The Corley Family

Stella's First Month

2011-10-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Stella's Fitting for Spencer's Wedding

She's just so little!

Grandpa Gregg

Brianna

Kailey

1st Bath

So fresh & so clean clean

Asleep on her Daddy

1st outing: Joe's Farm Grill

Screaming at Grandpa Earl

Grandma Cindy

Cousin Victoria

Cousin Chloe

Aunt Karri

Uncle Carlos

Cousin Clay

Cousin Cauner

So little!

Chillin with Dad

Patiently awaiting

Aunt Kim

1 Week Old

So Comfy

Smiles

Wrinkled Forehead -- so cute!

Caught sleeping in the same position

Stella's Professional Portraits

2011-10-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

Through a mutual friend, I found an amazing newborn photographer: Kristen Self http://www.kristenselfphotography.com/

My baby advice

2011-10-18T10:24:00.001-07:00

My husband and I were talking about all the advice we were given, and what advice I might in turn give to others expecting their first child. . . I thought I'd write it down, so if anyone wants some advice from me about babies. . .

Before you have the baby:

Don't buy anything until after baby shower - expecially clothes, that's the main gift I received at my shower, not the actual things I needed off of my registery. Now I'm sure to buy things off of other's registery, even though it may seem moring, those are the necessities. That way they don't have to buy the necessities themselves
Wash all clothes and blankets ahead of time
Arrange clothing by what size they look, not necessarily what it says on the tag. Different companies size their clothes differently, (hey, just like adult clothes). I had a cute onsie that said it was for 6 months, and if I hadn't noticed that it was way short, I would have missed out on it fitting Stella at 2 months!
Take a breastfeeding course through the hospital - This was the only class recommended by my doctor. The lactation consultants are kinda nazis though in their philosophy (they want you to offer yourself instead of a pacifier every time the baby cries), so be flexible in what your expectations are
Don't listen to anyone's horror stories! I had an amazing labor & delivery!! In fact, the very day I had my baby, I was holding her in my arms saying that I had such a great experience with the pregnancy/labor/delivery that I couldn't wait to do it all over again!
Enjoy every spare minute you have alone, after you have the baby, even taking a shower is a luxury

To Pack for the Hospital

Bathing Suit Top - it KILLED the first time I showered. and I ended up wearing it every time I showered for the first month
Camera & batteries
Nipple Cream
Bring your own Depends, the underwear the hospital offers is completely worthless

At the hospital:

An epidural doen't make you any less of a hero
Labor is much more of an ab workout than I had expected
I found a birthing mirror quite motivational. I requested a mirror because I wanted to see her, it was great motivation! The hospital staff probably won't think to offer, so you'll have to ask if you want it.
Make sure you get plenty of photos: http://www.lilsugar.com/Must-Take-Pictures-Babys-First-Day-18610522
Don't be afraid to let the nursery take your baby during the night. I told them to feed her by bottle once and then bring her back to me the next time she was hungry. it got me a 5 hour stretch of sleep that I wouldn't get again for a long time.
Use a lactation consultant: I called in a lactation consultant every time I fed her the first few times to make sure I was doing it right. if they are at the hospital, USE THEM!

When you come home:

Be prepared to be in pain and extremely sore for the following two weeks. For some reason, nobody wanted to warn me about this, I heard a billion horror stories about childbirth, but nothing prepared me for how I would feel afterwards
Be prepared to bleed for the next few weeks. I think I had a heavy flow for the first 2, yet continued to spot until week 5.
Ready baby wise - I read this while I would breastfeed. It doesn't make much sense to read before you have the baby, because you can't even act on some of the principles until your baby is a few weeks old. Best advice is the cycle it calls for: eat - awake - sleep

What I couldn't live without

Velcro Swaddle Wraps - These are amazing wraps for your baby to sleep in that they cannot wriggle out of. We used these for Stella until she was 4 months old.
Bouncer Chair - Because I work from home, I am unable to hold my baby all day, Stella loves her bouncy chair. We received ours as a hand-me-down, and it works just great.

This is so true!!!

