zach&liz

my lover boy.

2012-02-15T19:58:00.000-06:00

i'm usually good with presents, and a little less good with cards, but still pretty good. this year i kind of was bad with both. meaning no card and almost the right gift, but in the wrong form (shopko has like 3 blu-rays you guys... so i settled for just a plain old dvd that i knew he wanted, with the promise of a blu-ray, just... later. at least he liked the movie, right?!)

and yes, we both got each other movies.

except he ended up getting me 2. (21 AND Stranger Than Fiction. both perfect picks).

my favorite part about coming home to this (well, it was originally in a plastic cup held up by the dvd... so, naturally, when i picked up the dvd, excuse me, blu-ray, the flowers, and water, spilled all over) is the block letters. I LOVE IT WHEN HE WRITES IN BLOCK LETTERS. it kind of just reminds me of 4th grade. and i love that he still does them, for special occasions:)

and another thing i always look forward to from z is his cards. he always nails it on the cards.

am i right? that's all i ever wanted, someone who will give me their fries when i run out. really though.

we stopped by the smoots to drop off some condie's chocolate covered strawberries (thanks pamela, all your hard work is really paying off for us) for them and the petersons. we had to get some baby time in before our BIG DATE.

we ended up deciding to hit not one, but two places for din. my personal fav, paces dairy ann... and then off to panda for z.
both happy campers.
don't you just want to say, hey, don't over do it over there on vday helms.
well, we like low key, non-fancy date nights/ actually just take out.
it's just more... us.
in fact, i changed out of heels and my lace top and into a hoodie and jeans for this date. because z likes that liz best. that, i can do, love.

we topped the night off by watching paranormal activites 3 with candice and dave, one of our go-to couples. there always good for a movie night, that is for sure. it was awesome/ freaky freaky freaky.
and oh so romantic.

until next year...

baby rubs, our birthday girl

2012-02-14T00:39:00.001-06:00

this girl can't help but make every person around her smile. we love her to pieces and just cannot get enough of her.

less important announcements like dying my hair and jimmer

2012-02-03T19:30:00.000-06:00

can i just tell you that all i ate for lunch today was doritos and 7 layer dip?

i had a plate of salad, soup and a sandwich - and a breadstick - which are all now in the trash. not even one bite. (don't tell my motherinlaw how wasteful i am, she doesn't like it when we waste things:)).

i'm secretly a five year old who only wants to eat chips.

later my friend at work gave me a BIG slice of her apple, she said, "here, eat this. all you ate for lunch was chips."

she saw me. it's fine though.

in other news. i wrote a blog post a couple of days ago... it had the same title. since the title didn't get deleted. but everything else did! my phone had a breakdown for a second and decided to delete all of the text and pics when i was just going to add onemorelittlething. poof. gone.

it took me a couple days to get over it... not really sure why. it just bugged me! the words don't come out the same way the next time, ya know? so i thought about scratching the whole post. but then i remembered jimmer and how i needed to tell him that we went to his game and cheered for him. and at least it wasn't a midterm paper.

anyways, i'm feeling better now and am ready to tell you about my hair and jimmer again.

AAAAND my cheetah cardigan from the secondhand shop! it was $4.50/free because i had just over five bucks of credit there. congrats to me! i love it! and to whoever sweater it once was: thank for your donation. i will take gooood care of it.

(it can be seen underneath my coat in the below pic. you might be seeing a lot of it).

the other thing to note in this pic... I DYED MY HAIR. or rather, lar dyed my hair.

and i love it as much as i love my cheetah cardigan. and that's a lot you guys.

zach told me it was his favorite hair of mine to date.

hmmm.

thanks zach boy.

i wonder if he will think that when he finds out i actually have to pay every three months to prevent regrowth and such things us helms have never paid for or thought about before!

we shall see.

lar told me about three times that i HAVE to come back in or my roots will look gray. i had to commit to her that i won't be lazy before she would do it. she knows me a little too well. i'm the laziest hair person you will ever meet.

but it's a fun change and mine and lars visions just collided and we knew what had to happen.

yay for hair inspiration. lar has it a lot. that is why i go to her, to tell me what she knows i need to do with my hair.

this is all i ever wanted from a hairstylist - to make decisions for me and tell me what looks good. and then actually make it look good! novel idea. bless you for going to hair school lar lar.

NEXT TOPIC: JAZZ V. JIMMER

now, i know everyone says this game was so conflicting and blah, blah...

being a jazz fan, i wanted my boys to win. no question about that. BUT i still cheered for jimmer every time he got the ball. and i really wanted him to do good, in like a weird motherly sorta way. ya know?

but i will say this, we all know jimmer did not actually airball that last shot. he was fouled. that being said, i'm glad the kings lost.

uncle brad wrote a great article about the game here, read up people.

(good xmas presents mom/dad.. fun game, fun game).

AND we got crown burger before the game, which is close to mandatory before a jazz game.

jr crown, fries and a dc, people. oh, and lots o' fry sauce. mmm, mmm.

one other thing. it's baby mac's one week birthday today.

happy friday!

Introducing...

2012-01-29T23:11:00.000-06:00

Mac Alexander Helm.

he's not our helm, but close enough.
we weren't sure if there could be babies as cute as the shipley's, but mac proved us wrong. look at that little face!
love you baby mac mac.
also known as mac rib, macbook pro, m.a.c., big mac, etc, etc, etc.
between zach and alex, these will never end:)

maybe it's the awesome weather...

2012-01-25T23:59:00.000-06:00

I am on one of my crazy cleanouteverythingandselleverythingthathasn'tbeenusedinthepastsixmonths sprees. so... let me know if you want to buy anything from me. i'd probably sell it to you for like $10. Seriously, every time i go through my closet i end up di-ing like, 2 bags of clothes. and then there is that 1 bag of clothes that i very rarely wear but just can't give to di... if you know what i mean.

i guess to the second hand shop it goes, but i would rather see them go to someone i know who will take care of them for me. am i the only one that goes through this?

on another note. i've started watching downton abbey. by "started watching" i mean i watched the whole first season in one night (guys calm down it was technically a night and a half and there are only 7 episodes:)).

zach thinks it's boring, but i like it. one of those easy shows to have on while doing other things. my kinda show.

and for someone who thinks it's "boring" he asks a lot of questions about it and watches a lot of episodes of it...

and one more thing. kels (that's my sisterinlaw) could have her baby any day now.

do you want to see what she looks like pregnant? trust me, you don't. it's so annoying how cute she looks:) alright i'll show you.

right?

well, i'm excited for the babe. it's probably the closest thing there is to zach and i having a baby of our own... not happening for awhile, my friends... so we are pretty excited about it.

and excited for them. kels and alex. they are already good parents and love that little guy.

and you guys, get excited for the name.... it's a good one. and boys names are HARD, but i think they've nailed it... or jess did since she's the one who handed it off to kelsey.

even zach approves. which DOESN'T HAPPEN.

mainly because he refuses to like any names that are cool and awesome.

which is why we won't be having kids for 10-40 years.

love you guys!

Shebs is gone. i know it's not a forever type of gone, but still.

2012-01-24T18:40:00.000-06:00

this is just a note to my friend shelly who is on a mission. i wrote it like a week after she left... and kind of forgot about it and never posted it. but now i miss her again... so here you go shells. even though you can't read it:)
i actually don't want anymore of my friends to go on missions please! k thanks.
i'm only kind of kidding about that.

shells a bells has been my friend forever.

and she will always, always be my friend.

i know sometimes people say this, but with shel, it's different. and it's not just because she knows me and i know her inside out, and it's not just because we can tell each other when acting weird or bugging, and it's not just because we are very different... yet the same in so many ways, or because half the time we're together we're cracking up at the each others' retarded-ness.

i think it's because shelly is one of the most real and sincere people i know... and I feel like I could tell her anything, and I know this can sometimes be a bad thing, but oftentimes, well, with most people, i can't say how i really feel at the moment, i can't tell them that they are bugging me or that i don't want to go there for dinner. and with shel i can, and she still likes me. and i feel like she won't judge me when i tell her things, like, she knows me and doesn't care what i say. did that make sense?

the night i met zach boy, shel was the only friend i could get to "go over to this guys house" after we already went to this ridiculous comedy thing with these silly boys.

she came with me then, even though she really wasn't dying to and felt a little uncomfortable at a party where everyone knew each other and they were literally ALL from davis high, except us 2 bountiful girls. but she went because she could tell i wanted to go. like really, really wanted to, and i didn't even really know why...

then we met z.

and as we were leaving i told her, "shel i think he likes you, you should go for him," all annoyed because i had a crush on him and genuinely felt like he was into her because he kept going on and onnnnnnnn about her hair. to which she responded, "um, no, because you like him."

she was right.

and i was wrong (although I wouldn't have blamed him one little bit).

and i want to tell you one other thing that makes shelly a good friend.

i can count on her.

and that, to me at least, is the number one thing that makes a good friend. when they are there. just there.

i think i am struggling with this fact lately becase sometimes i feel like there are like 4 people in the world i can count on. so, 1. i know that's not true even if it sometimes feels that way and 2. i just really like this chick.

i love the girl because she isn't perfect. did i say that? and because she is crazy and would any day of the week do anything for me (except, you know, when she's like on a mission or something:)).

she's my missionary.

and sometimes i miss my girl.

could please none of my friends go on missions anymore?!

geez. thats what i told her. but then zach followed it up with some great advice and getting her all excited again. because it's the people that make missions so amazing. that's what i hear anyways, and shebs loves the people everywhere, and they will love her.

i know she's having fun in shy town and i'm kind of jealous she gets to live there.
it's perfect for her.

oh high school us. haha. i look a little different.

miss you moron.

i hate my husband sometimes

2012-01-16T18:17:00.000-06:00

like when he becomes chums with people like, say, KATE BOSWORTH.

you need details, right?

so z was asked a couple days ago if he could help out on the set of some movie, no big deal right?
wrong.
turns out our girl kate bosworth is dating the director of said movie. so of course she's just hanging out on the set.
and of course zach starts chatting it up with her.

no big deal, it's just kate bosworth.
i only have blue crush or 21 recorded on my dvr pretty much AT ALL TIMES.
but whatever.

i seriously asked if he was joking like 7 times in a row. and then this was our texting convo:

z: I just chatted with her for a minute. she is cool.
me: what the freak? ask her why she wasn't at the globes? are you going to tt her again? (tt is how we say "talk to" because it's super hard to just write that out, duh).
z: ya. we cool.

ya, cool dude, peace out.
ALL MY TEXTS would be in ALL CAPS if i was chillin' with KATE.
that's all I have to say about that. for now.
but if they talk again, you bet you'll be hearing about it.

in the year 2011

2012-01-15T10:00:00.000-06:00

i have really enjoyed everyone's year wrap up posts, and i know i'm a little late, but it's fun to look back and remember what happened this past year. we liked 2011.

here we go!

first we have Wendell, saving our lives one day at a time. i still feel guilty about how we left things with him. i am not kidding when i say that once i found out we were moving he avoided us. we literally never saw him outside his house. i guess he's not good with goodbyes. i still feel bad about it though.

