, and Casey likes it too. (Phew!)

Weight Watchers Update: I am down 11 lbs since starting the program. Only about 6 more lbs until i reach goal! YAY

Mario March!

Happy March!

I love this month. This is the month that the weather usually starts to be perfect. Hopefully that means that we will stop this freaky cold weather and even out somewhere around 65. This is the month that, two years ago, i married the man of my dreams! This is the month of my FAVORITE big sister's birth. So many reasons for me to LOVE this month. :) Here are some updates on what's been going on lately.

I am four chapters in on my Real Estate Course! Yippeee Skippy! i was hoping to be further along by now but that's alright, I'm still moving pretty quick, especially since it's independent study. I am really loving what I'm learning. I have gotten A's on all 3 of my quizzes so far. But that's just personal progress because the school recently notified me that the scores on the quizzes don't really count... they just help me personally gauge where I'm at with what I'm learning. I'm not sure how i feel about that....

Weight Watchers Update: I LOVE IT! I've already lost over 5% of my starting body weight. and I'm still moving quickly.

I am dying my hair TOMORROW morning so I'm terrified about that. I'm sure I'll blog about it with pictures :)

Casey sold his Cadillac CTSV last night. He has decided he wants to put energy, money and attention into his '66 Chevelle which i TOTALLY support. This might sound weird but i LOVE the sound and smell of classic cars. He got it started for the first time in over a year or so on Tuesday night and at first i thought we were having an earthquake! I'm so excited to get it moving! Here is a pic of Casey working on it a week or so ago. It is now on its tires and off the stands. Please excuse the messy garage... it is much cleaner when Casey isn't working on his car. :)

Now time to explain my title of this post... for this month, the theme in my classroom at work is Mario... and i LOVE it! it makes me feel like a kid again and i REALLY want to find my old Original Nintendo and play Super Mario Bros 3! Here are some pics of how I decorated my room this month:

I am currently loving American Idol. The only other time i have ever watched the show was the first season to watch Kelly Clarckson win and then every now and again only to watch the auditions of people who canNOT sing. (william hung?) This year, however, i have watched from the first audition and even voted last night. There are a number of people i really want to win! a few of the top of my head: Casey Abrams, James Durbin, Lauren Alaina, and Scotty McCreery. Check them out! They are SO good. anyways...there's my TV Dish :)

Until next time :)