Mother's Day

On Mother's Day Ian made me a special dinner and brownies for dessert! I felt so loved!!!

We took pictures of Rylie in the outfit that I wore home from the hospital for her 3 month pictures. The outfit was still big on her!!!! I can only imagine how big it was on me when I wore it home from the hospital!!!!! I am so thankful that my grandma saved the outfit all these years and that I have a co-worker that knits and who fixed the front of the outfit for me!!!

Please excuse the need to correct the color in the top pictures... we haven't touched them up in Photoshop yet!!!

I love the look on her face here!!! So expressive!!!

She makes me laugh every day!

I'm totally listening to you mom... 

Aww shucks... 

What is she doing to me?!?

Mommy and Me... Mother's Day 2014

Happy Birthday Babe!

Tomorrow, my fiance will turn the big 32... we don't really have anything special planned... at least yet! We have talked about driving up to Boulder and checking out this mountain where our photographer took me during my bridal shoot but that is about it on the excitement scale!

This week we will celebrate Ian's birthday for most of the week... a brief trip to the valley at the end of the week... a movie with friends on Tuesday... dinner... oh and a honey-do list that I really want to be finished before our families get here next week for the wedding!

It is crazy to think that two years ago I posted a birthday blog for Ian that highlighted 30 reasons why I love him... and after reflecting on that post, I honestly couldn't say that there was anything that I missed when I originally sat down to make the list!!!

I love you and am thrilled beyond words that in just under 2 weeks you will be my HUSBAND!!!!

Colorado in July

My trip to Colorado has been all kinds of exciting and busy!! I arrived on the 1st with enough time to relax briefly before we ran over to the cousin's house for birthday dessert for Sheridan. The dessert and conversation were amazing and I really like Ian's cousins!

While we were relaxing on the patio before leaving for Berkley and Russell's for Sheridan's birthday party. It was warm enough to shed my jacket for a while!

Fourth of July found us in Aspen in the morning watching the parade down main street. The parade was amazing. There were motorcycles galore... a massive herd of children on decorated bicycles, firetrucks covered with kids and family members... then the most impressive part for me was when the veterans passed by. There were vets from WWII, Vietnam, Korea, Normandy Beach, Okinawa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gulf War, and any war in between... There were HUNDREDS of veterans, in uniform, with signs denoting their particular theater/tour of duty. It was amazing the support that these men (and some women) received from the crowd that day. Having friends in the military, and that have served in the Middle East in the last 6 years of this ongoing war, it brought tears to my eyes and a chill down my skin to see all the vets. After we painted an office for a while, we came home, took a brief nap then headed to Glenwood Springs for fireworks. Above is a picture of me waiting for the fireworks to start while enjoying the Glenwood Springs Symphony.

Some of the fireworks that we were blessed with watching! I love fireworks!!! I also enjoy the amazing freedom that is signified by them on the 4th of July...

Sunday we drove to Crested Butte... we made a brief pitstop in Redstone on our way. We checked out the old coal coke pits and then attempted to drive through Marble to Crested Butte... the Marble idea went out the window when the road became muddy, bumpy, rocky and incredibl narrow. I was enjoying our offroad adventure, however, Ian was not so we turned around and decided to take the OTHER route through the Paona Reserve. That drive is amazing!!!

After walking around in Crested Butte on our way home we stopped to admire the various wildflowers that are on the side of the road. Ian got some amazing shots of the flowers and a few pictures of me in the process.

Here is one of pictures that I took while standing/sitting outside the sunroof while driving home. Ian is completely rubbing off on me... I typically don't take pictures of the sky, clouds, and scenary... but now...

And last night... he brought me flowers... He had been working in Aspen and I decided to stay home to relax... when he came home he told me to close my eyes as he walked in the door... so I closed my eyes and attempted to cover them, but he took my hands down from my eyes and put this beautiful bouquet of flowers in my hands!!!!

Just in case I haven't mentioned it lately, I love my boyfriend!!!!

Rocky Mountain High...

I am home from my (too short) trip to Basalt, Colorado to see Ian... the absolute LOVE of my life! I left last Thursday on that jet plane to Denver, a little nervous about what was going to happen that weekend... nervous about maneuvering through Denver Int'l Airport on my own... nervous about seeing him again... I honestly have no idea why I was nervous about seeing him, but I was! I just had this fear that he would see me differently in Colorado than he did when he was home in March. The drive from Denver to Basalt was beyond pretty, well at least what I saw, apparently I slept through the prettiest part of the drive! But by the time we got to his apartment most of my nerves had settled, at least I thought they had, he tells a different story!

That night we just hung out at his place, enjoyed being together after not getting to spend too much time together while he was in Tulsa. It was great to be able to just be together with no worries about timelines and deadlines! Friday he took me through Snowmass and into Aspen where we walked around for a bit. Saturday we drove up to the lake that is near his apartment. I think it is Lake Ruedi??? We saw some elk, some mountain goats, some deer, and lots of awesome scenery. Sunday we ventured out and walked down to the river that runs behind his apartment. It was a little chilly on Sunday and I didn't have anything remotely warm in my suitcase... Very early Monday morning (like 1:30 am) Ian directed my attention to the window where it was SNOWING outside!!! Imagine my excitement to SEE SNOW in the middle of April!!! Monday morning found me outside taking pictures of the beautiful snow that covered the area before we drove to Denver to put me back on that jet plane for Tulsa. :(

My departure from Denver was quite an emotional rollercoaster that is for sure! It all started when we got to the airport at 4:30 for my 5:25 flight. He took my suitcase out of the back of his Jeep and leaned in to give me a hug... I had told myself that I wasn't going to cry, yea right... that was wishful thinking!!! As he is telling me that he already misses me and that he loves me and all sorts of other sweet things, the tears start rolling down my cheeks... I make it into the airport at 4:40 only to realize that there are 2 agents working the 4 checkin stations... my plane boards in 15 minutes... at 4:50 I am making my way toward the security area with cell phone to my ear calling Sasha for emergency rescuing if needed. 4:59 going through Security, someone was looking out for me because a new line was opened when I needed it most! I arrived at the VERY LAST terminal at the VERY LAST gate at exactly 5:05 and we started boarding our plane at 5:06... yea... Can I say thank you to my guardian angel enough????

