Long Lost Love

Yesterday morning I rekindled a relationship with a long lost love! I was at the gym... 4:00 am like usual doing my thing. When I run I listen to my Ipod and usually, when I have not already finished it, I read the ensign or my people magazine subscription. This reading helps to pass SOME of the time, but the ensign only comes out once a month, and my people magazine only comes 2x a month, and since I run 6x a week.....well you do the math, the reading material just does not cover the time I spend running, so usually I end up watching the morning news or whatever infomercial is playing at 4:00-5:00am, needless to say, there isn't anything interesting on. Sometimes I watch the news, other times I get lost in my thoughts.

Yesterday...I found a long a lost love! As I was half watching the tv, half day dreaming of my sweat heart honey bunny (its true, i really do, do that, he's just so sweet and cute I can't help myself!) Sorry back to the story, so as I was doing these things... guess what came on the TV? SAVED BY THE BELL! My heart skipped a beat and did a little pitter patter! I said out loud..YES!! I was so excited! The subtitles came on (which I didn't really even need cus I had all the lines memorized) and I was entertained my entire workout! There were three back to back episodes. I was truly in heaven! Not only was my work out over in a jiffy, but I was on cloud nine! I love Zach, Kelli, Jessie, AC and Screech. I even love all the girls that Zach tries to pick up on...and lets not forget about Mr. Belding..he is so goofy! This morning I crossed my fingers hoping that it would be on again...I walked up the stairs to the treadmill holding my breath....and there it was!!! YAY!! Do you know what this means? No more re-runs on the weather or the traffic reports or Stupid infomercial on some magical product that will make your hair grow or will help cure your osteoporosis! I betcha someone at TBS knew that I needed a boost in entrainment and decided that from 4:00am-5:30am they would air Saved by The Bell knowing that it is and was the best teenage sitcom ever! I am one happy cookie let me tell you! My workouts just improved ten folds....in fact, i think i just lost five more pounds thinking about how happy this has made me! yes....thank you Saved by The Bell....

"Well, I wake up in the morning, And the 'larm gives out a warning, And I don't think I'll ever make it on time. By the time I grab my books, And I give myself a look, I'm at the corner, just in time to see the bus fly by. It's all right, 'cos I'm Saved by the Bell. If the teacher pops a test, I know I'm in a mess, And my dog ate all my homework last night.Riding low in my chair, She won't know that I'm there, If I can hand it in tomorrow it'll be all right. It's all right, 'cos I'm Saved by the Bell"

Love'n It

Yummy in my tummy

We Saw It ALL

Dave's parents were in town this last week and we went right ahead and had our self a....Fun Fun Filled...Eventful....Sight Seeing...Tourist Attraction visiting....Jam packed weekend. We visited Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, The Coast, Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge and its amazing views, Washington Park, and Two attempts at the Japanese gardens. We also went on many beautiful yet very windy drives with amazing scenery...and believe it or not we accomplished much much more in between all of those stops listed above!! We came away with some really fun pictures and great memories! Thanks for visiting Lanny and Julie!

We had a great time having you! Thanks for taking us to wonderful restaurants and for your great company! We loved showing you around! Please come back soon! PS...I'M SO TIRED!! getting out of my schedule has really kicked my bum!
(my parents are coming Tuesday night....yay!! ding ding ding...round two!!)

Seattle Pics

just being an octopus

a lovely up the nose shot

the dive master and his mermaid

the shaws

ha..davey you funny

That's One Cool Cat

So maybe I should have posted this before the post about going to Seattle so it would have been in order, but who cares. So this last weekend we went to Seattle. We left for work at 5:45am like normal not to return until Sunday evening around 6pm. Every morning before we leave for work we check and make sure that Turtle has come out from under the bed and is down stairs. We always keep the doors closed when we are not home so that turtle does not get into things and make a mess. Well Friday was a day just like any other...so we thought. Sunday evening when we got home from Seattle I went upstairs and opened the door to our bedroom and plopped the bags onto the bed....I then heard a very raspy and loud....MMMMMEEEOOOOWWWW! And a saw a tiny kitten crawl out from under the bed! My hands immediately went straight to my mouth and I gasped ....OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOO HOLLYY CRAP!!!! So, since we all know I'm the cruel one and have not been the big animal lover until lately....my thoughts immediately went to material things and at that very second I caught a strong whiff of stinky pee... can you say SICK-A-NING! Very strong and so stinky. I could not believe what was happening. In a split second a million thoughts raced through my head. Pee on the sheets, poop on the pillows, crap all over the floor, this was my WORST NIGHTMARE...I was panicking and I hollered for Dave. He immediately ran in the room, grabbed turtle and took her to her food and water. (oops...why didn't i think of that...don't worry animal lovers..It couldn't have been more than 15-20 seconds that I sat there horrified in that disgusting pee smell thinking of where all the poo and pee could be, feeling sorry for myself....when instead I should have been worried that our poor kitty was in severe need of food and water).


