we are the reynolds

lovey-dovey day

2012-02-14T18:45:00.000-08:00

i love valentines day. everything about it. dj on the other hand still tries to convince people that it's a made up hallmark holiday and "why should you need a special day to let someone know you love them? you should do that everyday". yeah, he's one of those people. i gotta hand it to him though, even though he doesn't agree with my philosophy of celebrating valentines day (which usually consists of over-the-top mushy gushy stuff. i'm talking multiple love notes, unlimited foot rubs, surprise dinner, flowers, chocolates....just to name a few) he makes a better valentine then he thinks. letting me eat the most of our samoa girl scout cookies? thats the makings of a great valentine. this year we made a mutual decision to lay low. so you can bet on finding us with copious amounts of pink colored candies and cupcakes watching romance movies. for those of you planning on a more laid back valentines like us, heres a list of my favorite rom coms to get you started.

alot like love
my best friends wedding
ps i love you
the notebook (obviously)
just married
nick and norahs infinite playlist
the wedding singer
just go with it

happy valentines day!

i've been slackin'

2012-02-13T12:21:00.000-08:00

but would you choose sitting at the computer blogging over riding bikes with these two studs?

i didn't think so.

happy monday everyone!

our happenings lately according to T

2012-01-31T23:29:00.000-08:00

spending too much time on the computer...

celebrating MLK Day with fried chicken and kool-aid, I of course had mama's milk...

going out for great grandpa sims' birthday. auntie k shared her ice cream...

going to the zoo with my friend brazia. i slept pretty much the whole time...

and then woke up as we were leaving through the gift shop...

celebrated my great grandma's birthday....

swung on a porch swing with my grandma...

keeping busy being

super

adorable.

lots of celebrating and lots of cute faces. what have you been busy with?

six months.

2012-01-17T11:03:00.000-08:00

remember when i blanked on T's five month mark? well you'll be proud that i was more on point come his six month mark, i mean 6 months...that's half a year! i celebrated by taking him to the doctor for his six month checkup. T celebrated by being in the top percentile for every category.

his hobbies include:

eating some baby food (partial to squash)
chewing on everything with his two bottom teeth
play dates with tank on a daily
getting the wiggles right before nap time, bedtime, or any other time
being put in his crib at night
ending up in mom and dads bed before morning

happy six months my sweet T!

christmas tree goodbye

2012-01-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

we spent our weekend with an overnighter in the desert burning our christmas tree. it was dusty. it was windy. it was cold. and it was awesome. there's something to be said about tin foil dinners and smores. we had so much fun that when we returned home the next day me and dj made them again (cause it's that good). Except we appropriately dubbed it urban smores and din din because we made our smores in the microwave and who really says din din? weekends are the best.

tank and weezy would agree but they are too busy licking their bleeding paws. they fetched and played so much the desert sand tore up their feet but i'm pretty sure they were just glad to get outta of the house.

the golden anniversary

2012-01-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

apologies for the absence of blogging, a left-behind camera, start of school, and virus infected computer tend to have that effect on my blogging habits. i need to post about our rockin' new years, baby T's six month mark, and our 2012 so far but for now you can hear the mushy gushy......

me and the hubs celebrated our golden anniversay this past weekend. we slept in (as best we could with baby T), made breakfast (vanilla/cinnamon waffles and turkey bacon), dropped baby off, ~~hiked~~ attempted to hike camelback mountain, ate sprinkles , went movie hopping (it felt like we were back in highschool........and it was awesome), and went to dinner. three years in (a lot more if you count how long we dated, but lets not do that) and this guy still knows the way to my heart. hiking, sprinkles, and a romantic comedy? i'm in. love this man.

a few reasons why i really like this guy

-he puts the term "handy man" to shame. he can built/fix/macgyver anything. he'll deny this but i'm pretty positive it's just his way of not having to built every single project i come up with.

-the man is a baby whisperer. he'd be in high demand if he was a nanny.

-he never leaves for work in the morning without smootching me and T. plus, he doesn't get mad when i scold him for not kissing me in the morning when in reality he did and i was just too tired to realize.

-he looks good in anything he wears.

-he laughs at my awkward attempts to make him laugh. i'm pretty sure my random dance moves i bust out in our kitchen are not worthy of a laugh and encouragement. the man gives me both AND joins in.

- he doesn't call me out when i butcher the lyrics of ~~every~~ song we listen to in the car.

-he has some serious rap skills.

happy anniversary dj!

farewell 2011.

2011-12-29T12:06:00.000-08:00

2011 you treated me really good this year. and while you threw me some unexpected curve balls i finally learned my lesson that life doesn't go according to "my plan" and for that, i'm forever grateful. the memories you gave me this year are cherished and marked as my favorite year so far.

because in 2011 i....

became a mother ( even though i'm sure baby T would have to argue that i'm still trying to get this mother thing down. he's so patient with me that one.)
finished my first block of my teaching program
stopped working full-time at a job i less then liked
went on un unbelievable romantic trip with the hubs which we dubbed our babymoon vacation
traveled to washington, twice!
made some new friends and visited with old ones that live far away
had my dad come visit for ten days during the holidays
tasted the amaziness of Trophy's and started my quest to find an equally delicious cupcake bakery in the valley. i have yet to succeed on this one
saved a bunch of money like adults

things that had to go in 2011....

the money we saved earlier in the year
my pregnant belly, pregnant cravings, pregnant bladder, pregnant swollen feet, pregnant back aches
my long hair. i'm now sporting a mid length bob that requires a fifth of the amount of time to get ready
tank and weezy's ridiculous amount of allergies (crossing our fingers their allergy shots got rid of them for good)
black beauty (the hub's huge lifted diesel. it didn't really scream family friendly so we traded it for the mazda. we still have yet to name it though)
my old cell phone. i was still rocking the first cell phone ever made and was convinced i would never use anything else. but when the battery forever died i had to get a smart phone to replace it and lets just say i was wrong.
a good nights sleep (babies tend to do that)
the hub's massive closet. he finally consented to letting me get rid of some of his clothes to free up space for me
baby T's newborn, 3 month, 6 month, and some nine month clothing. he's grown so fast and he's only five and a half months

excited about 2012 because....

