I Got Tagged...

10 years ago I . . .
1. ...had my driver's permit.
2. ...worked as a lifeguard
3. ...was dreaming about getting my license
4. ...had a best friend named Summer (still do, yippee!)
5. ...loved 'NSync. (Don't pretend you didn't!)

5 things on my "to do list" today . . .

1. ...catch up on dishes and laundry
2. ..."officially" change our address
3. ...get a glucose test for gestational diabetes
4. ...take Eli trick or treating
5. ...work on packing up some more of this house

5 snacks I like . . .

1. ...pretzel sticks
2. ...apple slices
3. ...tomatoes with salt
4. ...cheesy Doritos
5. ...cheese cubes

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire . . .

1. ...remodel my house's kitchen
2. ...take a dream trip to New Zealand, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Scotland, England, etc.
3. ...probably save some to live off the interest :)
4. ...buy my parents a house near us so they could live closer
5. ...put some away for future college expenses (because I just know Eli's gonna be some smartie who has to go to Harvard or something, LOL)

5 places I have lived . . .

1. ...San Antonio, TX
2. ...Provo, UT
3. ...Mission Viejo, CA
4. ...Union City, CA
5. ...Chicago, IL

5 jobs that I have had . . .

1. ...lifeguard
2. ...custodian at the Clyde building (at BYU)
3. ...Sonic waitress
4. ...Layout Artist
5. ...photographer

8 favorite TV shows I love to watch...

1. ...Project Runway
2. ...LOST
3. ...America's Next Top Model
4. ...House
5. ...Color Splash
6. ...The Office
7. ...The Amazing Race
8. ...Alias (even though I only watch it on DVD now)

8 things I did yesterday...
1. ...went to the park with Eli
2. ...picked up boxes from Marisol
3. ...answered about 50 emails
4. ...looked for paint inspiration for the new house
5. ...ate too much chocolate
6. ...read too much about No on Proposition 8. It makes me sad.
7. ...plucked my eyebrows
8. ...watched Dinner Impossible

8 favorite places to eat . . .

1. ...Riptide!!!
2. ...Benihana
3. ...Mongolian Barbecue
4. ...Alamo Cafe (in SA)
5. ...Kneaders (in Provo)
6. ...Chick-fil-A
7. ...Golden Corral (for the rolls)
8. ...Stone Ground Bread Company (sniff, sniff, so sad it's gone)

8 things I am looking forward to . . .

1. ...picking out paint for my new house
2. ...getting new carpet for my new house
3. ...having friends over at my new house
4. ...going Trick or Treating with Eli
5. ...having my mom visit in January
6. ...adding a new baby to the family
7. ...being done with Primary for a while :)
8. ...when the election is over and Proposition 8 has passed

8 things on my wish list . . .

1. ...new door handles for the house
2. ...more time to do all the projects floating around in my brain
3. ...a Macbook Pro
4. ...a piano
5. ...an interior design service for our house :)
6. ...for Proposition 8 to pass so I don't have to homeschool my children
7. ...patio furniture
8. ...a healthy little brother for Eli

8 people I tag . . .

1. Emily M.
2. Jessica P.
3. Launa V.
4. Debbie L.
5. Kylie H. (I know it's not H anymore, but that's how I know you, LOL)
6. Tawni F.
7. Caroline K.
8. Amy L.

Yee-HAW!

Friday night was our ward's Trunk or Treat and we had a blast! Eli was our little cowboy (gotta represent!) and he had a great time going around saying, "Yee-HAW!" It was adorable. They had some games that he played, his favorite being the bob for apples. You should have seen how excited he was to get an apple! Silly boy. :)

Then we went around and had him practice his "Trick or Treat" beg for candy. He's getting pretty good at it! I'm excited that he's old enough to really know what is going on and that he likes dressing up for it. There were a ton of kids at the party and we ran out of candy almost 2/3's of the way through! It certainly was a great night of family fun.

And our chili, sadly, did not win the grand prize. But at least I know it was amazing! :) And congratulations, Porters, for your chili domination.

Here's Eli all dressed up and ready to go!