42 Things That Change When You Have A Baby
My favs:

The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night
You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule
You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one
You learn that taking a shower is a luxury
You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother's perspective and it breaks your heart.
You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like "ahhh" and "oooo."

June 13: Stella's Homecoming

2011-10-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

On our way home

Not thrilled

Passed Out

My New Babe & My "Push Present"

Brandon gave her the "Tour" of our house
"This is Daddy's TV, you don't touch this"

"This is the Kitchen, Mom never goes in this room"

"Stella, you will read all of these books before you start Kindergarden"

Comparison between the ultrasound & the real thing

"Stella, these are all of your clothes"

Our Welcome Home Poster & Balloon

I heart daddy - her coming home outfit

The Poster

The Cute Balloon

June 11-13: At The Hospital

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Sorry the pictures look disorganized. . . here are some of the people who visited Stella during her first few days in the hospital.

Aunt Chelsea & Uncle Chase

4 Generations

Dave & Lindsay

Aunt Natalie

Aunt Karri

Aunt Nikki

Robbie

Katie's CoWorker: Marcy

Katie's CoWorker: Tamara & Alaina. Alaina was so kind to share her birthday with Stella

Wow, we are GLAMOROUS!!

Aunt Audrey

Me & My new Love

Aunt Joey

Screaming baby in my face!

Uncle Spencer

Grandma-Great

New Grandma Cindy

Uncle Logan

Who is the bigger baby?

I love my little orange baby

4 Generations

Say it with me. . . "Awwww"

Brandon's CoWorker: Pedro Gonzalez and Family

This is the morning that we checked out. Brandon held her for a few hours so I could get some sleep

June 11 - Meeting Stella

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Yes, I am ready for THIS!!!

Our Lives are about to change FOREVER

Yay for Contractions

Stella's First Picture

Major Conehead

Me & my Little One

The Delivery Team

New Grandma

New Grandmas

New Grandpa

They waited so patiently

This is the birth story: read at your own discretion, it's basically my journal entry to this event, so it does get graphic at times...

{The parts that have the date & time at the start are text messages that we sent.}

June 1^st 5:09 pm: Just finished at the doctor:I’m 2 cm, 50% effaced. I made an appt for next week, but he said it’s likely Iwon’t need it. :)

June 8^th 3:56 pm : Barely any progress, not quite3 cm :(

June 8^th at 5:05 pm: if it doesn’t startnaturally. . .. scheduled induction for this Saturday at 7:30 am

It was so weird, I woke up to use the bathroom twice onearly Friday morning, throughout the entire pregnancy, I haven’t had the urgeto go in the middle of the night. But here I was, I woke up at 4:30, and then30 minutes later at 5 am.

There was a lot of fluid, but I just couldn’t tell if it wasregular, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. So when we woke up, I casuallymentioned that I thought my water may have broken, but since I had recentlyread that it only happens in about 10% of pregnancies, I just knew that ithadn’t actually happened. I still felt completely normal. No contractions oranything.

So I went to work on Friday morning, when I got to work Icasually mentioned to a few people that I thought my water may have broken,almost jokingly. However, when Adam finally got out of his meeting, I went inand mentioned it to him, just to let him know that I may or may not be leavingearly.

He said that I absolutely had to go to the hospital rightaway and insisted that I call Brandon immediately to let him know he needed totake me to the hospital.

I called Brandon at 10:13 am. and told him that I was on my way home from work, and that he needs to meet me at home and take me to the hospital

Marcy drove me home, where we briefly waited for Brandon, wedropped Marcy off at her own home on our way to the hospital. Going to thehospital was not exactly in our plans, what we had discussed before was that ifmy water broke that we would wait for the contractions to start and get intensebefore going to the hospital.

We got to the hospital where we checked in and they checkedmy dilation at the maternity triage, I was only a half a centimeter more than Iwas two days prior at the doctor’s office.

June 10^th 11:20 am: I think my water broke, we’reregistering at the hospital right now, will keep you posted)

Again the thought of me being mistaken came through my head,so we were relieved when the results came back and yes indeed my water hadbroken!