we celebrate our third year wedding anniversary three days into the new year :)
following through on my new years resolutions
like getting back in shape (i want to take up yoga and zumba) and start running again
summer comes again (i want my olive complexion back)
so will baby T's first birthday
getting more schooling under my belt (someday i'll graduate, someday....)
the new season of jersey shore (i'm not proud of this one)
experiencing an awesome year with baby T and my amazing hubs

2012 you have alot to live up to. let's see what you got.

christmas run-down according to baby T

2011-12-27T14:58:00.000-08:00

1. picked out a christmas tree

2. helped mom and dad decorate

3. ugly sweater christmas party

4. got smooched by my friend gracie

5. met my grandpa ili for the first time and became buddies

6. sat on santa's lap and looked adorable

7. got spoiled on christmas morning

christmas eve procrastination

2011-12-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

(excuse the picture quality, it was taken on my phone)

we've been busy preparing for christmas this past week shopping for presents, throwing christmas parties, spending time with family, and running to the mall christmas eve morning to get pictures with santa since we are lame parents and have put it off/forgotten till the last very possible day. baby T was fearless with santa. he took turns giving wide toothless smiles at the camera and leaning back to gaze up at mr kringle. more pictures and updates to come but for now we're soaking up every minute of T's first christmas. Happy Holidays!

original GLEEker

2011-12-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

remember how studly my grandpa is? don't be fooled my grandma is just as feisty and unpredictable. she once ate a whole gallon of chocolate ice cream in thirty minutes. dj was there, he couldn't believe it. and when we were able to stop laughing long enough to ask her why she ate it all she simply said because it tasted so good. after that response eating the whole gallon seemed like the only reasonable thing to do.

today while i was over at their house visiting i noticed my grandma had on what i can only assume was her old high school sweater. i had no idea she was so current even back then. when i asked her if she was in glee club in high school she replied, "well i have a sweater that says so so i suppose i was." oh dementia, bless her heart. between chatting her up about her glee club days that she doesn't remember and sneaking peeks at my grandpa giving eskimo kisses and baby talking to T it was a pretty memorable visit.

mom brains

2011-12-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

last weekend i attended a bridal shower of a childhood friend with my mom and baby T in tow. everyone at the shower kept asking me how old T was in which i replied, "he'll be five months on the tenth" only to realize the next day that the shower was on the tenth. i'm pretty sure i didn't make sense to half the people i talked to. my brains have officially turned into mom brains. so overworked by multitasking (i can nurse T, type one handed on the computer, ge tank and weezy to see whose at the door, and talk to the hubs all at once) that it no longer can function regularly most of the time. i'm considering making myself flashcards to help keep my brain on point but i'd probabaly forget them somewhere after making them.

happy 5 months T! hopefully i'll be thinking a little more clearly on your 6 month mark....

it's begining to look a lot like christmas.

2011-12-05T20:22:00.001-08:00

T was in awe while we put up the christmas tree. celebrating the holidays is already that much more fun with this little stud.

the northwest episodes: des moines pier

2011-12-02T05:11:00.001-08:00

one of the places we visited while in washington was the des moines pier. we weren't there long because it was pretty cold and by that i mean freezing. i'm pretty sure some fisherman were looking at me funny with no coat and slippers (aka flip flops. dj thinks it's so weird that i call them slippers, not sure why) on. we were hoping to see a few fishermen pull up their full crab pots but we had no luck, so we just "ooh"ed and "aah"ed over the incredibly beautiful puget sound instead.

the northwest episodes: the reception

2011-12-01T08:39:00.001-08:00

ever since we got my cousin's invite in the mail awhile back i've been pretty much counting the days till their reception and it did not disappoint. an intimate party (at their favorite restaurant when they were dating, super cute) with close family, friends and amazing food (the vanilla on vanilla cupcakes and pizza were outrageously delicious) made the reception pretty perfect.

the northwest episodes: thanksgiving

2011-11-30T21:45:00.001-08:00

thanksgiving was a blast. not only did baby T act like a well seasoned traveler (he didn't cry once on the plane, both ways!) but we ate like kings the entire trip. our thanksgiving meal was the best i've ever had hands down (homemade everything.....and i mean everything!) and the constant cold overcast weather helped me get in the spirit of holiday (it's just not the same when it's ninety degrees out and shining, sorry az). although i didn't take many photos of actual thanksgiving day (i must have been too busy eating) i did take a lot from our trip. however i couldn't wait to share these few photos i did happen top snap on thanksgiving day ...

turkey day football, family dodge ball, me and the hubs, thanksgiving morning traveling, baby T, after feast food coma

that thing called running

2011-11-21T20:48:00.001-08:00

welcome back mr. running shoes. i have a love hate relationship with these guys. i love to run. i hate running when i've gotten out of shape. we just started our relationship back up again. wish us luck.....

the lovebirds in us.

2011-11-19T22:11:00.001-08:00

remember our family date we took? well that night me and the hubs had our own date. it had been a long time since me and the hubs had some alone time and we needed it. we couldn't help but act like a giddy teenage couple. we were laughing none stop. our night went something like this...