Having friend time before mags left... 6 more months!!

a couple sg trips. one with smoots. one with the helm girls.

i graduated.

and then he did.

we celebrated anniversary #2
and still haven't grown out of this phase. (but i have another goal this year. one meal a week people. not even kidding - that really is where we are starting).

watched jimmer leave byu and head to sac town. and became kings fans.

went to the stadium of fire with my fam, for the first time.

bought a house!
and began the never-ending projects that come along with it:)
but i love projects. i love them. i could be in my house all the time doing little projects. and i also love our house.

z turned 27/is now an old man.

z sold his truck. and one of his best friends.
(thank heavens).
and now we are those people.

and we enjoyed christmas in florida with my fam.
while helms enjoyed christmas in mexico (but we got to catch up with them via facetime - which was awesome).

and do you want to hear about one of my 2012 goals?
i'm getting a REAL christmas tree this year! and it's going to have big fat lights like the one pictured below. i haven't told zach yet... but turns out i have awhile to warm him up to the idea.

happy new year to you! it will be a good year, we'll make it be.

christmas 2012

2012-01-13T01:03:00.002-06:00

we went to florida with my fam for xmas this year.

we left christmas morning right after the usual christmas breakfast.

it's this egg and white sauce thing that you put on these homemade (usually) pastry things. and an exotic fruit salad. with hot cocoa of course.

it's so good, sometimes i wonder why we only have it one time a year.

traditions are funny like that.

and another thing, i never really think about my family's traditions until zach came into the fam. like, we have a super weird christmas eve dinner meal, but i never thought about it before. i mean, it's kinda cool, fancy, and definitely unique, but the first time zach had it, for christmas eve, i can imagine that it seemed pretty random. haha. but to us it's totally normal and wouldn't be christmas without it!

it's called roquelette (i'm not actually sure how to spell it...). it's swiss. and my mom went on her mission to switzerland, so that i suppose is what they do in switzerland as well. it's this delicious cheese you melt on this special little cheese melting thing and then you put it over your little red potato. and we''ve added brawts to meal as well. mmmm.

i like tradtitions.

anyways, back to christmas day. after breakfast we took off for FL. and once we landed we headed to downtown disney and ate at the T-Rex restaurant.

it was about 10 at night and we hadn't eaten since breakfast but it was gooood. especially to jer. and i quote, "those were the best onion rings i have ever had." there you go, onion ring crowd.

animal kingdom was incredible. i am going on the record saying it was my favorite park. and we only spent like 2 hours there! really though it was so well done. disney just goes all out. and this was some of their finest work, if i do say so myself. we loved seeing all the cool animals and they just made the experience so awesome.

there's a giraffe in those trees!

oh and in the below pic are my little brothers rivals.
yes, we found these two fellas, with their under armor hoodies, tube socks, and all. and had to take a pic to show the boys. zach spotted them. we couldn't stop laughing.

so of course the boys just HAD to find the "zach and liz" rivals. haha, this is the pic they got. but really, this looks like a much better version of us! i was dying though, the vneck and the sunglasses - totally zach. i think the leggings and headband is right on though for the chick. touche little boys.

now, for the moment you've all been waiting.

harry potter world!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you guys, it was everything i dreamed of. i loved it all. i felt like i was in hogsmeade and i seriously am so glad universal took this world seriously. it did not disappoint.

we ate in the three broomsticks.

drank butterbeer and pumpkin juice.

ate chocolate frogs and every flavored beans.

and went on a ride inside of hogwarts.

i felt like a little kid, and i really felt like we were in harry potter's world. i loved it!

the theme parks were so fun, and my friend at work (joelle) saved us by going into detail on what we've got to do while there. she used to work at disney world and has been many, many times, so she made a list of things we cant miss at each park, the best places to eat, the coolest things to see, what to pass on and her personal favs in each park (including universal) so i feel like we covered all the awesome stuff and skipped all the waste of time stuff and made great use of our time. but still we left exhausted every day (and honestly we were far from hardcore, by 6pm we were DONE with parks).

it was nice to have a few days to unwind at the beach for a few days after the parks before heading home.
me, tj, my mom and dad went to nasa. which was sweet and quite informational. it's amazing thinking and learning about space. it's insane what is out there.

and we also went to mission impossible with the fam.
and it was AMAZING.
we highly recommend it. it's definitely my fam's type of movie, we all loved it. but who wouldn't, come on.

all-in-all it was such a fun trip and so fun to spend time with the fam. and i think almost all of us would agree that the best 2 parts of the trip were 1. seeing alligators all over on the side of the road! (and having zach spit off facts about gators nonstop and having swamp people marathons on the bed with the boys. he's obsessed). and 2. watching jimmer on tv (woot, woot! we are jimmer fans and we're going to the jazz kings game! thanks parents!).

by the way...

2011-12-31T11:30:00.000-06:00

do you have new years plans, because WE DON'T. wanna hang out??

happy new years to you!

with a little zooey for your viewing pleasure.

merry, merry christmas to you from florida this year.

2011-12-30T22:07:00.000-06:00

love, the cutest mick and min ever!

and us, the helms:)

*better late than never, right?!

.the latest

2011-12-11T12:05:00.001-06:00

First of all, let's all look at my cute niece, rubs. i just want to kiss those cheeks! jess sent us some pics of the kids and her subject line was, 'prepare to die of cuteness,' and now i will say the same to you. love these babes.

Second, zach really got into the christmas spirit this year. you can come see our house if you want, it's lookin' good. kind of like candyland, if you ask me.

third, if you do come, make sure you come at night because we are missing four lovely trees and a strip of siding on the house. thanks windstorm.

fourth, lace performed at the festival of trees and she was so good. she knew every move, it was so fun to watch her.
this girl loves to dance.

he only got this kind of attention because it was his big 18th bday. but this last pic is really cute.
i'll go through a couple of their conversations for you (lacey has like this low, raspy voice. it's the cutest thing ever... so you can read it in that voice)

conv 1.
lace: hi zach
b: no lacey, i'm tj - remember?
lace: oh, hi t-j

conv 2.
b: lace you did so good, you were the best one out there.
lace: i know t-j. hap birthday t-j.

aaaaand last but not least. ali and josh are ENGAGED.

ali's my girl, she always has been. and josh is perfect for her. and for us:) even zach approved (very much), he's protective of my friends, and not many men are quite good enough. but josh totally passed.

as for me, i've always been a josh fan.

i remember when he got home from his mission and ali was dating someone else and me and Kris, ali's mom, were talking about josh and i remember us saying, "but ali, he's gorgeous - i mean his EYES," and her response, "i know!! i know he's gorgeous stop talking about it!"

we're glad it happened. 'bout time.

(this was the night they got engaged. her ring is GORGEOUS.... good one josh).

.cute trucks for cute boys

2011-11-20T11:19:00.000-06:00

i will now pay a tribute to zach's truck.
the truck has been sold. and i will take responsibility for complaining about the truck until he finally sold the thing. i had my reasons, and they were all $$ related.

but at least he got a photoshoot by larry his secret friend at work with the truck before it was sold to the hispanic family who invited him over for dinner and is going to teach him how to make mole? ya that happened.

BUT i will say that he has had that truck since he was 16 years old, and it knew him better than i'm sure a lot of people do. and they've been through a lot together. and he has had a lot of good memories in it and it has, for the most part, been there for him through a lot. and i will picture him in that little truck for many years to come, it suits him quite well, i know this because one of the first things he told me was that girls tell him his truck is cute. and he was cute. so they went together.
and i would have to agree with that even if i am remembering it a little tiny bit incorrect and he may not like how that came out....

goodbye truck. you will surely be missed. except for the dumping money into you part, we have enough car related things to take care of right now...

oh, and here is a preview of what our driveway looks like now:

i know, we're embarrassed for ourselves.

but GUYS you can't be picky when alex is finding you a car, if he says it's the one, it's the one. it's been a gem so far, and i'm sure it will be for yeeeeears to come. so trust me i know we look like dorks with our two white hondas in the driveway, but at least it has been one motivation for us to use our garage, so... you've just got to embrace it.

.a little advice for girls with car problems

2011-11-17T23:49:00.001-06:00

so, after 2.5 years of marriage i've learned something.

tell the husband that you got a speeding ticket when he is WINNING his fantasy football game.

guys, i'm getting smarter!

minus the actually getting the ticket part... especially after thewrecklastmonth...

don't get the impression that i'm down playing the wreck. it kind of ruined my life for a day. maybe i'll tell you about it sometime.

maybe it takes me 2.5 years to learn timing with the boy, but it only took him a month to learn exactly how to handle me in these situations. not that most people are tested twice in a month...
if you know zach, you know he twists his hair when he gets nervous or anxious. he was twisting like a mad man, but seriously only said, "it's been a rough month, huh."

yeah, it has. really rough.

timing may be something, but really, this boy wins the patient, understanding, loving husband award of the month. i might hang up a sign or something. or maybe a special parking place in the garage? or maybe just a big, fat kiss on the mouth.
ilovethisman.

.saturday mornings and youtube.com

2011-10-17T18:33:00.001-05:00

this is what we do some lazy saturdays when we don't want to get up - waste time on facebook and youtube together! hey, at least it counts as family time right?

as you know, i am not an avid youtube fan. i know i look dumb saying that.
but you also know that if I am posting a vid, it is worth watching.
well, that is to say, if you care about things i care about (Nikki Menaj and Brandon Flowers I guess today?) then you will like it.
even if you aren't into those singers, i'm telling you, both videos are worth watching (if you haven't already seen them, i know they've been circulating).

Youtube vid 1.

that girl is freakin cute, am i right?
hilarious.

Youtube vid 2.

"there's still a fire burnin in there"
love it and love your face b flowers.

i've watched both videos several times now.
enjoy!

my favorite boy

2011-09-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

we had a little surprise bday for z for his 27th birthday, i'm sorry did i say 27th? WHAAAA?!!

(ali made the invites... they were perfect. thanks lals - you are the best)

happy birthday sweet boy.
i like hanging out with you every day of my life. and watching shows with you. and carpooling to work with you. and doing projects in our little house with youuuuu.

did you know i love you? i do. i love you.

there is nothing that makes zach more happy than having all his family and friends around. so it was perfect. thanks all.

my brotherinlaw, who shall not be named (jon), said he almost accidentally ruined the surprise by saying something... but he was able to stop himself only because the repercussions of being featured on my blog came to his head. i think his exact words were, "OMG. my.brother.in.law. ruined the surprise!"

OMG JON. i dont sound like that ever. and thanks for not ruining the surprise. that goes for all of you.

.summer recap

2011-09-21T23:16:00.000-05:00

helllllo. first of all... this new blogger interface is stressing me right out.
i mean, don't get me wrong, it is much prettier and i'm sure it has every intention of being much more user friendly... but right now it is just making me angry. mainly because it's erased this post like 3 times. like, is it really even worth it?

Ness, i'm finishing this post for you girl.

we quite enjoyed this eventful summer of ours. i wish i had pics of candice's pool (oh, and dave's;)), but i don't. it's a lovely pool, and every minute there was time well spent, in our opinion. their backyard is a dream-yard, and you bet we took full advantage. and maybe wore out our welcome a little bit, but only expect them to do the same with our house this winter... starting with friday night lights, ok?

we've decided to make this winter a tv series-full winter. so if you have any other suggestions of must see series, we welcome them. (i haven't seen Lost... i hear this is something i would like... i guess we'll see?).

we will miss sitting on the back porch, which is zach's favorite part of our house.

this chick, we've been seeing quite a bit more of her and love it. she is one of our favorite little people, and she knows it. the other night she was over and zach was holding our niece, ruby, and izzy started crying, "no! MY zach-yyy!"
i guess she likes us too. or at least zachy. i'm pretty sure that made his night, she knows how to get the guys eating out of the palm of her hand already, watch out smoots! we love that sassy little baby.

her dad, marcus, was very instrumental in helping us get our house. pleasure doing business with you mr. smoot. he's a great friend to z and i'm glad we live so close now! (please dont move back to ogden ever you guys, it was just too far:)). And michelle (Izzy's mom) is the best, i swear she's fed my husband more times than i have. sometimes i think we overwhelm them, because we don't have that many people to hang out with most nights, but we're just glad they still let us come over.

oh and what would summer be without bees games? or mary and andrew? we quite like them. and who would have thought king's speech was better than red riding hood, certainly not me! (you guys, i think i made andrew feel bad this one night because he chose red riding hood at red box because he thought that's what me and mary would want to watch, and who would know that i have a strong opinion about, um, everything. i "boo-ed" his choice. and in the end they went back to red box and re-rented a movie. i'm mean you guys. and then later i heard mary and zach explaining the type of movies i like, because it's all about me some nights i guess, and this is what i hear, "she likes movies like bourne identity, high action, and like you've got mail."

in other words, i am inconsistent. and bossy. :)

So, i need you to know that although i'm sad to say goodbye to summer, i am quite pleased with fall this year! i think i'm mainly just loving this time of year because it's been, oh i don't know, maybe 17 years since i've been able to enjoy fall to it's fullest extent (meaning NO SCHOOL!!). so WELCOME FALL. as much as i love love love summer, you've never looked soooo good.

oh and did i tell you that zach boy ran the red rock relay last weekend? running all night long and not sleeping does not sound fun at all, does it? or am i crazy? someone the other day asked me if z was a runner, i didn't really know how to respond, so i said, well he has run a marathon, and he's running the red rock relay... and he runs sometimes. is he a runner? i guess he is. i'm proud of his running. he's good at it. and his team took first place! just kidding. that wasn't funny, i'm sorry. they really did do gooood though!

and i stayed home to do house projects and go to mary poppins with my mom and aunt and cousin. it was absolutely lovely. so many great songs. i think "you're practically perfect" is one of my favs. but there are so many good ones. spoonful of sugar, lets go fly a kite, it's a jolly holiday with mary... the list goes on.

and i got a lot of projects done.

i did a lot of painting and had grey's anatomy (go ahead and judge me) playing in the background (bless netflix, and alex's friend izzye for having netflix), and found myself crying during one of the episodes. you know, the one where denny dies, hopefully your not watching the 2nd season right now. anyways, does this make me emotionally unstable? i had to stop myself and turn on something great and trashy after that breakdown like reruns of the bachelor pad.

Also, i've been spending a lot alot of time at ikea lately. at zach's expense. BUT, our house is looking great, RIGHT ZACH?! (guys, tell him it looks worth every ikea penny spent:):)).