So after we got her the much needed food and water she needed and apologized to her 100 times over and over, we went up to assess the damage. I seriously had tears in my eyes wondering how we would ever really know where she had peed. Would the smell ever come out. How could we even find every place she peed and pooped? And How could we ever get the smell to go away. Luckily Dave has the nose of a dog nose on steroids.... he got on all fours and started to sniff around. We started with the bed and sniffed and searched out every square inch.....we smelled nothing! THANK GOODNESS! We searched the closet, under the clothes, over the clothes, on top of the clothes, nothing, nothing, and again...nothing. We searched in and around every shoe.....still nothing. As we made our way into bathroom the smell started to intensify...that's when we noticed something that seemed way too good to be true....a yellow stain in the shower...that's right folks, a yellow stain in the shower. Little turtle, our sweet, cute, cuddly little turt good, had decided to do her peedles in the shower. Not on the shower mat, not on the bathroom floor, not on the toilet or around the toilet..... but inside the shower. We hoped and prayed that she made that her permanent litter box! So after 20 minutes of combing the room and bathroom and to our absolute amazement, we concluded that our genius kitty used the shower as her little box! She did not pee on an ounce on anything else! And to top it all off, she did not poop..not once! Not even in the shower. She held it for three days! That's right! We searched high and low and there were no terdys to be found! Is that freaking unbelievable! I love her more than I can describe for that! Is she a genius kitty or what? Dave and I figure that the shower was the closest thing to a litter box she could find and so she chose it to pee in and stuck with it. We also thought maybe because of the lack of food and water she just didn't have anything to poop out and that is why she didn't poop, but as soon as we let her out of the room, she went straight to her litter box and pooped like 4 times! She was actually holding her poop, not wanting to make a mess. Bless her little heart!! Amazing if you ask me. That is One Cool Cat!

Weekend Update

So...not that anyone really cares that I have been the worst blogger in the world lately, but it totally bugs me that I have not had a free second to make a post! I have been crazy busy at work, and then I have been running around with my head cut off doing fun and busy work at home getting ready for Dave's parents and my parents to come and stay with us this week and next week! Court called last week and asked me if I was going to be in Seattle for the weekend....I said uh... no why?? She failed to remember that her best sister ever only lived 3 hours way and that she was going to be there for 3 days before departing on her Cruise to Alaska! So hello...of course we were going to be there!! So last weekend Dave and I drove up to Seattle and we had an AWESOME weekend! Court and Case were so great and let us shack up with them in their water front Marriott hotel! It was so fun! The Marriott even provided a lovely consieres room with great breakfast, lunch/snacks and hang our area where we found ourselves hanging out a lot with the kids and all the Craig family. We went to pikes market, the Seattle Aquarium, had awesome seafood, went to Nordstroms rack, did some window shopping, ate yummy cherries, great chocolate, walked around the city, soaked in the hot tub...watched the kiddies swim (which is all they wanted to do), got some good sister talking in, and just had a great time! It was so fun to be able to hang out with them in our neck of the "woods". We usually have go home to see family, so it was so fun to be close to home to see them!! We had a fun filled weekend and loved seeing them! Thanks guys for letting us share your hotel and your weekend! We loved every minute of it! Seattle is such a fun city! The weekend came and went way to fast but we lived it up while we were there! I miss you already sister! Have so much fun in Alaska! Eat some more yummy 'm seafood for me!! love you tons!! I'm such a geek and didn't get really any good pics of the city or with court and case...I got a few of dave and I that I'll post wehn I get home from work..peace out!