June 10^th 11:44 am: Yes, it’s been confirmed, mywater did break

Because of this, we learned we would need to deliver within24 hours in order to avoid the increased risk of infection. Dr. Falk visited us while we were intriage and said since we were already planning on getting induced, we might aswell get started on the pitocin (the drug used to start contractions). We weretold that because there is an increased risk of infection when the water hasbroken, that they would not be checking the dilation very regularly.

Brandon and I were taken to Labor & Delivery room #7. Wereceived permission to visit Jessica, who was in Maternity room 1109. Wevisited with her for a short while, and her husband Josh was in there, and wediscussed her labor experience. She had to deliver via c-section due to a lackof dilation past an 8, and then her baby’s heart rate was having issues. Shesaid that there was a strange smell with her amniotic fluid, so her poor littlegirl was being cared for in a special nursery, and she hadn’t really seen muchof her yet.

After a short while Brandon and I returned to our room wherewe began the pitocin drip. It was roughly 1 O’clock. I requested to havesomething to eat, because I knew once the ball got rolling I wouldn’t be ableto eat anything. And hadn’t eaten since my breakfast at 8 am, Golden Grahams.

Kelli & Gregg came buy to visit at about 3 pm, sinceBrandon had been out golfing earlier in the morning, he needed to run home toshower, so the three of them left to give me some time to rest before thecontractions started kicking in.

While they were gone, Lindsay Bennett came by for a quickvisit with a bag full of goodies. It was so sweet of her to stop by even thoughshe didn’t have much time to visit.

I didn’t really get any sleep because of the sounds of themachinery, and the anxiety of the upcoming events.

June 10^th 4:23 pm: The pitocin is working, I’mhaving contractions about every 2 minutes, not very painful yet, just feelslike menstrual cramps.

June 10^th 5:54 pm: Contractions are more intense

Mom and Audrey came by, it was funny because I was able tofunction completely normally between contractions, like hold a normalconversation, but the contractions were becoming just unbearable. I’ve heardstories about women who wait too long in order to request the epidural, so bythe time my contractions were spaced out about a minute apart, I paged thenurse and said “I think I’m ready for my epidural now.”

June 10^th 6:45 pm: Just received the epidural

When I received the epidural, the nerve to my left leg washit, and it made me yelp and kick the nurse who was holding me steady. But oncethe epidural started working, LIFE WAS WONDERFUL, I still had sensation in myskin, but I couldn’t feel anything. I didn’t feel any pain, or could even tellwhen I had contractions. Such a beautiful thing!!!

Brandon was sending text messages on my behalf. . . . theonly thing I would allow him to respond to anyone was “I Heart Epidurals”

At about 8 O’clock the dilation was checked and I was at a6, by 9 pm, I had dialated 3 more centimenters and was at a 9! I was propped upinto a sitting position, with my legs out in a butterfly stretch position whichwould help the baby move further down into the birth cannel. I was told thatwhen I had the intense urge to take a really big bm, that it would be time tocontact the nurse, because that would mean that it was time to deliver. Thenurse even said that she won’t be checking in on me anymore because I was soclose to delivering. By this time, I was also shaking pretty good, the nursetold me it was because I was going through the “transition” phase of labor. Iwas also told to not to try to suppress the shakes, because it would just makeme more sore, and would increase my exhaustion.

June 10^th 9:19 pm: at a 9, should be pushing soon

At about 10 pm Doctor Falk came in to check on progress, Istill hadn’t had the urge to push, so he directed to reduce the epidural byhalf so that I would be able to start to feel contractions, and hopefully feelthe pressure associated with the urge to start pushing.

I still didn’t feel the urge, but I really wanted to be ableto have the baby born on the 10^th, so that there would be a daybetween her and Brandon’s birthday, so at 11 pm I asked if I could startpushing even though I hadn’t felt anything yet. I had also requested to have amirror so that I could see the baby come.

The nurse set up the stirrups, and gave me the directions onhow to push. I was to push by grabbing my thighs with my hands, keep my elbowsup, and push with my abdomen. If I dug my elbows into the bed, that would bewhere all of my power would be forced, so it was important to keep the elbowsup. The mirror was so great because it allowed me to see whether or not mypushes were being effective, and it was so motivational when I was able to seethe top of her head covered by dark hair!

