another missionary

i had another chance to play photographer today. justin's friend ryley leaves on his mission wednesday, and my mom volunteered me to take his photos. moms are great for that kind of stuff! ryley was a very willing subject, which was great. he helped me think of poses. someday i will get better at this stuff. thanks ryley and best of luck on the mission in new york!

we've been waiting for this for 6 months

I always look forward to General Conference weekend. Listening to counsel from our church leaders and spending the weekend with family is so relaxing. It's just what we need at this crazy time of our lives! This morning we had breakfast with Mike and Sara and we're watching conference together at their place. We're headed up to the cabin for the afternoon session, and there's bound to be some kind of girls night tonight while the men are at the priesthood session.

I've loved conference so far. There have already been such inspired and relevant talks. If you're looking for inspiration, encouragement or something to lift your spirit, you can watch General Conference online here.

What were your favorite talks of conference?

it's one of those weeks

i'm taking a bubble bath, eating chocolate chip pumpkin bread, blog surfing, and watching the office. at the same time. i need some relaxation.

yes, it has been a long, tough week.

pray for board patients to materialize out of thin air. pray.

vegas baby

our trip to vegas for the wedding was so fun. the wedding was beautiful, it was fun to spend time with family, and we had time to hit the strip for a few hours, ride the NY NY roller coaster, and blow $15 on the nickel slots. not to mention singing potter puppet pals, pushing the deaf doorbell outside Dave and Kaylene's room, and laughing till our sides hurt in the hotel. it was a good time.

my favorite hotel is the paris. i know vegas is tacky but i like fake european exteriors more than the other stuff.
also it's across from the bellagio, and i could watch the water show at night for hours.

love this man.

love these two.

gotta make a trip to In N Out

and the wedding was beautiful of course. Mandy chose gorgeous colors; light pink, cream, white and some brown accents. very classy and timeless.

it was so fun hanging out with this group. we have such a fun family!

taking pictures at weddings is fun

because everyone is so beautiful and happy. such easy subjects! Coleman and Mandy were no exception. they're an adorable couple, and it was so fun to see them so happy on their day.

we love the Parkers. it was good to see family we don't see very often.

it was great to be in the temple for the sealing and remember our own wedding day and what it means to be sealed for time and all eternity. it's already been almost two years!

and i felt like i could fly

a last minute snowstorm rolled in this week. probably the last of the season.
we couldn't pass up the opportunity.

i am so glad we didn't.
i haven't had many powder days in my years of skiing, and this was the best i've ever had.

i've only had fresh tracks once before, but this morning we did. oh my. we did.
that has to be the closest you can get to what it feels like to fly.

today i was grateful to heavenly father for creating snow. what a great idea!

it's always fun to ski with cute husband and mike. they are good at jumping off of stuff, and i am good at watching.
and then we all fly down the mountain together. good times!

the little guy is growing up so fast...

Tonight we all gathered at the house to watch Justin open a very important letter. He is going to be spending two years as a full time missionary in the

Canada Toronto East Mission!!

Congrats Justin!!! I know Justin is going to be one awesome missionary. (And he let me pretend to be a photog for an hour last week which was very kind of him.)

the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam was today...

I survived all eight hours. And I think I may have passed. Here is what got me through all the studying:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ cup of butter (1 stick), softened
¼ cup of brown sugar
¼ cup of white sugar
½ cup of peanut butter (I used creamy)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 ¼ cup of flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup of walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a large mixer, cream butter, peanut putter, sugars and vanilla. Add the egg and mix until light & fluffy. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt - mix thoroughly. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, stirring continuously. Add chocolate chips and combine. Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough on the baking sheet and press the center of the cookie with a fork. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Enjoy!

Recipe from For the Love of Cooking.

here's to life

(Commercial currently airing on local television, created by the BYU Ad Lab)

World Water Week is here! Go out to eat this week for a good cause.

Globally, a total of more than 2.5 billion people are living without access to a safe drinking water source. But for people like us who are fortunate enough to live where safe water and sanitation are taken for granted, there are ways to help these children and families. The Tap Project, initiated by the US Fund for UNICEF and partners, is one of them.

Just $1 can provide safe drinking water for a child for 40 days. The project asks diners in restaurants across the United States to donate $1 for the tap water they usually get for free. More than 2,300 restaurants throughout the country are participating.

Utah readers, head to the Utah Tap web site (designed by our very own Klane) to find a restaurant near you or donate to the cause. And no matter where you live, you can participate. Visit the Tap Project web page to find participating restaurants near you.

Info in this post from this article.

thoughts on babies and things

We watched this little squirt for a few hours the other day. Oh my. He kept us hoppin. We love little Ry guy. Thanks Ann for trusting us to keep an eye on him, we had fun.

Sometimes having a baby scares me because I wonder if I'll lose my sense of self when I become so wrapped up in the life of my child. People have kids and suddenly they disappear from their blogs; no more life of the couple, all there is to update the world on is the baby. And maybe there's nothing wrong with that.

So mothers out there, how do you maintain your individual identity when you're talking baby talk all day? Do you ever feel less like "Ashley" or "Britney" or "Angie" because all you are is "Mom"? How can you maintain a romantic relationship with your spouse when you move from being "lovers" to being "parents"? Maybe the definitions aren't as narrow as I'm making them. Maybe you can be more than one thing at a time. Am I the only one who thinks about this? What do you all think?

I'm sure I'll love being a mom. When the time is right. In the meantime we'll enjoy our nieces and nephews.

ha. look, they match!

we're going to be boring for a few days, i think

This is pretty much all that's going on here the next few days. Eat, sleep and STUDY. After Tuesday I will be a free woman. And I will try not to think out about whether I passed or not until May when I find out.

We'll try to do something entertaining after that. Like, maybe, a trip to Vegas? Yes, please! (we're headed down for Coleman's wedding next weekend. It'll be a much needed break!)

we showed cancer who's boss

The Rex Lee Run is an annual event for my family and the office. By running we donate to cancer research.

This year was extra special because my mom was back in the race. Last year she sat on the sidelines because she was in the middle of chemotherapy.

She showed cancer who's boss. She placed second in her age division yesterday. I'm so grateful for my mom.

And for this handsome guy who runs by my side and likes being silly with me.

I'm also grateful for Magleby's Fresh and their wonderful french toast. Thanks dad!

i'm sick in bed today

I kept thinking I just had a little sore throat and that it would get better, but it is getting worse. So I skipped out on our planned trip to Snowbird today and let Klane go on ahead.

On a lighter note, I'm sipping hot cocoa in bed, surfing craig's list looking at apartments in Harlem. And I came upon this gem of a listing. Apparently the apartment is quite large, according to the description:

I thought it was hilarious. Come on, who wouldn't want such an apartment??

klane's first surprise party ever

we went to lynsie's to hang out with everyone saturday night and were surprised to walk in and find a surprise congratulations party for klane, nyc themed and all. it was awesome. thanks everyone, it meant so much!

and even the president was there! we think he should make appearances at every family gathering from now on. (klane did do quite a good job of copying a famous election ad a couple months ago, so maybe that was the inspiration.)

a 'big apple' cake, and klane trying on his gift: ski gloves!

only the man of the hour gets to drink out of this huge glass... non alcoholic, folks, non alcoholic