Family Time

It feels like we have been on the move constantly the last year. Truth is, we have. We  planned & had a wedding, honeymoon, sold a house, moved, got pregnant, had a baby, built a shop & on top of all that we simply lived life. I mean who has time for grocery shopping with a baby?! But the thing is, we feel like we haven’t had that quality time with our family and friends because we are exhausted from everything we do. 

So what do we do when life becomes exhausting? Some people nap (yep, guilty here!), take a vacation- long or weekend getaway, or cut back on the craziness and relax. While I am sure there are a million different options for everyone, those just came to my mind. Well... we decided on two things. We took a family vacation & put our house up for sale. Crazy right?! How does that free up time by selling ones home? Glad you asked. We live on a little land and it takes a lot of work. We also are project people. We are building out a space in our shop and with a newborn its been a slow moving project. Like haven’t touched the space in 4 months slow. Its an overwhelming project looming over our heads. We thought buy reducing the time we are driving back and forth to Norman (where we do most aspects of life: school, church, dining out, friend time, events, shopping, appointments, etc) and having less land/projects would give us time for family and lazy days! Seems simple right?!

Now for the vacation. We went to Washington DC. It was such an awesome trip that really solidified our choice to move. It was busy and LOTS of walking around, but it was great to come back to the hotel early if we wanted and not worry about anything that needs to be done around the house. Went to the pool most nights to relax and toss our feet in the hot tub to prep for the next day of walking. (Complete side note: we walked about 8-12 miles a day! Wowzers!)

We took the train to Baltimore for the day to visit their aquarium. Amazing! I had been once before on a small family trip in college and have wanted to take my kids ever since... ya know assuming I would have kids! Paul and I went to the Boston aquarium on a weekend getaway we did a few years ago and would love to take the girls to that one as well. 

Truth is, we all need to find that special place where we can cherish our loved ones. If your not finding your happy place, keep looking. It might take something a little crazy to discover it!  

Mysterious

Life is a mystery, as in an unknown abyss of information given to us daily to process and sort and we never know what is next. There are opportunities for us to choose our daily path and the choices we make help to define who we are and what life we will lead. At any moment we can change our path and venture down a new one--a freedom we have been given by God. The curious adventurers and strong willed will thrive in the changing situations of our growing world. What about the meek and frail? Should the stronger be left to gather the weak and bring them along our journey or do we say "forget you"? 

Taking chances and being confident in the decisions we make is not always an easy task, but I believe I have lead myself out of what may not always be normal and easy. I succeeded with being happy, humble, energetic, adventurous, independent, and successful with each endeavor I have chosen. It was not ever supposed to be easy, but when I made the decision to live, and truly live, I was all in. Do you feel like you can conquer the world one day and then relax on the couch the next? Staying constant in our efforts to make little changes every day in our life and in the lives of others can be the "make or break" of exceeding normal. We absolutely try to bring those of less fortune and virtue into their own light. Because God made each of us, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." 

Sometimes God has strange ways of telling us to go for it, but that is exactly what we have to do. There are moments we want to give up and be done with everything life throws our way. It is not that simple, life is not that simple. I have earned so much through my hard work and healthy attitude. I am so thankful for the opportunities I have in this life. I thank God every day that I wake up and get to spend another day with the people I love, doing the things I love. I am happy, I have all I need, and I know no one thing can take this from me. I wont allow it. The fighter in me will fight for what I deserve because I know it is mine to have. I proudly built the life I live. I worked to keep myself up and alive and out of the troubles of the world.

Will you fight for what you deserve?

Key West Wedding

I made a post months ago that reflected our decision to jump on a plane bound for Key West for our destination wedding. Was is a good idea? or was it not? Should I keep you guessing for much longer? Nah.. It was such an incredible idea!!!!

Everything from the location to the flowers were so spot on for what I could have envisioned for my special day. It was easy to plan and the vendor we chose were so professional and made the weeks leading up to our wedding day seamless and easy.

