long weekend

we are blessed to have amazing friends. thanks to the bennetts for letting us camp in their backyard on May long weekend. we set up the tent at 12:30 am in the pouring rain. so cold.

baby and mom

me and baby. shes just so cute to snuggle up to like this.

bennetts, malmbergs, and mendenhalls playing soccer

nicole roasting a smoky

my best friend jessica got married in february. here are two pictures from her wedding day that i ordered and framed. they both sit on my bookshelf and i just love them.

i did two posts today. the one below is more boring, but read on.

weekend

this weekend was really good. friday night we went to see "how to train your dragon" which was soo cute. saturday morning we got up at 7:45(earliest i've gotten up in months) to go clean the church. afterwards we went to Cora, an amazing breakfast place that serves crepes and tons of fruit. then we walked around the mall and checked out the new Ipad... afterwards we went to the grand opening of the shopping complex i work in. they had a BBQ, snacks, prizes, testers, entertainment. it was pretty fun actually. i won a really cute apron from "twisted goods"-my favorite home decor store. then enjoyed being at home and cleaned the house a bit. sunday was stake conference and it was so good. i love hearing from leaders within the church. i especially enjoyed elder pace's talk. afterward, we went back to the grand opening for some more free food. haha. cam, michaels brother, came with us to that.

i finished organizing all my photos and videos!! but i'm going to put off getting a camera until i really know what i want. even after looking at so many different cameras, i still dont know what i want. so i'll let you all know when i get a new camera!!

i love....

*pouring rain
*GLEE (or just Rachel Berry's voice)
*a summer tan
*when someone loves their hair i just cut and colored/highlighted
*friends
*kitties
*Carrie Underwood
*Taylor Swift
*good books
*road trips
*amazing family (i'm so blessed)
*my sisters, ok so this is family, but i just love having sisters
*a good pair of jeans
*my hair spray
*the gospel
*most of all, my best friend, my husband Michael. i. love. you.

*and a hundred other things, but these are just some of the things i love

my michael

when i first saw all michael's childhood albums, my heart honestly melted!! i just think he's soo adorable!! here are some of my favorites that we used in our wedding slideshow, which i should actually upload on here. 

taking a nap... sad thing is, WE now have this couch. its old, springs are gone, but because our place is soo small, we can't fit our furniture.

what a little STUD hey?

here is michael with his big sister jody.

first bike i am assuming. 

so now we take you into the hair-bleaching stage. i believe this photo is from the paper is his hometown, vermilion. apparently he was quite the basketball player, but since i didnt meet him until seven years after, i wouldn't know from experience.

michael and devin goofing off- in their long haired stage. there are some pretty white-trash pictures from them in this stage, but we'll keep those a bit more private. haha

michael is a lifeguard. he worked at the ramada for a few years during university, and then also at the henderson outdoor pool in lethbridge one summer. i dont think many of you know this but i use to have a crush on michael when he worked at the outdoor pool in lethbridge. a friend and i would go there summer after grade 10 nearly everday for about a month, and michael caught my eye. his job was to keep the kids entertained and play games with them, and i just thought that was the cutest thing. he wore a tank top (different uniform than above), and sunglasses, sometimes a hat, and swim shorts. i wouldn't follow him around or stare at him because i knew he had to be much older than i (which is true-7 years) so i kind of just had a crush. 3 years later- i met him, when he had moved to waterton for the summer, while i was living there... and when i had realized it was him, i didn't want him to know i even recognized him, because i didn't want to seem creepy, which it probably is. anyways, i ended up marrying a crush i had when i was in high school! haha 

camera

michael told me when i got all my pictures from my computer onto CDs, I could get a new camera. sounds easy right? it's not. when i got my computer, michael transferred all his pictures from his computer to mine. i also had my external hard drive, and as well as my memory on my computer. so i used iphoto, and it was good for a while, but then all my pictures wouldn't show up. they are now scattered all over my computer. i probably have over 2000 photos on my computer, and about 1500 of them are missing. so i have to manually go through and find each photo and put them into a new folder. very time consuming. i am now organizing like mad, really wanting to get this new camera i have been saving for. so i have about 500 more to go. i can also put the new operating system on my computer when all this is done. so my goal is to finish finding the photos by end of next week. lets see how i do.