Everytime I felt a contraction, I was directed to push, thenurse would could to 10 three times, and the fourth was always optional, butagain, because I wanted so badly for her to be born on the 10^th, Ionly remember not taking that optional 4^th push once.

At one point, Brandon surprised me because he had been on myright and the nurse asked if he wanted to see the top of her head, and he did!He moved to the foot of the bed and watched her head begin to appear.

After an hour of push I was getting so exhausted. I was SOtired! I was worried that I wasn’t progressing enough and that I would need toget a c-section, which I really didn’t want to do. Between my pushes, Icouldn’t sit still. I remember shaking my legs due to the pain and exhaustion.I also felt as though the oxygen I was administered was inhibiting my abilityto breathe. I hated wearing that mask, but I knew it was important, but aftereach set of pushes, I pulled the mask away from my face to I could get somedeep breaths.

I believe it was about 12:30 am when Dr. Falk was paged andcame in to assist with the pushing, by that time I wasn’t pushing in silenceany more, but Dr. Falk told me I needed to be quiet, so I shut up. When Dr.Falk came in, the mirror was moved, so I couldn’t see what was going on. Ireally wanted to see, but since the doctor was there I knew the end had to benear, so I didn’t have much longer to wait.

Dr. Falk said that he could make more room for her, and ifhe did that she would come out on the next set of pushes. I told him to goahead and make the room. Right as he turned to get the necessary tools toperform the episimoty, I told him that I had another contraction coming on andhad the urge to push, he said to go ahead and push, and when I pushed this timeafter I finished the four sets of pushes, it felt as thought her head waspartway out, but since the mirror had been moved, I couldn’t see exactly whatwas going on.

A warm towel was placed on my chest in preparation for thebaby. The next set of pushes she came out! She was immediately placed on mychest and rubbed down a bit to make her a bit cleaner. Brandon called Natalie’sphone, which was put on speaker so that everyone in the waiting area could hearStella’s first cry.

It felt as thought I got to hold her on my chest for such along time before they took her away to get her bathed and check her APNAR score(she scored a 9 by the way, only missed a point due to her skin color – whichis typical for most babies). For some reason right when she was born, I had theoverwhelming urge to call her Katherine, so strange because it wasn’t even thesame way that my name is spelled!

The first thing that Brandon and I checked was to make surethat our baby was really a girl. We had been worried that she might come out asa boy, and we wouldn’t have anything for her to wear & her whole room wouldneed to be redone!

It took the doctor about 30 minutes to stitch me back up, becauseI wasn’t able to get the episiomaty, I tore, quite a bit. I got a 3^rddegree tear, which means I tore from one hole to the other, not very fun.

I had asked the doctor if I might be able to see the placenta.He prepped it for us really quick, and gave us a walk through. He mentionedthat the umbilical cord was a bit shorter than usual. He held up the cord andsaid this is basically where it attached to the baby, then showed us theamniotic sac and said that this is the sac she resided in with the water, thenhe showed us the placenta

After we were all cleaned up, the family was allowed back inthe room. The grandmas were the first outside of me and Brandon to hold her.Stella was so good, she didn’t cry, she just looked around at everyone.

I was only supposed to have two hours in the labor anddelivery room for recovery, but there wasn’t any availability in the maternityrooms until after 6 pm, so Brandon and I slept in the L&D room. Every 30minutes or so, the nurses would come in and press on my stomach in attempt tohelp my uterus to contract, but every time, I could feel a great rush of bloodpouring out of me. I felt so bad for the nurses because I know it must havemade such a mess! The nurses even changed the sheets while I still laid on thebed. They just had be roll all theway to the right, while they untucked and positioned the clean linen, and thenhad me roll onto the left.

In fact, at one point the nurse asked if I needed to use therestroom, and I said no. She felt my lower abdomen and could tell that mybladder was full, and it wasn’t good because it was pushing my uterus to theside which would affect the placement once it was shrunken down. They had mestand up so that I could use the restroom. It was so difficult to stand. It tookboth Brandon and the nurse to help me stand, but when I stood, another rush ofblood poured out of me, onto the floor. I felt so bad for the nurses that hadto clean up after me. Because I was unable to stand and walk, they put anothercatheter in me in order to drain my bladder because I couldn’t make it to thebathroom. The nurse told me that because I had a catheter when I had theepidural, the mechanism that tells the brain that my bladder is full hadessentially been “turned off” because it hadn’t been used for over 6 hours.

