Good Stuff

I rarely bust out the camera these days, why would you when the phone is so handy and easy. Well it doesn't take the best pictures but still it is so convenient. Here are the random happenings of our lives. If you follow me on intagram @lacokland, then you have most likely seen most of these. 

Last weekend we wanted to try out our new pop up 

Jumpin Jack Trailer. 

So we headed down to Moab. 

Just the 3 of us. Here we are all packed up. 

You may notice Ralph thinks he's riding shotgun....no sir. 

Horrible picture but this is when the moon was really HUGE. Sorry you can't tell. 

It was so big that while we were camping and the moon came out, it seriously looked like someone turned on a dim light. 

THE most tired pooch ever after a hike to the watering hole.

He was so excited to be out running around. 

Driving! Pretty sunset. 

                            

I bought a new neon orange shirt. I was and still am pretty excited about it. 

I love watching my cute nephew Connlly while I work. 

He's such a good baby. Only two more weeks of the helmet. Yahoo!!

Horrible picture sorry. Ralph always has to back his royal toosh onto something, 

usually its me. 

I was in bed watching TV and this little miss Kitty just climbed 

right up on me and went to sleep. 

Seriously?!

Chris went to Vegas for my lil brother's bachelor party and while I was doing the laundry

I found this lovely shirt. 

Every had the organic individual hummus packs from costco? 

Get there, they are awesome. 

I was having kind of a rough day this day and Ralph new I was sad so he 

got right in my face and licked the end of my nose. Thank you Ralphy Boy!

Met some good friends Jennie and Jenny at Rio for a delicious lunch. 

We went to jr. high and high school together. 

I never really see either of them so it was good to catch up. 

The other day I looked outside and my mom's dog had made himself at home

ON TOP OF MY TABLE! Goofball. 

Pups and I sleeping in on our backs.

Went to a shower for my nephew's wife who just had a baby. 

I took this picture of my sis in law and put it on instagram.

It backfired because everyone thought i was say she was bored but really

I was just embarrassing her with a lovely pic. 

We had a bachelorette party for tiff at Cafe Molisse . Delicious. 

We are goofing around trying to get rid of our double chins for the picture. 

Sisters. We are just missing Susan who was in Africa. 

My sister noelle. Love her. We get crazy and laugh a lot when we are together. 

Sorry that was random and weird but I just wanted to get some of those pics on here. 

Hope you have a great weekend. 

Birthdays

As I look back on the last 29 years, its hard to not be pensive and self-reflective. 29 is an odd year, it feels like the last year of my adolescence. I'm sure you're thinking that was 10+ years ago but really I just now feel like an adult. I have to say being an adult is FUN. Of course it comes with its ups and downs and lots more responsibility but also FREEDOM. I love my parents but they were "hands-on" {that is a nice way of saying a bit controlling. Love you mom and dad ;)!}. The freedom one has as an adult is so nice, liberating if you will. There were definitely a few years...ehemmm 25 and 26! That were difficult. The last thing i wanted to think about was getting older. But now, with grey hair, a few wrinkles and 10 or maybe 15 extra pounds (that will not budge), I can honestly say getting older feels nice. I don't love everything about it like the previously mentioned list but overall I wouldn't trade what I have been through and the lessons I have learned for anything. I have learned that being happy is a decision you make every single day. A decision no one else can make for you. Chris and I are newlyweds but we both came into this marriage with lots of life lessons under our belts. We definitely don't have it all figured out and not everything is perfect everyday but I look forward to learning the rest of life's lessons with him by my side. 29 is going to be a great year, maybe the best so far, well 28 was pretty amazing. 

Here are a few quotes I found about getting older. 

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. ~John Barrymore

Could this be any more amazing. I totally love this and plan on applying its idea to my life.   
   Regret can be paralyzing. 
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, But beautiful old people are works of art.                         ~Eleanor Roosevelt
I love Eleanor Roosevelt, she was so wise. 
Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many. ~Anonymous 
Wow, never thought of it this way. I am so lucky! 
Grandma's are little girls with wrinkles.~Anonymous
This just makes me smile. I LOVE this! 

I have some very fun pictures coming of the trip Chris surprised me with for my birthday but I wanted to have a bit of a serious birthday post. 

