mr + mrs

we began celebrating the wedding on tuesday night. after setting up orchids and picture frames as center pieces at the coppermill (tangent: and i didn't help do any of that because i was frantically hunting for red jewelry...thankfully a wonderful lady in smithfield makes and sells cheap and cute jewelry and she had red! august is a hard month to find anything red.) so after everyone else set things up at the coppermill, we were hoping to take leslie out for dinner and a movie while the boys went golfing. but we couldn't steal her away from everything she had going on, so my mom, didi, paige, and i had a bachelorette party sans the bachelorette.

didi and paige slept over tuesday night. it was a big party trying to get 3 girls and 1 boy ready wednesday morning. mike simply asked for 20 minutes in the bathroom to shave + shower. i am proud to report that he got what he wanted, but not a second more.

the spirit was so strong in the wedding ceremony. i think everyone left feeling uplifted. we were reminded how wonderful drew and leslie are, how much they are loved, and how much lies ahead for the two of them. i know the sealer wasn't talking to me, but as he told drew and leslie how loved they are, i felt the same way: i am loved. i am a child of god. i know this is true.

their reception was held outside and the weather couldn't have been better. it cooled off nicely and it didn't rain! i thoroughly enjoyed their reception- i got to catch up with many dear friends who came to support them. my feet were blistered and swollen by the end of the night, and we went home exhausted, but it was all worth it. it was a great day.

the graduate

he did it! i'm so proud of my hubby who is a first-generation college graduate. he has worked hard to get here. we tried to drag out the celebrations over a couple weekends. last weekend, amanda hosted a get together with all the kropfs and we were glad to have bethie and jacki there. last night, my parents treated us to dinner at maddox, and tonight we have one final shin dig to finish off the parties. way to go, mike. sure am proud of ya ;)

better late than never

we spent the 4th of july in island park with my grandparents. it was weird not having my family there, (they ditched us to go to oregon. rude.) but my grandma really spoiled us! as trips to the cabin always are, it was perfect weather and very relaxing.

we spent the 4th with my aunt and uncle and cousins. we didn't do fireworks, but we watched the sandlot, and you can't get more american than that, right? we finished off the trip in yellowstone and enjoyed watching the elk, buffalo, and grizzly bear. it was one of those weekends where i was reminded about how much i have to be grateful for!

happy birthday

even though she's very naughty,
steals our socks,
chews the floor,
ruins my hair bands,
eats anything found on the floor,
thinks she needs to sit on chairs and the couch instead of the floor,
licks my feet,
starts whining at 6 am on the dot,
eats the neighbor's dirty diapers from the garbage,
barks at anything that comes near our house,
and sheds,

this little dog has become part of our family,
and we love her.

she's a soft,
snuggly,
protective,
playful,
loveable,
and smart puppy.

happy first birthday coco!

23

as rhett butler says, "when you are trying to get something out of a man, don't blurt it out. try to be more subtle, more seductive. it gets better results." apparently i wasn't very subtle or seductive because mike didn't get anything on my wish list!

i didn't have a great birthday last year and it was mostly all my own fault, so i vowed to have a better attitude this year. and it was a great day. i wish i could record the many renditions of happy birthday that i was serenaded with. it began with mike singing "we're gonna party like it's your birthday" and continued with my boss, several guys at work, kennedy and paige, and my grandparents singing their own versions of happy birthday. nothing is better than hearing people sing to you, especially when they really can't sing at all.

the day was filled with my favorite things: spending time with mike, eating at cafe sabor, fresh flowers, and opening pretty packages. i am a happy girl.

your mom goes to college

ah, graduation. the day you think will never come. you spend four + years of your life on what feels like a never-ending road to nowhere... but alas, there is an end, and it has finally come for muah.

i received my bachelor's of science degree in english with an emphasis in professional and techincal communication. when you tell people you have an english degree, they assume you're going to be a teacher or jobless. i hope to be neither. professional and technical communication involves a myriad of things, including website design, document design, writing grants, proposals, and even exciting things like instruction sets. for now, i'm going to keep working at my current job as a contract administrator because a) i love my job, b) logan doesn't believe in paying college graduates what they're worth, and c) we may not be living in logan once mike graduates so why search for a new job only to leave it in a year? ultimately, i would like to assist the state in writing their construction proposals or find a job that will allow me to work from home. so for those who care, that's what i want to be when i grow up.

suzie is probably going to be disappointed in me, but i decided not to walk and go through the traditional graduation hooplah. i figured, why PAY money to rent a cap & gown and sit through a painfully long, boring, and based on feedback from last year--somewhat depressing--graduation ceremony? seems like a no-brainer, right? so mike and i decided to go play in salt lake. we did a little shopping (found a season of 24 and er for 15 bucks! i heart target), a lot of eating, and enjoyed spending a whole day together.