I couldn’t believe how unbelievably sore I was. Probably theworst part of the entire pregnancy/labor/delivery was the aftermath. It was SOdifficult to move. I was so glad that Dr. Falk suggested that we stay untilMonday, I didn’t know how else I would manage to get out of bed if I didn’thave a mechanical bed in order to help me get up.

Using the bathroom was not very fun! And as I write this aweek later, it still isn’t. There are so many steps that I have to do, I don’t knowif it was just because I delivered “the old fashioned way”, or because I toreso bad. But after I use the restroom, I have to spray myself with warm water,pat dry with toilet paper, spray with antiseptic, use two witchhazel pads onewith a foam, and the other with a cream, and then of course have a thick pad tocatch the blood.

Stella had lots of visitors in the hospital which was niceto know that we are so loved, but at one point after someone had just left Isaid that I was so grateful that it was just me & Brandon and not 10seconds later we had another visitor knocking on our door. We had people overconstantly during the day. It got a bit frustrating at times because I neededto get up and walk around in order to help myself heal, but it was nearlyimpossible with people over all the time. Also trying to learn how tobreastfeed and maintain modesty was a huge issue the entire time.

June 11^th @ 9:28 am: Brandon just changed herfirst dirty diaper

Brandon and I have become quite obsessed with our little baby.Because of her small size, Brandon calls her “Little Girl” or sometimes just“Little.” She is just too gosh darn cute!

June 3rd: Girls Night

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Since half of us there were pregnant, we decided to do a photo with just the pregnant gals. . . as you can tell, we never got our act together.

Not sure why I consider this as my "go-to" modeling pose. . . it doesn't quite "work"

Logan's Homecoming {Talk}

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Brandon getting some baby holding practice with Justin & Janalyn's little one

May 14th: The Lake

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May 10: Logan's Homecoming

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April 16 Stella's Baby Shower

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Stella's Room

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Before the room was half painted blue

Brandon surprised me when I got home from a business trip, he already picked up and put together the crib!!!

2011.01.30 Grandma Corley's

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January 2011: Four Peaks

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New Years 2010

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Grandpa Corley's on Christmas Day 2010

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Grandma's new extension, it looks simply amazing! She made excellent choices and it

Christmas Eve 2010 @ the Corley's

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We decided to have an ugly Christmas sweater party. . .

As you can see, only three of us participated. . .

the "Kid" table. . .

Our annual White Elephant Christmas Gift Exchange, as you can see, I am thrilled by the number I picked. . .

Spencer explaining the way the world works to Clay

Grandpa!

me and my handsome hubby

Spencer & Nikki

You can tell Spencer was thrilled to pick out the makeup case

Kim opened a printer!!

Gregg happy with Home Depot

Looks like a date night to the Outback is in their future

Somehow Chloe always WINS

I love the Cheesecake Factory

Chloe displaying her swagger

Two Date nights?!?

Catch Phrase!

oh, the epic glass platter must be retired. Booooo

I always somehow get lucky enough to see my friend Brian Slade on Chrismas Eve

A nearby house with synchronized lights

2010.12.23 Rito's Market & Mexican Take Out

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crammed in the back of the Tahoe
The Legendary Ritos
The Family
There's nothing quite like Rito's!
907 N. 14th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85006-3526

A Little Announcement

2010-12-20T12:45:00.000-08:00

a few of you may already know that after struggling for 3 years with infertility, in September I started a new side-blog {http://righteousdesire.blogspot.com/} - it was a blog to be devoted to our process of adoption . . . in October after we devoted ourselves to a weekend adoption conference, we found out the following Monday. . .

I had to take three separate tests, because Brandon didn't believe we were reading it right!
Our first official family photo

I love this picture because it clearly shows the two hemispheres of the brain!! So neat looking!