went to the keg to eat
read the menu outside the keg and turned around (thirty bucks for a plate of food? no thanks)
went across the street to kona grill
kept saying how fancy we felt (that's how long it's been since we've been out. kona grill made us feel fancy)
ordered our food (i had pad thai, he had macadamia chicken)
made each other laugh
he told me he could not blink for two minutes
i timed him not blinking
he kept trying and kept blinking without realizing it
we kept laughing
made a bet with him that if he could do it i'd buy him some new shorts
he accidentally blinked again
we laughed some more
made a deal that if i could hold my breath for forty five seconds he'd buy me a new skirt
made the deal and won the skirt
food came and it was delicious. he let me have his string beans
i ordered dessert (macadamia nut pie)
he tried to not blink again and made it to a minute twenty when the dessert came. i stopped timing.
paid the check
walked to the theater
bought our tickets for the seven o'clock show of breaking dawn part one (he's a good sport)
walked around to kill some time
went into a skate shop to look at trucks and wheels for his long board
felt really old around all the high school kids in the store (especially the twelve year old that worked there and was talking to the hubs about skate brands. okay so he wasn't twelve but he looked like it)
went into the puppy store
held a puppy on our way out
went to watch our movie
laughed throughout the movie on the cheesiness of it all
walked to our car holding hands and smooching
drove to pick up baby T blasting jay z and kayne just because we felt rebellious
promised to have rad date nights once a month
snuggled baby T as soon as we picked him up because we missed him pretty bad

fell in love with the hubs all over again :)

its a good saturday if you get a date with the hubs and baby

2011-11-19T21:42:00.001-08:00

being a mom is the by far the funnest and craziest thing i've ever done. and as much as i love being a mom, especially to such a sweet baby like T, it is hard work. add on the amount of hours dj has been clocking in at work and the fact that we both never really get a good nights sleep (baby T still prefers his nighttime meals and has been waking up at 4 in the morning the past few nights singing and co-ing, though very sweet it's also very loud and wakes me up right when i'm falling back asleep), we both were feeling a little rugged. we decided a date night was an absolute must. we planned for friday and true to our schedules lately couldn't do it till saturday. we wanted to make it extra special and spend the day as a family on a family date before us lovebirds had our date. we filled our day with mall browsing which made me and dj come to some conclusions

1. shopping for a baby is a lot more satisfying than shopping for yourself. a baby will look good in anything, me not so much.
2. one side of superstition mall is defiantly the less traveled side. i felt like i was in a bad part of town as soon as we passed the food court
3. you can't make eye contact with the kiosk salesman. you'll walk away with foot lotion for everyone you know. (true story in dj's case. he even got me the matching hand lotion for christmas that year i think)

4. dj is a huge people watcher (i already knew this one but was reminded when we sat down to eat at the food court and i watched him watch everybody for a solid 20 minutes before he realized what he was doing)

5. if you see a "hurricane simulator" don't spend two dollars to do it. it's nothing but a big fan.

our family date was super fun. and while i'm pretty sure towards the end baby T just wanted to be held because he was tired of being in the stroller i can't help but think he was having so much fun he couldn't sit still.

ps. i got free dog treats for tank and weezy. i went up to pay for them and the guy behind the counter gave them to me for free. score! tank and weezy appreciated the gesture.

all i want for christmas is a time machine

2011-11-17T14:38:00.001-08:00

i now have a 4 month old (it was official on the tenth). where has time gone?

baby T's stats (according to the doc)
-weight: 18 lbs 8 oz
-height: 26.5
-head circumference: 43
-"based off how he's grown so far he should be about 6'2 or 6'3 when he's older"
-"he is so social and happy. he's got everything goin' for him" (proud mama moment when the doc said that)
-received his second round of shots and took it like a champ, hardly made a peep

baby T's stats (according to me)
-loves to sing, he's taken it upon himself to be my little morning wake up song bird
-becoming quite the thumb sucker
-smiles alot, laughs every now and then
-he's a ham as soon as you whip out the camera, which is lucky for me since i'm constantly taking pictures of him
-sleeps in ~~his crib~~ between mom and dad

cowards version of a bob

2011-11-15T19:13:00.001-08:00

dj has been on me to ask my mom if she can cut his hair (one of the many things my mom can do. she's super woman that lady). i finally remembered to ask her yesterday and she came over last night to cut the hubs hair. i turned it into a two for one and jumped in the seat after dj. i've always loved the look of super short hair but have come to terms with the fact that it would never look good on me. so i went with the cowards version of a bob inspired by the beautiful gwyneth paltrow . dj kept laughing the whole time saying "your gonna hate it you've never had your hair this short before" which i stubbornly replied "yeah i will!even if i don't its just hair it grows back!" i have to say i do feel like a sophisticated mom with this hair cut. however i can't help but get a little panicky when i try to put it in a pony tail. guess we both were right.

please excuse the the baby spit up on my shoulder. baby T seems to get me every time.

the big 3-0

2011-11-15T10:03:00.001-08:00

i'm really lucky to have a pretty rad sister. not many sisters come more hardworking (she seriously clocks like sixty hour work weeks regularly!), kind hearted (she's known for treating you to lunches and pedis "just because"), brainy (the woman is going to nurse practitioner school. makes my brain hurt just thinking about all the medical mumbo jumbo she knows), and thoughtful (she always is calling to see how i'm doing). i really don't think they make sisters any better than this. i am glad to call her my sister. or how we like to say "seeeeeeeeeester!" so happy birthday today kaylani! go on and get crazy!

kaylani with cousin halia @ aloha fest

a white mountain kind of vacation

2011-11-13T16:41:00.001-08:00

we made it back from vacation #1 this month (we're pretty lucky) and it was a blast. lots of card games were played, fires were made, food was eaten, and fun was had. it was also a plus to officially get to experience true fall weather (and even some snow!) for a change. we might of slightly abused it by wearing every warm piece of clothing we own every time we stepped outside the cabin but can you blame us?

t's winter lookbook

2011-11-07T02:15:00.000-08:00

awhile back i had a girls day with a girlfriend of mine and her super cute baby girl. we may have gone a little crazy shopping at my home away from home which i later suffered from in the form of buyers remorse. i later had even worse buyers remorse when my argument of "but hun, look at all the stuff i got for that much. it's really a steal!" didn't work on the hubs (its almost as if he's heard that one before....). until recently my purchases have been tucked away in the back of t's closet just waiting for an excuse to be worn. with the cold front that rolled in last night and our upcoming vacations up north and to seattle i couldn't wait to try out his winter wardrobe. so because i couldn't wait i assembled a winter look book for him. because that's what all mamas do right???

a lot of his winter clothes are still a tad too big which is surprising since in true ili fashion he no longer fits in anything smaller than 6-9 months (yowzer!). i had a plethora (dont you just love that word?) of other winter looks for him to try on but after the first few he started to get cranky (diva!!). i can't blame him though cause i was fussing over him pretty badly. i can't help it, look at those cheeks. they just beg to be smothered with kisses.

just a bunch of youngins having an old timer kind of night

2011-11-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

i'm pretty lucky to get to wake up to this every morning....