No it has been fun painting and putting things together and wiring, etc. and we've had some great helpers. Rob has been over many a night helping z paint, wire, hook up, clean wood floors, etc, etc. And zach, finally ready to learn all his dad's old tricks from his years of experience, has been soaking it all in (at least i hope he has...).

And, you know my friend ali T? she has been over helping me figure out my life at my new home. shopping, planning, painting, planning, shopping, rearranging, etc. it has been great living near her again after about five years. we were just meant to be together. preferably across the street from each other for the rest of our lives, but down 4th north will work as well.

i'll show you my house sometime, when i actually complete something rather than doing two thirds of each room and then moving to the next because of something i like to call A-D-D.

but i love it. i love having projects around the house. i get so excited when i get some inspiration (or when ali does...).
and i ate a lot of peanut butter m&ms while z was running races, i bought the party pack you guys.
breakfast lunch and dinner people. but z said no more buying paint, i've bought a lot of paint. like, a lot of paint. it's not my fault i want to repaint every room in this house a different color!

someone buy paint for me please, k thanks.

sorry for the forever-long post. but did you watch the full hour of modern family tonight? if you didn't please record for next week so we can be friends. and add parks and rec to your dvr while your at it, it premiers tomorrow.

until next time!

Guess where we'll be watching the Bachelor Pad next Monday??!!!

2011-08-17T18:28:00.001-05:00

AT OUR NEW HOUSE.

that we closed on yesterday.

and are moving into this weekend.

that's right people. me and zach boy are officially home owners/grown-ups/the-bank-owns-us-and-we-don't-even-care.

Sorry for the silence on the blog-town... this process has been a little crazy. lots of ups and downs. but it's good. and we've had some really, really great helpers. I'll tell you about them later.

But for now... i need to pack.

YAYYYYY!

We really are so excited.

so so so excited.

moab rocks & moab with the rocks

2011-08-07T22:30:00.002-05:00

oh so clever i am.
haha.
come on, it's late.

first food stop- the classic burgers and fries.
my fav.
i would give this particular place, milts, an average though.
their fry sauce just didn't quite have it.

geez i know. road trips make me look like this. im sorry to share.

you cant see it well, but... my mom has a really pretty lip color.
just saying.
so you can check it out in another photo at another time.

and then there is tj.
whats up my brotha.
the one and only reason this kid is a cool cat is because GORDON HAYWARD wrote on his Fbook wall. The real Gordon Hayward! Is that not crazy?! We're taliking the NBA here. Sorry we're obsessed with him lately, but, come on, that's pretty awesome, right?

and ben and dad drove all the way from CO.
it's a worthy thing to make the trip for, moab.
hi benj.
he's been gone for a couple months.

he's a cute boy.
and i really like my new sweat pants.
and this was his first time to moab (what the... i know, who hasn't been to moab, right?).
and, i dont know if you noticed or anything, but he made that shirt.
as in picked out the design on the wall AND the tee-shirt he wanted it on.
the asian chick then ironed it right on for him. and also told us that "like sometimes people think im like mexican or something, but im not, im asian, like vietnamese."
please tell me this is not how i sound in real life, too?
ugh.

brothas
one of these things is not like the others.
please excuse the freaky eyes us rocks have.
not really sure if it's because we are super cool or something - but it must be because zach does not have this same super power (see pic of me and z above)... yep, just us.
i dont know.

when i was younger, we used to go jeeping in moab every year for the jeep safari.
it was a blast.
it was really fun getting back to moab and spending time with the fam.
but next time i go, im going jeeping.

are you in?
let's do it.

Newport: Round 3

2011-08-05T01:46:00.010-05:00

oh how we love newport.

i know, they are to die for.

is she not the cutest ever?
best suit collection goes to this little chunky monkey.
so darling.

the guys and the gals.
as you can see, the played botch-ee (??) ball pretty much nonstop.

oh balboa- and ohhh balboa bars. yum.

great pic of pam and rob.
thanks for another great year in newport.

ira: "candice look at that fat kid"
candice: "ira, do you think he's a cute kid"
ira: "yes"
candice: "then let's just call him a cute kid"

this happened two feet away from the little chubby but cute boy and his dad.
that still makes me laugh - apparently us calling rubs fat girl has worn off on ira... haha.

this kid is growing up.
all of the sudden he's a kid, like a five year old boy, not a baby anymore.
little cutie.

jon made us go to this fancy restaurant that Jim Rome eats at (whoever that is:))
and, let me tell you, we ended up quite pleased.
me and zach had the best meal, in my opinion.
but i cant remember what we got now. ask candice. she'll remember.

in the bathrooms they have a person to squirt soap into your hands and give you a paper towel. i think this was the highlight of zach's night. i kid you not.
not to mention the chips and salsa were delish... and they were not about to let us run out of it either. so of course, like little kids, we filled up on that before our meals came:)
either way, it was a fun night out on the town- and drew the babysitter even had ruby walking by the time we got back. wowza.

direct quote from ira after asking zach to "come play with him" about five times "zachy's not going to help us, huh?"
how can you say no to the kid after that. you cant.

cool shorts z.
zach got sunburned. like really sunburned.
i feeeel your pain boy.

candice got really good at putting the rubs to sleep on the beach.
sweet baby.
sad day to come home.
alex and kels, you were missed.
until next year.

a cute babe and a cute boy

2011-07-26T23:21:00.001-05:00

Just thought I'd share.

one decision at a time...and other important matters

2011-07-26T00:28:00.005-05:00

I have a choice to make every day/every time I take a shower (Sorry I don't shower every day... I don't even have an excuse for you.... I just don't...). I can either wash my hair or shave my legs. This is due to our flippin water heater. Shave legs wins one in, like, 7 times.

My sister-in-law is starting to call me a granola, but guys, I HAVE TWO MINS & 30 SECONDS OF HOT WATER (ah, that took a long time to type all caps on the iPhone). So buy me a new water heater/ take it up with Doris (landlord: 75 yrs old, gorgeous white hair and in love with my husband- im serious, he has a way with the elderly) and I'll have smooth, shiny legs for you (unfortunately just not wearing shorts/skirts is off the table- hey I only have like 3 months of summertime!!!).

Happy pioneer day/weekend!! And p.s. Both Z and I are Fbook friends with Gordon Hayward. holla.

.days like today

2011-07-21T22:43:00.001-05:00

Zach asked how my day was.
I told Zach that today was stupid.

And that I just want to eat this "Late Night Snack."
Ive never tried it, but I really want to.
Because the ingredients consist of vanilla bean ice cream, salty caramel swirls and fudge covered potato chip clusters.
Um HELLO!

That ice cream was made for me.
I think.
I haven't actually tried it.

Unfortunately they only sell it in secret places. I tried 3 stores...
Could you find it for me??
I need it, like, yesterday.

Stadium of fire

2011-07-18T21:44:00.004-05:00

we went to stadium of fire with my familia this year
and it was SO GOOD.
maybe it's because for some reason i didn't have high expectations, but i enjoyed it thoroughly.
david archuletta opened, darling as usual.
then brad paisley sang.
And I'll just go ahead and admit that I knew the words to almost every one of his songs. I've always been a country music kinda girl, but sometimes a closet one. So there's that.
He was a great performer.
then, the fireworks. and they were SO GOOD!
I'm telling you guys, if you get the chance next year... You should go.
Afterwards there was a dance party outside the stadium, which just looked a lot more awesome than waiting in traffic.
And luckily my mama has been a mom for a long time and packed cookies, rice crispy treats and a cooler full of drinks to make the time spent in traffic more enjoyable.
And it was.
And since me and Zach and my mom have all lived in provo at one point or another, we found a super fast way out of there and traffic really didn't get to us.

Oh and before the show we stopped at a provo Fav. Diegos for din. And it didn't disappoint. My little brother told me the other night he had a dream about the burrito he ate, "it was the best burrito ive ever had."
It's worth trying if you're in the happy valley.
At least we think it is:)

yay for summertime!

.i had a birthday

2011-07-17T00:12:00.000-05:00

In Dallas.

For work.
Over a month ago.

And my housekeeping people/ "room atte." left me a note. and they didnt even know it was my bday.

so i knew i was off on the right foot.

then there was a cow, because, well, it's Dallas...
and that's a blurry picture of me on a cow.
it doesn't make sense to me either guys.

hotel.

lets just say it was fabulous.
and it had it's own water park.

oh and this whole dallas trip was timed perfectly.
with round 4 of the finals and all.
and i got lucky enough to go.
and it was AAA-MA-ZING
i called almost everyone i knew afterwards to tel them.
sorry if you were one of those people, it's just, i've never been to a finals game before.
such a rush (even if mr. dirk did have the flu).
even moreso when the mavs beat the heat!
(and yes, this means i have 3 teams now- turns out i'm a bball fan).

maybe because it was because i ate it at midnight,
or maybe because it was a pleasant surprise to come back to after the game,
but i think this was one of the best cakes i've ever eaten.

oh, and i guess i was there for work...
and i have to say, our booth was pretty awesome.

now, I know I'm a little behind on the updating of the blog- but bare with me. summer is buuuussy. but trust me, i have thought about blogging many a times:)
i have all winter to blog, right?!

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday.

2011-07-04T13:12:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th!!

.liz & bug date

2011-07-01T00:46:00.006-05:00

i call her bug or lar lar.

a lot of people call her LG nowadays.

and tonight i visited her new house in the Avenues. which is just lovely. because what isn't lovely in the Aves?

And then we walked (I repeat- walked) to Gateway for sushi, because guys happy sumo gives you $15 bucks for your bday to spend there. our total was $2.75. It was awesome.

and then we went into juicyberry and only got samples of frozen yogurt. and to top it off, i was barefoot by that time (my feet were done with me, you know, after all that walking business).

We also ran into a darling little friend from high school who just got married to a nineteen year old girl (who is also darling) and we spent much time afterwards talking about how young she is/seems/i was nineteen when i got married, but whatever...

it was a fabulous night at the gateway (as usual) eating outdoors, listening to the guy playing the guitar and sitting there for 3 hours talking and looking at people.

she's my girl.

you watched the nba draft, didn't you? oh cool, me neither.

2011-06-30T00:54:00.007-05:00

just kidding i did.

when you fall asleep to sports center every night (not by choice) some of what the television tells you is retained. and sometimes i start to get interested. but especially when i feel like i have a connection with the people they talk about, like if they live in UT or went to the same school as me, or... something like that.

i just have to get this out in the open...

i might have woken up the night after the draft at 5 am thinking about Jimmer going to the kings.

i won't get into it too much for fear that i have already lost about 90% of my readers with my title, but i just feel like after a tough year the jazz needed the personality, the energy, the excitement he would bring to Utah and, let's be honest, we needed his shot, too.

jimmer- i know you're reading this- and i just want to tell you that we're sad you're not in UT, but for the first time in my life i'll be rooting for the kings (well, for the first time in my life i've known there was a team in sacramento... and i'll be rooting for them... unless they're playing my jazz, of course).

ruby time!

2011-06-13T20:10:00.002-05:00

her parents and the boys went to Moab for the weekend, so we got to share rubs with candice and dave.
we love this little chick, or as z calls her "rub-a-chunk" or "rub-a-dub-dub."
we went to the farmers market (i'll be there every saturday) and said hi to every dog there (pretty sure there were 200).
then to liberty park (renovated and just lovely). not your regular lehi crowd (she liked people watching the sword fighters as much as i did).
then to target, i'm pretty sure she knows her way around that place.
then a nice long drive around all of slc.
and we were equally pooped afterwards.
after i dropped her off with aunt candice, i took a 2 hour nap.
let's just say i'll be the best babysitter ever for a little while longer. so pleeeease take advantage. we love other people's babies.

that cheesy smile?
are you dying?

this girl can dress.
zach was so confused why it took me like a half hour to pick out an outfit for her.
there were just sooo.many.options!!

sweaty.
but oh so cute.
tired baby.
i wasnt amusing her.
i want to eat those cheeks.
and you should see her thighs.

these last 3 are post-mini-nap pics.
we love our rubs.

.ruby girl

2011-06-12T23:25:00.002-05:00

Ruby and I spent a lot of time together this weekend. She's to die for cute. And I couldn't stop taking pictures of her. So... Many more to come.

I missed national donut day. Did you?

2011-06-05T20:36:00.000-05:00

I hope you ate two for me if you celebrated.
I hope to make up for it soon.
Very soon.
There's a deeelish donut place by my place, you can come if you want.

i promise you this will be my last graduation post EVER. but i had to post some pics.

2011-06-01T08:14:00.002-05:00

Dr. Seuss has inspired me for as long as I can remember.
As some of you may know, I get quite passionate about things I study or work on... If they are not related to science...
And in ninth grade I wrote a paper on Dr. Suess.
That's basically where it all began.
- The Grinch who stole christmas with Jim carry is one of my all-time favorite movies.
I think me and ryan beck are the only two people in the world who have this in common.
Also, it's one of the only things we have in common:)
just kidding ryan, we're like identical twins. i know you secretly read this.