Let me start by saying the weather that week in KW was hot, windy, humid, and actually poured down raining one night earlier in the week, BUT on the evening of our wedding... the weather was perfect with a slight breeze, cooler, and sun shining!

Vendors we used for our BIG DAY:

Wedding Coordinator: Say Yes in Key West

Floral: Karro Events and Design

Photography and Videography: Lavryk Photography

Reception: Bagatelle Restaurant

Cake: Key West Cakes

Car Service: Sunset Watersports

Welcome Cruise: Sunset Watersports ("Sip and Sail" was perfect)

Girls will be Girls

My little sweet pea, B

It has been such a blessing to have my daughter in my life. She kept me going when I thought all was lost in my world. She makes me laugh- at her and at myself. 

No matter how much I try to tame the pink & sparkle in her life, she would bathe in it daily if I let her. (I am not a fan of pink... As in despise the color! Im a neutral woman; blacks, grays, tans, whites..occasional blue or green Those are my style) B swoons at the sight of a pretty pink dress, or pink shoes, or pink sunglasses, pink pink pink... BLAH! 

Blah is the way I used to feel about her love for pink, but I am starting to embrace her love for it. To watch her eyes light up and look at me for approval, it is the sweetest and melts my heart. 

She is beautiful from the depth of her soul to the tips of her toes. She is innocent, full of wonder, admiration, joy, laughter, and sweetness! 

For Mothers day she was asked by her teacher "why do you love your mom?" Now before I get to what she said... My instant thoughts were she loves me because... I get her fruit snacks, we stay up late at night and watch movies, she loves to snuggle with me, play with my hair or something else that a three year old would say about their mom. But her answer is so much more.. I may not like sparkles and pink and glittery things, but she does. And loving me because I'm sparkly means the world to me. I make her world sparkle and that is all I needed for Mothers day. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Mothers day and find the joy in the little things your children love but you may not. What seems so small may mean the world to them. Encourage their imagination and creative spirits. Let them have their own personality and allow it to flourish. You are only young once! 

Weddng: Destination or Local

Elope, they say

It will be fun, they say

No planning, they say

What they say is not totally wrong!

We decided on a destination wedding with immediate family and a couple of our closest friends.  That was the easy part..

Figuring out all the other details is where the destination/local wedding are fairly similar.... the Where? When? How? Time? Vendors? Travel expenses? Honeymoon? questions.

After deciding on a location and hotel and getting pricing we decided that wasn't really what we wanted. In the weeks following, many hours were spent trying to decide a new location. While knowing we wanted a beach wedding, my mom had sent me a short, simple, and to the point e-mail. This led us to research the destination and fall in love with the location knowing it was the perfect spot for us to get married!

And for the When?... perhaps the most difficult! My parents live in Saudi Arabia, both our siblings have 3 kids each, and everyone's in school and summer sports.. oh the little things you do not consider! But after getting everyone's schedule and pre-planned events we decided on a date-- it worked with the wedding planner as well! YAY another win.. maybe this was too easy after all.

How? Invite away and see who joins us on our new journey together as husband & wife & little princess! We completely understand not everyone is able to spend the extra money not budgeted to attend, but so grateful for those who chose to do so.

Time? Sunset.. It was always going to be sunset! Since living on the beach for a several years this is, by far, my favorite time of day by the ocean. It's probably my favorite time of day anyway!  (If you've ever been to Santorini- you have witnessed Spectacular sunsets! Seriously breathtaking...if not- GO THERE!)

Vendors? Thinking this would be a challenge because of the distance and having never been to our destination, it's actually been so easy to narrow down. Thank you reviews, referrals from our wedding coordinator, and customer service we have selected the vendors we hope will provide us the event we desire! Really I am confident in each vendor we have chosen to give us the perfect day we look forward to.

Side note: I'm not the best person in the world to let others handle things in my life I deem important- in fact I am way controlling normally to let others take the lead and produce what i envision. Not to worry-I don't want to stress over wedding day details- it will all be fine because at the end of the day I get to marry the person I am so excited to spend my life with- who cares or will remember what the decor & colors were?!