(baby T has grown a lot since i took this picture a month or so ago. he still sleeps in our bed though because he told me he'd get scared sleeping in the other room in his crib :) )

i went ahead and labeled who was who in the pic because quite frankly these two are such twins sometimes i have a hard time telling them apart myself. well the sweet hubs has been clockin' alot of hours at work lately. partly to us going on multiple vacations this month and partly so i can stay home most of the time with our sweet son. the result being that our time together has been limited. this saturday was no exception. sweet hubs was up before baby t woke me up and came home right after it got dark out. and while most would be grouchy, tired, and irritable after working all day on a saturday he was all smiles, flirty butt grabs, and "honey i'll hold talis, go relax." (told you i was lucky!) it's been ages since we had a date night and while i don't mind because the thought of leaving talis for very long gives me mini panic attacks, we both were needing some time together. so we had a date night in. while i was making soup for dinner the hubs busted out the checker board. we played a game of checkers (or rather i dominated in a game of checkers. although i think he might of let me win) while baby T was kicking away on the living room floor beside us. right before this we were watching some nature show on tv and when it was over the lawrence welk show came on. we were too involved in our game of checkers (or that's what we kept telling ourselves) to change the channel. we kept joking that we were acting like old timers eating soup, playing checkers, and watching the lawerence welk show.

later on baby t thought he'd spice things up by giving sweet hubs a little surprise. baby t's timing couldn't have been better either. this happened right after me saying "do airplane with him, he loves when i do airplane with him. hun do airplane with him he won't stop smiling if you do airplane with him" and husband lifting him up. if it wasn't for the hubs super human reflexes it would of landed in his mouth. talis, quite the prankster that boy.

morning mommy and t time

2011-11-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

T started teething these last couple days. we battled naps and a fever all day yesterday and just when i thought my sweet little guy would have a good nights rest from skipping his naps throughout the day we had little luck. he tossed and turned his cute little head all night and woke up more frequently to nurse (it also didn't help that a huge storm rolled in last night and i was too excited listening to the downpour of rain and the windy branches outside my window to fall asleep when i should have). come morning time (very early morning time) T woke up and decided he wanted to be held by his mama, particularly by his mama that wasn't laying or sitting in bed trying to still catch some z's. so i got up and we had a very early, very sleepy, very out of focus photo shoot instead.

cant wait for our trip up north this weekend. crossing my fingers for some snow so we can actually use our winter clothes this year.

weekend "treat yo self"

2011-11-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

this weekend i felt like following tom and donna's advice and participated in my own "treat yo self" 2011. i gotta say i think it's something i might make an annual tradition. seeing as how the holidays are around the corner and we go on two different week long vacations this month i didn't want to overdue it. so i just got some new perfume and a new dress.

i think everybody should participate in this awesome new tradition of mine and go "treat yo self!"

let the wild rumpus start!

2011-11-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

this halloween weekend we've been having a blast getting the most mileage out of our costumes. three halloween parties (one in which i insisted we walk to. i thought it would help us get into character), two costume contests (we walked away with first place in both, booyah!), and one to many sugar overload tummy aches later we deemed this years halloween a sweet success. sadly tank and weezy didn't dress up this year but they are already helping me brainstorm for next years family halloween costumes.

happy halloween! from the wild things and the cutest little max you've ever seen

talis and the bear

2011-10-30T00:21:00.000-07:00

in a few short weeks we take off for seattle for my cousins wedding and T couldn't be more excited. i go on and on about my love for the cloudy city so he thought it fitting to make sure his bear hat (it was the first thing me and the hubs bought after finding out we were expecting) was warm enough to take with him. his verdict: seattle trip wardrobe staple.

grandpa "evil knievel" sims

2011-10-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

i'm pretty fortunate to live pretty close to my grandma and grandpa sims. i grew up living down the street (literally down the street like a hundred yards away) from my grandparents and a couple years ago they moved down the street from my mom (who luckily also lives close by). my grandparents are pretty amazing and even though i get grossed out when i occasionally catch them making out (talk about awkward) i can't help but love how in-love they still are after 50+ years of marriage! so not only have they been great role models of what a great marriage should be like but my grandpa will do stuff like this.....

yeah, that's my eighty plus year old grandpa hopping on the back of my brothers motorcycle for a spin. oh and did i fail to mention that my grandpa met my grandma because she was his nurse, while he was in the hospital, for a motocycle accident! ( he even has uneven legs to prove it) talk about fearless!

overcast date

2011-10-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

yesterday me and the hubs went on a little impromtu date when he got home from work (those are my favorite). he wanted to take some pictures of the temple seeing as how it was overcast all yesterday and that hardly ever happens in az. but when we got there there was some construction going on up around the front so we couldn't really take the pics we wanted. he quickly suggested we go eat dinner at petes fish 'n' chips down the street. i'm starting to think that was his real motive all along.....

frieszellie-ellies

2011-10-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

i come from a really tight knit family. to give you a better idea my dad's side of the family is polynesian (enough said), we grew up doing everything with my mom's side of the family, and my brother, sister, mom, and i still get together and hang out almost everyday. one set of cousins we were particularly inseparable with are cristen, nikki, lindsey and tara (four sisters + me and kaylani = my brother being estrogen outnumbered from the start). literally almost every childhood memory includes them. to this day we reminisce about growing up together. to give you an idea of the craziness that would ensue when we got together i compiled a short list:

-we used to play pioneers in the backyard, costumes and all. complete with our very own ox for our covered wagon. and when i say ox i really mean their family dog that ran back forth the yard barking the whole time

-we used to hold talent shows that come to think of it consisted of no talent what so ever. mostly just lipsynching to songs we'd record on cassette tapes. *side note, whens the last time you heard the word cassette tape?