Here are a few of the pictures from the trip, I will post more as I get them. Ian is slowly sending them to me daily from his camera!!!!

These are the three little rocks that we found that looked cool when we went to the river. We also thought that the big rock was neat. It was my idea to take the picture of our "Rock Family."

One of my favorite pictures of us so far. I am hoping that there will be plenty more pictures of us in the future!

Ok this is OFFICIALLY my FAVORITEST (yes Annie I said FAVORITEST) picture yet!!

Moving On...

So many of you know, Ethan and I broke up almost 3 months ago... he told me that I needed to do what was best for me... to do for me... I must admit that dating was NOT at the top of my list of things to do for me... getting out and meeting new guys that could potentially break my heart didn't even make it on my list!!! The things that made it on my list were to get out and do more things with my friends, to see my cousins and do things with them, to work on my scrapbooks and quilt, to get to know me and figure out who I am without a guy to define me, and to continue to work on making the daily decision to be a better me! All of these things I had been doing, and doing well I think... until...

In January after my not so cryptic "life sucks" posts on both Myspace and facebook, one of my friends from high school was quick to inquire about what was going on in my life. Note that this is a guy that I was acquainted with him high school, but definitely didn't hang out together much, if at all... but we reconnected at our 10 year reunion... it was at this point that he and I started to talk about what was going on in both of our lives, coincidentally, he and his girlfriend had just broken up as well, ironically enough! So for the month of January up until about my birthday, we leaned on each other and helped the other deal with the pain of having lost a loved one without so much a DECENT reason. We both felt that our relationships could have been saved if both parties put forth the effort and that they were worth saving. Around my birthday things started to change... we started to build more of a friendship and we started to talk more about things we both liked and less about the EX's... we even started to flirt with each other...

Fast forward to March. He came home to visit his family, and subsequently me... I was very skeptical about seeing him when he came home, partially why I wanted to hang out with him with other friends at first rather than alone. Skeptical you say... yes, he is male... male's tend to have minds of their own and intentions that they keep to themselves... but alas, we went out with one of my best-close girlfriends and her guy that first night and we hit it off. We couldn't stop laughing and smiling and I even think that at one point in the evening, we were in our own world and totally forgot that Val and her guy were at the same table as the two of us! After that night, we saw each other for at least an hour every day he was home... the picture at top is after we went to dinner one night before he went back to Colorado.

So I guess it is official, I am starting to move on. I do care immensely for Ethan and I do wish him the best in all that he strives to achieve. However, I have seen some interesting traits in him since we broke up that are making it easier for me to move on. Like him saying he wants to be friends with me, and yet he won't talk to me or see me... maybe that is his way of dealing with him pain, I don't know and I may never know. He will always have a special place in my heart and I will probably always care about him. Is that bridge burned you may ask? No, no bridge is ever completely burned (in my world that is, unless you do something to totally make me not ever want to see you or talk to you again) until I have said "I will" to a guy after receiving a proposal.

I'm moving past the hurt and the pain. I am starting to smile again and laugh. I am enjoying the warm and fuzzy feelings that I get from being around someone that is fun and easy going. I am NOT enjoying the 900 mile separation from the person that is making me smile and laugh so easily, but I will cross THAT bridge when we get there. For now, I am enjoying the ride of being infatuated (so to speak) with someone and getting to know them better and feeling like I am someone special and wonderful.

To the "mystery" guy in the picture. THANK YOU for helping me during that bleak time of my life just a few months ago and THANK YOU for your friendship, it means the world to me. Things happen for a reason, I am a FIRM BELIEVER in that and God has a plan for each of us. I truly believe that God puts people in our paths at times when he feels necessary and that there is a plan for us, whatever it may be. You have brought laughter and smiles back to my life. You have made me feel so carefree the past two weeks and feel like I am loved. I am very thankful that I got to spend as much time with you as I did last week and am looking forward to visiting soon in Colorado!

Spring Break...

My precious niece... so photogenic... so... adorable... so loving... so caring... so much like her aunt that it isn't real!

A candid picture taken of the two of us in the flowers. One of several in a series!

Check out the look I am being given by her! The look was better about a millisecond before the shutter clicked!!!

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Kenzie Ann at Woodward Park on Sunday afternoon. One of my great friends from high school joined us and snuck some pictures of us together while we were playing in the flowers! I will post those pictures as soon as I get them from him. Check out the eyes on my little princess! I can't believe how BLUE they are!

This little girl means the world to me! I can't believe that she is growing up so fast! It seems like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms as an infant... and now she is sitting in the front seat of the car, reading books to me, and almost too big to have slumber parties with me in my bed!

I have this funny feeling that my little girl is going to be a photographer... she took some AMAZING pictures at the park... especially considering she is only 8...

A flower that Kenzie photographed... looks great!