pictures to share

here are some pictures from the BBQ we had at beckys a few weeks ago. lots of fun

michael and i

he's a goof

becky with her gorgeous dark hair

sisters. bad lighting, but still fun.

mom in her camo sweater.

and this one is of michael... not at the BBQ, but we went to the shooting range one morning, and it was really nice out. nice view of downtown!! 

worst day

i had a bad day. i really bad day. started with two free cuts and colors and another free haircut (so im not actually getting paid to work), water alllll over my shirt at work, half hour last clients, ended with car completely dead in a huge wet snow storm. windy, cold, snowy... thank goodness my mother bought us a jumper battery! you should all go buy one. life saving. worst. day. ever.

but my husband can always make me smile. and he did a few times through texts, getting me through the day. now to watch a chick flick and have some salt and vinegar popcorn.

get to know me

A fun little get to know me quiz! Go ahead and steal it and do it for yourself!!


4 years ago I was:
Just about to graduate... and months away from meeting my sweetheart.

My best friends were:
Jessica Payne, Nikki Byam

5 Things I must do before I go to bed tonight:
1) make some money at work
2) read scriptures for 30 minutes (we're on a roll right now!!)
3) go on a run (im not on a roll with this right now)
4) call some primary mothers
5) do some picking up and cleaning around the house (yes i still have to do this even though my husband has 2 weeks off)

My Favorite Treats:
haha popcorn with salt and vinegar kernals flavoring, dill pickle chips.. i know a lot of salt, but i try not to add salt to my meals anymore!

What if I suddenly became a billionaire:
Ummm, holy! I'd quit my job, go on a 2 year trip around the world, i'd pay off michaels insane student loans, buy a beautiful home and decorate it how i want, buy michael any camera he wants (its his new hobby), buy him a canoe (this is year three of him wanting to buy a canoe-why you ask? i dont know. he says hes gonna go on a big canoe trip.. hes been maybe twice since ive KNOWN him, we cant afford it, and we have no where to put it, yet he is insisting that we get one.... im hoping by summer this annual urge will pass), id buy myself a beautiful kitten, more books, take our families to Hawaii! And the list goes on and on. Sooo I'm ready to become a billionaire....


Places I've lived:
Lethbridge(1 yr), Stirling(5yrs), Fort Macleod(1yr), Coalhurtst(3 yrs), Raymond(4yrs)

Lethbridge
Two different houses with my family (south and north side) and one house with my husband when we first got married, since then our homes have downgraded to small basement suites.

Edmonton
House #2 with Michael, so small, no room for our kitchen table, our couch, and numerous other things.

Current living situation:
Basement in Calgary.. lets just say I'm definately looking forward to upgrading.

Jobs I've had:
1) Phone girl at Pizza Hut with about 6 of my friends at the time. Pretty close to my dream job, haha. Then I was promoted to cook, which was enjoyable.
2) Busser at the Keg, then promoted to hostess
3) Server at Waterton Lakes Lodge (where I met my true love :) he was the life guard at the pool in the same hotel)
4) Merry Maids (worst job ever, lasted 3 months)
5) Subway Sandwich Artist (and I was dang good at this!! I actually liked this job, haha)
6) Server at Ric's Grill 
7) Wife
8) Assitant at Swizzlesticks Salon Spa 
9) Hairstylist at Curious!! (current)
10) Travelling Hairstylist (I do peoples hair as I travel from Lethbridge to Calgary to Edmonton, I love it) (current)