we met my family and grandparents for dinner at macaroni grill. i love my family and definitely got spoiled by my parents and grandparents. i love kennedy very much, but the real reason i took this picture is because megan joy (from american idol) is sitting behind her. people kept bugging her to take pictures with them, so we didn't want to bother her. instead we just tried to sneak in a picture without her noticing. on sunday, mike and my sister-in-law through a "surprise" party for me. (note: one of the many reasons i love mike is because he cannot keep secrets from me. i usually know what i'm getting for birthdays, christmas, and anniversary presents because he gets so excited that he can't wait to tell me. when he had to make a mysterious trip to the store on saturday, i only had to do a little questioning before he gave in and told me what was going on) it was fun to have an excuse to get together with everyone.
so there it is. the graduation celebrations. thank you to our families and mikey for making it a great weekend for me. it felt like my birthday, only without the getting older and wiser part. oh wait, i am much wiser now, right? i'm a college graduate!

the not-so-surprise party

hard as everyone tried, our party wasn't much of a surprise. my dad saw the invitation a week early and while he was on his way to what everyone thought was still a surprise party, one of his friends who couldn't make it called to ask how the party was! it was still fun and he pretended to be surprised. a lot of people came to support which shows what a great guy my dad is.
these guys have known each other since they were all 4 years old. that's a long time for a guy who just turned 50 :) i think it's awesome that they grew up together and have all stayed in contact.
other party goers- we enjoyed dinner as a fam at windy's sushi after the party. it was an entertaining night. the waitress, bless her heart, dumped my water all down my shirt and pants. she was embarassed and i kept telling her i know exactly how she feels which is the truth. i can't count how many times i did stuff like that at maddox. the whole restaurant sang happy birthday to my dad twice. he doesn't like to have the spotlight on him very much but i think we did a good job making sure he got all the attention saturday night.

mike and i spent the rest of the weekend in midway to enjoy spring break a little early. we got to spend two whole days together which never happens and we loved it. did lots of shopping, eating, and relaxing. and exciting news- i bought pants 2 SIZES SMALLER than what i was wearing before weight watchers! thanks mom and didi and paige and dad for watching coconut. she had fun.

Wedding Shower

My little house was filled with a whole lot more people than it was built for this weekend. On Sunday, my neighbors asked me where we were putting all those people :)

We had a fun bridal shower for my sister-in-law Amanda who is getting married in February. We had delicious food, great company, and exciting news that my sister-in-law Sharon is pregnant. Most of the family: Diane, Holly, Sharon, Bethie, Jacki, and Brittany. Amanda is the lovely lady in the middle. I just love this girl. I usually see her at least 3 times a week and I go through withdrawals when I don't. She has made it easier for me to adjust to living in Logan and away from my little sisters. She deserves the very best and I'm excited for her and Quintin.

Christmas 2008

Mike and I had Christmas Eve off, so we celebrated our little Christmas together during the day. We started off with a new tradition, Mexican pan (bread) for breakfast. It was delicious. Not part of the diet and worth every calorie.

I gave Mike new slacks (boring, I know), a new book, and a new Playstation game. He gave me a game for the Playstation called SingIt. It's like a Disney karaoke game. I've been listening to The Jonas Brothers/Hannah Montana/High School Musical soundtracks so that I actually know the songs.


We spent Christmas Eve with my family. My dad made delicious salmon tacos. We exchanged gifts, read the Christmas story, and tried to keep ourselves entertained until 11:30 when we got to talk to Drew. I can't believe this is the 2nd year he's been gone. Next year he'll be home.

Santa found us even though we were at my parents. Thanks mom :) We spent the rest of Christmas Day at the Kropfs. Christmas came and went so fast this year! We had a really good one and enjoyed the time spent with our families and each other.

Christmas Party #2

Kropf Christmas Party

complete with watching old family videos,

delicious caramels,

and a grandma who couldn't have been happier to be with her grandkids.

We missed you, Bethie and Jacki!

P.S.- Coco loves the snow but she's always cold now. She thinks she needs to be wrapped up in my quilt. She'll start out by sitting on the leftover blanket that's on the floor. Gradually she pulls more and more blanket down to her until she's all bundled up and I'm sitting on the couch without any blanket to keep me warm. Silly dog!

Christmas Party #1

Parson Christmas Party

complete with piano performances,

a reindeer musical number,

christmas sing-a-long,

truffles and chocolates,

and pretty much the best family ever.

Thanksgiving Festivities

A few pics from Thanksgiving with the Allens....My parents are amazing cooks. I of course ate too much. That's what Thanksgiving is for, right?What would it be without a cheesy picture? My favorite sisters-The Christmas Countdown is on. Good thing I finished the advent calendar this weekend. We always seem to be so stressed the first two weeks of December with finals that I wanted to have daily reminders to remember what Christmas is really about and enjoy the season more. I think it turned out cute (thanks to Annette who supplied the clipboard and did all the sewing)