- And, Oh, The Places You'll Go is still sitting on my nightstand.

Fox Hall.
where it all began.
i couldnt help but take a pic here.

My grandpa Larry literally filmed the entire thing. And he also told me I was the cutest girl there. So there you have it. Straight from grandpa larry's mouth. He was so sweet and proud.

he's the cutest husb ever.
what on earth?
why are we doing such faces?
come on, normal people dont look that ridiculous even if the sun is in their eyes. we cannot handle it.
we must be siblings or something.

vanessa was my friend from day 1 in the program.
i would say she's one of the only people who i really got know, and who really got to know me, in the program. (im not the best at making friends...).
as in, we could count on each other and knew what to expect, and we always had each others backs.
and, it also helps that she knows how to handle me when my blood sugar is getting low or when it was going on 4 hours of a group project and we weren't getting anywhere and i was going to strangle a certain member or two in our group (we were in a lot of the same groups, thank heavens).

Professor Plowman.
Such a great guy. And amazing professor.
We were his favorite students, really, he told us.

i love this pic.
alex woke up real early to come to this.
not sure if you can tell or not :)
they love each other.

UVU gave each of their students a copy of Oh, The Places You'll Go.
The Party Edition even.
Glittery.
I thought that was very fitting, and very nice of UVU.

zachy and his mama.
pam and rob had many graduations to go to that week, since me, z, kelsey and alex all walked together, but not actually together.
we should have gotten a picture with us 4 in our robes, probably wont happen now.

it was a great week, but enough of that now, i'm over being graduated guys- onto bigger and better things, right?!! right.

.my boy

2011-05-29T22:05:00.001-05:00

some friday nights i put on heels & he buttons up a flannel and we hang out with friends and eat at restaurants with waitresses.
others it's just me and him.
first to McDonalds for a coke and fries, then to wendy's for some spicy chicken nuggets and a frosty.
and a red box in bed to top it off.

sometimes there is something so satisfying about doing nothing together, because all i really need to be happy, is him.
happy anniversary yesterday. and here's to many friday nights to come.(and this is the first pic we ever took together. back in those blessed dorm days).

.lately

2011-05-29T13:34:00.004-05:00

have you been to the new Harmons?
if not, you should go.
while there you can sample lemon, or basil, or garlic olive oil at the olive oil bar...
or get a sample slice of brick oven pizza...
or try their bread made fresh daily...
zach got their chicken fingers- best chicken fingers we've had to date.
congrats farmington on this new addition- now you have three things to offer me.
(farmington also houses my lovely inlaws, as well as a fabulous mexican restaurant named...something...i'll get back to you on that one).

me and zachy cant get enough of this chick.
just look at that little face!
we love our little izzy.
well, the smoots little izzy.
and we love it when she says our names "Leeez and Zach-eee," she's the cutest.

the zoo.
we had a work retreat at the zoo, yes we did.
and here is big mark (also known as mark eaton).
he spoke to us, and he's quite a good speaker.

and then the best part of the retreat happened, during the scavenger hunt i ran into jess and the babies!
they were at the zoo for beck's field trip.
and it made my day.
and, just so you know, when you've taken babies to Costa Rica, Mexico and the DR, the zoo ain't no thing.

spring?
don't let these blossoms fool you. our spring has been freezing and depressing.

softball.
z will tell you this is the best decision he's made this summer.
i believe him.
i looove watching baseball.
and between my brothers games, zach's games and bees games- i'm in for a good summer.

that's us as of late.
and we are looking forward to some SUN in the near future.
let's all keep our fingers crossed.

My Girls & Bday Dinners & Anthro

2011-05-25T01:09:00.004-05:00

my.favorite.

cast.your.vote.

2011-05-09T23:17:00.010-05:00

oh hey.
i need you to see what has happened to my husband over the last few months.
and i also need your unbiased opinion on which style=the best looking zach boy.
someone doesn't listen to someone else around here, so maybe someone will listen to one or ten of you?
please, we need your help.

and i also need you to know that it is no coincidence that he is wearing this yellow shirt in 2 of the photos. he wears it every day.
does anyone have an opinion on that one??
a little help people.

hair phase 1:
nappy, maybe a little? but he is cute. maybe boyish is a better word?

hair phase 2:
oh heeeey, good-lookin'

hair phase 3:
no comment.
cast your vote peeps.

oh and here's another pic for your viewing pleasure:

did you think that person on the left was my husband?!
it's not!
it's his twin that we dont know, but are now stalking, because our friend showed us a pic of him and it weirded us out like crazy!
it's my husband, yet a man that i do not know. so creepy.

.way to go boy

2011-05-09T18:21:00.004-05:00

"Hey girl, are we still on for tonight?"

I got this text on Friday morning, in 2008, in my humanities 201 class with Professor Call. We were going out for the first time that night, but I almost thought he'd completely forgotten about it or changed his mind since i hadn't heard from him for two whole days. I was dying.

"Oh, that's tonight! Of course we're still on."

Play it cool, Liz.

Have I already been through all of your Facebook photos, analyzed who our "friends in common" are and asked the one friend I had that went to Davis High about a hundred questions about you, even though he only knew your brother, alex??
No. Of course not.
And I also didn't show mags (sitting next to me in class) that text as soon as it came in.
And of course I could wipe that smile off my face immediately.

We were so silly.
Now look at us.
All old and graduated.

Did I mention Zach finished, too?
He worked very long and very hard and commuted even more than me.
And most people have no idea how long or hard because he doesn't complain or tell the world that he's tired.
(Unlike some people i know, ahem, me).
He just keeps going and quietly does his best.
And I am very proud of his accomplishments.
Great job baby. You did it!!!!!

.my mama

2011-05-08T08:28:00.000-05:00

This is my mom (and Jer bear). She taught me how to be confident, loyal and tough.

Like a few days before I left for college, when I broke down because I hadn't bought Tide yet and then got completely overwhelmed with having to take care of myself and buy things like Tide and 409. She let me cry over nothing, then told me I'd be ok. And that college is fun. And that I'd meet new friends and stay up late and sluff class to do something great like take off to go skiing after doing awesome on a midterm, like she did.

She was right, college was fun (the life part, not so much the schoooool part).

She's the type of mom that will drop everything for her kids if they need her.
I hope one day my kids can say that about me.
She's pretty awesome.
And smart and crazy and fun and beautiful.
Love you, mom.
Happy mothers day.

Utah, please don't hail like that again. Thanks, Liz.

2011-04-26T00:20:00.000-05:00

p.s. And if you could bring us some of these, that'd be great.
We are totally, totally ready not to wear our lovely Northface gear anymore.

.clutch

2011-04-22T19:18:00.002-05:00

When I think clutch, i think driving a stick shift.
You have no choice but to be clutch when you are at a 4-way stop and it's your turn to go and youve been driving stick for a day and a half and you have four friends in your car.
So, you somehow make it through.
But only because there are two options: you choke or you be clutch.

I think this is how a lot of things in life are. A lot of little things.

One time,
about a year ago,
this kid in my class said, "I would take liz on my team any day, she's clutch."
i think he was half joking, but for some reason, all this time later, i can't get that statement out of my head.
I wouldnt say im clutch, I would say I'm stubborn.
But either way, this little thought in a classmates head changed a little thing in me.
I cant quite explain it.

My cousin, jordy, told me awhile ago that on graduation day ill feel like I can do anything.
She was right.
If i can go to four years of college, i can do anything.
As silly as that sounds, for today at least, I think its true.

*and, the girl in the above picture is Rachel. She's pretty.
More on her later.
Sorry if you're already sick of graduation posts, but.... It was kinda my whole life for a lots a years (did you know that?!??).

Amen, brotha

2011-04-22T01:22:00.001-05:00

(via redstamp)

oh, happy day

2011-04-21T00:44:00.005-05:00

I cant explain the feeling, except that about two million pounds fell off my shoulders all at once.
All those first day of class stomach aches, two o clock in the morning library fun, driving to provo and anxiety anxiety anxiety over finals finals finals.
I-am-done-zo.
Z said he was proud of me- and even on HIS blog (and probably almost as excited as me-since he's the one who has to hear the constant complaints, he's a good husband, I like him).
He also said I was maybe being a little dramatic.
But I can assure you I was not.

Even when I screamed in the car.
And maybe had a tear or two streaming down my face.

This is a day to remember folks.
And, ok, I might be just a little bit dramatic, but, school honestly just took a lot out of me. everyday. Of my entire life. And I feel reeeeal good about being done.

And this is a pic of my day.
Yes, my day.
My beautiful, beautiful day.

.everybody needs a sue

2011-04-13T00:56:00.005-05:00

There are a few people in my life who I feel like can look at me and see my soul.
Sue harkness is one of those people.
She just knows the right thing to do or say and exactly when I need it most.
Like when I woke up on V-day in high school to my front porch coverered in chocolates, little gifts and a simple sue note.
Above and beyond. Every day.
I want to be like her.

Last week I got an email from her ending with, "hope all is going great for you.. and always remember that you are beautiful, fantastic, amazing, beyond phenomial, crazy fun, and sosososoososossooo sweet!!

loveyatons
sue"

Like I said, everybody needs a sue.

.doritos and peanut butter m&ms

2011-04-09T01:22:00.005-05:00

Lar came over today.
She tells it like she sees it.
Always has.

Today when she was over she said, "You're out of toilet paper."
So i said, "Oh ya, I know, heeere."
Then she said, "Napkins. Napkins from Subway?"
...

I told her z was at the grocery store buying tp.

Then he came home.

Me: oh you got everything I asked for, doritos AND peanut butter M&Ms. You're the best.
Lar: did you get tp.
Z: oh, I forgot to get that.

Then he asked her if she wanted him to pour her a bowl of off-brand honeycomb.
Then she asked if that's what we usually eat for dinner (while unable to stop laughing), and I told her no, we usually eat leftovers from my work, doritos or chips and salsa.

This is when she preceded to tell us we were white trash...

And there you have it.
But at least we have friends who will set us straight, right?
After all, what are best friends for?

.the boys

2011-04-07T21:42:00.002-05:00

they wont tell you this, but they like me.

and it's because i sometimes buy them frosty's (dollar menu, of course) and tell them what to wear on the first day of school (still).
and read harry potter 7 to them.
and the hunger games.
and now they're old. so i make them ask girls to dances and teach them how to drive stick.
and look at their girl friends blogs with them (did you know high schoolers have blogs... they do).

* above is B
also known as tj
he loves causing drama.
just ask zach.
he also refuses to use more than one word in text messages.
"yes" and "ok" are the most commonly used.
and... he introduced me to: "I Need a Doctor."
and likes "Empire State of Mind" almost as much as me.

*below is j-man.
also referred to as jer bear.
which name do you think this 15-year-old prefers?
oh well, he called me "wiz" until he was like 13.
he prefers reading over almost anything else in the world.
and in this picture is texting, playing pokemon on gameboy and watching tv.
And- he may or may not know every word to every song in Wicked.
we like our little nerd.

for some reason, it is common for people to think me and ben (older bro) are the only 2 sibs.
we're not.
the boys (Ben included) are the first to tell me when they don't like my look.
B: you look greeeat today. I looove your hair like that (said with just a tiny hint of sarcasm... You'd never guess).
J: why are you wearing that belt over your shirt? Does zach like that? Did you go to work like that?

But really, I know they like me.
And no, they aren't twins.

.home is wherever im with you

2011-04-06T17:42:00.000-05:00

z will be the first to tell you that youtube is not my thing.
which seems weird, but i guess i just wrote it off after spending one too many nights watching youtube clip after youtube clip my freshman year (bless the dorms).
it was all the rave way back then:)
and now i may or may not start plugging my ears (which he loves, as we all would) when z tries to show me more than one clip at a time on there.
one clip/week is pretty much my limit.

im weird you guys.

but every once in awhile i find a gem, as we all do, and fall in love with youtube all over again.
or maybe just this girl.
me and z watched this like 3 times already (i maybe watched it a few times after he was done, too).
and she's to die for.
especially when she gets all excited around 1:03 or pretends to whistle at 1:38.
and i just love the song.

we'll take two of her, please.