A Few Things You Didn't Know About Me:
1) Im the oldest of 13 kids (2 sets of twins, 10 girls) Its crazy
2) I loveeee Glee (k maybe you did know that) but I also love BONES!! (The tv series)
3) I love to PLAN.. 
4) I've watched The Little Mermaid  more times than I know of anyone else doing...(and i still get teary eyed when she says "i love you daddy"
5) I LOVE to read... 
6) I LOVE kitties and cats! I reallllly want one
7) I love surprises!! (hint hint michael)
8) I don't enjoy cooking. I'm blessed to have a husband that does. And I'm trying... trying to learn, trying to enjoy it. 
9) I have nightmares almost nightly. Last night, I was in world war two but it was in someones house and Rics Grill (lol) and people were trying to kill me... Most nights someone is trying to kill me, hunt me down, attack me, its not fun!!

artwork

i often compare myself to da vinci, van gogh, and picasso. i have always had an artistic talent. not only in hair, but in painting. see for yourself.

facials and hair

cassandra, becky, and mom came to visit this weekend. cassandra and mom were both in desperate need of getting their color done. they came up friday night, which is when did homemade facials. mom an i did an avocado/banana one, becky did an orange yogurt one, cassandra did strawberries and cream, and michael did eggs yolk and yogurt (very runny) we were able to spend some time outside, and just hanging out inside.

faced washed and about ready to mix and apply

pouring his liquidy facial, haha

facials applied, cassandra looks like she might be sunburnt

after completing hair, we went to bowness park and enjoyed being outside and feeding the birds.

the tree has a pretty freaky face

so sunny out

check out that chin of cassandras. 

after dinner, we played a quick game of skip bo before they had to head home. sad.

cassandras color BEFORE

AFTER, definately much improved.

becky showed us some realllllly funny cute short youtube videos. heres one about BEA, and FAINTING GOATS

hope everyone had a great weekend, i know i did!! 

wedding

want to see the pictures from my best friend jessicas wedding? i was in her wedding party, the photography is amazing, and he only shoots in film!! check out a good chunk of the wedding HERE.

semifinals

this week we played in the playoffs. we played a really good team with strong offense. we lost. haha, sad. we did super well in the first half but we have to have 2 girls on at a time and we only had one sub this week, and usually we have 3, so that was tough but at least we play next week for 3rd and 4th place. heres a team picture (with 2 of our girls missing). i think next week i will get another picture if everyone is there. so here are the DANGEROUS DANGLERS (hahahahaha our team name) our team captain came up with it... apparently when you have a bunch of fancy footwork with the ball, its called dangling...???? michael has played soccer his whole life and never heard of it, but here we are, looking dangerous.

***if you click on the pictures, they enlarge and they are much clearer.

me and my hun!!! maybe next week we will get a picture without the goof in the background. 

easter

this weekend we went up to edmonton to visit some friends. we did a lot. we flew kites, colored eggs, hunted for eggs, played at the park, went out for breakfast with the malmbergs, and pretty much played the entire game of the new super mario bros for wii. we were also able to go visiting michaels cousin jordan henrie and his wife dani and their new baby boy, H. here are quite a few pictures displaying what we did this weekend. it was a lot of fun to visit with friends and enjoy conference as well.

lauren and her baby

me with the girls kite

girls

both kites broke but they seemed most upset.

this was so hard with one hand. picture #2 tells how hard it really is.

action shot

coloring eggs

two of mine that i did

all of these eggs... see hulk hogan? that was darcys egg, and he gave it to michael as a parting gift. hopefully it doesn't rot.

all of us. lauren got a better one of us, so maybe i will replace it later.

easter morning, and michael at the easter egg hunt. the guys were thrilled.

the most beautiful baby ever.... i finally got a french braid into her hair after many attempts.

what did you all do this easter weekend?

its just a game

michael and i are on an indoor soccer team and we play at 10 every tuesday night. tonight we played to see if we are in the finals, we won, and we are waiting to see if another team won their game...

i was playing defense and we play on a fairly small field (as a result of cheap costs to play) so we can hear pretty much everything the other teams say. here i was just playing the game and this blonde girl on the other team who is off says to the brunette "i can't stand that girl" and its obviously this comment is made to me because the brunette says "i think she heard you" and the blonde looks over at me and i smile nice and big, and she gives me a pretty smirk.

