The wonders of Colorado and sisters

At the beginning of this month I too a plane to Colorado to visit my brother and his family for a few days. It was an awesome trip filled with photo shoots, mosquitoes, Hobby Lobby, and lots of fun, but I need to tell you the whole story.
On Monday, September 30, Logan and I signed papers on our new apartment and we moved all most of our stuff up. We loaded Logan's car full of stuff in the morning hoping our manager would call us and give us the OK to come sign our papers and we could move in. Logan called me around 11 to tell me we could move in and we would be signing papers at 3:30. Spud Harvest was in full swing that week so my mom helped me and we loaded my car and her car to take up more when we went to sign the papers. We signed the papers and started the move in process. We unloaded everything and headed back to Shelley to load the big stuff up in the truck and to stuff all of our cars one more time.

We got to Rexburg and some of our awesome friends and siblings came and helped us unload everything; about fifteen minutes after we had finished getting everything inside and we were all chatting, my mom and sister-in-law headed out to leave. A few minutes later they came in to tell us that the booting company had gotten their cars with boots. They weren't parked in the visitor parking, BUT our apartment is one of the back buildings, how are we supposed to carry beds, dressers, tables, etc. from the front of the place? Let's just say, my brother called the company and they ended up coming to take them off.  Stressful and it was around 11:30. Sleep and stressful ended with me in tears after all of our friends left.

I was supposed to catch a Salt Lake Express at 3:30 am that morning to get to my flight to head to Colorado. I decided I wasn't going to sleep and I would try to put some things in the house together before I left. Around 1:30 Mr. Logan got sleepy and wanted me to come snuggle and lay by him. He told me that we could set both of our alarms and the alarm clock for 2:30 so I could make sure I have everything. We woke with a jump as what we thought was our alarm going off. What we didn't realize at that moment was that it was the Salt Lake Express calling to see if we were coming. I told Logan five more minutes because I thought it was 2:30. He then proceeded to tell me that, "No Michelle it's 3:45." And I told him, "Oh my gosh honey, I'm going to throw up." We looked over at the alarm clock to find it unplugged. We had no idea how that happened! I changed my clothes grabbed my suitcase and the last minute things I needed and we were running out the door. We double checked the location I was supposed to meet them at and we started speeding on our way to the Idaho Falls Shaka shuttle location. Logan was driving a little fast... we were very lucky that we didn't get pulled over and that on the other side of the highway there was a car already pulled over so we were able to slow down and be OK. The entire time we were driving my only thought was that we missed a shuttle that we had just paid $55 for and Logan was now going to have to drive me to Salt Lake. We were really blessed because when we got to the gas station, we pulled in at the exact same time as the shuttle. Logan and I had a good laugh about everything once we were parked and getting all my stuff on the shuttle. I hugged him and giggled to myself as I boarded the shuttle about how absolutely ridiculous our morning was.

I love flying. I think I found a new love for it and I would love to be "rich and famous" and travel with my husband. It would be amazing.. and if we through taking pictures into the mix, it would make it 10x better!

When I got to the Denver airport, I was beyond lost because it is HUGE! When I finally found where I was supposed to be and Mason saw me, he came running toward me to give me a big hug and kiss. By that time Carrie had pushed the stroller over towards me, Tyson was wiggling and squirming trying to get out to get to me. Ty guy and I became best buds while I was there.

 That first night I was there, we took pictures of Troy and Carrie's family, except our location was completely infested with mosquitoes. So we got a few shots, but not a lot, you can see them here. Because we didn't get a ton of images that night and a session I had scheduled down there got cancelled for Wednesday night, we went back out with the kids of a second session with the kiddos. Those shots are also on the other post.
On the first night when I went to bed, I wasn't itchy at all, but when I woke up, I found plenty of evidence from the mosquito bites. In this next shot there are 7 bites. The one under my eye got super swollen and I had another bite on my hand that made it hard for me to use one of my fingers.

 Do you see the bite on little man's forehead?

While I was there I had the opportunity to have another session with a family that my family knew. I decided that it is my goal to one day I will be a traveling photographer. It was awesome to be able to travel somewhere new, meet new people, and share moments and memories with those people. And I truly hope that one day this dream will come true and that Logan and I will travel for weddings, family sessions, and just to capture different places. Sorry that was completely off hand.
Other things from when I was there is that we went to have lunch with Troy on the roof of the hospital. To be completely honest, it was really strange for me to see my brother in the setting of being a doctor. In my eyes he is and always will be my brother. That is who he is to me and he is great at it, but he is great at the doctor stuff too.

All week long Carrie and I crafted, had sister talk, and just enjoyed being with the kiddos. We learned to make super cute headbands that we would try on the little guy just because it was funny.

We played Halloween Bingo from Target's dollar section, went to the park, played with cars, and played Simon Says Drawing.

 And let's just say that Katelyn and Kylie are much better at drawing than me.

Carrie also does a preschool group with some other moms and it was her turn to do it while I was there. It is for a group of 7 three year olds. Holy cow, that was enough birth control for me for quite some time.