(don't know what he's doing with that smile, lol)



(so excited to go get some candy!)



(what a cutie patootie!)

Furthermore...

So, the house is still empty (luckily) and we have all the keys to it. I went up there yesterday to just check in and clean a little. I think we're on the road to closing early next week, which means we can get stuff moved in on time. I want to get our new carpet and paint in so that it will feel a little fresher and newer when we start moving our actual furniture and stuff in.

I'm gearing up for a lot of packing, work, and most of all, FREEDOM from condo life! :)

In the meantime, I haven't been doing too much besides signing documents, getting deposit stuff squared away, trying to keep up with Eli as he destroys the house, etc. This week I have been TIRED and the baby is forcing me to take it slower. So I have been napping during the day and just trying to not overdo things.

Tonight is our ward's Trunk or Treat party, and we're bringing some award-winning chili to share and compete with. (At least, it will be award-winning after tonight!) Eli will be dressing up as a cowboy (and yes, I'll get plenty of photos!!) and he's going to be just the cutest thing ever. Can't wait to see it all together.

Sorry it's a no-picture post, I know I hate those. But at least I'm posting, lol.

Squatters? Seriously??

[Wish I had a good picture of some squatters to post, but that might be gross....so maybe it's better that I don't, lol.]

Oh, and this is a pretty long post, but it's a great story, let me tell ya! :)

Okay, so Nathan, Eli and I went out to our new house on Saturday to take some measurements for carpet and various other things. We were in the kitchen with the front door open when we heard, "Excuse me?" and saw a lady on the front porch. So we went over and said hi, and she introduced herself as our neighbor across the street, and asked if we were moving in. We told her we were, but not for a few more weeks. She then told us this:

"Well, I don't want to be a bother or a nosy neighbor or anything, but I wanted to let you know that we have had about 9 houses targeted in this neighborhood by squatters. There is a family on this street that are the 'masterminds' behind it all -- they go through and find vacant houses that have been foreclosed on, then they break into the house, move in their furniture, and create a fake deed for the house. Then they change the locks, and when the new owners come to occupy the house, it's a huge legal battle trying to get them out. Usually it's been taking anywhere from 9 months to a year to get these people out."

Uh, seriously? I just about died. Who knew that we would even have to WORRY about things like this! And then she says this:

"And I just wanted you to know that we saw someone trying to break into your side door to the garage a few days ago. So we called the police and let them know what was going on, then we called the listing agent for this house to tell them as well. It looks like they had someone come out and change the locks on that side door."

AAAAACCKK! Our new house is under attack by squatters! I'm sure you can only imagine how grateful we were to this kind neighbor for telling us all about this. I can't imagine what we would have had to do to take these people to court if they did get into the house and started 'living' there. Gross!! And the worst part would be that we haven't officially closed on the house yet, so we would have no claim to the house, it would be a fight between the bank who owns the house and the squatters, and we would be stuck in the middle, waiting to see what happens. I'm just PRAYING that this doesn't happen to our house and that everything will be okay with our closing. I have half a mind to drive up there every day and just hang out at the house to protect it, LOL.

She went on to tell us that she was really good friends with the family that used to live in our house and she was really glad to see a new family taking up residence. She was like, "despite what I just told you, we have a really great neighborhood with tons of kids and lots of friendly people." Ha. That made me laugh. Poor woman, trying to warn us and yet not scare us off at the same time, LOL. :) But I am sure she's right about the neighborhood, we've seen lots of kids out and about whenever we've gone out there, and there are a lot of Yes on Prop 8 signs scattered around the area, so that makes me feel better. :)

So here's the question -- have any of you ever had to deal with ANYTHING like this? Or know someone who has? What advice do you have? Because right now, we don't officially own the house, so it's not like we can move in some of our own stuff or anything. We did take the key to the house that was in the lockbox, because the neighbor told us that she saw a lady over there trying to break into the lockbox and get the keys. GOSH! This is crazy.

So yeah, any prayers or good thoughts that you can throw our way regarding this would be awesome. I just want to know that 'our' house is safe while we wait for our closing date! Wish us luck. :)

I have beautiful friends!

