thanksgiving and a cooper photo shoot

we've had the most glorious weekend so far. and it's only friday - which is even more glorious. our thanksgiving was a lot of fun. we headed down to orem bright and early. my parents cooked us breakfast - my whole family was home! the boys went golfing right away, and us girls stayed home and played with the dogs. cooper and zero are best friends - they played non-stop all. day. long. it was so great! devin and i were assigned a side dish and decided to make homemade macaroni and cheese - why had we never thought of that before? devin is the genius chef when it comes to stuff like this, but since he was golfing i was left alone to brave the roux all by myself. the first attempt was a miserable fail. it was ugly and smelled bad and looked like death. i finally just googled a recipe (i didn't have one in the first place). and found an awesome one that worked well! i just don't remember where it is... oh well. around 2:00, we went over to my grandparents' house (where we used to live!) and had a big "dinner" (2 in the afternoon is not really in the "dinner" category if you ask me...) with all my extended family. delicious. as always. after that, we visted with devin's parents and brandon for awhile and then went to see one of our very best friends, Shawn, who came into town for just a few days (he's been teaching in PA for the past several months - even survived Hurricane Sandy!) after that, we headed back to my parents with plans of seeing a movie with everyone. plans changed and we somehow got convinced to go to Walmart. uh... bad decision. my brother in law Sean told us there would be $2 DVDs - and there were! really, really good ones! the crowd? pretty much exactly how i picture the apocalypse. people are crazy. like... insane. and so, so dramatic. we only got 4 and laughed the whole time at the ridiculousness. we are not shoppers. and especially not black friday shoppers. never, ever again.

this morning, we woke up early and went to Salt Lake to take some family photos! the Barnett's were in our old ward, and their youngest was in our nursery! they were so much fun to photograph. their kids are absolutely adorable! devin posted a few photos on his photography blog here. While we were up there, we grabbed some Thai Curry from Ekamai and couldn't resist a waffle from Bruge's Waffles and Frites - it was such a gorgeous morning! We did a little shopping and then went home, picked up cooper and headed up Yellow Canyon for a hike with the pup. It turns out Coop is pretty scared of horses... When we got home, Devin gave me a little photography lesson - Cooper was our subject! I love this dog so, so much. Best. Dog. Ever. He's so handsome! Oh, and there are only, like, a zillion photos. Don't worry. I wouldn't taken more (because i'm just that dog-crazy), but Cooper's attention span isn't that long. I just can't get over how cute he is. That's probably obvious, because I very rarely take pictures, blog, or talk about anything other than my puppy... Oh, and every single one of these photos is my favorite one. 

liebster

 

my cute baby sis awarded me the Liebster Award! i've gotten this award a few times before, but i thought it would be fun to at least answer her questions - she's got some good ones!

kayla's questions:

1. what is your greatest accomplishment in life so far?

being sealed to my husband in the temple. being raised in the LDS church, i had an understanding of the importance of the temple at an early age. so many things about the temple and what goes on inside the temple are sacred, and are not often discussed outside of the temples, so i was left to stare and wonder and anxiously wait for my turn to go inside. the night i received my endowment and went through the temple for the first time was unforgettable. devin and i do our best to go back often, but it's different from that night. i was there with devin. he had made a decision long before he met me to live a life worthy enough to take me inside one day, and i will always be so grateful for that. i had also spent my life preparing for that day, and it was so incredible to experience with devin. i fell in love with  him all over again that night. i see this as an accomplishment because it had been something i had looking forward to and worked for my entire life, and our wedding day was a huge milestone in my spiritual growth.

2. if you could change your name, what would it be?

when i was younger, my sisters and i used to fight over who got to use which name when we played Barbie's. the favorites seemed to be Kaylie and Brittney, if i remember right. i've never seriously thought about having a different name because i'm such a katie. i think my name fits me and my personality really well. i know my parents considered naming me Kamryn for awhile, and I think that would have worked too. sometimes i've wished that was my name (you know, on days when i've turned around to someone shouting "KATIE!" only to find they were talking to someone else... more than once...) - it's pretty popular, but i like it.

3. what is your favorite quote and why?

"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way than this: where I do not exist, nor you. So close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep" - Pablo Neruda

I love this quote because it so perfectly says exactly how I love Devin in a way I can't.

4. if you could be someone else, who would you be?

I'm pretty happy being me! I don't think i'd trade it for anything. I think it would be really interesting to be Cooper for a day though...

5. what is the best gift you have ever received?

uh... my wedding ring! i love my ring. i love that devin picked it out 100% by himself. i had no input whatsoever. i love the diamond he chose and the changes he made to the setting. i love that he thought about it a lot and made sure it was just right. he thought of all the little things. it's absolutely perfect. best gift ever.

6. which sibling are you the closest to?

as i've gotten older, i feel like i have become closer with all of my siblings. it has been so much fun to watch kyle grow up. he is the world's best teenager. he has the biggest heart and is the greatest example of selflessness. he has been so, so much fun to have as a brother and a friend. he and devin get along so great, and i think kyle and i got closer once I gave him a brother! haha kayla and i probably fight the most, but i think it keeps us in check. she is so much more mature than i give her credit for, and she is always willing to listen and give advice. kayla is my favorite person to shop with because she is always up for it, likes all the same stores as me, and gives me honest feedback about things before i buy them. (she never lets me get any sunglasses because she things they all look horrible on me, haha). and then there's kell. i'd have to say i'm closest with her. kayla and kyle are best friends, and so are kelli and i, but the 4 of us put together have THE BEST TIME. i love my family. kelli and i were married 2 weeks apart. we are living virtually the same life, so i think we've become so close because we are on the exact same page right now. we know exactly what the other is going through. we call each other all the time, just cause and try to see each other as often as possible! kelli and her husband sean have become some of devin and i's best friends. they are amazing! i love my siblings.

