Monday, November 30, 2009

Let's Just Say...Only in WY

Well friends...You guessed it...we were in WY for Thanksgiving. You know it wouldn't be a proper holiday in Wyoming without guns. Here are some fun 'shots'...hahaha. (Oh yea--that is the house and a truck in the picture. As I said...only in WY.





Sunday, November 29, 2009

More to come...

Thanksgiving this year was amazing! We were able to provide service at the Salvation Army--This was the first year we helped serve on Thanksgiving...and I think it has become a new tradition! The Salvation Army really provides a great service and it looks like they could use a lot of support. They also take clothing donations, financial support, and of course time. We will keep you posted any future projects we are working on with them. I am sure there will be many opportunities if any of you are interested!

Also---I have photos from this weekend to come later in the week! Have a great week!

Hugs and loves!
Erin & Cory

Thankful--Ending

Monday, November 23
Thankful for the Good Book and the comfort it provides.
I was raised with knowledge about the Bible but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I truly appreciated all it has to offer. In the past few years there have been many times that I found myself looking for comfort and guidance. It is with gratitude that I have found comfort in best seller in the WORLD.

Tuesday, November 24

Thankful for my AMAZING husband! He is adorable, funny, and most of all...he adores me! (Of course I had to be thankful for him again...cuz...he is FREAKIN' cute!)
Yes, friends you guessed it...still thankful for Cory! He is amazing and I am thankful we are together.

Wednesday, November 25

Thankful all life's lessons, without them we wouldn't be who we are today.
In life we are faced with the good, bad, and the ugly. Well, I am thankful for every experience, yes, every experience. Especially the challenging times in life! This is when we grow the most.

Thursday, November 26

Gratitude consists of being more aware of what you have, than what you don’t. –-Unknown --Happy Thanksgiving Friends!
What more can I say? Really? Cory and I heard this once, and we live by this motto, “Let’s make memories not acquire things.” Early on in our marriage it was about the house, the car, and the activities. Now we focus on our relationship and what we can do to enjoy God’s creation. I think this has been a huge success, let’s see what new memories we can create!

Friday, November 27
Thankful for my FB friends for listening ALL month about my gratitude. It is finished!
Well friends…My challenge is officially over…Of course, I am thankful for this experience, some days I really had to focus on what I was truly grateful for—sometimes it was hard to pick just one! Also, it was really fun to see my friends posting something everyday. What a great month! Hope you all had a great holiday!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Still Thankful

Monday, November 16
Thankful that Nicole, Mandy, and I still go to lunch after all these years. Cannot wait to see you ladies today!
Last week I spoke about being thankful for friends that are present in our life at different times, well these to ladies are very special! We have known each other for almost a decade, amazing how time passes. We have been so fortunate as to stay in touch and do lunch a few times a year. I mean…Nicole has four kids and Mandy has three…sometimes we had to schedule our lunches before someone delivers a baby…LOL. Anyway…these ladies are special and I am thankful to know them!

Tuesday, November 17

Thankful for the community I live in and that people think Ogden is so far away it makes me smile.
Ogden is an AMAZING place to live…and I can say this because I didn’t appreciate all it had to offer when we first moved here. Now that we live in the neighborhood we do there are opportunities for us to experience the culture. Living within walking distance to trails and rock climbing has been so refreshing! We think…hmmm its Saturday morning what should we do…oh yea, rock climb or hike. Plus, we do not have the pollution and the traffic that is south of us! I hope we can keep our secret that Ogden is a wonderful place…that way we can keep our resources to ourselves!

Wednesday, November 18

Thankful for CC's new career...after the past 2 years he needed something amazing and he found it! He is so happy I wished this had happened when we first moved to UT.
Cory’s dream was to be a fighter pilot for the AirForce, when that didn’t happen his back up plan was to be a home designer. He worked as a custom home designer for over 12 years. With many ups and downs he found himself at a turning point—what am I going to do when I grow up. His backup plan was already in play…so what was next. Since I work in Higher Ed we enrolled him in school and went from there. The Lord was working through us-because He always has a plan. He now has a government job with government benefits and a succession plan! That is a first!

Thursday, November 19

Thankful that in one-month from today we will be on vacay!!! Woot Woot!
Oh…if you haven’t heard we leave on vacation December 19!!!! This is has been a dream of ours for 10 years! Christmas on the beach-this year it is going to be fulfilled! So excited!!!!