Travel & Honeymoon? Thanks to an amazing travel agent who was quick to respond and get us details for a wedding and spectacular honeymoon this was by far the easiest part of our planning. She gave so many wonderful locations and options it was hard for us to narrow down the precise place, but after talking to her & looking--there was only one that fit all of our needs and wants for our honeymoon. *high-five, high kicks, & cheers*

So at the end of the day while there were a few times I "stressed"  over little details- really planning your wedding & honeymoon in 2 months versus a year was the right choice for us. I hope if you were on the fence about destination or local, this has helped you decide what your heart was already telling you.

Did you have a destination wedding or local venue? What do you remember most about your special day? Any advice for this bride to be?

Power of Love

Love is a strange, hard to explain, well it's an emotion. We feel it and we believe it is there, but at what point does it mean you are meant for someone, that you are soul mates? What defines the person we are "meant" to be with forever? Is it a connection? A friendship? The right attitude? Similar beliefs? Our interests?

Many believe our purpose in life is to ultimately procreate (maybe you are right). When we break it all down it appears we (humans) are all connected by our emotions. The institution of marriage itself is scary for most... I think instead  of wondering if it will last forever, you have to make it last with our/your conscious efforts and the willingness to give to your chosen partners. Marriage should always be a 50/50 balance between spouses. Life is not easy for anyone and love is not any easier. Why make it harder on ourselves?

I've previously been hurt many times by the “lust” of what the younger version of me felt what LOVE was. I'm sure we can all relate to the same situations. I no longer have the patience for the games people will play with each other because of what our society has played up the bachelor/bachelorette status to be. A challenge to a younger reader to have for their said love: Can you (the man) see inside me (no not literally), beyond my looks to find who I am and what I can be? The bigger question is, Will you? When you know beyond a doubt that the man/boy you love can see you for you, you've found a special one!

Love comes in all shapes an sizes. It is not just about loving someone as your significant other, maybe it is the love of a parent, grandparent, cousin, sibling, child, or a friend. oh, but a child's love is like no other. They have yet to discover the pains and heartaches that come and go through life. They know not what death is. Their love is pure and unconditional, and they long for your kind words and loving arms to wrap them up and make them feel safe. How can we show someone what love is that has been striped of love? I look around me every day and see the beauty of life and nature and wonder how some people can turn to violence and crime. Have you ever tried to imagine what kind of life people lead to become that way? Even stealing, raping, fighting, it is all something beyond my view of the world. I find it hard to believe people can be that selfish, but I also know there are things beyond control like addiction that can take over an amazing person and turn them into someone ugly, even they don't even recognize themselves anymore. Maybe I have a big heart or maybe I am naive, but either way I wish I could somehow reach out to those, who for a moment even consider doing such things, to show them what life can be like if they made a choice to take a different path. If only they step out of their current situation and look beyond... look at what could and can be. We should all work together to make it a place worth living in; a place we all can enjoy.

Do I know people that have turned to violence and a life of crime, yes. I love some of these people with all my heart. I want so much to change their world with a swish of a wand, but I have no magic powers and that would be too easy. I truly believe that only you can change who you are, where you are, and what you do in your life. You can look to others for support and encouragement. At the end of the day, only you can choose to make that change, only YOU. So if you know the same kind of people I speak of, and you love them, offer them love (not money, they can get a job or find work) and maybe you can help change the person they've become, the person they do not want to be. No need for lectures, I'm sure you've given them and they haven't really REALLY listened. No need for telling them about what they've done wrong, they know. No need for looking back on the past, rather focus on the future, because their future is worth it.

Leon Brown said, "The love you give today, is an investment in the future, for the future is seeded by what you sow today." It's never too late to Love.

Whatever the reason or the person you chose to love, I hope you do it with all your heart and give it 100%. Do you know someone who could use a little love and a lot less lecture?