-we often talked in british accents because we thought it made us sound dignified. all food was usually referred to as english morning tarts

-we knew every song to this classic and had no shame singing it while jumping off couches

-trying to balance on an exercise ball that's on their parents treadmill downstairs sounds like a bad idea but to us it sounded like the only practical thing to do while waiting to play lemmings on the computer

we we're pretty unique kiddies if you couldn't tell. well one of them, lindsey, is sealing the deal with her lovie soon. remember when i got that sweet wedding invite from my cousin in the mail the other day? this is why i was swooning...

pretty cute huh?

morning time

2011-10-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

as a new mom i've quickly learned that sleep is a thing of the past. but even when i'm extremely exhausted and don't think i can wake up anymore without going nuts, this happens...

i wake up to this sweet face covered in dried milk smiling away at me. talk about a reward! love this little guy. well we're off today to go get some more supplies to work on our halloween costumes. any one else as excited for halloween like we are?

hello halloween

2011-10-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

we've been in full halloween mode at our house lately which living in az consists of us shutting off our ac to open the windows and eating pumpkin cake. i always make dj dress to match my costume and him being the sweet husband that he is he goes along with it. last year dj was buddy the elf while i was jovie the elf, see what i mean? our kitchen table has turned into costume making central. with this being T's first halloween i didn't completely trust myself to make his costume so my mom did most of it (okay all of it i just shopped for the supplies). can you guess what our theme is this year?

"Mister postman look and see if there's a letter in your bag from me"

2011-10-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

So I got a little something in the mail today. My cousin Lindsey is getting married and told me to look for their wedding invite in the mail. I love getting fun stuff in the mail because it's a pretty rare occasion in our household. It's mostly bills and ads for us. So when I saw this cute little number I was so excited I opened it right at the mail box (which is saying something because it's a mere ten yards from our house ) and it's pretty much the raddest idea for an invite ever. It was fitting though because she's kinda awesome and really creative. I can't wait to go to their wedding!

2011-10-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Sundays around our house are pretty awesome. From church to Sunday naps and big full Sunday dinners I always get a little sad come Sunday night when the day is almost over. The only drawback is the amount of football I am forced to watch. I like football as much as the other guy but when your dvr gets full every Sunday from all the football games your sweet husband records AND watches AND records and watches the after game breakdowns it gets to be a little much. Talis however was in the crazy football spirit last week. This was his attempt to embody a crazy football fan minus the painted face.

welcome back to me

2011-10-10T00:15:00.000-07:00

I can't remember the last time I made a blog post and to be quite honest I had no intention of continuing to blog just for the mere fact that I'm lazy about it. However, alot has happened since my last post and I'm regretting I haven't kept up on blogging about everything for memories sake. So I am attempting to pick it back up again. I don't even want to think about catching up on on whereabouts till now cause lets be honest, the only important thing is the new addition to our family, baby boy Talis. He was a suprise through and through ( it was a suprise to us when we found out I was prego and then being the suprise lovers we are we decided not to find out the sex, which we highly recommend :) ) He arrived a week before his due date of July 18th so on July 10th at 1:58 am at 8 lb 14 oz our sweet T came to be with us and we couldn't have been more estatic. Fast forward 3 months later (to the day exactly) and we are parents to this charming little three month old boy. Being a mom and dad to him has been incredible.

camping

2010-07-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went camping.

I love camping.

The woods, campfire, hearing rain on my tent while I fall asleep at night cuddled with my husband,

Nothing beats camping.

Oh, and taking pictures of my boys on their first camping experience was pretty fun too.

i'm still here.

2010-05-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

well my resolution to be better at blogging didn't last long but at least it hasn't been too long...right? we just got home from mexico and oh boy was it nice to soak up the sun and relax with good friends and fun. it was a well needed weekend trip.

lately i find myself getting into a lot of things i never thought i'd be interested in which is crafting and cooking. these things are way too domesticated for my personality, or so i thought, but i guess when you get married it's only a matter of time before you start to become domesticated. (in my case it's taken about a year and a half) i've been slowly getting into crafting and cooking and i'm suprising myself everyday with each new thing i take on. for example, yesterday i cooked homemade sweet potato fries, these cheddar puff things, and caramel cupcakes. needless to say my husband came home to a random assortment of food but was grateful nonetheless. so i may not be living up to my resolution to blog but it's because i'm suprising myself by ~~being~~ attempting to be domestic.

My Man is AMAZING

2010-05-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

My husband is seriously the greatest. I know everyone says that their husband is the best but I'm not kidding, mine really is. He is the sweetest, funniest, sexiest guy ever and just the fact that he puts up with me makes him pretty special :) I had a particularly hard week last week and only he could make everything so much better and put it all in perspective for me in a matter of minutes. (aren't husbands the best?) to prevent this post from becoming the ultimate mushy gushy love fest i'll keep it short. deege, i love you! I am so glad I was able to marry you before you realized I was getting the better deal :)

BIG testimony builder

2010-04-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

These past weeks and especially the past few days my testimony has grown so much. Without getting to personal about my life there are some events that have happened that make me know without a doubt that Heavenly Father provides oppurtunities to his children at his own will and timeline and eventhough this has been frustrating for me to comprehend at times I have never had the utmost comfort and peaceful feeling in my heart about this simple principle as I have in the past couple days. I feel as if I'm not describing how I feel accurately but that is the best I can do. I know that our Heavenly Father will help everything workout if we are diligent and faithful in him and I know this without a flinching doubt!! I love our gospel and feel so blessed to be able to grow up a member and have it in my life!

For anyone who is wanting to know more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints click here --> http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e419fb40e21cef00VgnVCM1000001f5e340aRCRD

my laptop doesn't like me

2010-04-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

I had typed up this long post and then my stupid computer shutdown all of a sudden to update something, super frustrating. so the condensed version goes a little something like this:

The Vegas trip was really fun this weekend. The reception was SO cute and my cousin Josh looked so happy with his new wife Carlie. Not to mention DJ and I won 20 bucks playing roulette! Which I'm thinking is starting to become a tradition for us when we go to Vegas because we played roulette there last time and have been wanting to play it ever since. (This is probabaly why gambling is bad for you, ooops!)