Friday, November 20

Thankful for the desire to learn. Had a great Photoshop training session with my good friend Shanda!
Shanda is always an inspiration to me! She is always researching things and trying new things. She has inspired me to take up photography, make cute headbands, and teaches me to use photoshop. We are going to get together a few times a month! Thanks Shanda you are amazing and creative!

Saturday, November 21

Thankful for those moments in life when you realize life is good.
On Friday I was faced with a very uncomfortable situation. When I realized that it didn’t matter…I realized life is good and that situation does not impact my life. Refreshing!

Sunday, November 22

Thankful for a gal's best friend, Chica has been the best addition to the family...(well, since Cory, hahahaha).
Chica was added into our family in 2004. It took Cory 6 years of negotiating to get a dog. In a moment of weakness I said you can get a dog if I can dress it up. Mr. Cory had a dog found by the end of the day he didn’t dare give me a chance to chance my mind. I was hesitant to get a dog-when we went to pick her out of the litter I wanted the dog that was sitting in the corner by herself. That was the best decision ever, she is so independent and love alone time and blankets. (Just like me!) Well…as you are aware she won me over and the rest is history. Chica is the cutest dog in the world!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

One of my favs

Colby Jack is a wild boy...here is one of my favorites from Halloween.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Photoshop Fun

Here is a little before and after fun! No judging...just learning and I only had time to do a few pics. I will start working harder soon!



Photoshop Fun

This is a picture that was really 'blown out' and I edited it because it was SO cute.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

My Kid

Of course Chica has a Halloween costume! She is the cutest, funniest dog in the world. She let's me dress her and doesn't even fuss. (I am not saying she likes it but she does allow it. Hahahaha)

Christa's Kids!

Christa's Kids...this are the best kids! Coby D. is adorable and listens well. Raylee is the best baby, she never fused once the entire day, even when we put her in the chicken costume.


This is Raylee! She was laughing at Cory...no surprises there.





This is Coby D. He is hilarious.

JaNell's Kids!

I took pictures of my niece's and nephew's on Halloween. I haven't had time to photoshop them yet but I thought I should post them anyway. These kids are so FREAKIN' cute!


This is Colby Jack! He is a wild-happy boy.



This is Ethan! He is a wonderfully sweet.



This is Emma! She is a girly girl...and then sometimes she can hold her own with the boys.



This is Tanner! He is a great big brother!



This is Savanna! She is a the cutest girl, she LOVES the camera.

Thankful

On Monday one of my friends posted this on Facebook:
Let's see how many people can do this. Every day this month until Thanksgiving, think of one thing that you are thankful for and post it as your status. "Today I am thankful for..." The longer you do it, the harder it gets! Now if you think you can do it then repost this message as your status to invite others to take the challenge, then post what YOU are thankful for today.”
For those of you who do not have facebook I have followed through…and to be honest it is not very hard to find something to be thankful for…here is what I have written this week with a little more description:

Monday, November 9:
Thankful for the price He paid for me!

Several years ago I decided I needed to figure out what I truly believed. In the end it turned out I always believed that Jesus died for the sins of the world and that includes me! He is my strong tower! Thank you Lord.

Tuesday, November 10:
Not just today...but EVERYDAY, I am thankful that I have the perfect partner, Cory! God had a plan from the moment we met. Love you, CC!

Thankful for manicures and pedicures! That makes for a happy Tuesday!

Thankful Tiffany attends Tuesday night bible study with me...she holds me accountable!

I was extremely thankful Tuesday. Of course the second most important thing to me after the Lord is Cory! I could not become the woman I am today without him in my life. Also, I got a mani/pedi that day and who wouldn’t be thankful?

Wednesday, November 11:
Thankful for all of my wonderful friends and family. The lessons you have taught me and keep teaching me. (Plus, a little shout out to FB for keeping us connected.)
Moving to the third most important thing in my life, family and friends! In my life (as all of us have experienced) there are different seasons when people enter our lives. On occasion we find a friend that is to be part of our life longer than a season. And for those of you that fall into any category, I am truly blessed to know you!

Also, this is my older sister’s birthday….Happy Birthday Christa, a.k.a. Dida. Every year we have the opportunity to celebrate another year with our loved ones.

Thursday, November 12:
Thankful I have a job that changes people's lives and that I enjoy my work.
Some of you may not know that I work for a University and I recruit students for a living. Since I did my education a little backwards it has become a passion to teach others the important aspects of fulfilling this goal.

