Last Leaf on Thankful Thursday.

I love Ok Go. They're creative, talented and this song makes me happy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkYfB1C0Zgc

Trailhead Women's Christmas Party 2010

So much fun!

Two of my BESTEST friends since we've been here in Colorado! I love you gals!

What did I get during the gift exchange you ask...well let's just say I got a Team Edward shirt that I'm totally wearing to work today. It's so perfect that I would get something like that from Amy!

Random!

Here is a bunch of random things!

#1: My favorite meal to make with left over Thanksgiving turkey...TURKEY NOODLE SOUP!

#2: Wyatt helping Grandma/Mom Olinger make dinner for us tonight.
#3: I FINISHED! I FINISHED! I FINISHED!
The story behind this quilt is: I started it two years ago for my brother (who doesn't read my blog). It's made entirely of recycled t-shirts (minus the back which is also a cotton blend just like t-shirt material). I started hand quilting it BUT it was super thick and difficult to accomplish (aka VERY time consuming). I was going to pay a friend who has a long arm sewing machine to machine quilt it for me but she also couldn't do it because is was too thick AND too soft. So I finally decided to just tie it off. My mom-in-law came this weekend and helped me finish tying and hand sewed the edges for me. Can you believe it??? After two years it's finally done! YIPPY!!!
It's so soft and I hope my brother really loves it!
#4: Our first moving box was packed tonight (sad and happy face). #5: Our beautiful Christmas tree!!! We didn't put it up last year because of our little love but this year it's been golden. He hasn't touched a single thing and loves to look at it!
#6: I got this Aspen ornament today to remember our time here in Colorado. #7: My favorite Christmas ornament! Do you have a favorite??

Family Photo Fun

Some of my family came to Denver for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was so much fun and we has some time to take a few family photos. Here's a preview.


They're a hoot! This really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Hello September

I know that September is nearly over but I wanted to share some of my favorite things about this glorious month and the start of my favorite season, Autumn!
First thing I love about this time of year is the color scheme. My decorating is saturated with these colors...I just can't help myself they are just too AWESOME!
Second thing I love about this time of year is how the leaves cry out in bright arrays of breathtaking color...what if we all went out the way leaves do? Instead of withering and just fading away, we become brilliant and radiant where others couldn't help but say "wow, isn't she just beautiful!?". Not to be morbid but I hope that my last days are filled with this kind of amazing beauty!Seriously! This is just too awe inspiring! You just can't help but become introspective and contemplative. One of my friends was saying "I don't know what it is about this time of year but it just makes me want to go deeper". I think we've been conditioned to turn our brains back on in the fall because it's when academia resumes. I love it, I love it, I love it!
I also really love the smells and tastes of Autumn. I made these Pumpkin, Banana, Raisin muffins to celebrate the start of Fall over the weekend. It made the house smell so yummy! I also love to bake this time of year because I don't feel so guilty making the house a little warmer, while in summer it just adds to the already overly warm environment. What's your favorite thing to bake?
The last thing this time of year really gets me in the mood for is making things! I don't know if it's because the holidays are on our doorstep or if it just feels right. I started this scarf (thanks mom Olinger for teaching me) while watching Gray's Anatomy for the first time...don't know if I'm going to get into that show but I always like the music they pick (they played Mumford and Sons while I was watching and I honestly think that was my favorite part).

Please share your favorite thing about this time of year! :)

Thankful Thursday

It's been a while since I've posted a "Thankful Thursday" and not because I haven't (double negative, sorry) been thankful for anything but rather because Thursdays are difficult days to blog on.

So on with THANKFUL THURSDAY BEFORE IT'S OVER!!!

Number 1: Wyatt got a potty last night (well, we technically got him the potty) and not even 24 hours after the purchase he went in the potty! It was awesome! I was getting him more literature (that's my tactic for now, book reading on the potty) and when I came back he had gone. The hard part was getting him to understand he couldn't keep sitting there. He really likes that thing.
****He is probably going to hate this picture in a couple of years. But if I had the privilege of having my main picture in my grandparents hallway (until I was at least a pre-teen) be my potty picture then I think Wyatt can handle this :)******

This was taken at my childhood church, West Side Baptist Church, when I was like 3 1/4 or 4. My dad had to go in with me to help...and just happened to have his camera. This is me still, very modest (right Sam, Michelle?).

Number 2: Thankful for Family!

I love these guys! It's been great starting our own family!
On top of the family we were blessed to be born into, I feel like we've been blessed with an awesome church family, work family, and community family since we've been out here. LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH! XOXOXOX

Oh the places you'll go!

This might be incredibly weird but ever so often I like to look down...see where my feet have ended up. It's probably because one of my best friend in college took this amazing picture of her feet and I've always loved the idea.

On our trip back to Kansas I kept remembering this idea a would snap a picture. Here's what I came up with!

Sheesh...an August Post before it's over!

This month has been CRAZY! And when I say crazy I mean, CRAZY GOOD!

We have had the privilege to see so many people we love both at the end of July and almost every weekend this month. My house has been a lot cleaner (if you were one of the visitors don't let your imagination go to wild because I'm sure you're thinking "I thought it was a pig sty!!!"). Let's just all assume that Amanda doesn't looooooooove cleaning.

Here are a few photos from our trip to Kansas and of our honored guests!

YIPPY!











So those turned out to be a ton of cousin pictures but can you blame me, I mean, look at them, they're flippin' adorable!

In other news (not to toot my own horn, I'm just excited) I'm assistant manager at my work starting Wednesday!

More Summer fun!

Coloring on his arms!

The smell of pine trees.

Summer rain which equals summer rainbows!

Our Mountain Man!

Hope you are having as fun of a summer as we are.

Summer Fun

Party time!

"Don't worry piggy. We will be landing
on earth shortly"
(at the Denver Nature and Science Museum)

Our deck: the apartment's version of a yard.

He always needs his hat, shades and a book
whenever we go some where.

Fun at the park!

I love summer-time!