I believe in Miracles

Before I explain what has happened, let me just preface this post with a few facts about myself... in case you don't "know" me. Ok...Here are the top three things I love to do.
1. Eat
2. Sleep
3.Eat some more and then sleep ha ha ok there's more to me than that, but lets just leave it at that for now. Lets Travel back in time...back to ages 16-23 and lets discuss my thoughts and behaviors on sleep. I used to think that waking up at 8-9am on a weekday was pretty early. I also thought that people who went to bed before 11:00pm where also those who received discounts on their movie tickets.....(no offense). On Saturdays you would not catch me awake before 11:30am(but to be even more acurate,I wouldn't get up until 1 or 2pm). And then after I woke up had some breakfast/orlunch, I would usually settle back down for a much needed nap. I would usually lounge around and watch TV with Jac for the rest of the afternoon, until we went out for the night. Jac and I shared the same Saturday routine...and WE LOVED IT! It was our day off, and that is how we choose to spend it...don't even knock it...We enjoyed every second of it..right shelly belly? In fact lots of times, we would eat our lunch together and then take our nap together in the tv room...it was quality sister sleep time...and fun! Nothing like falling asleep to a lifetime movie after you just slept 10 hours and had a yummy lunch!

My week day sleep schedule obviously didn't mirror the above routine, but my job did allow flexibility. I usually slept in until 9 or 10am and would get to work around 11:00am. Since I was single, I was usually out with friends or on a date and would get to bed between 1-3am.

When I moved to Oregon I started a job where my hours where 7:30am-4:00pm...oh baby talk about rough. I would have to go in the bathroom, sit on the toilet and rest my head on the stall and fall asleep. I did this in fifteen minute intervals..(no joke),I would set an alarm on my cell phone just in case 15 minutes turned into an hour.


I would fall asleep at my desk, head bobbing up and down as I fought to keep my eyes open for hours and hours at a time. I strategically placed my computer and chair away from others in hopes that no one could see. I could not take it...I needed to be asleep at the hours I was awake...7:00 am!!?? This was much to early. How did people do this? This was not natural, not normal, and could not be healthy! My body didn't want to eat breakfast at 8:00, it did not want to be in an upright position let alone try to swallow food! This hour of the day was for sleeping, laying, resting, not sitting or working, or thinking! I wanted to be sleeping!I really had a hard time adjusting. After 7 months I barley began to get the hang of it, if you can even call it that. I had a small glimmer of hope that in time my patters would slowly improve. I kept chugging along, waking up each day and pushing through..however the idea of going to bed at 9 or 10pm was something I just couldn't swallow. I fought the early bed time idea that would have accompanied a early morning routine very nicely. Instead I was stupid and I would usually get to bed around 11:30 or 12:00am...making me even more tired in the morning!! Silly me!

10 months ago when I started working at Freightliner Dave and I were able to choose the schedule we wanted to work each day..so we decided to work from 6:00am-2:30pm and have the whole afternoon to do whatever we pleased! It sounded good at first....but what was I thinking. I did the whole bathroom thing for a bit...that is until I found out we had a sick room! That was great! Nap time for me. Work was so slow and sleeping sounded so great! But I obviously couldn't keep that up for long. So, I caved in and began going to bed between 9:30 and 10, I was consistant about waking up at 5 am everyday.... I started to eat breakfast at breakfast time, I started exercising everyday......and waaahhllaa....10 months later...its a different story. I have actually mastered it.... Ya that's right... I've got it down. No more naps at work, no more falling asleep at my desk, no more bathroom sleeping. And as for bedtime, when I think about going to bed at 11:00pm on a week night...ARE YOU KIDDING ME...that's like telling someone to stay up until 2 or 3am when they have work the next day!

One more important thing to add to all of this.... for the past month and half I have been trying to loose a few lbs so I have been getting up at 4:00am and going to the gym, allowing us enough time to get to work by 6:00am. Every morning when my phone alarm goes off, I'm obviously tired. But regardless of whether I'm tired or not, when that alarm goes off at 3:45am I am up and ready to go by 4:00. And surprisingly enough within 5 minutes I feel fine.

OK...So are you ready for the MIRACLE (as if all of that isn't already a miracle) Obviously from this LONG DRAWN OUT POST you can see that I have changed my sleepy ways. I am now able to function in the mornings, I am able to stay awake at work.... 8:00 am is no longer early for me, bla bla bla.....But the reason I choose today to blog about this is because this morning something happened that put the mother of all ICING ON THE CAKE! This morning I was not woken up by my normal alarm clock. Today I was awoken by what some may call "a natural alarm clock" (the one my dad has inside of him that won't allow him to sleep past 8:00am no matter what day of the week it is) So...when I rolled over and reached for my phone to look and see what time it was...I was shocked to see 3:45am .... I Natalie Keyes Shaw, have officially trained my body to naturally wake itself up. And at 3:45am!