Last week, while I was attending the Scrap Girls Digital Scrapbooking Convention (which was a blast, by the way), I had the opportunity to meet and photograph two of our Layout Artists. Now, these women are just so sweet and genuine and I was SO glad that I got to meet them in person and really get to know their personalities and hear the way they talk. Now I'm glad to be able to put a face to an email when I get them! :)

So anyways, they asked me to take some shots for them, and so we did a quick mini-session for each, which was a lot of fun! You can just see that they both exude happiness. It certainly is contagious! :) Enjoy!

And thanks, Christy and Caroline, for giving me some great practice and a great time! :)

Thanks again! :)

The candidates actually agree on something!

Believe it or not, all four running candidates agree on this issue (which is a direct link to Proposition 8 being voted on here in California in November):

Proposition 8

Check it out -- www.preservingmarriage.org.

I'm voting YES on Proposition 8 in November because it's the right thing to do and I'm standing up for what I believe in. Proposition 8 does not take away any rights or existing benefits of same-sex civil unions or domestic partnerships. It simply states that the definition of marriage is between a man and a woman. And that is the way that God intended this divine and sacred union to be. Don't confuse the issue with intolerance or some sort of hatred towards gays and lesbians. That's not the case. It's about preserving religious freedom, parental rights, and freedom of speech.

It's time we stood up and said "No more". This is important, this is real, and this is happening right now. We need to do something about it.

You could win a new purse!

Just wanted to pass along the word that there's a new website out there that is giving away 24 free purses to promote the launch of their site. You should check it out and enter to win. I did! :)

www.handbagplanet.com

Good luck! :)

Just a sneak peek! I'm having a blast. :)

These are some of our amazing Layout Artists -- Kelly, Amy and Caroline. Love these girls!

SG Convention!!

Well, I am here at the Scrap Girls Scraplink Convention. It's the first ever digital scrapbooking convention, and I'm having a great time meeting other team members, seeing some that I've met before, getting to know customers and board members and all sorts of fun stuff! We've already had a few great classes (not mine, lol, that's tomorrow), some fun games and chats, and I've learned a lot of new things so far. It's been so great. I just know that it's going to be over before I know it and I'll be back home. But until that happens, I'm going to enjoy what is going on. :)

PS: At the same time, we're going through with inspection, appraisal, loan approval, all sorts of that kind of stuff with our new house. SO needless to say, there is a lot going on this week, but I'm completely excited to be in the middle of it all! I can't wait until we can get our keys and start working on the house and then moving in! I'll make sure to document and photograph everything that's going on to share with you all. Thanks for your love, support and prayers!! Love you guys!

I love my little guy

Okay, so who doesn't, right? But seriously, I think I am falling more in love with this kid every single day. We were out scouting some new super-secret photo locations and just having an all-around great time together. I know I'm lucky. And blessed. And even though it's a stressful time in our lives right now, I am so so so thankful for everything that I have.

Especially this little guy...









Saying, "Can I see dat camewa, Mama?" Nice try, kiddo.

Adorable!

I have some more fun photos to share!
I just love taking photos of kids and babies, they're so much fun! (Not to mention easy when they look like this!) And these were just quick, spur of the moment shots. Imagine what we could have gotten with some setup and planning! ;)

PS: Want your own? Then check out this post!

This is little baby {F}. He has the ability to make the best faces ever!
I swear, he's got more personality in his expressions than most people ten times his age.



See what I mean?













Thanks {M} for getting a willing smile out of him! :) He's so adorable.

Okay, seriously??

If you don't think that these are the cutest little twin boys that you've ever seen, then I am jealous of you because you must have some illegal stash of cuteness somewhere at your house! :)
I swear, they just melt anyone who sees them!
Thanks, J, for letting me capture your kids. You're one lucky (and popular) mama!!



I can finally tell them apart! :) I'm so proud of myself.



Little {J} -- he has the best growly smile ever!



Little {J} -- he is so sweet and inquisitive! :)

More of my great friends' kids to come soon!