SIN CITY

I sent out invites for my Bachelorette party in June. I just sent an invite over Facebook so everyone could get it on their calendar and we could see what everyone was up for. At first I was really against the Facebook idea but I have loved hearing everyones reaction ( I invited about 10 girls ... not all were also invited to the wedding because we will have a small wedding. )

Where are we going? LAS VEGAS of course!!!

invite:

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."



~C.S. Lewis


♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥


I want to invite all my favorite girls to celebrate with me in my last single girl trip to Sin City. It will be a weekend full of sun, drinks and fun. An itinerary will follow and you are welcome to join any part of the celebration. There will be swimming, shows and a zip line. Is a trip to Las Vegas necessary?...no. But it will be fun!! 


I hope you all can make it!!!


♥ always, Laurel
 
 
So far 7 girls can make it and I am beyond excited to get all these girls together!

As you grow older, you'll find the only things you regret are the things you didn't do. ~Zachary Scott

Making diving cool ....One stupid face after another.

We just had a great day signing up for our Scuba diving classes and buying new gear.

 I am so Freaking excited!!

Seriously ... I can't wait!!!

Freedom lies in being bold. ~Robert Frost

Christmas 2010... being bold. (Justin and his friend Marsh)

X-country skiing day!!

1.1.11

2010- New Years Eve

 2011 - New Years Eve


 

not my dog... I wish... her name is nugget... how cute is that?

My resolutions:
*get married (I will be checking that off on 7.30.2011!!!!) woo hoo
* run more outside.
*take time to breathe and enjoy this time in my life.
*try to keep the fridge stocked with more than just greens and cheese.
*pick a band... and play their entire album til I know it by heart.
*donate clothes.
* Throw myself into something that I really care about.. and give up the things I don't.
* learn more about my camera.
* take more pictures.
* make more resolutions...

Happy New Year!

We are in Ouray, Colorado

Planning our July 2011 wedding,

dipping in the hot springs *clothing optional*,

and

exploring Ouray in the winter!

I just want to thank everyone who follows this blog. It has been one of my favorite creativity releases. It will continue to be good quotes, good pictures and good honest reflection. Have a great new year!

If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment. ~Henry David Thoreau

An early morning trip to the ER Monday morning was emotionally and physically draining. We arrived home and found out that our basement had flooded.

Yeah I know...... I really could not take one more thing.

Justin looked at me (and this is why I love him)

 he said, " Do you want to play hookie?" 

Sometimes you just have to say Fuck it and go play.

So this was our morning....this was our compensation...

looking to buy a house? :)

Crazy right? It was one of those moments where you just repeat to yourself.

"Never, never, never forget this."

half the time I had to remind myself to breathe.

The experience was just too beautiful and surreal.

It was just the two of us.

In bad times and good.

Our compensation. We were ready...



The worst gift is a fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other. ~Johnny Carson

To me, nothing says Christmas like a ticked off puppy in a santa hat. lol - jk - I hope you all are having a great holiday so far. I am done with fall quarter and I feel like I have all the time in the world on my hands!

 Justin was making fun of Lilly in this picture and she just was not having it. This is how we spend most of our afternoon.... the lights will go up another day. :)

I was laughing so hard because as soon as you put the hat on she would refuse to move and she would just give you the look of death.  ( HUGE box in the back is full of Christmas decorations... we finally got around to putting them up!)

 She loves that hat... she just has an odd was of showing it.( haha no ... she hates it.)

All our love,

Laurel and the 'I've had it with Christmas' puppy.

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

We went up to Mt Baker to go sledding...



 but the rain the night before washed it away. It turned out to be breathtaking.



 A little spiced apple cider and a rainbow met us at the top.

The end to a beautiful day...

....a stop at a little beer and wine cabin.
(I just loved how the pictures really captured the day and I just had to share them with y'all)

I am SO F*cked.

Seriously, this week completely screwed any plans for completing grad school hw or any work really at all.while I am currently having a bit of a meltdown thinking about all I have to do when my dad goes home I am also enjoying the fact that I had a week full of this...

My dad just realizing he is not in Colorado any more and it is cold and WINDY here.

Stealing moments

I don't want to blow away!

 I'm on a boat!

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers

I have been enjoying time with family. Meeting my new (2nd) cousins. And taking photos of all of it! xoxo Laurel

Hair brings one's self-image into focus; it is vanity's proving ground. Hair is terribly personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices.~Shana Alexander

yep, I dyed it ... again.

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James

On Saturday we decided to head to Seattle for some relaxation and sailing on Green lake. Lilly, Justin and myself all piled into one of those TINY sailboats... can you believe it?!?

We then headed over to Capital hill for their annual block party. 30,000 people, 60 bands. It was nuts. We had a pretty chill experience though because we found all the tucked away over 21 shows.
We just kept saying... "This is what summer is all about!~"

and then I was 26....

There was decorations...

and a party...

and presents... A new flash for my camera!

there were party hats...Chris' expression is priceless.

and pictures.
It was a big day.

In 3 days I will be 26.

Because time itself is like a spiral,
something special happens on your birthday each year:
The same energy that God invested in you at birth
is present once again.
~Menachem Mendel Schneerson

I really can not believe I am that old already. I always think of myself as 21.
I don't know why... maybe because it was a really good year for me.
The year I was able to define who I wanted to be and who was important to me.
I also met the man I am going to marry on my 21st birthday.
(Yes, we met at a bar. No, I don't remember much of that night.I must have been a charming drunk that is all I have to say. haha.)
So this year I will turn 26 and we will celebrate our 5 year anniversary!

We've all been there... sitting in your livingroom in lawn chairs surrounded by boxes... thinking, "couch?!? who needs a couch?"

"you & me ... we just made this house a home."

I need a shit load of sparklers ASAP

May I never wake up from the American dream. ~Carrie Latet

Last 4th of July we spent in Seattle with a dear friend of mine. We had the best time! We handed out sparklers to strangers... it was so fun to see their reaction!

We had glow necklaces and sparklers... yes, we were THOSE people.

I am so proud to be an American.

I love this country.

It is my country

forever and ever.

When I stand before God at the end of my life....

When I stand before God at the end of my life,

I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say,

"I used everything you gave me."

~Erma Bombeck

We moved into our new house this weekend and we just adore it! Moving, as always, was exhausting and overwhelming, but we really worked well together. We also had some friends who help tremendously.

Picture of Justin taking a little moving break. He is learning to play the guitar. *I always wanted to date someone who played the guitar!

"...we need silence to be able to touch souls.”

“See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls.”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta quotes

The sun came out y'all.

(These letters to the universe must really be working.)

I took a 2 hour long run with my dog, Lily, yesterday and it was AMAZING. We always run down to this little park that over looks the water. The view just takes my breath away. No one really goes to this park- and I like it that way.

That way we can just run in Silence.

The picture is from when lil and I became local celebs and a photographer took a picture of us at our favorite park after a race. We both look beat. :)