.starteachdaylikeit'syourbirthday

2011-04-06T11:16:00.000-05:00

and THIS, my friends, is exactly what i needed to hear (via: redstamp).
because i live each day lately just to not die in the middle of it.
because im sick of school.
and driving to freaking provo.
and the stress of midterms. papers. quizzes. finals.
etc.

so...
right now, it's things like this little thought and design below that make me happy.
things that i catch myself smiling about for longer than two seconds.
like new episodes of modern family and parks and rec.
and when zach sends me photos of mags, ry b and james sukhan on the cover of byu magazines in random doctors offices.
and Stranger than Fiction, when Kay Eiffel says (one of my favorite all-time quotes which i have to remind myself of often),
"And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives."

if you see something that makes you happy, please do send my way.
especially in, oh, 2 weeks, AKA finals week/my last-finals-week-ever.
i may need it to come out alive:)

.introducing brooke

2011-04-05T23:52:00.000-05:00

lar's room roommate.
style blogger.
easy-to-be-around.
frozen yogurt lover (how couldn't you be, nowadays).
organized.
not the hamburger-type.
soft-spoken.
creative.
ambitious.
thrifty.
concert go-er.
cook (i hear all about your homemade ice cream ma'am).
the i-want-her-outfit-every-time-i-see-her type.

like, kinda everything i wish i was.........

but, get to know her for yourself. on her blog. HERE.
she was on channel 5 recently.
and, just dont be surprised if you see me wearing that second look around town... like head to toe... target, here i come!

.how i'm dealing with this so called "spring"

2011-03-29T14:13:00.000-05:00

1. fleeing SL (San Diego and St. George... you're not keeping me cooped up here just because you don't give me a spring break @Byu).

*above, my work peeps.
*below, candice and stephy. yep.
2. buying early graduation presents for myself (AKA Frye boots, AKA my new love)

3. looking at pretty paintings of pretty cities

4. Bumble & Bumble (compliments of the lovely hairstylist, Lar... Call 801-364-1420 for an appt, she's fabulous)

.I got lucky with them

2011-03-28T20:04:00.000-05:00

especially when I have someone to help me make decisions and talk me out of shoes that look too cheap, tell me what will be best for my hair (it's a gift), exercise with (or mainly let me watch exercise happen), drive all hours of the night with only to get to a place which smells like crap and not know which to do: laugh or gag to death, get free bloomin onions and diet cokes at outback with and rub my back when it's sore from one little thing I might be embarrassed to tell you I'm sore from (ahem, hockey with my work).

Oh, and I mainly got lucky with that pool in the background:)

.love you but tinfoil isn't always the answer

2011-03-16T20:31:00.000-05:00

See this boy:

As good looking as he is (after watching the proposal recently I've decided he is Ryan Reynolds esque... Maybe because their eyes are both close together, or maybe because they both have egg-shaped heads... Nonetheless, they could be twins, right? Don't burst my bubble)

He does things like this:

Yes, this is lotion (bless his heart, he has dry skin and is forced to take care of himself since I don't carry around lotion. Like ever).
And yes, the lid is wrapped in tin foil.
You know, to keep from squirting out all over his clothes in his suitcase (well, duffle bag. We're in college guys).

And yesterday I found an open plastic bag with bagel bites in it, and since it wouldn't close tightly, he put a little scrap of tin foil over the opening.

Z, just because you can't SEE the hole, doesn't mean air isn't getting in.
Because it is.

Still, you're cute for trying.

have a coke the old fashioned way!

2011-03-16T00:03:00.000-05:00

i know, i know, the blog has been neglected.
but guys- we are so close to being done with school. i can almost taste it. or, see it?

a few weekends back we fled the gloomy city and headed down south to st. george (leeds to be exact) with the smoots. and died over cute izzy all weekend. and soaked up some rays. and watched a movie called the devil. and ate the best breakfast burrito marcus had ever had. and checked out the "Park City" of leeds. and had a lovely time with our cute friends.

oh, and marcus has convinced zach to buy a place in leeds.
after he makes his first million, of course (which is just exactly what i tell him every time he wants things like this, or even a blu ray).

marcus about belted out the star spangled banner when he told us about the cooler based on the honor code located outside of Twenty-Five & Main.
seriously though, you've gotta love sg.
doesnt that just look refreshing?

oh, and their cupcakes were deeelish.
and if you're ever with marcus and michelle, be sure to get dessert.
it is one of my favorite things ever watching them argue over sharing desserts.
hilarious.

and in case you are wondering, my husband has no shame eating izzy's leftovers.
z: "hey michelle, order izzy chicken nuggets."
knowing full well izzy will only eat 1, if your lucky. which conveniently leaves 3 for z.
no kids for us until we learn to share.

love you guys. we're happy you live in wx. let's please go back to leeds soon!

.iPad2 love

2011-03-02T19:29:00.000-06:00

i love the smart cover.
i want one in every color.
but especially green. and red. and maybe pink but only to use during the month of february.

i could watch THIS lovely little ad over and over.
so watch.
it will not disappoint.

someone come hold me down because I really know I already have one,
yet im so obsessed.

.i like crafting

2011-02-24T20:48:00.000-06:00

While z, as he says, socializes with his friends (see post below), I do things like this:

You can learn how to make this lovely little wreath-and just read a cute blog- here. Camille makes everything look good, so don't judge me after seeing hers.

.if he's gonna be a nerd

2011-02-23T21:41:00.001-06:00

at least he's a good-looking one.

.everyone should go to half off happy sumo nights

2011-02-18T00:54:00.001-06:00

I love them.
oh & lishelle.

one of the first times I met her was at millcreek jr. high in second period, i believe, and she was wearing gold flare jeans from gap with a matching pink & gold floral shirt.

& had a half pony tail on the top of her head. like a pom pom.

i could tell she was a cool cat.

"hi, i'm shelly! are you good at pre-algebra?"

been friends ever since.

& i am obsessed with food...
so sue me.

.just some things to note

2011-02-16T19:42:00.001-06:00

There are these three girls in my humanities class. And they are bff's. And we all know it. Because they all eat yoplait yogurt together during our 5 minute break. It doesn't bug me, i just think its interesting. Do you think they all just love that yogurt? Or do you think two of them love it and the other one eats it because the other two love it, thus she does, too. Sometimes I do that, ill admit it. Like with egg nog, I like egg nog enough to drink it when someone offers it to me or im drinking it with someone (someone i like a lot, I'd have to like you a lot to drink egg nog with you), but I would never ever pour myself a glass of egg nog.

Anyways. My freshman roommate is also in this class. Its a weird thing, living together. You can know them so well and share so many memories, yet, 3.5 years later, have not a thing to talk about.
It's a weird thing.
At least we do have memories, you know.
And at least she wasn't oneofthecrazies, because then it would just awkward.
And my friend Maggie will never let me forget it, when i saw a roomie on campus and didn't say hi. It was inconvenient, and, come on, I'd see her at home.
Maggie didn't like that, but still laughs way hard every time she thinks about it (yes, I can read her little Chilean mind).
I promise I'm nice, just not run-across-the-byu-courtyard-waving-my-arms nice. What's the point. When I'll see them you at home. I'll say hi then.

Im starting to want a yogurt. And I don't even eat yogurt.
Maybe I'll just get some Doritos.
I hate humanities.
No, i hate humanities lectures, not humanities. I have to remind myself that.
I actually like humanities.
Is it a problem that I refuse to read for my classes? Who knows, this one doesn't have a midterm... So I guess we'll find out on the final!
We just got a paper back though, and, not to brag or anything, but i did really good- and i didn't even read Hamlet
Writing saves my life. And that is why i write.

This girl in my communications class told me a few weeks ago that she's obsessed with my ring.
Or maybe she just said she liked it.
And she told me she's getting married soon (or hopes to).
I noticed rings all of the sudden when me and z boy started talking about getting hitched, too.
But now she wants to look at it every week and ask me questions about it.
I am flattered by this, seriously.
I. Love. Showing-off. My. Ring.
But then yesterday i noticed that she was drawing an exact replica of it... And I don't like that so much.
I know it looks just simple and like anyone else's, but it's not. And I (of course) already showed her all the details that make it unique (like I said earlier, show off over here).
Maybe she just likes to draw. Right?
I'm sure we'll find out, because I am now friends with her on fbook.

Grandma Jewel and Grandpa Larry

2011-02-15T00:41:00.000-06:00

My aunt Ann Dee wrote a post on my grandma jewel today. It made me sad, but also helped me remember my grandma. How she was before she got sick.

My whole life I've looked up to my grandma and hoped to be as strong, spunky, confident, loving and knowledgeable about the little things in life as she always has been.
She had about 30 grandkids, but always made time to make sure we each knew she loved us.
Like the time I told her I wanted to be Marta in the play The Sound of Music, so we sat at the piano while she played The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow while I sang for hours.
Because she said that if I could get that one down good for the tryouts, they would know i could sing anything good.
Or the time my parents went out of town and she would not let me take one step outside the door without my coat on (even at age seven I didn't want to wear a coat if it was going to ruin my outfit).
Or like the time she told me in about junior high that I needed to make friends with the smart boys because they are going to be the ones who will help me get good grades.... And, they will be the rich ones (she married a physicist).

Alzheimer's is a hard, hard disease.
But I don't think there is a greater love than these two have for each other.
She's taken care of him and now he is graciously taking care of his sweet, little lady.
Happy V Day.

I'm obsessed with my friends.

2011-02-09T21:25:00.000-06:00

Because I have the best of them
(many not photographed here!!)

hires big h, to celebrate some engagements (yay for shels and mikelle!) and some bdays (or just rinny's).
orange leaf, to say see ya later to mags (not goodbye, just see ya later... year and a half aint no thing...right? miss that chick)

I guess I just got really lucky, because I'm not the best at getting close to many people, but with some...I just click.
And then, they are stuck with me forever.
And, in the words of Miss Rowling, they probably (definitely) have photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if i ever ran for president;)

And who can say it better than J.K.? The answer is no one.

"I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, people who have been kind enough not to sue me when I took their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister."
-JK Rowling, Harvard Commencement Speech

Everythings amazing and nobodys happy.

2011-02-08T23:54:00.000-06:00

It's weird that we have so much pressure to be perfect. I'm not, neither is my life, neither is my husband, or my floors I havent mopped or, really anything, but I'm happy nonetheless. Happy because tonight I'm watching Boy Meets World (yep, seriously) with my husband.

Oh, and if you want to read a blog that makes you feel better about just being normal in a laugh-out-loud kinda way, you can read my cousin holly's blog.

Oh, and watch this.
Cracks me up every time.
And also has really nothing to do with this post
And also makes me grateful i was born in this era. Thank. Heavens.
(I'm maybe sometimes just a little impatient....)

boy.

2011-02-07T02:05:00.000-06:00

awhile ago (march 8, 2010) i started a post.
tonight, i looked at the draft i never posted.
and i remembered.
and then i did the dishes even though it was my husbands night.
because i remembered and it made my day.

March 8, 2010:
"sometimes i feel too little to be married.
last night i got an earache.
i get really bad earaches every once in awhile... and i think i'm going to die every time.
(just ask anyone who has been around me when i have an earache, i'm a huge baby and i'll admit it).
I was lying in my bed, acting like a crazy person, and all i could think about was that i needed my mom or dad to come take care of me because they know what to do.

but as i was covering my ears and singing to myself, my husband got me medicine (and made me take it all cut up so it would get into my system faster even though it was gross. really gross), rubbed my head and pretty much stayed up all night making sure i was ok.

i might still be little, but i'm lucky i have someone to be there.
through sickness and through health."

......love you boy.
happy vday soon.

(i love this pic. sorry i dont take any new pics anymore though.... ill work on that.)

merry.happy.

2011-02-04T00:11:00.000-06:00

sometimes things dont work out the same way in real life as they do in my head.
what! really?
shocker, i know, but its true. i am not always in control.
am i talking about school? you might ask.
for once, i am not.

a couple years ago (as in maybe ten) i got really into Chicken Soup for the Soul books. ive always liked cheesy inspirational or meaningful books and cards. really, many an afternoon ive sat on the floor of barnes and noble (or hallmark) reading these. this is one thing that makes both me and zach equally happy (although we are never found in the same section, not even for a minute do i go to the history blah blah or motocross or music- blah).

one story in particular (that may or may not have been in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book) was about a young couple. they had just bought a new house and were, of course, very excited. they still had many of their belongings in their car, but after a long day of moving, just wanted to relax for a bit. when they came out to finish unloading, their car was gone. they frantically did everything they could to track it down, filing a police report and all, but an hour, two hours went by with no word. and being stressed and discussing each and every piece of cargo in there didnt help the situation. they started arguing about who left the keys in the car and who put the fishing poles and photobooks in there in the first place. then, the husband (maybe, probably, wife) sat down and put his arms around his little crazy wife and said, "we can be ticked off and miserable, or we can choose to be happy, either way our car is stolen. it's out of our hands now, and i choose to be happy."

i "read" this story many, many years ago, and with my memory, i may have made the entire thing up-except the principle of it. this story probably seems dumb to you, but honestly, i cannot tell you how many times this little phrase has popped into my head and made things ok. z tells me things like this, too, except more in zach words like, you just need to take it easy, which mostly just makes everything in my body tense and want to hurt someone, but then i remember it's probably true because very few things should cause you to tighten every muscle in your body (maybe the only thing is when you're a cheerleader in high school and four girls your size are holding you in the air and you already gave one of them a concussion from the last time you fell).

so... next time you want to freak out or just break down (am i the only one who does this?) - remember that you have a choice.

or you can just call me- i hear i am better at other people's lives than my own.

p.s. if you have seen my neck warmer/infinity scarf/gray first-knitting-project-that-took-longer-than-it-should-have-but-was-made-with-love/best friend that went with me everywhere until a couple days ago, please let me know. not that i miss it or am depressed about losing it or anything. thanks!

and this pics has nothing to do with the post. other than that i want to eat those cheeks.

am i awkward or am i scary.