This Video--LOVE IT

On the Road

Growing up and traveling overseas has its advantages for visiting places many only dream of. I know I have been fortunate and I am so grateful. BUT I am so excited to take trips and travel the open road of the United States. 

It all started two years ago, I decided to go on a road trip with my (then) 13 month old. We began our journey from Oklahoma and spent two weeks exploring sites in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona (my favorite), and California. Texas offered many Silos and farmland to ponder upon via I40 west. There is something slightly eery, yet spectacular about silos that I am drawn to. New Mexico was pretty and reminded me of living in the desert again. Old town Albuquerque was a neat little stop with a town square of shops and local vendors.

Arizona really was marvelous. We drove through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. We stayed in Flagstaff, it is the perfect little 'mountain town 'with a great downtown and lots of local breweries. Visited the breathtaking Grand Canyon at sunrise. This is huge for me because I am not a morning person so for me to wake up and drive over an hour away to catch the sun rising at 4:50am is RARE (as in highly unlikely to ever occur again). It was so much more than I could have ever dreamed possible. I then drove down to Scottsdale to visit a friend for a few days. We ate at a place called Culinary Dropout. I definitely recommend a visit if your in town or maybe your new to the area and havent tried it yet! We also did a morning hike up Camelback Mountain, which provided breathtaking views of the greater Pheonix area. It was on to California after that. San Diego was the first stop where my now fiance met us out there for four days. Sad part is it rained almost the entire time and after speaking with locals it hadn't rained in almost 4 years! So needless to say we must make it back sometime. We did enjoy the Zoo and a sailboat ride. Best meal here was at a place called Barley Mash. We proceeded to drive North on the coast of California stopping at various beaches along the way making our way to my family in Atascadero. It was so nice to see family that we don't get to see often (Love you all and miss you if you're reading). 

Pismo Beach Pier, CA

Lunch in Flagstaff, AZ with my uncle

A little walk in the Petrified Forest, AZ

Grand Canyon

Was I brave to do all of that with a 13 month old, absolutely! But she did amazing and it was so much fun and it was a much needed trip to get out of Oklahoma and to see some of the country that I never had before. 

2015 was a year of many road trips too! St. Louis: went to the Zoo, Science center, & the Arch. California: a last minute trip for family. Kahoka, MO: visited with Paul's grandparents and attended the Old Settler's parade

We are loaded up in the car now (with my daughter turning 3 tomorrow) heading to Park City, UT for a family ski vacation. We started in Frisco, TX after celebrating the New Year. Driving west to highway 287N through the panhandle of OK. It was my first time & really not much to see off the highway. Unfortunately we drove into Colorado in the dark & overnighted in the farm town of Lamar. We woke and began our drive once more. Paul got super excited when we saw the tip of the Rockies off in the distance!  We stopped in Fort Collins for lunch, ate at Coppersmith's Pub & Brewing. We all had burgers and they were yummy! It's located in the central part of town on a really cute town square. I wish we had more time there, but it was onto Wyoming for us. Wyoming was another first time. Its beautiful! Snow covered rolling hills until you rise into the Rockies. We watched the sunset here today- It's a total "breath of fresh air." Tomorrow we will drive into Park City and spend the week skiing, ice skating (in Elsa's ice skates! Thank you Aunt Crystal & Uncle Ethan), tubing, and enjoying the company of family.

CO via I70

Northern Rockies via I80

Road trips are not for everyone, but if you enjoy taking your time to get somewhere with little adventures throughout the day to break up the constant road time, they are so much fun. Its quality family time and I love that so much. We get caught up in the every day little things and we forget to take time for us. It's wonderful to look around in the vehicle and know I'm surrounded by love and the people that make me happy and I don't need anything else. 
Take the time to be grateful for the special people in your life and know that you put them there for a reason. It's truly the little things in life that bring me so much joy. 

Happy New Year! What are the little things that bring you joy? Tell me any great road trip locations that are a must!!

Family pic with the WY sign!