I don't think most people other than my family and my husband can really appreciate the significance of this event and or the transformation that has occurred here..(this is not a honk honk of the horn post) it is a can't believe after disagreeing and not believing my dad for years and years.....that I may just had my first natural alarm clock moment....i figured it was only right to blog about it.

And ps...to my knowledge I have not been invaded by any pod people, I'm still me...just not at sleepy and a tad more productive on Saturdays!

Tiger Who?

Dave modeling his b-day present

Mt. Hood

Yesterday around 11:00am I had a crazy idea to drive home during our lunch break, pack up our gear and drive to Mt. Hood after work and go camping! So....we did! I made a list of things we needed...and we went home during lunch and in less than 20 minutes packed up our stuff and somehow we made it happen! Dave's pack had about 70lbs of stuff in and on it and I had about 40lbs on my back. Luckily the hike in to here we set up camp was only about 10 minutes. Once we go to "our spot" we pitched the tent and set right up. It was a beautiful site right along the Salmon River. It was very secluded, surrounded by trees and just feet from the river. The sound of the river was so peaceful, I really loved it!


We roasted dinner and mellows, hung out, took pics... and just had a great time! Today when we woke up we went on a great hike and spent the morning/afternoon enjoying the BEAUTIFUL nature around us! We had an awesome time! This was our first time actually back packing in with all our gear and we really enjoyed it! What a fun weekend! I love the summer here! The weather is incredible! Its been right around 75-80 degrees I have not been hot yet....its perfect! When we become millionaires I will have a summer home here! :) jk (but not really)

Happy Birthday Court

Its your birthday!! Lets celebrate! Today is Courts Birth-a-day! Happy b-day Court! You are such an awesome sister... seriously...do they get any better than her? I know we are all shaking our head in agreeance! I do not know anyone more loving, kind, sweet, fun and more enjoyable to be around than her. She is always smiling, always happy, always kind and just so darn loveable.....thats why I can't seem to go a day without some sort of communication with her. I just can't seem to get enough of the girl! And besides all the beauty that lies on the inside...I have two words for you...FAITH HILL....AKA...COURTNEY CRAIG! ha ha ok so that's an inside joke between her and I, but seriously...I really don't know many people more beautiful than my very own sister!! SHE IS A MAMASITA! Seriously though...she really is so gorgeous ...and as corny as it may sound, she really is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She radiates the light of Christ in all she does. Its almost like that light is who she is.....I can not express how blessed and thankful I am to have such an amazing sister who for as long as I can remember has been an example and someone I could always look up to. She has always, no matter what time of day or wee hours of the night.... been there to help, encouragement, support, and love me....She has given me friendship, advice, patience, understanding, and at times much needed kicks in the bum.... she has been way more than any sister could ever ask for! From the time I was old enough to even comprehend what a sister was, Courtney was treating me like a best friend and cared for me like any little sister could only hope and dream of....and it has only gets better as every year goes by. Happy birthday Court! Thanks for being my best friend and sister! Thank you for always making me feel so special! Thank you for always being there for me and being such a great example! You are just so great!.And like I said...I just can't get enough of you!! I love you sister!!

So as I was writing this little post, I started thinking about some fun memories that we have shared together over the years and things I loved about being your little sister...so I thought I'd list a few.....hope you like em! Love ya and happy day to you!!


- I remember being so excited to read the sister advice you would leave under my barbie bed each week

-I loved helping get you ready for a date/aka rubbing your legs down with lotion/laying your clothes out/getting things ready/keeping the date entertained while you finished up/checking out the blind date before you saw and then reporting back to you if he was any cute....

-I remember begging you to wake me up when you got home from your date, dying to know how it went and if you would like the guy or not. The entire time you were gone it would seem like an eternity. I also remember trying my hardest to wait up for you after a date on the weekends/and then being so bummed when I would wake up the next morning realizing I didn't stay awake

-I loved when you would take me with you and all your girl friends ( i was only 8/10yrs old here people she was in high school) what a cool/sweet sister

-Sitting in front of the radio recording music to send to you while you were in Europe thinking about how much i missed you (I was 10yrs old)

-It was a blast visiting you in California and spending our days shopping and thrift stores and making Velveta shells and cheese...mmmm yum yum

-I loved coming home from junior high and hanging out at Jerry's and your first apartment having sleep overs and feelings like the coolest girl in the world just hanging with my sista

-Getting taco maker with you...soft and crisp bean burritos yum yum!!