Friday, November 13:
Thankful that Chica didn't eat the Ibuprofen I dropped last night. I was freaking out because I couldn't find it right away. But I found it and all was well. Phew...
Thursday, I had to work in Provo at 9:00 AM so I left really early in the morning. That evening I had to drive from Provo to Logan to work from 6:00 PM-9:00 PM. On the way someone had to take care of Chica. I had a killer headache because of the long day of being ‘on’ and driving. I put Chica outside and took some medicine, well I dropped one on the floor and Chica came in the same moment. I was having a panic attack because I couldn’t find it and I was afraid she had eaten the pill. Fortunately, I was able to find it and not freak out before my next event. Praise the Lord!

Saturday, November 14:
Thankful that some emotions fade over time; anger, distrust, and sadness. Whilst other emotions intensify; love, happiness, respect, and trust.
Often times in our life we are taught life lessons and it stirs up some emotions that we think we will feel for a lifetime. But in reality we are able to grow and learn from them and they dissipate. I am thankful for those opportunities and hope I am able to appreciate them. The emotions that intensify I am please I have had the opportunity to enjoy. For example my love for Cory has grown more every year, which also create a happy life!


Sunday, November 15:
Thankful for true friends. They are the type of people you do not to see/talk to daily. You can run into them and pick up the conversation like it never stopped! Thanks!
This is a special shout of for a few friends that we ran into over the weekend. Cory and I went to the movies this weekend and we ran into Ben and Kellen. The boys haven’t seen each other in years and they started chatting like it was a few days ago. I was so pleased to witness this! Then after our movie we ran into a friend, Tom that I worked with many, many moons ago. We chatted like it was yesterday. Thanks friends! You all mean so much to us and we love you all!

Thanks for visiting and reading my thankful thoughts so far this month. I plan to find joy in EVERY day.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

What to do?

My big three-O birthday is coming around the corner. Not only is this a big birthday our 10 year anniversary is two months later. So...we want to do something fun to celebrate. My favorite travel website has not yet posted any trips for March. The other thing is...we do not typically go to the same place twice so we are going to have to get creative. We are waiting for them to post and then we will go from there. Until then we will just look forward to our trip in December.

Keep you posted on what we decide, hopefully it will be something different than the norm.

Love everyone...if you have any ideas let us know.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Halloween








Saturday we went to Evanston and made sugar cookies with my nieces and nephews, Tanner, Ethan, Emma, Colby, Savanna, Coby D., and Raylee. We spent time rolling out dough (which my sister Christa had generously made prior to the cookie extravaganza) cutting out cookies, baking them and then frosting them. When we finished the cookies the kids got into their Halloween costumes and we took pictures. (Pics of the costumes will follow later, I am getting with my friend Shanda Thursday for a photo shop session. If all goes well I can do before and after pictures.)

Jazz Game

Yesterday I had to go to a Jazz game. You may not know this about me...but I am not a sports fan...I mean of any kind...BORING! That is what I think about games! The cool thing about sports is that there is usually other people around and not everyone has to watch the game...with that said...we were in a suite and I was with 60 other people so it was pretty fun. I am glad I went but I would have had just as much fun at a social hour. Any time I can meet someone new and make a connection I have fun so it was worth it in the end. The things we do for work...right? :)





Thanks for listening...
Love ya!
Erin

Twilight Corn Maze

Friday we had our nephew stay over, we gave him the choice of Nicklecade, a Movie, or the Corn Maze. His choice was a corn maze...of course....I new in advance about the Twilight corn maze, and I wanted to go so bad! AND OF COURSE I GOT LOST IN JACOBS EYES!!! We went through a haunted house section and it was so fun...a little scary but fun all the same! There was a claustrophobic room and a slaughter house...it kept going and going. He had so much fun and so did we...plus it gave us an excuse to go...normally we just skip doing this type of stuff...This might have to become a family tradition!



Thanks for visiting!
Love you!

Bath Day

Cute little Chica has been in our family for almost 6 years! I cannot believe where the time has gone...

Ever since she was in the family every Sunday is bath day...for 6 years! Every Sunday Chica hides when she hears the bath water start running. It is hilarious, every Sunday! So here are a few pictures to share with you all!




I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Thanks for visiting again!
Love you all.