2011-01-26T00:20:00.000-06:00

so I pull into the parking lot at the exact same time as this guy I work with. Same guy, same time, almost everyday. We must be on the same schedule.

One problem: he sits in his car until I'm almost to the stairs and then he gets out and starts walking.

the first time this happened, I didn't think about it.
well, actually I did, I thought, what are we going to talk about all the way down the stairs and across the street. Fortunately, we didn't have to chit chat because he stayed in his car.
second time, ok whatever, he must really want to finish the song on the radio.
third, must be saying his prayers before he gets out, right?
fourth, fifth. Ok, weird.

it's just that we never officially met and now it's been too long to officially meet so we are stuck in a this situation of giving half smiles and not making eye contact.

you guys, i must either be super scary or super awkward.

my friend at work says I'm too little to be scary- so i must just be awkward.
ah.
good insight.

either way, i think it's weird and it bugs me.

mouth boy

2011-01-20T01:45:00.000-06:00

me and zach got to have a sleepover with Ira Saturday night... you should be jealous because he is the cutest baby ever.
but he's not a baby-ruby's a baby (he reminded me of that several times).
he shared his toys, shared his coke, charmed our friends, went right to sleep at bedtime, was so quiet at church (except for clicking his mouth, which I just let him do because it entertained him and was so cute), ate treats (I:"aunt lizzy, can i have some more treats?" how do you say no to that...), listened to stories (zach's was about an evil refrigerator and mine was about a princess... he liked mine way better.... sorry, jon), let me cuddle with him while watching Word Girl save the world (lovely) and cracked up at literally everything z said (I:"zachy, you're a silly guy..." great for the self-esteem).

me and zach have discussed it and....
we're going to keep him.
and his parents are totally fine with it;)

wendell saves the day.

2011-01-19T19:05:00.000-06:00

So... I wrote a note to UPS and left it on my door.
It said, "UPS man/woman, if no one answers, please take my package back to the UPS center in SLC and I will pick it up there tomorrow."
So... The UPS man/woman decided to completely disregard my little note and leave the package on my front door.
And I got a delivery confirmation that the package was left on my front door.
And no one was there.
Thanks a lot UPS.

When I got home that night the package was not there.
And I knew it had, of course, been stolen.
Defeated, i went to bed angry (even ask z, he was scared of me after I bit his head off for telling me to look at the tv or else I'd miss the man falling off the electrical pole, again).
This morning we got a knock at our door, right before I left to work.
And it was Wendell, old, very few teeth, cigarette in hand, with my package.
He told me he had read my note and was mad that UPS disregarded it and that he had been watching it the entire day to make sure it was still there.
And when we weren't home by nine, he figured we were out of town and he grabbed it for us.
Bless his heart.

A few things to note here:
1. Wendell knew I had left a note for UPS.
2. Wendell watched the package all day.
3. Wendell told me i better "b****" to UPS for leaving it or else he will.
4. Wendell knows when we leave every morning and when we usually get home at night.
5. Wendell's got our backs.

Thanks Wendell. We're glad you're our neighbor.

I learned a long time ago that mint chocolate chip ice cream makes things better.

2011-01-13T20:50:00.001-06:00

Even when you find out you either take 3 more credits or pay an extra 400 bucks.
It's a long story.
Which ends with me telling zach that it's too hard to be old and eating mint chocolate chip ice cream and watching tv instead of going to class.
It's just one of those regrouping days.

Is it worth $400? Of course it is, right?
I don't think it is, and neither does zach (mainly because I sometimes turn into a crazy person when i get overwhelmed), but i still have to do it. Because I'm very responsible and pay my bills and don't waste money, like 400 bucks. Even when it makes me want to cry.

See ya later.

I had a goal to make frozen meals Saturday, and then when Saturday came I didn't want to anymore, but I still did.

2011-01-10T23:59:00.000-06:00

Thanks to my mama.
And it took pretty much our whole Saturday.
But it will last me and z.... About a month.
And they are deeelish.
So feel free to steal one of the recipes (found on my aunts/cousins food blog....yum)
Because your husband might be as happy as mine.
(And they are easy enough that even I made them taste good.....and that's saying something).

My new years resolution (or maybe next years)

2011-01-05T21:11:00.000-06:00

I want to learn to cook. Bake. Do anything with food besides microwave it.
My excuse is time.
But really, I just don't like it.
I don't like grocery shopping, chopping vegetables, touching cold, slimy meat, having a dirty kitchen.... And then eating a mediocre meal.
I do like looking at food though.
And i do admire cooks.

And, recently (as in 20 minutes ago after looking at THIS blog), I've decided I'm going to like it.
Either this year or next.
(am I allowed to have a two year new years resolution? Whatever.)
But I am serious.
I'm not making any commitments to you before I graduate, but after that.... I hear I'll have more time.
Thus no excuse.

So hold me to it.
One day, food will be my thing (and not just the eating it part).

Christmas?

2011-01-04T23:21:00.000-06:00

i have had a pit in my stomach all day.

call me dramatic, call me a baby, but get back to me when it's your last semester of school ever.
if i had any friends in my program (so... like 2) they graduated in December.
and i'll be completely honest.
i'm completely jealous.
april can't come soon enough.

guys, i know, i'll live... i just had to get that out.

fortunately we got a little breather between semesters.
by little breather i mean a cruise to mexico.
and it was fabulous.
thanks to the lovely pamela and rob, we needed that.

Cabo.
Scooter love.

Mazatlan.
taco stand love.

puerto
vallarta.
greg love (we all saw the way you looked at him jon...)

there was one (maybe 30) thing(s) i loved in each country, and hey, i wouldn't mind if we packed greg (our new friend from chicago who showed us a fabulous secret(?) beach) in our suitcases. would you zach? i think not.

Now.... back to the grind.
Did i already have christmas? since mexico didn't feel like christmas, i think im allowed to keep my tree up for a couple more weeks, right...?

My husband refused to take food out of his mouth even for a picture. a cruise will do that to you, you know.

if i were to guess, alex just did something creepy. that never happens though.

Even if you lose your toothbrush, it's not ok to use mine.

2010-12-21T16:48:00.001-06:00

...can someone please explain this concept to my husband?

his latest film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3k7KGYkmPs

although it's really gross when he uses my toothbrush, i'm a very proud girl.

Celebration

2010-12-16T23:37:00.000-06:00

Another semester down calls for tv all night and potato chips and ketchup for dinner....
It's a Knight thing.
Don't knock it til you try it!

happy holidays!

2010-12-11T14:26:00.000-06:00

Do you cry every morning listening to Secret Santa on the radio?
Oh ya neither do I...

I'm a huge Jazz fan this season.

2010-12-05T01:55:00.000-06:00

And it started BEFORE I saw gordon hayward at the gateway theaters.

did i mention i saw jazz rookie GORDON HAYWARD at the movie theater on thanksgiving?!
and yes, i do love him.

we went to see Unstoppable, with my other guy Denzel.
i thought it was great.
but my perception could be tainted by 2 things....

he's not the only one i like though.
i like them all.
and im obsessed with their new uniforms.
GO JAZZ!

I dont know if you've heard...

2010-12-05T01:34:00.000-06:00

but i love this girl.
and i think that's the best, most heart-felt farewell i've been to.
sorry we couldn't stop her, Min. she's really doing it.
love you buddy.

Sure glad these two have each other.

Turkey Day

2010-12-05T01:30:00.000-06:00

Aren't those cute plates in the background?
The Secret Haven people.
The owner, my Sue, is one of the most amazing, genuine, generous, thoughtful and talented people i know.
And her store is to die for.

The babies.
We loved having these babies over for thanksgiving.
Aren't they darling in their little thanksgiving sweaters?
Benj.
He always (usually) dresses great.
(and is also single, girls... 801-512-9471)
Only took me 22 years to make this happen (the clothing).
Hopefully it wont take me that long to make this happen with my husband.
Pretty sisters.

This is the first time I've seen this kid read. And im not talking about Asher (the baby).
Last time we saw Asher, he refused to talk or sit by jer bear and tj.
he said they would wrestle him and he didnt want them to wrestle him.
but he warmed up by thanksgiving (after they gave him a few racecars to play with).

I kind of loved having a low-key thanksgiving. it's never happened before. and although i did miss the chaos for a while, it was nice to just relax and hang out with my mom's sister, ann dee's, family and grandma and gramps.

I'm thankful for my bed, Christmas ornaments, ear muffs, that my husb helped me scrape my car this morning and leave work early for blizzard days.

2010-11-25T03:07:00.000-06:00

Playing wallyball(?) with my fam and eating a milkshake, fries and a diet coke for dinner. The jazz (a new found love). My iPad (yes, still). Watching my husband dance in the car. Listening to him tell me about his script. Thanksgiving family 5ks and hanging out with my 2 fav cousins (I said it - but come on, who can argue Van and Asher). Having my motherinlaw show me and Kelsey strange episodes of Oprah. That i got to hold Caroline (thanks to the lovely matt and raquel) all during sacrament meeting. My sherlock holmes hat, as zach calls it. Hot tubs in the winter (or maybe always). And the chapstick by my bed. It's light green, in the shape of a ball, smells like honey dew melon and is way easy to put on at three in the morning when my lips are always bizarrely, but unbearably, chapped.

Honestly.
What else do we need?

Ruby girl.

2010-11-24T02:23:00.000-06:00

We love our rubs.
Or as zach calls here, his rub girl.
And we cant get enough of her.
Or this picture.
I think I've looked at it seven times since my sisterinlaw posted it a few days ago.

I thought I'd hate the wood paneling.

2010-11-19T01:45:00.000-06:00

But I love it.
And I also love that we painted my light switch bright green.

And today's weather.
And my sale anthro earrings.
And that I ate at Pace's Dairy Ann today (my favorite restaurant...that's right).
And that we put up all our Christmas decorations and zach let me listen to my Xmas music as loud as I wanted (for a little while)...and actually suggested it.
And that I ordered the cutest star for our tree and cant wait for it to come....

The end.

Fall love.

2010-11-09T01:03:00.000-06:00

Mags is leaving for Chile on December 15th. December 15th, feel free not to come this year;)

2010-10-26T00:42:00.000-05:00

Let's take a trip back to my junior year in high school.
In Maggie's kitchen doing math after school-this happened a lot for a lot of years.
Mag: Where are you going to go to college.
Liz: I don't know, I really don't. Ive always wanted to go to BYU but I feel intimidated and stressed about it. And i don't know anyone else planning to go down there, really.
Mag: I want to go there, too. And feel the same.
Liz and Maggie: We will be roommates and friends forever... Starting.... Now.

I cant say that was the exact conversation, because it wasn't, but i do remember the moment we decided we would go down and survive it together. It just seemed right.

While there, I think it's important to note that we learned to read each others minds. I am not kidding, challenge us to a round of catch phrase. It happens when you share a room with someone for a year and pretty much only have each other, day in and day out. I love my Maggie. And I'm pretty sure that me and zach will both miss her equally, because he loves his mag pie, too.

Soda at restaurants costs $2.79, soda at McDonalds costs $1.00 and tastes better.

2010-10-24T21:18:00.000-05:00

We went to Este pizza (which I highly recommend) with friends the other night.
And my husband wanted to order soda, like always.
And I said no, like always.
Because we don't order drinks at restaurants unless it's a special occasion.
So pretty much only on your birthday or when I'm not paying attention when we're ordering.
So sue me.

That's when the Este pizza man handed him a glass and said, "Hey, it's on me man."

He has such a hard life you guys. And the pizza man could tell.

So... Thanks for taking care of my husband pizza man. You made him way happy.

Sincerely,
Liz Helm

Smoothness is not my husband... and SF is the bomb

2010-09-28T00:58:00.000-05:00

If you are ever trying to get away with something, maybe dont choose my husband.

Driving across the CA border:
Man: Where you headed?
Z: Um, no
Man: No what?
Z: Oh, I thought you asked if we had fruit.
Man: I asked where you were headed, could you open your trunk for me sir?