It was beautiful while I was there.  I was there to watch the leaves change and see the bright, bold, beautiful fall come to life.

Two years ago, the fall of 2011, I flew out to Iowa to spend time with this same family. While I was there, I had time to think of the changes that have taken place in my life in the past years. Carrie and I are very close and I loved the time I had to spend with her. 
My trip went so fast. And every time Carrie and started to mention me leaving we would get teary. Before I left, I was scheduling the whole month of October for photography and I was stressed and busy and we were moving and I was going CRAZY! Colorado was good to me; it calmed me down and helped me feel so much better.
I was the only girl growing up and I never wanted my parents to have another baby, but I was always looking forward to having a sister. Carrie was my first sister, she came into my life at the age of 12. To even think about that age, that was an awkward weird stage, but she was always so happy and willing to spend time with me. Carrie was the first person I told that I felt like something was different with Logan and she told me I sounded different, happier. She was always happy to lend a listening ear and be there for me. And she still is; this trip we talked, laughed, cried, and really enjoyed our time with each other. I am so grateful that I have four great sisters and that I got to spend time with Carrie.

Being with these kids was great. I can't wait for my next trip out!

 I sit here and have tears stream down my face as I think about Troy, Carrie, Katelyn, Kylie, Mason, and Tyson. I love these guys and I miss them. I'm grateful for the chance I had to see them and spend time with them. I am also grateful to have learned from this family's example to me. Also, I would like to thank Carrie again for her hospitality, kindness, and love, she has shown to me.

Love ya sis!

Fall is falling

Actually fall has fallen.. I don't know where time went, but it is already the middle/end ish of October! And I'm already shopping for Christmas presents, where did 2013 go?!

Logan has been in school for about a month and I have been busy, busy with photography this fall. And we just booked a Salt Lake Wedding for December (insert my over the top excited face here).

There hasn't been any huge things that we have done together this fall, but we have enjoyed putting our new apartment together with each other, dancing in the kitchen, and falling more in love with each other every day (so cliche I know, but totally true). Recently we have been playing the game Fuzion Frenzy on the XBOX together and I have beat him pretty dang good a few times!

Now that we live in Rexburg, we can hang out with our friends up here a lot more and they are all on a soccer team together for BYU-I. 

 FHE with our friends

 Kenon showing us how real men carve pumpkins

 Our pumpkin! We are going to carve more before Halloween so we only carved one at FHE

 The yummy dessert Logan helped me make for FHE

Each year I think I fall in love with fall a little more and this year really won me over. I love the fall colors, the crisp air, fall fashion (boots and scarves win me over), and the need to be cuddly because of the weather. I just wish the bright, bold reds, oranges, and yellows lasted a little big longer on the trees because it's so dang pretty! Because of the photographer in me and Mr. Logan's handsome face, I like to take pictures of us... So here's our little fall photo shoot.

We printed this one out as a 16x20 canvas to hang on our wall!

 My handsome man

 Yes.. I really do fall more in love with him every day. Even days like these :)

Happy Fall!

Tender Mercy

If you haven't read from a few posts back, Logan and I followed a prompting to move out at the end of our contract from our old apartment and move in with my parents because none of the apartments we had applied to were opening for us.

On September 13, Logan and I were up in Rexburg taking care of his books, tuition and other things on campus because his semester started the following Monday. While I was finding a place to park and he was getting his TB test checked (because he served his mission in Africa he has to get one every year for school), he missed a call. As he was walking out to find me, he listened to the voice mail that was left and he hurried to meet me in the parking lot. When he approached me I could tell he was excited about something, but I just thought it was because we were spending the day together, I was happily mistaken when he asked me what we were doing the first week of October. I told him I would be going to Colorado on the 1st, but couldn't get him to just spill the beans. Finally, he told me that West Tisbury had just called us to tell us that we had been accepted (subsidized housing) and we could move in some time around the first week of October. All day I felt like I was flying high and Logan and I couldn't wait to go meet up with our manager to get the paper work we needed and get it all filled out and done.

We moved in on September 30. And this apartment is HUGE!! I will put pictures up soon to show you our cute new apartment!

I truly have a testimony that our Heavenly Father knows what we are going through. He is mindful of the things we stand in need of, but tests our faith in Him to give us greater blessings. When we pray to Him, He listens and He WILL answer, but it is in His time frame, not ours.

"Although His time is not always our time, we can be sure that the Lord keeps his promises." -Henry B. Erying.

I'm grateful for the chance we had to live with my parents for a month and the things we were able to do there. I'm also grateful for the prayers that the Lord has answered for me. I'm grateful for all of His blessings, both big and small.

Amanda's Wedding

Logan's sister Amanda got married in August in Provo to her sweetheart Parker. 

It was so much fun. Amanda and Parker wanted a vintage theme wedding and so when Amanda asked me to take their pictures I was kind of nervous. I haven't ever done a themed look before, but I hit my inspiration with the Notebook. Take a look at their engagement pictures here.