My best friend Mataya found out where her husband will be playing football. The Pittas will be in Maryland and while this means Taya won't be close by so that we can play (yes i still use the word play like i'm 7 years old) I will have to settle for talking on the phone :)

This weekend we might go camping. I'm crossing my fingers that it actually ends up happening though. I've been wanting to go camping for quite sometime now and anybody that knows me knows that once i set my mind on something i won't stop (or be annoying about it) until it happens.

hello and later

2010-04-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend is coming to it's end and man was it an eventful one! Vegas was a success. We had fun but its always so good to come home:) So because of that this post is short cause I'd rather relax at home than blog so BOOYAH!

Thursday Mursday

2010-04-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

This picture has nothing to do with my blog post but when I was looking on my computer for a picture of all us girls I stumbled upon this picture of me when I was little and it made me laugh so hopefully it will do the same to you. Notice how my shoes are on the wrong feet? :)

*sidenote* I am excited to announce that I got my duvet cover. I am so excited to put in on my bed and see how it looks. My sweet husband didn't even put up a fight when I mentioned returning the mini Christmas trees and we didn't even have to pay a dime cause we still had more money left in giftcards then I thought. Oh happy day :)

Tonight is my girl Kelsey's bridal shower. As of May 20th she will be married in the Mesa, AZ temple and then all four of us best friends growing up (Brooke, Mataya, Kelsey, and myself) will all be married. Just thinking about it makes me rememeber when we were younger and we'd take hours getting ready together at one another's house to go out on the weekends, sleepovers that usually consisted of some sort of dance being made up, the boys we kissed and then would tell, and all the fun adventures we had. I consider myself extremely lucky to have had girls like them for good friends!! So tonight I wish good luck to my dear friend Kelsey as she gets ready to become a bride, to the Suns who are in the 3rd game in their series against Portland, and to my girl Mataya who is waiting anxiously with her hubby and family to find out in the draft who her hubby will be playing for. Hopefully it will be close by so I can visit her!! Till next time blogger world......

BB&B...you sly dog you

2010-04-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

So DJ and I got so much money in giftcards at BB&B for our wedding that up until a while ago we would go there solely to use up all of our giftcard money there. Just to give you an idea of how much that was....we've been married for about a year and a half . Recently however we are coming to an end of this fun habit because our giftcard money is almost depleted. It hasn't really been a big deal because lately we haven't found anything there to carelessly spend our money on (DJ went overboard getting Christmas decorations and lights there in December and I just had to have this $60 fondue pot) but then I saw this, and I'm in LOVE!!! Not only is it unbelievably hard to find things in grey and/or yellow that don't look tacky or aren't super expensive but bedding was the hardest. Our bedroom colors that we are decorating our bedroom are grey, yellow, and white and this duvet cover set would go perfectly! Why is it that whenever you need something you can't find it but then when you do, you never have the calause!! haha but I am determined! I hope DJ won't miss his mini Christmas trees....perhaps I could take those back to get the duvet cover. Besides isn't a bedroom bed more utilized then Christmas decorations?? I think so :)

i'm starving

2010-04-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am at school waiting for my mother to pick me up, long story short my car was totaled in a car accident and we haven't received insurance money to get a new car yet and my sweet husband is at work and this is all I can think about..... I'M SO HUNGRY!!! Chipotle or Costa Vida...yumm the longer I wait the more Chipotle AND Costa Viva together is sounding good! Don't judge me. I know you all have a fat girl inside of you too

why do I even have a blog?

2010-04-19T09:46:00.005-07:00

I haven't updated our blog nor even been on blogspot in so long that I am wondering why I even have a blog. To update you all on what's happened since the last post which I don't know how long ago was I've tried to compile it all in one short list. So here is goes:

1. Went to Hawaii for our family reuion. It was DJ's first trip and we had so much fun.

2. Our dogs are bigger and crazier and funner then ever

3. School for me has ended, started back up again, and now with the end of semester approaching will soon be ending again.

4. We had an awesome Christmas and me and DJ enjoyed spoiling eachother this year. We threw a Christmas party for friends and had a blast.

5. We've made 2 Vegas trips and will make one again this weekend for my cousin's wedding

6. Got in a car accident that totaled my car and resulted in me having to get surgery :(

7. Me and DJ have started to get into hiking and go every weekend we are able to.

8. Have attended numerous weddings of friends and family and everytime we are in the sealing room I remember the day I was married to my sweetheart :)

9. DJ and his dad put in nice new baseboard, chair railing, and detailing all downstairs and in our bedroom and it looks amazing. We've painted and started to decorate our master but it's been a slow process so we aren't quite done yet

10. We have been put into nursery and we love our calling

This list doesn't do us justice for all the stuff we've been up to this past year but it's the jist of it I guess. From here on out I am going to be a better blogger! hopefully.... :)

A glimpse at our family photo at the end of the year 2009 :)

Hiking pictures from hiking Dutchman's Trail and Peralta
Pictures from our Hawaii trip.....oh I wish we could have just stayed there !

Our Christmas picture that was on our Christmas card (the one with us in footies) and me getting to makeout with Santa (my sexy husband) at our Christmas party. Notice Nicole Letner in the background looking at her finger? She just got proposed to :) Congrats Ryan and Nicole who got married last weekend!