7. if you could change one person's life, who would it be?

this is a hard one. i have no idea. i would love to be able to make a difference in the lives of a lot of people. i would love to rescue the next dog we get. i think it would be awesome to go on a humanitarian trip. i would even love to adopt a child! i don't think i have any one specific person in mind... i would just like to make a difference! 

8. what is the greatest thing you've learned about life so far?

can i be cliche and say that is goes on. seriously, though. i don't know how many times devin and i have encountered a problem that we've though was the end-all, and we've come away completely unscathed. as a dramatic and rebellious teenager, even 30 minutes shaved off my curfew was the end of the world, so i've definitely come a long way. i do my best to not let bad situations get the best of me. i try not to let them rub me wrong and get me worked up because being angry isn't worth it. it's a waste of time. i like to remind myself that there are people worse off than me and in worse situations, and are handling it all just fine, so i need to get over myself and move on. it helps.

9. what is your biggest pet peeve?

gah. everybody knows this about me and i hate talking about it because i feel like the prissiest jerk. i can't stand listening to people eat/chew/swallow/drink.. anything. it even bothers me if they have too much spit in their mouth when they talk. it just grosses me out and i have been known to scoot to the opposite end of the couch and even leave the room at times. i feel horrible when i act like this around devin - it's not like he's doing anything wrong! it's not like anybody is! i'm just really weird! but seriously. it's so gross. most of the time, if somebody is eating around me, i like to be eating, too. just so i can drown out the noise of them eating with my own eating (which also sometimes disgusts me.)

10. what is your dream job?

my dream job??? to be a mama. simple as that. i'm not in school right now. i don't have any intention as of right now to go back. i don't think i'm old fashioned. and i'm not just doing it because the church has said women should stay in the home if they are able to. i want to. i want to be a stay at home mom. i want to be the "room mom" for my kids in school. i want to be in a carpool rotation with other moms. i want to go to PTA meetings and little league games. i want to change diapers and wear spit up on my clothes and in my hair. i think it will be the greatest job in the world. other people are going to school for their dream jobs - mine just has different prerequisites!

11. why did you start blogging?

i feel like i just talked about this. i started this blog in 2009 while i was living in St. George and going to Dixie State College. this chapter of my life i think i'll start calling "the transition" - it was that year in St. George that i came to several realizations in my life and pretty much changed everything about it. i started the blog as an escape from the life i was living down there. i wasn't on speaking terms with any of my roommates (awkward, much?! ha!), i didn't have many (any) other friends, and I was completely consumed with school and work. i've deleted most of those posts and now my first post on here is in 2010, right before i met Devin. because this is my life now. and keeping track of everything before this is mostly a waste of time.

repose

I have felt so content with my life this past while. So at peace with the place that I'm in and the feelings I feel. There are a lot of things I could be lusting after and grieving over, but I choose not to, because this feeling is much better. Devin and I have a lot of life ahead of us. We have big plans and even bigger dreams with every intention of fulfilling them all, and instead of feeling giddy with excitement about our future, I have a strong sense of confidence in it.

In reality, I am aching to become a mother (not just a puppy mom, although Cooper fills the void pretty well right now), and I think that has been obvious since I was young, but I no longer feel anxious for it. It will come. I will be a mother when it's time for me to be a mother. Right now is not that time. Right now is time for me to enjoy my husband and our marriage. To go on as many adventures as possible. To work hard. To be a puppy mama. To learn new things. To love the type of person I am. To improve the type of person I am. I've recently found that I'm quite alright with this time. I surprised myself with this feeling. I've felt equally anxious about buying a home, paying off student loans, and seeing my husband graduate and start a career - but all of that will come in it's own due time, too. And it's supposed to happen like that.

I've really come to terms with the fact that I'm not living on my watch. The things that happen in my life are, for the most part, out of my hands. They are the work of a higher power. They were put in place long before I was, and that, too, is quite alright. I appreciate the unknown. I like surprises, and enjoy not knowing where life will take me next. It's also nice knowing that somebody else does already know where life will take me. Somebody I trust very much. That's a very comforting feeling.

cooper's first snow

remember that Friday, when we had our first big snow? Herriman had at least 6 inches by early afternoon. I went home to let cooper out and feed him, like usual, and decided (thankfully) to record his first experience with snow. I wasn't sure how he would react to it.

the result?

H E  L O V E S  I T .

sorry it's sideways. iMovie won't let me rotate it. it's worth tilting your head to watch it though. pure puppy happiness right there.

another cooper photo dump

my week via iPhone

< my sisters and i spent a day at city creek, and interrupted it with late lunch at the cheesecake factory. for dessert, we each got a different cheesecake and took turns eating a few bites, and then rotating the plates around to share.
> he tucked himself in, laid on the pillow, and fell back asleep. he thinks he's a human sometimes.


< devin officially makes chocolate chip cookies better than i do
> my lunch date


< after a several month hiatus, i finally went back to the gym! it felt so great. i forgot how much i love climbing in the gym.
> happiest to see us


< he can't help it.
> last visit to the vet for the puppy package! this was his hardest day - 3 big shots (including rabies). the poor guy was so scared he didn't even want a treat! we took him to the dog park afterward and he made 10 new friends, and even flirted with the 4 1/2 month old lab retriever named Boober.


< he makes a new noise now with his rabies tag!
> his spot: under the coffee table


< cooper's favorite treats are shaped like hearts and smell like jerky.
> i love getting these texts from devin!


< sunday morning breakfast: homemade crepes
> devin braided my hair and it looks pretty good!