More Pictures from Cali

Thanks Yosh and Gabe for a great weekend!

Weekend Get-a-way

As you all know at our house FALL= Hunting, which means that I am a fall WIDOW?! This weekend Luke went to Idaho from Saturday- Tuesday. I don't know about the rest of you but sometimes I just need a break. I arranged to go stay with my brother and his wife and their two little boys. I have been so stressed lately and I knew that my two little nephews were the perfect fix for me! It turned out to be a great relaxing weekend. I was able to tend the boys Friday night so they could go spend time with their friends and have a night on the town. It was so fun to have the boys all to myself. We colored, read stories, and sang songs. I love getting to spend the one on one time with the little fellas because they live so far away and I want them to know who their auntie Ali is. The greatest treat of all was when the Dal man was yelling AL...AL...AL from his crib. So Dal and I had sleepovers both nights. He was too funny because when he woke up he was just so surprised that he was in the big bed with me. The poor little Pistol man was so sick~ bless his heart. The poor guy couldn't sleep good and he just was wanting his mommy! Those little guys sure love their mommy.

Saturday morning we headed out to the park. While Yosh and Gaye played Volleyball I took the little guys to the park. Dal kept wanting me to go down all the slides and just be one of the kids. I kept telling him that I was too big and he would just smile at me and grab my hand and say "No...Cmon Al." As you can tell from the picture of Porter- he just wasn't feeling up to par but he was enjoying hanging out in the swing. Gaye took me shopping and around town and then that night Yosh's company bought tickets to the NHL Kings game so Yosh and Gaye and I were all able to attend. The boy's were both really sick so they thought it would be better for them to stay home. His boss gave us $80 bucks for treats at the game- (let's be honest...3 people can't blow 80 bucks on junk at a hockey game!) So you bet Yosh bought us Drinks, Red Vines, Nachos, etc.

The Front

Um....don't mind the cheesy pose. Who doesn't feel so awkward when they are in a picture by themselves. I always think- where should I put my hands? How should I stand??? That's besides the point~ here it is from the front!

The New AL

So for those of you who know me well there are two things about me that haven't changed for about 10 years. #1- I always complained about my weight and #2- I have had long dark hair. Those were always the two things that bothered me the most

or rather the two things I didn't know how to change. So here goes nothing! Back on May 8th I decided that I needed to loose some serious poundage- not 10-15- or 20 but I needed to take off about 46 to get to where I idealy wanted to be. I also set a goal that when I did lose the weight that I would change the hair as well. Long story short I lost the 46 pounds and I still looked the same to myself. It was then that I knew that it was time to chop the hair! So thanks to Johanna for cutting my hair and giving me the best cut I have had in a long time. I was able to donate my two piggies to "Locks of Love". So here is the new me- I thought about putting on the before and after pics but I thought I would spare you all!

Saturday Night

This past weekend Luke was able to go to the BYU game with one of his friends Zachary and my brother and his friend. Even though it was a blow out game they still had a good time. That night we went to a Wedding reception of one of their old roomates from BYU-I. I always love a good outing with the Johnson's. We ate at the good old Ruby River and boy was it tasty! I always have a hard time spending as much money on food as I would on a tank of gas but sometimes you just gotta do it! Kari has the cutest hair cut in the world so if you are looking for a great cut- hers is the one to do~

Mom's 50th Birthday!!!!

For my Mom's birthday I wanted to make her 50th birthday extra special. So my siblings and I put together a HUGE surprise party. We had about 60 people come to her house. We had food, balloons, decor and the list goes on. We surprised her with her 4 best friends from high school coming into town and my brother Josh put them up in the Marriott Mountainside Resort in Park City for the weekend. The day just went so smoothly. Bright and early 8 am we crowned her queen for the day, next was off to the spa for a massage and a facial, then we were off to the Porcupine Grille where we surprised her with lunch with us and Jan. I had arranged for her to get her hair done because let's be honest if you were going to be seeing 60 people wouldn't you want to be looking good! So my aunt Susie styled her hair for her. I picked her up and it was off to what she thought would be the biggest surprise of the day- her friends jumped out of the shower and she was shocked!!! Litttle did she know that this was just the beginng. We told her friends to blind fold her and bring her back to the house at 6:45 so we could give her her last present before we all went to dinner (or so she thought we were all going to dinner!~). SURPRISE~ boy was it a perfect night. I am so glad that everyone could make it and help us make the day extra special for her. Happy 50th Birthday Momma- I love you.

Halloween

Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays because I am a scaredy cat! This year Luke and I decided that we would go to the Haunted Forest in American Fork and go through the forest and the psycho manor- needless to say there were 5 chain saw guys and let's be honest those things are freaky! Halloween day I decided that in my office the girls were going to be witches. We planned a favorite fall treat day at work- and it was a hit! We ate junk, dressed up and pretty much took the day off! As far as the trick or treaters go, we live out in BFE so they always just do a trunk or treat. Luke and I spent the evening cleaning my mom's house and you will see why in my next post.

I had to include a photo of our backyard full of leaves. I remember when I was a little girl and we would go down to the farm and rake the leaves and bury ourselves in them. Those are some good fall memories! And if I don't say so myself- this has been the best fall weather in years~