-I felt so cool when you took me to get my ears pierced (these are in no particular order obviously) (8yrs old)

-Cruising the vard....in the convertable...with our bandanas....ha i totally forgot about that one (8yrs old)

-Hanging out with you and casey.....making sure i approved (you even let me cuddle with him!! (11yrs old)

-Spending Christmas with your family at the cabin... (how can you feel down when you are surrounded by you best friend and kids on Christmas?) (2005)

-Visiting you in vegas...with all of my boyfriends ha ha ha....at least i finally ended on the best one of all the game!! YAY ME...Dave is a WINNER!! (1999-NOW)

-Chatting with you everyday about any and everything...even if its just to say hi (my favorite!!) (my entire life)

-Hanging out with you and your cabin last fall while the boys did there thing and we just sat around and talked.......oh the life!

We both know there are just to darn many to list! So there are just a few fun things out of a pile of a million gazillion! I can not wait until we live in the same state, wherever that may be....I know it will happen, and I really feel like it will be soon! Keep your fingers crossed littlecookie (did that sound like mom oops) ha ha and I'll do the same and pretty soon, we will be making memories like never before! I hope you have an awesome birthday! Thanks for being so wonderful! Love, Nanny

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!!
Little honey...I just love you so much!I wanted to do something special for you...so I wrote you a little birthday poem...I hope you like it!!

Hey, birthday love, I think of you
when the days are both dark and sunny.
You bring me joy in every thought,
My precious, loving honey!
So be my love for all our lives,
And I’ll be your love, too!
Each birthday is another chance
To say, "I love just you!"

(ok, so maybe I didn't write that...but I thought it was cute..and I did a little cut and pastie)
Hun...I love you so much and am the luckiest gal alive to have you! I hope your birthday is filled with lots of loves, hugs, and kisses (given by myself and turtle) yummy food, delicious (home made) Oreo ice cream cake...and wonderful gifts! I love you more than I can explain! You are the most incredible person and bring me and everyone around you more joy than you will ever know! Thank you for being who you are every day and making my life so incredible. Happy 27Th Birthday little one! You are the sweetest thing and some how every day you just keep getting sweeter!! I love you babe!! Here is a big fat kiss from me....MWWWWWAHHHHA!! And a meeoow lick kiss from turtle!

Keeping Clean

important decisions

After spending way too much time yesterday afternoon trying to decide between two pairs of very similar $5 sunglasses and not being able to make a decision I felt comfortable with, I did what anyone else would do....





I made dave take pictures of me wearing both of them.... then reviewed the results, and I went with the ones on the top! Thank goodness that we have cameras on our phone or I might not have ever had made a decision!

We did too

Dave and I went camping last weekend...seems like the rest of everyone that posted this week did also! So this post is almost a week late. But....better late than never right! Crazy as it may sound..i have been so busy at work this week! It's true! I have! I haven't have a second to do anything but work! (Wow, now I know what it's like to not have a chance to do anything but my job, and not have time to blog or post comments or write emails...huh(sigh)..that feels weird) Anyhow, enough of that.
So last weekend Dave and I went camping!! It was really fun! I have not been camping in six years. If I was to count the number of times I have been camping I can add them up on one hand! So that means I have only been maybe 5 times. My dad was not into camping. Not AT ALL. His idea of camping is a Motel 8...and that would be pushing it for him. So I needless to say, I was pretty exciting to go on our first camping trip as a married couple! It was kinda last minute thing. Since we knew it was going to be a really warm weekend (95 degrees which is the first warm weekend up here) we decided on wednesday lets do it!! Luckily my parents gave us all the stuff we would need for our birthdays (thanks dad and mom) so i got to planning and planned my little heart out.... so we packed up our crap (that was a lot of work.... preparation, planning, packing, preparing ...bla bla bla) it took tons of time, organizing, effort and only for two, man I can't imagine how long that would take for an entire family with kids and extra tents and food and poopy bums with diapers and all that stuff! ewww! We went to a camp ground that was about an hour and 1/2 from our house along the Clackamass river. It was beautiful. We did all the camping stuff, ya know the hot dog, smores, goodies, hiking, treats, fun stuff like that! We watched a movie in the tent on the lap top and tried to sleep peacefully on a blow up mattress the we had to blow up over and over throughout the night as it deflated on us time and time again. Luckily we had an electrical outlet and a pump with a hose that we could stick into mattress to blow us up each time it deflated...lets just say we woke up in the morning sore and tired. We only spent that one night and then that morning we packed up our stuff hiked around, went down to the river, which was gorgeous, drove around into a cute little town and bought some fire works and home grown pea pods..YUMMY.... and then drove home.



thats a creepy face!


my "bigfoot" sighting!

