New Bridals

Even though Kevin and I got married over a year ago, I have wanted to have outside bridals taken...Ones that are my style and that I will love. I got what I wanted. :)

I found the sweetest girl to do them. Thank you so much Sara! I absolutely adore them. You are so talented! Before we even got together for the shoot, we discussed what I wanted and what she liked to do...luckily we were on the same page from the very beginning. Here are some of my favs:



















The bottom of my dress was a little bit wrinkled from being stored away for so long and I wasn't able to get a lot of the wrinkles out...but no matter. I still love them.

Bathroom

The past few weekends we have worked on our bathroom...well...to be honest, I'm really of no help and Kevin does most of it on his own while I help out here and there whenever I'm needed.

Our house was built in the 1950's and although the cute little old people we bought it from had updated some things (central air, appliances, windows), the rest was hideous. The bathroom had baby blue tiles throughout and antique white finish. Gross. The shower pipes were outside of the wall. It was ridiculous.

Unfortunately, we've been really bad at taking before and after pictures so we don't have any pictures of what the house looked like prior to all of Kevin's hard work. His sweat equity. :)

Prior to these pictures, new floor tile has been installed, the baby blue tile on all the walls and in the shower removed, new toilet installed, walls partially primed and sanded...you get the idea...but this weekend has been devoted to painting.

Here's the befores: (Kevin says it has the feel of a prison cell. I think he's right)



Here are the afters:


HUGE IMPROVEMENT.

Obviously we haven't finished putting everything back, but it's on its way.

OH... and the BEST new purchase for our bathroom is definitely the dual shower. Specifically my fish shower head. :)



Next up...purchasing the new pedastal sink. :)

Congratulations

My friend/co-worker Stacie got married on Friday (or who Kev likes to refer to as "Big Stace" or "BS") to her longtime boyfriend Corey. They are such a cute couple and I'm sure Stacie will make a great wife. Look how cute they are. Stunning.



Stacie's dress was BEAUTIFUL (I made her try it on at work and go around office to office to show it off.) I'm sure she was stunning on her wedding day. When I found out that her colors were grey and yellow I was so excited! I LOVE LOVE this color scheme. As luck had it, not long before I had bought A TON of yellow, black and grey fabric so that I could make a quilt to go on our bed. (The walls in our bedroom are grey), so I decided to take some of it and make her a quilt for a wedding present. I absolutely love how it turned out and hope that she loves it just as much.



The newlyweds are actually going to be house/dog sitting for us when we go out of town in a couple of weeks. Hopefully they will have fun and the dogs will be good for them. They can sometimes be a handful when they play. (Pay no attention to our HUGE laundry pile)

For Mike

I am sad. I am broken. I am devastated. Michael Peterson (Big Mike) was one of my very best friends and he passed away a few days ago. Although I didn't seem him quite as often as I would have liked in the last little while--we could always pick up where we left off and would always have a good time laughing and sharing inside jokes. I considered him one of my best friends and I hope that he felt the same.

I think I read the message more than 20 times when I got it stating that Mike had passed. It was unreal and I just couldn't believe it. When I called Laura a few minutes later, her voice on the phone confirmed the worst and I had to hurry and hang up before I completely broke down. It still feels unreal.

I loved him, I still love him...not just as a friend, but as a brother. We would give each other guff sometimes and get really upset or offend one another, but the next day it was over with and we were buds again. I will miss him and regret that I was not a better friends to him and could have encouraged him to seek help. I spent everyday with him for a period of my life, watching movies on my parent's couch, eating dinner, causing chaos, etc.

No matter what's happened in the last few years, we've always managed to make it to important events and it meant so much when Mike and Laura both made the trip and were able to attend my wedding. I said "I Love You" and "I Miss You" countless times during the 3 days we spent together with promises that we would spend more time together once everything had calmed down. I will cherish forever the few pictures I have that were taken of Mike after the wedding.




I keep reminiscing back to our wedding night when my father-in-law drove all of us out to Fremont Street in a mini-van and all the fun we had walking around. When we made it back, us group of friends gathered in a hotel room to relax, share laughs and enjoy each others company. We laughed and laughed until the wee hours of the morning as if we had no care in the world. I remember like it was yesterday the way in which Mike imitated how Sara snored like a motorbike the night before. It was hilarious and none of us could control our laughter.