our twin boys

2009-04-09T16:15:00.001-07:00

DJ and I have been talking about getting a dog for quite some time and decided last Thursday to go to the Pound after I got out of school and he was off work. So we did and for any of you who have not been to the Pound it is an extremely sad place. We went to go look and we were able to interact with a bunch of different dogs, both puppies and adult dogs, that we were interested in. We didn't really seem to connect to any of them though and after being there for nearly 2 hours we decided to head home. I wanted to take one more round about the kennels though in case we forgot any of the ones we were interested in and just that happened. There was a litter of four puppies that we had looked at earlier but forgot after we moved on to the other kennels. We saw these puppies again and decided to give it on last shot and ask one of the workers if we could interact with them. So I picked out the one I liked, the spotted and freckled puppy that ran to the front of the kennel everytime I came over, and DJ picked out his favorite, the big lazy tan one that was sleeping the whole time. The worker handed us each the one we liked and left to give me and DJ some time to play with the puppies and choose which one we wanted. Note to reader: THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. how in the world are you supposed to pick between two puppies? These were our thoughts exactly. So we did what any strong and smart newlywed couple would do...........we took them both. :) DJ and I ended up driving seperately because I had come straight from school. On the way home I was having second thoughts. My number one concern...how am I going to love these dogs as much as I love my other dogs? Rex and Teddy are the dogs that I've grown up with and to say that I am obsessed with them is an understatement. I love them so so much that I was scared I wouldn't be able to love my new little puppies. But it's been almost a week now and all my worries were unnecessary. I love both my puppies who I have started to refer to as my two sons ( see the obsessiveness coming out in me?) and I still make time to go over and see my Rex and Teddy at my mom's house because I still very much love them. I guess what I've learned from this new experience and turn of events is that this must be (very slightly however) how a parent feels when they are about to have another child. Do parents worry that they won't be able to love their next child because their love their firtborn so much already? I'm no parent yet but if I'm like this with my dogs then i can only imagine....

Tank fell asleep with his tongue out, melted my heart!

They were scared of going up and down the stairs so we put them up there to see what they'd do and they were wussies

Weezy wasn't feeling good his first couple days home. He had kennel cough and was on antibiotics. He was still the cutest lil sleeper though

Saturdays= Home Improvement Days

2009-03-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

So every Saturday DJ and I devote our mornings to cleaning the house and making home improvements, or at least attempt to. I always try to wake up early to get things done but it usually ends up with us sleeping in late, waking up slowly, and getting distracted easily. This Saturday we woke up around 9, made pancakes, and watched the movie Bolt. :) (you know the cute little kids video about a dog, I strongly recommend it) We were however able to accomplish the following: selling a washer and dryer, mowing the lawn, doing the laundry, doing the dishes, cleaning and vacuuming the living room, donating stuff to Goodwill, and building a flower box. All of these things took the whole day however because we squeezed in lunch, The Bourne Ultimatum, a followed it up with a long nap :) In whole, today was a very good and productive day.

Aloha Fest!

2009-03-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had so much fun going to the Aloha Fest and watching Jaba dance. Kaylani rode with us so it was Dj, Kaylani, and I . We met up with Suzie and the kids when we got there and had a blast! Enjoy the pics!

Jaba doin his thing!

Zayah and Deege

Baby Halia double fistin her pineapple :)

Update

2009-03-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a LONG time since I've last blogged. Way too long actually. So much has happened that to tell of everything that has happened up until now seems like a huge task. But I will try my best, DJ and I were married :), We had an amazing honeymoon in the Mexican Riveria, We moved into our house ( and although this might be a total bias comment I think it is the best house any newlywed couple has ever moved into before. In short...I love it!), I continue to go to school and work towards getting my secondary education degree while DJ is the ever hard working and best husband out there. In between all those there have been family celebrations (my sister Kaylani graduated from nursing school), roadtrips (My cousin Jared got married Febuary in Las Vegas), and minor setbacks (I've have a sinus infection and I think I'm developing strepthroat as well). In all seriousness however, life is good and I feel so blessed and grateful :)

The Perfect Day

2009-01-19T00:37:00.000-08:00

A LOT has happened since my last blog. Probabaly the biggest change.....I am now Mrs. DJ Reynolds! The wedding day that has been in the works forever and starting to drive everyone crazy from planning it finally arrived and passed. Way to fast I think now that it's gone. There were so many moments when I was fed up with planning and annoyed of all the details and blah blah blah but man was it so worth it! The day couldn't have been any more perfect. The whole week leading up to it and the days following after couldn't have been either actually.

I had many family and friends fly in to help out and be a part of the special day. Our house was crammed but I love it when it gets like that! I had the Noa family from Vegas and the Heimuli's and some of my Frieszell cousins and my Aunty Vera all of which came from Washington. My Uncle and his wife and daughter came from Atlanta, Georgia. Jaba and Suzie, which aren't from out of town but still I feel I should include them.My cousins Sunshine and Lei and Lehi from Utah came down and even my dad from Hawaii. I'm almost positive I left someone out which just drives my point home that I got to be around so much family during this important time in my life and it made it that much more sweeter!

The day started off early with waking up to get ready for the temple after getting only 4 hours of sleep! I guess that's what I get for waiting till the last minute to put together the music playlist for the entire reception. It was a little hectic getting ready with a full house and getting off to the temple. There were a few bumpy patches (my mom had lost her temple recommend and almost wasn't able to see me get married!) but all was worked out and it was a beautiful morning! After getting married we all came back to the house. I really wanted to take a nap before my one of my girlfriends showed up to do my hair at 12 but I should of known that wasn't going to happen. DJ and I were so busy running around trying to help everyone help us. I still rememeber the shock on my girlfriend Hailey's face when she arrived to do my hair. "Wow, it's pretty crazy...there's a lot of people...." was along the lines of what she said. Once again everything seemed to fall in place just in time for pictures before the reception. I'm going to take this moment and brag about how cute my bridesmaids looked in their outfits! I'm pretty proud about what I picked out!! The reception was a blast and I can honestly say I danced the ENTIRE time. There are so many memories and details about that day and even throughout the week and I hope so much that I can remember the majority of them for years to come.

But I dedicate this blog once again to my reoccurring theme, families. Without my wonderful family, extended, immediate, and new this day wouldn't have been as awesome as it was. Everyone helped out so much in any way they could. My friends were amazing as well and have been all the years I've known them. I love my husband so INCREDIBLY much. I think he's the sexiest, smartest, funniest, most charming, down-to-earth guy now being married a mere 2 weeks and I'll say it again 20,40, 60 years from now. I love my husband and I truly hit the jackpot.