Their vintage theme carried over into their wedding and reception- I was a bridesmaid so Parker's cousin took the wedding ceremony photos and I shot the reception at Utah. Can I just tell you how much I hate being in front of all those people walking down the aisle. It was fun to be a bridesmaid and be part of that, but I would have loved to have been able to watch it all. Plus, I got emotional; I am a sucker for love and I love seeing people happy so my eyes welled up with tears and a I had a few tears wiggle themselves loose and streak down my cheeks.
Their reception was incredible. It was so decked out and roaring 20's. Parker's family did all of it themselves too, so that makes it even cooler. Check out all those photos I did at the Utah and Idaho reception here.

One of my favorite parts of the wedding was the red lipstick; that is not something I would have ever worn by myself, but now I just might rock it more often. Another favorite part was how cute we all looked dressed up!

Sorry to make you check the other blog for more pictures, but it's so much better on the other one!

Colorado Trip 1

The last week of August, I packed my bags and head to Colorado with my mom, Jared, and Chelsea. Logan was so kind and told me that I should go because one- it was free and two- I had worked like a mad woman the previous weeks for moving and photography. I gladly accepted the chance to go (even though I already had a plane ticket to go again in October) with my family. We left late on a Thursday night so we would get there early in the morning when the girls were leaving for school. Our drive was pretty uneventful, until Chelsea fell asleep. As she dozed, she started talking about a hill that you roll down or something crazy and bizarre and we all laughed. She was still half asleep so she didn't really know what was going on.
When the Colorado sign passed, I started to notice that it looked a lot like Idaho; it was pretty, had mountains and fields. We pulled into the driveway at 8:15, just a few minutes too late because we missed the girls going to school. Because we missed them there, we decided to go surprise them at lunch time and take them to McDonald's. It was so cute to see them see us down the hall and start running and then jump into arms for hugs. (Watch the link at the end to see what I mean)

Later that afternoon, Troy and Jared watched the kiddos while we went to get pedicures and shop. When I say shop I mean we only went to TJMaxx, but it was AMAZING! They had so many fun clothes for everyone and lots of cute decorations. I could have spent hours in there; but I did get Mr. Logan a nice looking sweater/jacket thing and I found myself a Nike shirt. Score! I also spotted some cute clothes for the kids, but we wanted to go get some yogurt while they were on the half off deal that ended at 4. When we were checking out it was 3:45; when Chelsea finished checking out she RAN to the van that was clear across the parking lot- it was really far. And as soon as we were out of there we (Carrie, Mom, and me) took of running in our flip flops and carrying our bags. We got about 1/3 of the way when we saw Chelsea coming towards us. She was gripping the steering wheel with a white knuckle grip, determined face and she didn't even look when she stopped at the stop sign where we were jumping up and down waving our bags around. She pulled up in front of the TJMaxx and we started running back towards her. She finally saw us and pulled ahead and we all giggled about how funny that situation was. The clock said 3:56. The yogurt place was on the other side of the parking lot. She drove as well as she could, but we still missed the deal. Luckily the girl was nice and still gave us a deal. And boy oh boy, that was the best frozen yogurt ever! I had white chocolate with a watermelon sorbet topped with big fresh raspberries, almonds, oreos, and white chocolate sauce. YUMMY!

The next day Jared and Chelsea drove to Colorado Springs to spend time with some of her family members for a couple days. We took advantage of the heat of the day to go to a lake that was about 20 minutes away. It was so fun! We swam, rented a paddleboat and one of those big trike water things and made a sandcastle

 He was throwing sand, but really it looks like he is flexing and modeling for the camera

 Snot+drool+falling in the sand =

 Some of my favorite mom/son pictures ever

 Mason was just being so cute

 That night we all went out for yogurt- it really was so good- and we went back to TJMaxx to look at kid clothes for family pictures in October. When I go back out, we will be taking their family pictures and I even had a few other sessions booked thanks to Carrie!
We found some seriously ADORABLE outfits for their pictures, just you wait until you see.
While we were there Katelyn didn't feel very good; she had perfect timing and when she was getting back in the car she threw up (outside the car). The next morning Kylie was sick and throwing up, so I went to church with Troy and Carrie and the kids while Grandma Lu stayed home with Kylie. All of the kids ended up getting sick sometime throughout the next few days. Even Grandma Lu and I got kinda sick, we just never threw up. When we came home from church, Kylie was feeling a little better so later that night we walked to a park in their neighborhood area and had a ball there. It was an awesome park because it had some really fun toys and swings. It had a four person teetet-totter that was awesome (see video), a merry go round that was super cool, and just lots of fun toys. I took videos and pictures for awhile; I put the camera down for awhile and just enjoyed playing with the kids. And all of us played tag. I don't even remember the last time I played tag and it was a blast running from and chasing each other.

 Kylie was being a cheetah for me to take pictures of, but she ended up just looking like a model

 As we walked back home, there was a empty lot full of sunflowers, so we stopped and snapped a couple shots!

 Our trip was so fun. I'm so grateful I got to go and see them and that in less than 2 weeks I will be back there! Thanks Mr. Logan for letting me go and spend some sister time with Carrie and believing that I could get some sessions booked there. You are the best!

Watch the video-

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