i really have no idea where this came from.. i think it was after michael got a yellow card for the goalie body checking him and i was like "whaaaaaa"

so after WE WON (close game), we all are shaking hands with the other team saying "good game" and i happen to say to the blonde "its just a game" and keep on going.

after hand shakes, she turns right around and says "honey, what did i do? i dont understand" i laugh a bit and started to walk away and she kinda grabs my arm saying "no tell me" and i pull away and wave my hand as i walk away...

my teammates asked if there would possibly be a fight after the game in the parking lot....

maybe next time :) jokes

thats as dramatic as it gets for me. probably the most drama in a while. it was kind of nice to wave her off a bit after she was basically trash talking me... haha. anyways, thats my exciting story, it made the game alot more fun.

see you later

this weekend we went down to do a couple things. first on our list was to go to the temple, which was really awesome. we watched my new favorite show, Tabathas Salon Takeover. its reallllly good, you should watch it.

one of my best friends from high school is leaving tomorrow on her mission to Argentina, Spanish speaking. we were able to go to her farewell talk a few weeks ago but this weekend we went down to have a little farewell party for her. it was a ton of fun to hang out and talk and play some games and eat some really good argentinean dessert. this is the last picture of us before nikki leaves. this was taken at 2am after some good laughs and conversation.

oh we always have to get pictures of us together:

we had a lot of fun playing cranium sunday evening (just us girls). cassandra and becky won after cheating, haha jokes.

did some haircuts this weekend for jody, nikki, and mom.

this week is very busy, michael has quite an involved project and assignment due thursday and we are leaving thursday to edmonton after i am finished work. michael has been a bit sick with a throat infection/sore throat for just over a week and so he also has to go to the doctor. we have a soccer game tuesday night (our last to determine if our team is in the semi-finals). also, last week i scored my first goal..... ever. it felt wonderful.

how will you all celebrate easter this weekend? any big plans?

bunnies and birds

i fixed it! now i am starting to wonder whether there was anything wrong in the first place.

i was showing michael that i had fixed it and he was like "oh its an easter background" i said, "ummm, i guess the colors are but i was thinking more springish" he says "no, i can see the bunnies....... and the birds" so i am searching the background for anything that resembles either.

can you see them?

i can't.

under construction

so i realllly screwed up my blog. teaches me i shouldn't mess around with the HTML and everything else. so for the next while, my blog will look like this.... i am trying to figure things out so it will probably be a while until it looks great, and i miss blogging, so bare with me. lately we have been really busy. i joined michaels soccer team, which we have to get pictures of, and i really love it. we have both also been trying to get into shape so we have been running almost every night for almost two weeks (besides soccer night). on saturday we went to a waterpark here in calgary for the day and went down the waterslides so many times, did the hot tub, played on the kids stuff, diving board... everything. it was a blast. we went out to eat and took a long walk to a great view of the city. it was an awesome day.
since moving to a brand new salon, its been super slow, but the past two weeks have been really amazing weeks and i am seeing a lot of return clients, and referrals! also, i finally got my hairstylist license and my red seal!! its really exciting for me because i really wanted to finish all my schooling and complete my apprenticeship before we started a family someday so i could work from home, and it feels amazing to have it over with and know that i have no more exams.
my thoughts are pretty scattered right now, but i will try to update this more often. we are getting so excited for summer coming up. we have a lot of little trips we want to do. we always spend july 1st in raymond with michaels family, 3rd weekend in july we go to magrath for magrath days (one of my favorite days), we head to shushwap lake end of july for a petersen family reunion (the first in a long time!!), and hopefully taking a whole week off to go somewhere we haven't decided yet. in between all those events we plan to camp a few times (we love camping!!), hike in kananaskis since we are so close now, and visit friends and family.
we are headed this weekend to lethbridge to go to the temple and see my best friend (nikki byam) before she heads on her mission to Argentina. we are going a little party for her and i am so sad to see her go. i will hopefully get some good parting pictures.

i will leave you with a picture of my best friend jessica's wedding. nikki and i were bridesmaids, they were mine. :) but the photos from the wedding are almost up on Kristopher Orrs blog. I will let you know when you can check them out!