Even though it was one short night, it was long enough for both of us and lots of fun! We ended the weekend with a fun game of golf with some friends! What a fun weekend! Now the weekend is here again, wow the week flew by! And this weekend will be even better than last weekend cus its the 4th AND its a 4 day weekend AND its Dave's birthday on Monday AND the weekend just makes me happy!! YAY fun fun fun! OK i guess that's all for now. I really am busy and have to get back to work.... bye bye. I'll post the pictures from camping when i get home.

The Real McCoy

I LOVE BERRIES! It’s true! So yesterday when I tasted Oregon grown Mt. Hood Strawberries....I almost fainted. Dave sent me an email teliing, come up to his desk. He had just bought 12 cases of strawberries! I went up there, not expecting too much...but after my first bite...I could not believe what I was tasting. I kept saying over and over...I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS. HOW CAN THIS BE. THESE ARE AMAZING.. I HAVE TO CALL MY MOM...WE HAVE TO TELL SOMEONE! These babies are deep cherry red from top to bottom, inside and out! When you bite into them, its like biting into a softened cube of butter! They are so smooth! You can literally suck them through your teeth! And the flavor, oh my, the flavor is unreal. Let me try to describe it.....they are so sweet, sweeter than the sweetest strawberry you have ever had, when you take your first bite and you let the sweetness hit your tounge and you take in all the flavor and you think it can't get any better there is this radical second burst of sweetness that covers each and every one of your favorite taste buds! Think about what the fruit off the tree of life would taste like...(ya this is that!) I wish so bad that I could send some of these to every one I know! I actually tried to ship a pint to my mom last night!! I wanted her to be able to have some of these so bad... but I was told that it would be $50 dollars to over night them and if I tired to do anything cheaper than that they would end up getting to her with mold on them.:(

breakfast, lunch, and dinner!!


So just to clarify for all of you who are not Oregonians ...these are not your normal Strawberries... You can only get these in Oregon, and not even in the grocery stores. Dave bought these from a guy at work whose dad owns a farm by Mount Hood or something like that....and FYI if you live in Oregon and want me to get you some I think I can next week (Mon or Tues) but let me know ASAP cus people are going crazy here at work over these (6 pints $12 or 12 pints $20). You know what I have decided?...These must be magical berries....because everything about them is magnificent and different than a normal strawberry. The taste, the texture, the look, the feel, the color, everything. They even have little handles on the top for you to grip on to so you don't end up eating the green leafy part! Does it get any better than that? Wanna know what I ate yesterday? I'll tell ya...Uh Strawberries, a salad, strawberries, strawberries and more strawberries..that's right...they were so good that I stuffed my face so full of them I could not eat any more of anything else! I probably ate 3 or 4 pints. I spend a good part of my day at work thinking about them and then last night I had them on my mind when I went to sleep, and this morning while I was running I thought about them some more...its weird, I just can't get over how amazing they are.

The four of us...Dave, me, turt..and the fruit of the tree of good and evil..

Here is a "magical" strawberry cut in half laying next to a normal strawberry cut in half....notice the difference in color?...


I know it sounds crazy, but these are out of this world good! I am so sad that I can not share them with everyone! So I hope posting these pictures and blogging about them does them some sort of justice. It really is a mystery that more people do not know about them and that this is my first experience with them!!! I wish you could reach through the computer and sample!....Come to think of it...i have a really bad stomach ache right now, maybe i ate too many...ouch!

I love these

For the past couple weeks I have been drinking orange spiced herbal (just thought I'd bold that) tea accompanied with oyster crackers as a "early morning snack"(6am)...breakfast of champions let me tell ya!(when I buy them they are 5cents and come in a little bag like saltines would at a restaurant) This morning as I was paying the cashier at the cafeteria she asked me if I dipped the crackers in the tea...ha ha I know she has been wondering this everyday for the past couple weeks, and today was the day she decided to ask! I laughed and told her no, I did not dip my crackers in my tea...I just really love the crackers. I explained to her that they are like saltines but much better and that she should try them! I think I might have gotten through to her...Maybe tomorrow I'll buy an extra bag and give them to her...?? Either way...I just wanted to say that I am really loving these crackers!! mmmm mmm mmm yummy in my tummy!