Mike had such a big heart and was such a good, genuine person. He was there for me during times when I felt I had no one, during times that mattered the most and were some of the hardest to go through. There were many times I would call late in the night and bawl his ear off or Laura's and they would both sit and console me for hours on end. I wish that he could have called me...I would have returned the favor.

My heart is breaking and hurting for Laura, Avery and Mike's family. The pain they are going through right now is unimaginable. I can't even wrap my head around it. I remember the look on Mike's face when we went to the hospital when Avery was born. He was so proud and so happy. That's how I'll remember him.

I guess this post was more for Mike--to let you know that I'm thinking about you and I miss you. Thank you so much for your friendship. I love you big guy.

Chloe

Today is also Chloe's 2nd Birthday! My baby girl is getting older. (How cool is it that Kevin and Chloe share a birthday? When we found this out at the Humane Society, we decided it was a sign and she was destined to be ours.)


When we brought her home, she was awkward and skinny with big ears.



Not much has changed...she's still awkward and skinny with ears that now fit her head. She is pretty much a little person and we literally have to avoid saying certain words and sentences in everyday conversation or else she knows what we are saying and gets excited about taking a bath or going to the dog park, walk, to Wendy's house, etc.

Every night as soon as she hears Kevin's breathing deepen I will see her ears at the foot of the bed and she will look at him or walk over to his side to see if he's really sleeping...if he is, she creeps back on over to my side, climbs into bed and crawls in between us. LOL She knows that I won't kick her off.

Oh Chloe! Life would not be the same without you!



(She is pretty much the hardest thing ever to take pictures of. Somehow she knows when you have a camera and will run away. Because of this we have ZERO pictures of her looking directly at the camera)

Birthdays!!

Today is Big Kev's 25th Birthday! Whoo Hoo, another milestone!







You're my best friend and I love being married to you, you make it so dang fun! Nobody can make me laugh as hard as you can and I admit, you might me a little bit wittier than I...but just by a smidge. :) Thank you for being you and letting me be me... and giving in to all of my crazy antics and letting us keep all these dogs. I love you! Happy Birthday Big Boy!

Chuck Norris

(Probably the best/funniest Chuck Norris pic EVER)


I found a website where I can design my own Chuck t-shirt or purchase one that has already been designed by someone else. This may be the best site ever created! Don't be surprised if sometime in the (hopefully) near future, Kev and I are sporting these beauties... :) Maybe I'll see if I can photo-shop him in place of the kangaroo! LOL

Race for the Cure

Wow, I'm a lame blogger. I decided to start one....and then haven't posted anything since. Here are a few things that have happened in the last month or so. On May 8th we participated in Race for the Cure. Wendy was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago and the Asay's have all walked in celebration of her since. I've only been around for the last couple of years and have been able to participate the last 3 years and it is definitely something to be cherished and a special even in each of our lives as it affects us all greatly. My sister and Kaleb were able to participate with us this year. While Lynnette ran, Kaleb stayed behind with us and walked (well... kind of walked, but mostly was on Kevin's shoulders). My mother-in-law is such a strong person and I admire her so much. There is not one thing that she wouldn't do for any of us and puts everyone else before herself, especially when it comes to watching all of her grandkids everyday. I don't know how she does it, I couldn't. She welcomed me into the family with open arms and has been someone I can talk to and vent to just like I would my own mom. Her and my step-mom Julie have been there and actively been more of a mom to me than my own the last few years and I love them both so much. To show you how inspiring and strong of a person Wendy truly is, here is a clip from the story that Channel 2 News did on her and Kevin's sister, Sara.

Bloggy Blog

Yay!!! We have decided to start a blog... Wait... Correction... I have decided to start a blog. Kevin wasn't too keen on the idea and only wants access so that he can go in and edit my posts. Pfft... I'm sure that soon enough he'll be a regular contributor....or....maybe not.



We don't have any kids but we can gab about ourselves and our dogs, right? Hopefully this whole blog thing will force me to take more pictures so that I can document our lives a little better.



ENJOY!!





(This is an old picture, but it still makes me laugh)