Chris you are such an amazingly huge part of my happiness. Thank you so much for always having a positive attitude, for making me feel so loved and blessed on my birthday, and every other day too! I love you! 

Dang it Marianne!

So Marianne, my best cyber-friend, tagged me. Unfortunately I don't know who in the world I will tag, but here goes! 

1. Post these rules.

2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.

3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.

4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.

5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you've tagged them.

Marianne had a different interpretation of # 2.

me

our cute niece lily. she's a crack up. 

snowflakes on branches

my favorite picture of me and my brother.

my mom's puppy mateo.

my cute nephew's baptism, also a crack up. 

onsies i made for my new nephew. 

a random dude at the airport in hawaii. how could i not document this atrocity?

my dad showing me his box of "goodies" and very excited about it. 

my husband is soooo much like my dad. showing me his organized tools and very excited about it. 

our newest niece Pippa Elizabeth, or as i like to call her pip-squeak! 

what happens when i get delirious in sportsman's warehouse and chris will do anything to prolong our stay...he turns into the best sport. haha. deep down i think he wanted me to make him buy it. 

1. What is one item (not person!) you cannot live without? 

i would say diet coke but i am 12 days clean and sober so i guess...skittles! 

2. What is the best book you've ever read?

hands down, the book thief by mark zusak. read it! 

3. Early bird or night owl? 

i used to be a night owl now i am an early bird, thanks animals

4. What is one trait of yours you want your kids to inherit?

my brown hair or sparkling personality! :)

5. What is your ideal Friday night?

go to a nice dinner with my husband then home to relax or go to a movie. 

6. What is your biggest pet peeve?

oh i could go on for days, people clicking their pens, being late, people who don't put coats on their kids...oh this is just the beginning. 

7.  If you had $1000 that you had to spend in one day, what would you do with it?

shoes, shoes, shoes and then maybe some flip flops. 

8. What song could you play on repeat and never get sick of? 

nelly furtado, i'm like a bird. 

9. What are you most proud of? 

my relationships with my family.

10. What is your favorite/ most memorable vacation? 

when i graduated from college my mom took me to fiji to scuba dive. it was so amazing but also soooo hilarious. scuba divers are a rare breed. 

11. Manicure or Pedicure? 

for sure pedi. 

Questions for you peeps.

1. What are your colors, jewel tones, earth tones, black/white, etc.

2. Who was the last person you called and why?

3. What is the first picture in your camera roll on your phone?

4. Instagram or Facebook?

5. With a cup of soup do you order half and sandwich or a salad?

6. Beverage of choice?

7. What is your favorite road trip music, you know the cd you listen to every song on?

8. What is your go to candy?

9. Are you a flip flop or sandal kind of person?

10. What is your favorite thing to do to exercise?

11. Why did you decide to start a blog?

I Tag YOU! 

Tiffanie Booker

Leah Proudfoot

Elease Stice

Jozie Curtis

Haha suckers have fun! 

Oh Joseph!

This guy! I love him. Not like I think he is the hottest, sexiest thing on the planet! I just think he is such a great actor. He is so cute and lovable in all of his movies. I will literally see any movie he is in...now I find this video and it pushes my Joseph Gordon-Leavitt fascination to a whole new level. 

Am I weird? Please tell me I am not the only one who sees it. 

ps i just love that he can sing too! so cute. 

Chris, I love you most of all! 

Get Away!

I need a vacation! Like NEED in order to keep my sanity. Living in Salt Lake, like the 3 of you who occasionally read this can attest to, is mentally draining. The multiple days of no sun, the cold cold winds, the horrible air quality, they start to take their toll. Even though this winter has been extremely mild, those nice days are such a tease that spring is on its way. I am craving this place. It is not far away but somehow it is. I just need to be somewhere a little warmer where I can do something active out side without uncomfortable ski boots and hopefully see the sun for two consecutive days! Whew! That felt like a long sentence. I mean look how cool this place is:

Ok Zion's we have a date coming up real soon and i'm excited!!

Love is in the Air

There is nothing as fun as having someone to love on Valentine's Day! Chris made me feel very loved. Oh Sunday it snowed and snowed and snowed. So, when we were getting ready for bed Chris said "do you want to ski tomorrow or tuesday?" I was pretty excited to ski since I haven't yet this year but I was mostly excited to spend a whole day with my love minus all the fur balls we have at home. Watching my mom's dog has been a bit stressful to say the least and when we are together, one of us is yelling at the damn dogs!! 