Summer Nights

The weather is starting to warm up...not enough for me to be outside at night without a jacket though...but it was still a lovely night! We chilled outside while dave played the guitar and we did some reading...I love the summer! It just feels good! Here is a pic of my blonde hair for those of you that asked :)I know its not straight on shot, but you get the idea!...I also took this cute picture of turtle watching us from the window, she wanted to hang out with us too!




honey...did I mention how sexy you are?? whaoooeeyy baby!! you are one sexy boy!

Utah= Family...Family= FUN!!

I was so excited on the car ride to the airport I could hardly stand it. I said ..."I've been waiting for this day for.....and then i paused and thought for a second ..... and continued with.....for as long as I've know about it...!!" HA! the truth is, I had only know about it for 10 days...so I had not been waiting that long. It felt like I had been waiting forever, but really it had just been 10 days since I had found out that we got to go on a mini vacation to visit the family! I could not think of anything more fun than a four day weekend hanging out with my entire family! And seriously....it was all I had anticipated and more! We did nothing but play, play, and more playing...we did a lot of laughing talking, eating, swimming, movie watching, more laughing, story telling, picture taking, eating, relaxing, shopping, and anything that has to do with fun, fun, and more fun!! It was so great and I feel incredibly sad that I am back at work in my cubical doing my daily bla bla bla thing. :(
I love my family more than I can even explain! They are so cool.... I mean, seriously they are the coolest people I know. Every single one of them! How did that happen? How is it possible that my sisters are my best friends...and that my brother is the coolest person I know, and that my parents are just as great...? I don’t know how it worked out like that...but I love it! How did I luck out? They are so fun to be around, so funny, so sweet and kind, and seriously just so stinking cool! They are all my best friends and hanging out with them is more fun to me than anything! To sum up the weekends activities in a nutshell we...... had bbq's, swam at the pool, went to an all you can eat crap buffet, went to a Saturdays Warriors Reunion play(YES!)(fun to watch but a bit long, just a warning), The boys went golfing twice, the girls went shopping and got pedicures, we enjoyed the beautiful weather which stayed right around 85-90 degrees the entire weekend (so lovely)! We had incredible dinners, watched fun movies, and just enjoyed each others company!



We played with the kiddies and loved watching them laugh and play together! Sophie and Kamryn had a blast together. They call each other sister cousins and were so sweet and cute playing like little princesses and talking so cute and sweet to each other..they had a blast playing with bugs and swimming and trying to write notes to the family and just playing so cute together...that is until Sophie had a break down when kam tried to put her little slug friend back in the ground on Sunday afternoon. Kam didn’t want him to die and Sophie was a little tired and it was probably time for a nap anyhow!....Kamryn was a bit confused by this melt down but it ended up ok in the end!
Hanging out with everyone was so much fun I almost didn't know what to do with myself! I wanted to be at all places all at once and almost felt spread thin...there was just so much going on and so many people to be with! And to top it off all of our cousins came over with all of their kids on Saturday for BBQ swim party which was so great! We got to catch up and see all their cute kids and that was so fun!
Can I just say that my mom and dad are so incredible! They let us all stay at their house and let us raid their fridge and cupboards, they let us use their cars, invade their home and use any and everything....they basically let us take over their home like it was ours! On top of that they took us to a wonderful buffet and Saturdays Warriors Play and just as always they welcome us all with fun pillow gifts on the beds when we arrive! YOU GUYS ARE INCREDIBLE!! You are such wonderful parents and grandparents! We are so lucky to have you! And WOW do they know how to through a great vacation....! Geeze who needs a cruise, Hawaii, or an all inclusive when you can go to Gaga and Grandpa Mikes with the entire family for vacation....with a pool, hot tub, movies, games, family, fun,never ending supply of Chocolate chip, toffee cookies, fresh strawberries, blueberries...., home made rolls, never ending seedless watermelon, hagaan das ice cream, creamies .... Steak dinners....and I'm not kidding or exaggerating....you name it we had it..... WE WERE PAMPERED AND SPOILED to the EXTREME!! Dad and Mom, thank you so so much!! We had a WONDERFUL time!