No dead bodies, which might surprise you after hearing this conversation.
but we were smuggling fruit across the border.
i bet you'd never guess.

me, marcus and michelle probably laughed for 5 min straight after this incident.
poor zach, just so hard for him to lie.

we left for sf bright and early.
530 am to be exact.
and we started out the trip with donuts.
and they were gooood.
awesome idea marcus.

Hi.
we're liz and zach.
and sometimes we're hat people.
and sometimes we're not.
this day we were.

Oh the bread bowls.
to die for.
and dad, i walked on the left side of the street this time... and i ate crab... i must really be growing up.

you bet we went to the full house house.
and loved every minute of it.
especially zach, who still dvr's the blessed full house episodes.
i know you guys.
this is all i wanted.
the whole trip.
and it was the best 9 bucks I've ever spent.

Michelle's new rule: dont sing the song if you dont know the words.
this rule was made because marcus loves singing to songs, but he only knows 3 words to most songs.
and we were in the car A LOT

the man cave aka robs apt in san jose.
alex, zach and their friends do this 49ers monday night football game trip every year, and im sorry but i wasnt missing out this year.
not so much (at all) on the game, but on the trip to sf.
so sorry boys... alex...
I got michelle to come too so we could do our girl thing while they do their guy thing.
and it was perfect.
and hopefully michelle and marcus still want to be friends after driving 20 hours in one weekend with us

rob gave us the great idea of going to carmel and walking the streets.
it is the cutest town full of fun sidewalk shops and a nice beach.
and me and michelle took full advantage of it and it was a darling town.
and, when your married to marcus and zach, you also drive around for 2 hours searching for the homes of the people on "Trouble on the Hill" a Dateline special.
and yes, it really was 2 hours.
maybe more.

Marcus's conversation with a 17-year-old local boy:
M: Have you heard of trouble on the hill?
Boy: um, no
M: It's this dateline special about these 2 neighbors who get in this fight. They live somewhere around here.
Boy: I dont really watch the news
M: Did you hear about it though, one of them got killed. It was this big story. And we're trying to find their house.
Boy: Yeah... I dont know, ive never heard of it. sorry man.

Ya its fine buddy, its kind of creepy we were trying to find their house anyways.
and, your 17.
its not actually the news.
but still.

These 2 boys love each other.
their best friends, and really they think each other is the best thing ever.
i really dont think these 2 would ever get sick of each other. which is amazing considering me and michelle were about done with both of them come gametime and were very willing to drop them off at the stadium to tailgate for 5 hours before the game.

and then it was this boys bday.
and we went to cheesecake factory, my favorite.
i dont know how this happened.
but i was fine with it.

where next?
Chicago?
Greece?
we're there...
Trish's donuts.
and we also went to Happy Donuts.
which was amazing.
and lately im in love.

A beautiful wedding... and the state fair

2010-09-27T12:48:00.000-05:00

What would we do without our slothy p and pretty cait.
these two are always up for anything.
and always having fun.
literally since the day i met them.
and I think its fabulous.

sloth and me became instant friends, after he found out 1. how strong i was (used to be) and 2. that my last name was rock (good thing we met 2 years ago).
and caitlin was no different.
after the first time i met cait, she would run and jump on the couch with me and zach and want to play with us.
and she never cared that i was young, or kind of shy, or always wearing sweats, or anything, she wanted to be best friends, like she is with everyone.
and i loved it.
and i love her.
and she's this darling ALL the time.

I was in love with the floral arrangements.
and the food was to die for.
especially the donuts, my new obsession.
I ate 2.

yes, of course we wear dark sunglasses at weddings.
duh.

oh david kiley. we miss you. come home.

And then the fair...
You bet your bottom dollar we went to the Utah State Fair.
So so fun.

pretty hair mary.
she's so daring.. and gorgeous, which makes it easy to be daring...

San Fran weekend...

2010-09-27T01:16:00.000-05:00

Here's a little preview of our weekend in SF with marcus and michelle and the guys...
I'll explain later.
but we love it there.
and I sometimes wish we lived there.
actually a lot of times.
one day?

Happy Bday boy.
26.
and a cute little cardigan.
its cute, right?
love you boy.
and I think its rude they didnt give you a free cheesecake for your bday.

His other love.

2010-09-08T22:08:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have those days where you don't see each other even once?
Today's one of those days.
So I'm making cookies.. even though I really hate cooking and will probably be asleep before he gets home.

Awhile ago (k, June 28th... I know guys) Jess, zach's sis, sent me the recipe for these to die for choc chip cookies.
And now I'm making them.
Later is better than never... Right?
Thanks Jess.

And you're welcome if I ever see you today, boy.

Welcome, my senior year

2010-09-07T23:22:00.001-05:00

I promise I know I'm super dramatic about school...

Ever since I was little, I've loved quotes.
Reading them. Collecting them. Finding them at just the perfect moment. And giving them away.
Growing up my mom always had quotes around the house and on the fridge and I started collecting them and taping them up in my closet.
Which turned into a quote book when I left for college.

My friend, shel, reminded me of my quote book last week, and I'm going to start sharing some of it with you and you and you.
And you can start a quote collection if you'd like.
It helps.
on those days.
And every other day, too.

I first read this quote before my mono finals week... Also known as the worst week of my life.
And I have read it many a finals week since.
It makes me remember that everyone (not everyone) does this college thing.
And everyone makes it through alive.
Maybe once I'm done with school, I can read it when I have real problems...
:)

"Whenever we are inclined to feel burdened done with the blows of life, let us remember that others have passed the same way, have endured, and then have overcome. When we have done all that we are able, we can rely on God's promised help."
- President Monson

Welcome my senior year.
I thought you'd never come.

It wasn't ten dollars, it was fifteen thanks.

2010-09-02T00:39:00.000-05:00

So, I sold my laptop.
I listed it for super cheap since I hate It and want to get rid of it.
$155.
Then this kid who has braces on his bottom teeth and a girlfriend with purple hair really wanted to buy it.
So I met him at sugarhouse coffee shop.
This trendy yuppie coffee shop that makes me feel out of place.
Then I gave him the computer and he said, "thanks, I had to buy books today so I only have $140, I hope that's ok."
Oh ya, that's totally fine, I didn't just have to buy books or anything.
Oh wait, I did.

That's not what I said though.
I said oh.
Then he said, "I mean, you can stop at my shop and get the rest if you need to, its only ten bucks."
Um, actually it was 15.
But I said i guess that's fine and left.
Because I didn't want to make him think i really needed the 15 bucks i guess,
Or because i didnt want to make things more awkward then he already made them,
Or because I sometimes can't stand up for myself when I'm out of my comfort zone or taken off guard.

But, just so you know, if you mess with me your going on my blog.
And I'll tell my husband and he'll hate your guts for me.
And I'll tell my mom and she'll say you are really, really rude (that's right, 2 reallys).
And then I'll tell the wives at zachs flag football game.
And then I'll feel better.
Just so you know.

P.s. Smoking Is bad for your lungs and your jeans are out of style.

Hi we're little, still.

2010-08-31T00:10:00.000-05:00

I bought an iPad and zach bought and iTouch and we love apple.
Thank you Neutron and we're over being adults right now.
so, come play paper toss or watch bachelor pad (so trashy, yet so good) on my abc player instead of on the tv, just because you can!

I'm ready to talk about school now

2010-08-30T20:49:00.000-05:00

even though i started again today,
those 2 weeks off were quite refreshing.

for awhile there, well really since my newswriting class, I had a hard time talking (or writing) anything (especially good) about my classes.

but now im ready.
mainly because I had a really, really good experience with my writing and production class.

I loved my teacher, loved so many of the guest speakers, loved the non-profit organization I
worked for and loved my classmates... (mainly because they graded me on my final project, and although i made a video and the internet cut out half way through my presentation and I couldnt finish it, the grade they gave me on it averaged out to be an A... which I wasn't expecting and was so pleasantly surprised about... and now I feel bad I underestimated them.. sorry guys...).

Anyways, I only want to go into one guest speaker...
Her name is Aubrey and she works for the Children's Miracle Network
and I think I want to be her.

She is the communications director for them and has her hand in all of it.
And the fact that the organization she is working for is helping to save kids lives doesn't hurt either;)

She told us about a program they called Champions, where they have 2 kids from each state all meet up in Washington DC and they make a special week out of it for the kids.

I'm going to tell you about one of the kids.

Tim (isn't his real name, but I cant remember it.. And I like the name Tim..) is 13 years old and was the pitcher of his all-stars team. On the morning of his championship game (which is a BIG
deal for that age) Tim had a stomach ache. His mother told him it was called butterflies and it'll feel better once the game starts, but Tim wasn't so sure. They decided to run to the Instacare before the game started and were immediately rushed to the emergency room to have surgery on the tumor in his stomach.

And they started chemo that afternoon.

Tim was invited to the Champions week, and his mom, dad and little brother came along, too.
The whole trip Tim and his brother were fighting and Tim was acting like a 13 year old boy, a little too cool for everything.The night the champions went to the Nationals baseball game, Tim was invited to go onto the field and throw the first pitch and meet strausberg, which is a really big deal. He was also able to bring one person with him to go onto the field.
And, of course, he brought his best friend, his little brother.
And neither of them could wipe a smile off their face the rest of the night.

I don't know why exactly, but this little story hit home for me.
Maybe its because I saw my little brothers... Under MUCH less dramatic circumstances, but baseball was life for a long time for them, and not being able to play in your championship game would break your heart... Although that is the least of their problems.
And, it doesn't matter how annoying they are, you would choose them over anyone, every time.
I see this in zach and Alex, too.
And my little allsop boys.

The boys and their ugly hair.
high school happens to all of us I guess.
alex likes to cuddle.
they are little boys, too.

and this is luke allsop.. I could tell you 100 reasons why I love this kid, or I could show you this picture of us leaving for a basketball game and tell you he was wearing his cowboy boots and it would probably have the same affect.

And don't tell zach, but one day I'll have my 5 boys, too:)

So... I'm all over the place in this post.
To sum up:
1. I like my communications classes (please remind me of this when I start breaking down in a few weeks)
2. One day I'll be done with school and have a real life... One day
3. I started crying in class probably 4 different times when Aubrey was speaking.. I wish I could tell you more of "the champions" stories. so sweet.
4. I want boys, not girls, and not for 5 years... But I do know I want boys, I always have.

26.2

2010-08-26T23:32:00.000-05:00

He ran his marathon.
Dislocated vertebrae and all.
Like it was no big deal.

I know how hard he worked and how many times he ran 15 miles and then didn't complain when I made him do laundry and meet friends for dinner and stay up late.
He's worked hard for this and I'm proud of him (kind of jealous, but mostly just proud).

For some reason I keep thinking of my little cousin,Van, asking, "who's that big guy."
He is a big guy. A big tough guy...That's super skinny now...
And that runs marathons like it's no big deal...

Candice ran the last 8 miles with him.
She was his support.
Not just on game day when he was on mile 26 and wanting to kill those last .2 miles,
But from day one, telling him what to eat, what shoes to wear and how far to run.
She's a good sis.

Good job Zach boy.
I may or may not run the next one with you.

You can read one of my fav blog posts he's written HERE

Support crew.
Right before the race.

Mags and Alice ran the half marathon. I was happy to see them bright and early! They were tough chicks! Good job mags.

Inc. 500 and I love my job.

2010-08-19T22:00:00.000-05:00

So let's all pretend I didn't just feel sorry for myself for winning 500 bucks, ok?
ok.

The whole thing came to pass because I work for an awesome company.
they had a surprise party for us today because Neutron made the Inc, 500 list.
we are apparently the 366th fastest growing company in the U.S.
which is kind of awesome.
Im not proud of myself, by any means, but i am proud of my company, because they are awesome and we have 2 incredible owners.
And, as the 2009 Inc. 500 article states, “When the going gets tough, the tough show up on the Inc. 500.”
and in case I haven't already told you (I probably have), let me tell you why neutron rocks:
The owners, Dan and Shaun, care about their employees.
That's what it comes down to.
They have created a motivating, awesome environment to work in, and everyone there wants to do more and make more and be more.
And that is because of them.

Our goofy/awesome owners.
congrats guys.

A few things i love about neutron:
- dan and shaun have quarterly meetings with each person in the company.
- catered lunches everyday (this is one of the reasons all i talk about is food)
- suites at bees games (which is one of the best things you could do on a summer night... and they have freaking good guacamole...)
- yoga class and breakfast on friday mornings
- amazing designers (just look at the neutron site... click here... they're incredible)
- the interior design of our office (our CFO loves interior design. its hilarious and awesome)
- the weird/organic/trendy snacks we have (pop chips and soy silk chocolate milk= yum)
- that we're a mac shop (love)
- being on a team that is basically starting from scratch, so having to come up with new ideas and think of more effective ways of doing things
- being able to write with an expo marker on the office table
- the moleskin notebook i just got.. super cool
- the super cool people i work with
- that one of zach's bf's (sloth) works in the office below me
- that were going on a fun summer retreat to snowbird for the weekend
- and because they are awesome owners who, again, care about their employees.

there are many other reasons I like going to work everyday, but those are some highlights.
so come work with me
seriously though, let me know if you fit any of these (click here) positions and want to apply.
you wont regret it:)

Can someone please help me be a grown up for 2 seconds, please?