Isn't he handsome! He even makes goggles and a helmut look sexy!!

We saw the sun a little bit but we had a good time being together all day doing something fun!

Usually when Chris calls me cutie, I am in trouble. "CUTIE!!!" is a name that i know means business, if I fit I would run and hide under the bed like Ralph does when he's in trouble. But this time I wasn't, so I had to take a picture.

Look how beautiful these flowers are. He came home from work and I could smell them when he walked in. So pretty. 

Ralph was very interested in these flowers. He followed me around while I found the perfect place for them. I also got a new pair of BOOTS! He does listen to me, if only on occasion. :)

Chris, thank you so much for making our first Valentine's, as a married couple, perfect. I love you with all that I am. You are the best!!!

Hot Rod Remodel!

Some of you may know that Chris bought "Hot Rod" Hundley's old house. It was the ultimate bachelor pad. I have never seen a house so specific to a single guy. When we got married and I moved in, Chris was kind enough to agree to some updates. So the Monday after we got home from our honeymoon we decided it would be a great idea to start a remodel. We originally were just going to do the master bathroom but as you will see below, we went overboard. Unfortunately I didn't get any before any demo so you won't get the full effect. 

This is to be a crappy bifold door into the master bedroom. We closed it off and made a pantry. It was the best idea, this kitchen has no storage. 

Sigh...So nice. 

These are the old washer/dryer on the very lovely and very stained light grey carpet. 

Old laundry area

New laundry are. (don't mind the bra hanging, thought i would show you what we really live like)

this is the view from the kitchen into the dining room. There was a weird glass space light hanging here. 

A few little things out of place but you get the idea. 

My mom's dog is pretty much in the rest of the pictures because he wouldn't move and was very curious. 

This is the beginning of the master bathroom. it used to just be a weird shallow tub in the middle of the bedroom, not in the bathroom.

The shower.

ahhh. a heated bench in the shower is awesome. no more heating up the seat before you sit. 

vanity, his and her sinks, we haven't quite decided who's is who's yet but we like it so far. 

Some accent baskets for toiletries. From KUDU of course. 

This is the entrance to the bedroomit used to be a foggy sliding glass door, like one you would see in a bathroom. That little wall on the right used to be the other door into the kitchen, which is now the pantry.

Here's that finished view, notice the dog. We had some custom closets and storage built in. So nice to have so much storage. I was watching Law & Order, one of my favorites. 

That little half-circle on the floor, outlined in white was the old bathroom. It was so tiny and only had a sink and toilet and one of those magnetic mirrors. HUGE improvement!!

The dog bone is not new nor will it ever not be in the middle of the floor somewhere in this house. 

We still need to hang a lot of our art and finish decorating. 

This lovely gray carpet made the house so cold. At this point we had already scraped off the gray FELT wallpaper. Oh it was lovely. That foosball table was the only furniture in the front room for a long time, too long. 

The front room with a little of everything shoved in there. We kept that mirror for now but I think there is a really cool red-brick wall behind it and if so we will expose it and finish it. That will be awesome. 

Here is the front room now. SO much better than living in that mess of construction. 

No more bachelor pad here, we finally have a home. 

There was a really dark tile on the floor but this is the new stuff. the old door was read with a giant oval and a ugly red, glass screen door. 

The new entry. We still need to get some art on the walls here too.

This was a hideous purple built in love seat....now i love purple, it's my favorite but this was heinous!! So we built in a nice desk which we still need to organize. 

This room was basically empty so we turned it into the gym. It is sort of a loft area with a steam room in that bathroom, we thought it was perfect. 

Here is the bar area during construction. it was mostly  white and really cold so we organized and painted it. 

Much warmer and cleaner. Those are chairs we inherited from Hot Rod. I'm sure you can image what the rest of the house looked like with those chairs being the only thing worth saving. 

We are finally getting some of our art up and loving how cosy this place is getting. I honestly never thought we would make it cosy but it really is now. 

Well that is our house. Chris and I had so much fun picking all of this stuff out. We have completely different tastes so it was pretty interesting and there were lots of compromises, but we are really happy with the results.