This week

2008-12-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

It always seems that DJ and I are always on different schedules! So my last final and last day of school for this semester was on Tuesday. Which means that ever since Tuesday after my final I've officially done nothing! I've just been lollygagging around the house trying to entertain myself. And of course ever since Tuesday DJ has been swamped with work and we've only been able to see each other a few times in between. It's funny because almost the entire semester while I was constantly busy with school, schoolwork, and volleyball DJ was always wanting attention from me because he was always bored and now, it's totally reversed!! I swear we're never going to be on the same schedule! haha For the most part I've been filling my days with sleeping in :) , going over to my grandparents to spend time with them, tv watching, movie watching, and spending time ( probably way to much time for any human being) with my dogs. DJ being the hard and driven worker he is has been getting off work exhausted!! Lucky for me a girlfriend and trusty bridesmaid of mine, Sam, came home yesterday from college and I got to spend last night hanging out with her and Gen. Man do I miss my those girls!! Even though Gen lives down the street we never really find time to hang out like us three girls got to last night. They are two of the most amazing friends I ever could have asked for! We spent the night catching up and I can't rememeber the last time I stayed up till about 1:30 in the morning laughing. And this wasn't the typical laugh this was the deep-in-your-gut thunder belly laugh that you get the chance to use every now and then. It felt so good to hang out with them! These last few days have definately helped me appreciate things that I think I tend to overlook. So I decided to make a list of things that I am grateful for that I don't often realize.

Things I am blessed with (specifically things that are overlooked and underexpressed):
1. DJ's job. He loves where he works and what he does. What more could you ask?
2. Girls Nights. Though all my girlfriends are drastically different and unique in their own way they all have a common thread, we have the funnest time together.
3. My mom's personality. As much as I love my mom at times and as much as she frustrates me at times, She has the best laidback and funloving personality. Especially for someone who's been through a lot like she has.
4. Rain. I'm still a little bummed our wedding photo shoot was cut short because it started to rain so much, but it always feels and smells so good after it rains :)
5. MY DOGS!! This one is definately not overlooked or underexpressed. I spoil my dogs rotten everyday day and every chance I get but as I was writing this I looked over at my loud-snoring, smelly, overwieght, and baby-faced lab Rex and my heart melted like butter!!
CASE IN POINT --> Life is never as bad as it might seem. No matter what you're always going to have too many blessings to count.

2008-12-17T12:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a little sneak peek ....

This was towards the end of our shoot. Things started to get to wet and rainy that we had to stop. You can see the goosebumps on my arm and my hair is soaked! You can also see the rain on the back of DJ's suit!

This is my favorite ...:)

I'm not sure what we were looking at lol

Sweet and Special Rainy Day

2008-12-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

So for those of you who don't know DJ and I took our wedding pictures at the temple yesterday and man was it cold!! It wasn't bad at first. I honestly liked how it was overcast and drizzly. It gave our photo shoot some character for sure! It was a little surreal getting getting ready for it. It never really hit me and I'm not sure if it is ever supposed to. My mom and Aunt Bonnie helped me get dressed in the Visitors center and DJ was all blindfolded when I came out. He was so handsome! He was so sweet too he kept saying that I looked so pretty :) Our photographer was Lee Grant and he was AMAZING! He was so fun to work with and he definatly knew his stuff. Cameron Trejo from East Valley Productions did an amazing job with the videography (is that what its called?) too. I can't wait to see how everything turns out. All the wedding chaos and stress seemed to fizzle out after getting the pictures done for some reason. Everything is falling into place and I finally feel as if I can enjoy it from here on out. Yay! haha It's only 17 days away!! Bring on the celebration!!!!

busy busy busy

2008-12-14T11:13:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been a whirlwind of activities. Why does it seem that whenever one thing seems to hit you everything happens at the same time? So this weekend I started freaking out because I realized that I hadn't scheduled anyone to do my hair and makeup for when me and DJ get our pictures taken on Monday and if you know me you know how anything remotely close to having anything to do with that kind of thing (makeup, hair, nails) I am at a total loss for. My mom is always way level headed and was able to calm me down and solved the problem in literally 15 minutes!! Aren't mom's the best?? Especially my mom :) My cousin Josh also came to visit from Las Vegas and whenever family is in town our house seems to automatically jump up ten notches on the fun scale. So between getting cramps in my stomach or wiping the tears away from my eyes from laughing so hard my house is about the most enjoyable place to be right now! Along with my cousin my Auntie Bonnie came all the way from Washington state to help bring my grandma back on the plane. She is also going to be around for a couple days so like I said...everything happens all at the same time!! haha Last night me and DJ were fortunate to help celebrate our friend Kelley's birthday with his family and friends. The Muro's have been friends of ours forever and we couldn't have asked for better friends. We also went over to the Barlows and made gingerbread houses, which by the way I think me and DJ could compete on the Food Network ours was so good! There were so many details of all the little activities that have happened this weekend but I've decided to spare you :) Lucky you! So my advice this blog and for the holiday season is to enjoy those around you!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS and MERRY CHRISTMAS! Cross your fingers that it doesn't rain on Monday when me and DJ get our pictures taken!!

2008-12-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

This was DJ's favorite, I wonder why :) I think he even wanted to use this one for invitations or something like that haha

Get caught up in whats going on

2008-12-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

So DJ and I have been busy these past couple months to say the least! Planning a wedding is fun....but tiring and I'm almost positive I can speak for the both of us when I say that I can't wait to be married already! Luckily our special day is approaching right around the corner, Jan 3rd! I'm probably going to embarrass DJ by posting something like this publicly but I just want everyone to know how much I love him! I am so happy to be marrying my best friend!! He makes me a better person and I couldn't have imagined that my soon-to-be husband is as sweet, and funny, and caring as DJ is! And it doesn't hurt that he's dead sexy too!! haha ok ok enough mushy gushy. DJ and I have taken our engagement pictures already and I thought that I'd post some for you all plus our blogspot needed some sprucing up so ENJOY!!

New Bloggers!

2008-12-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

Ok so today I woke up at the crack of dawn to be early to my 7:30 class and come to find out when I arrived class was canceled....:( So not only did I miss an oppurtunity to sleep in (my favorite haha) but I had a lot of time to kill since I still had another class for the day. My point of this story is that this somehow brought about me creating DJ and I a blog!! After growing tired of checking my facebook, the family website, and surfing the web I decided to make us a blog! Hahaha! And so the blogging begins!!!