2010-08-19T20:36:00.000-05:00

I won some money at work.
500 bucks to be exact.
And it took everything in me not to go buy a pretty, pretty Ipad.

I went to the Apple store and just looked at it.
I neeeeeed it (dont I?).

But then I remembered im a grown up who has to register her car this month and put some money towards that tuition thing (boo school).

So I walked away being boring and old.
and with a new skirt.
im super mature, you guys.

but secretly (not secretly) i still want it.
really bad.

can someone please help me be a grown up?

Let me tell you about my skin.

2010-08-15T13:58:00.000-05:00

This summer, my skin has seemed to become allergic to the sun and my face breaks out in a sort of rash every time I get sunburned.
I am not ok with it.
But I also dont know what to do because I get the feeling my aquaphor isn't making things better.
It usually does.
My latest reaction has made me think about all my skin has put me through over the years.
I cant recreate all of them for you, but here are some highlights...

In high school, we went to California for a cheerleading competition, and they put GLUE on our EYES so the glitter would stay.was this a good idea or even necessary?
apparently.
and this is the best pic I could find to show you what they did to our eyes.
(and maybe I also wanted you to show you our awesome fergilicious outfits).

Consequently, the next morning my eyes had an allergic reaction and were swollen shut.
I iced, called my dermatologist (who i have become very close to over the years), and then resorted to aquaphor... by the handful... for the rest of the week on my eyes.
it's the only thing that helped.
this pic was taken a few days later.
the first few days people had a hard time looking at me.
all they could say was "you look awful..."
and not even in a "you really do look bad you should stay in your room" way, more in a "you like like you're in pain and i feel bad there is nothing i can do for you" sort of way.
I'll spare you looking at those.
Why I was not wearing sunglasses and still allowing for pictures to be taken of me, we will never know.

Oh and I also had a gash on my noes from falling on my face practicing right before our competition.
Just to add to the drama of my situation.
and no, my skin also does not heal.

... The next year, senior year, I went on acutane.
And, of course, like I always do, I overestimated my skin and went ahead and got my eyebrows waxed because, come on, homecoming was coming up.
Ya, awesome idea, I know.
The next morning... as you might have guessed... my eyes were swollen shut.
and it was worse than the first time.if that is possible.
My mom took one look at me and said "Oh honey, you dont have to go to school today."
but unfortunately i still had to go to my first period.. cheerleading... you dont miss that unless your on your death bed. sue lu ran a tough ship over at BHS.
I literally couldnt see five feet in front of me, but I went.
And they gasped, literally had to cover their mouths when they saw me (and remember, they were all there the first time).
And again, all I could do was take a few days off of school, call Dr. Williams (I have his cell programmed in my phone for emergencies now...) and resort to aquaphor, because it heals all things, including my crazy skin diseases.
Anyways, if you are still there, the point of my story is this...

choose aquaphor.
i dont know how, but it does heal everything (almost everything).
give it a try.
or at least keep it handy.. if only for emergencies.
(it comes in all sizes)

also if you think you have sensitive skin,
trust me, I feel your pain.

and holly, you're right... posting semi (or completely) unattractive pictures of myself is kind of liberating.
you guys can try it if you want.

darling, you are the only exception

2010-08-10T18:53:00.000-05:00

I like this song.
doesnt the title kind capture you?
me too.
click here!.. if you want to watch the music vid.

I've watched it 4 times.

Finals are this week.
So, naturally, I'm watching Ghost Town (again... since it is my favorite movie right now) and blogging and watching music videos on youtube, like 'you are the only exception,' which i never do.

Besides the week of finals week, of course.

Want to come play games or watch me clean my house or go out to eat or, really, do anything? because there are very few things I would say no to right now. Since the alternative is my final project.

just let me know.
i'll be laying on my bed waiting.

i remembered that i love to read.

2010-08-09T19:26:00.000-05:00

I was completely consumed this weekend with The Hunger Games.
I was lost in their world and fell in love with the characters, Katniss, Prim, Peeta, Gale, Cinna...
I loved escaping into their world for awhile, while I read the book outloud to jer bear all weekend (so we kind of escaped together).
And then I dreamed about it the night I finished it (is that weird?).
And maybe thought about it while I drove to school in the morning.

I hate it when books end, when they start to wrap up I find myself reading slower and slower, because I dont want it to be over.
I dont want all those emotions to leave and my attachments to the characters to be gone.

And then I remembered why I haven't read a book (besides textbooks) for years (so sad).
It's because, as you can maybe tell, I get completely consumed and addicted and I can't focus on anything else.
It's almost pathetic.
But, at the same time, makes me way happy.

I just remembered how much I love reading, how much I've missed it.
So.. feel free to give me suggestions, because I have 2 weeks off of school (starting thursday) and i'm going to READ.

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVENT WATCHED THE BACHELORETTE FINALE... sorry brooke:(

2010-08-03T00:47:00.000-05:00

the tv keeps breaking my heart.

is that pathetic?
maybe a little.

i would say im not going to watch the next season, because EVERY season i am disappointed... but, i know i will.

ali should have have chosen chris.
or kirk.
both were awesome options.

and roberto was reserved for the next season.

21 baby!

2010-08-02T21:36:00.000-05:00

happy bday mar.
love this girl.
and love going to the cabin with her and eating 5 billion tootsie rolls, playing cards and walking to the elk creek station.. almost.

(and guys, i know, i wear this dress too much and have red eye in every pic. whatever.)

today me and mary decided that 21 is the prime age.
no one can tell us we cant drive (we dealt with this problem a lot our sophomore year).
cant gamble (thats right people, i can stand on those floors now).
cant check into a hotel by ourselves (sad).
or that we're too young to play kickball (or anything, really).

we're old enough now.
(and probably for the first time ever not a little bit embarrassed to say how old we are).

real friends stick around for the yucky times, too.

2010-07-29T14:12:00.000-05:00

Did you guys know that in high school i had a fish named owen?

me and owen went through a lot together. he listened to my phone conversations. watched me sneak out of my window. laid around with me when i got my wisdom teeth out. watched me pack for college. and was there all the times in between.

all my brothers friends made fun of owen because of his little fish bowl... and sometimes just large cup when the bowl was getting cleaned... and they told him i didnt like him. but i really did.

anyways, when owen died i was sad. (i know, whats going to happen when something actually bad happens to me, dont ask me, i can barely handle a fish dying...). and the boys still made fun of me, and i pretended i wasnt really sad.

i came across this card the other day, and i think it exemplifies mine and lindsays's relationship... linz knows me almost better than anyone else... and she's been as real of a friend as they come for a long time.

for the yucky times, too.

"I just wanted to say that im really sorry about owen. i know he was more than a fish to you. his home may not have been the fanciest, but he loved it because you loved him and thats all that matters."

happy marriage linz.
you've never looked happier.
and i liked the groomsmen's vests.

pretty girls in yellow shoes.
and pretty pretty bride.
and then i do this face (below)

What in the world do you think I am thinking right at this moment?
I am a crazy, scary person.

these two.
i like them.
and i like ness's squint face.

and this is shelly stress face.
i have grown very fond of shelly stress face over the years.
shel is one of the most hilarious people i know
but mainly when she is trying really hard not to be funny.
im going to go ahead and say its one of my favorite things ever.

hi linz.

that little girl on the right is caitlin.
she goes to portland state and i never get to see her
and i have missed her.

july is my favorite month

2010-07-27T01:34:00.000-05:00

this is Van.
and this is not a pose;
this is an action shot.
and that is why I love this kid.
he chased my cousin Lucy around all day with this exact expression on his face,
it was hilarious.

Grandma jewel.
always in on the action.

water baseball.
fabulous.

look at that innocent face.
i did NOT want to get wet that day
(although it was 90 degrees)
so i stayed clear of the water.

then lacy girl came over to sit on my lap and then somehow changed her mind and poured her whole cup of water down my shirt and onto my lap while smiling.
she had that plan the whole time.
and she knew she's the only girl i couldnt get mad at for doing that.

Eaglewood fireworks with cute friends.
like izzy smoot:)
i just cant get enough of that baby girl.

hi zach.
i have red eyes.
and i wear that dress at least once a week.

thats my little bug.
she just got a new hair cut and color.
i like it.
we watched jer bear in 2 parades.
im such a nice sister.
actually i just really liked getting candy thrown at me,
actually only the taffy, not the jolly ranchers and sick hard strawberry candies.
are they trying to kill us??

pretty mary.
i love her new bangs.
zach and andrew are cute arent they....
we think so.

whoever decorated that cake must be really cool and patriotic...
and whoever is wearing black and white stripes is also super cool...
hooray for the 4th of july!

And then there are fireworks.
i love fireworks.
and bbq's
and summer nights
and family get togethers
and parades
and pace's dairy ann (my favorite restaurant)

i love it all.
and that is why july is my favorite month.

We love Newport with the helms

2010-07-25T00:04:00.000-05:00

We always look forward to the newport trip.
because we love cali.. as you may already know..
even if it means trading off sleeping on the rock hard couch with kelsey and alex;)

and although the beach was cold (cold by my standards is 72 degrees), we had so much fun being with the fam and being in one of the best cities ever.

and buying rosie posie lip stain from Fred Segal.
my new favorite item.
maybe because its from fred segal, maybe not.

Ruby girl... she is getting so fun, she just looks at you and smiles with those big blues and rosy cheeks.
we loved sweet ruby.

and here is my romper.
which i love.
no matter what you say.
my brother-in-law thought it made me look like i was 12.
and it kind of does.
but... i still like it.

is that a cookie the size of a pizza with ice cream on top???
yes, yes it is.
and i am almost positive i could have eaten the whole entire thing by myself.
best. desert. ever.

i take that back.. already.
we ate at pinkberry later on this trip and I got pomegranate frozen yogurt.. and that might have been the better.
I cant decide...

There are few guys as great as rob.
im serious.
the other day we were over at the helms and they were apparently out of hot water, and pam was taking a bath, so rob was warming up water on the stove for his little wife so she could have a warm bath.
i love those two.

oh hi ruby's diner/ shake shack on the beach.
you are so yummy
and you have the best diet coke's ever
and although we paid almost 3 dollars for it, it was money well spent.
mainly because we got about 7 refills..

sweet ira and cute beck

zach and alex were telling beck stories in the car to keep him entertained.
after awhile of these stories we hear alex say, "what else? i just told you the whole lord of the rings trilogy beck!"

beck never wanted their stories to end, so he would ask "what else?" as each story came to an end.
even if they were as long and boring as the lord of the rings;) he wanted more.

i love that face.
ira was hilarious as usual.
zach was wrestling with the boys one night and beck fell off the bed while they were playing and ira gets his mad face on and says, "don't you do that to beckham, zachy!"
he takes care of his brother.

when we got home from our day in Santa Monica, ira was worn out.
he is the sweetest baby and i hope he stays cuddly and sweet forever.
he loves when you tickle is back and says "tittle my back," when he's tired.
That night he fell asleep to me holding him and tittling his back.
he's my baby.
well, he's not really, but i want him to be.

i love drew's new swim shorts.

the boys playing frisbee.

chronic tacos.
so good.

we were stuck back there too, too long.
as you can maybe tell.
dont ask me what we are doing.

zachy and his sweet mama.
pam got stuck hanging out with me and zach one day instead of going on a bike ride.
but we had fun sitting on the corner eating manhattan clam chowder and bread and the best maple bar donut EVER and watching an ambulance come check on this homeless guy sitting by us.
pam is one of the few people who thinks i am funny. i like it. and i think she is funny, too.

I like this picture.

My camera got dropped in the hot tub.
it was a sad day.
it has been revived, but we got a few good pics messed up in the process.
and alex told me the story of his camera when he dropped it in water...
"i blow dried it and it worked perfectly for about two weeks, and then it turned off and was done for good."
very encouraging, thanks alex
lets hope for the best.
i love my little camera, we've been friends and it has been a trooper for a long time now.
i have faith that it wont die on me now.

this is ira's mad face, right before he smacks you.
i hope he never grows out of this.

dels and z

ira and candice
im sad this pic got kind of ruined.. but i still love it.
and i love that ira loves wearing hats.

the fam. actually i dont know where ira is, or dave, but here is everyone else.
i love these people.
i love and appreciate them all for very different and some may think weird reasons, but i really do.
every last one of them.