You guys are the best parents and do so much for us!!! We do not deserve you! Thank you for making our weekend so incredibly fun and jam packed with excitement and most of all wonderful company! It was so fun to see everyone! Thanks TT and Erin for coming up and spending the entire weekend at mom and dads...that was so fun! And thanks Craig family for all coming too! Thanks jac and jer-bear and car and Jordan for hanging out with us and for taking the whole weekend to be with everyone and for making it so much fun!! It was so fun to all be there together! I loved waking up and feeling like we all lived at the same house...that was so fun! HEY I have a great idea...how about we build a huge gigantic house...and all the family can live in it. Or we can just all live next to each other and all share a pool house and common area! ya that would be even better! fun fun fun! soon enough right!! :)




Family... I LOVE YOU! I know court has a ton more pictures of all the fam and since I didn’t bring a camera with me to Utah I begged her to send me a few pics that she had taken via email that I could use for my blog while I am stranded here at work bored out of my mind ...so this is what she sent for now...I'm sure she will post some on her blog as well...so for more family pics check her blog soon... cus there are tons and tons of cute ones! Sorry if you didn't make the cut on my post! Thank you all family for such a fun weekend! I am the luckiest wife, sister, aunt, and daughter alive!! You guys are the best! I am so blessed to have all of you and am so thankful to KNOW that I will be with you all forever! I am so thankful for the plan of salvation and for our savior and the opportunity that he gives us to live together as a family forever! We love you and miss you already!
ps....all these pics were all taken before my hair was dyed...I’ll post some blonde pics on here as soon as I get some :)

New.......Old

So…. while I was in Utah I dyed my hair back to the "normal" color that I had most my life.....(blonde) and its weird because its like an new….old hair do! I dyed my hair dark March of last year and Dave loved it…I liked it Ok but, did not like it as much as he did. I wanted to go back blonde since then, but didn’t want my hair to fall out so I have slowly been trying to go back blonde since then. In the process of going lighter I began to like being dark and kinda chilled for a while and then by the time my hair was ready to be blonde, I was not sure I wanted to go through with it, I liked being a brunette. But then I decided to go through with it, I was ready and did want to go blonde. So my hair was finally ready and I did it…..and now I am not really sure what I think….at least not yet. I don’t remember myself with this light color! I have been blonde my entire life but it has been interesting getting used to it the past couple of days! I have only been dark for about a year and a half and it is almost like the dark hair became the picture I had of myself in my mind. Isn't it weird that in just over a year I forgot what I looked like as a blonde, when I have been a blonde my entire life…ha ha? Maybe because the past year and a half has been the best year and a half of my life so since I had dark hair in that year my mind took an image of that dark hair and froze it…did that even make sense????!??I keep looking in the mirror and thinking…wo wo wo light, yellow, light, blonde…wo!! Is blonde yellow? I never thought that until now…but its kinda yellow…is that ugly? Oh no…ha ha
I am not sure if I made the right choice by going back! But I am sure I’ll adjust! And if not, I can always just dye it back…right?? Dave says he really likes it, which is good…I like it when he likes it! My family doesn't even seem to notice that something changed! I If you think about it since I live away from them and they only saw me a handful of times with dark hair, the blonde is only normal for them.....I really think it will just take a few more days of getting used to it...it makes me feel better to remember that I did have these exact feelings when I went dark, so I am sure I will get used to the change! GOOD NEWS though, my hair handled the bleach really well, so no split ends or gross breaks! I did the lightening so gradually that it didn't damage it at all halleluiah!!
Anyhow....I have some fun things to post about my weekend in Utah, so I’ll get on that....we had such an amazing weekend! HAPPY MONDAY....I am so glad to be back to work! NOT!!

Bea 'UTAH 'ful

I went for a run this morning and was reminded of yet another reason why I LOVE this place!! It is so beautiful! I literally felt engulfed by the mountains...you feel like you are so close and they are all around you. On top of that, in the summer they are so green and absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately these pictures do not do them justice! Now that I live in Portland and am not surrounded by mountains, I notice that when I am in Utah I really appreciate the size and beauty of these amazing things! I love looking and them....they do not "blend in" to me anymore like they use to....how could I have even thought that??...now when I look at the mountains in Utah I think..."WO" those are HUGE and AMAZING...its weird though, cus I remember when I lived here the Mountains were just a part of the scenery like a tree or another house..... anyhow.....here are some pics of the lovely mountains that I have now come to appreciate and love!