As of today, we are 3.5 months along, and haven't been too sick {knock on wood}

2010.12.18 Friend Christmas Party

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Brandon and I hosted the 7th annual "Friend Christmas Party"

We had a pretty good turnout

Brandon and his brother basically had on the same shirt, only in different shades

White elephant gift exchange

2010.11.25 Thanksgiving

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2010.10.03 My Graduation!!!

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2010.10.10-12 Grandparents Day

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Natalie and I decided to drive out to California to visit Grandma Van De Graaff for Grandparent's day!

2010.08.21 Saguaro Lake

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2010.08.20 Girls Night

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For this girls night, we played "Just Dance" on the Wii

2010.08.07-12 Laguna Beach Penthouse

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Through some amazing connections, we had the opportunity to stay at a multi-million dollar luxury penthouse right on laguna beach

Isn't this view just remarkable!

Yes, we could see DOLPHINS from our balcony

This is the room where Brandon and I stayed. If anyone truly knows me, they would know that I absolutely abhor making the bed, but I couldn't help myself here! I made the bed EVERY DAY!

Disneyland Day!!!

waiting in line

Tower of Terror

Just outside of California Adventures. . . "C is for Corley"

Pirates!

My prince charming!

I heart roller coasters

Dancing!

This is the view from the bed in the master bedroom of the penthouse we were in!

Family Portrait Beach Photoshoot below

July 29-Aug 1: Lake Powell

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July 25: Homecoming Talk

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July 24: Lake Roosevelt

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Group photo at Grandma Corley's house
Yes, Grandpa is wearing denim jeans on the boat

Teamwork!

July 21: Spencer's Home!

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The anticipation was about more than she could handle!

There's the boy!First family photo in 2 years!Didn't take too long to get him in the pool after he was released

Fourth of July

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Brandon and I invited my family over for a BBQ on July 4th. We ate delicious food and watched Indiana Jones (I know, very patriotic)

Brandon grilled up some awesome hamburgers & hotdogs

Brandon's Birthday: Vegas

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The drive up

outside Paris

It was really windy

This is my favorite picture right now, it was a giant sculpture made out of marble

These are the friends that joined us for this trip, Emily & Joe

Diamondbacks Game with Grandpa Piep

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June Photoshoot

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Dave & Lindsay Bennett came over and had let me play "Photographer" with their adorable kids! It was so much fun

Memorial Day & Grandma's Haircut

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Dad and I made a day trip to California to visit Grandma for Memorial day

My dad was absolutely beside himself when he saw his mother with her new short haircut. He couldn't get over it.
He kept commenting that he's never seen her in short hair, to which Grandma replied, "Now Earl, you're not being entirely honest. You were 1 when I had my last haircut."
To which I replied "Yeah Dad, how could you have forgotten?!"

Clay's High School Graduation

2010-06-26T11:36:00.001-07:00

Brandon's cousin Clay graduated high school, so everyone gathered to celebrate, and watch the UFC fight

me and Victoria, can you believe she's a senior now?

April: Administrative Assistants Day

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For Administrative Assistants Day, I received the most spectacular arrangement of flowers. There is no way that these pictures can even do it justice, and the aroma I inhaled for the next week at work was simply amazing!

April 24th Company Picnic

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I was put in charge of the Botanicare company picnic, so I enlisted the help of some family members to help me put on the show!
Brandon, Kelli, and Chelsea were invaluable! Here's Brandon and Chelsea duking it out in the jousting arena

Boo's Wedding

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April 10th was my cousin Boo's wedding. The reception was spectacular, so much fun!

My first "artificial" bull ride - not to be confused with my first actual bull experience when I was in 4th grade

April: Muse Concert

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On April 9th Brandon and I had the opportunity to go to the MUSE concert, it was truly amazing. We agreed, it was the best concert we had ever been to. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Chairman Award Dinner

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Natalie recently received the Chairman Award from US Airways. It was such an exciting event! She invited me to go as her date, where we got to schmooze with the VPs of USAirways, as well as meet the CEO! I'm so proud of my little sister! (little as in height, not age)

Me and Nannie getting ready for the big event

SMILES!!

Natalie with the CEO and VP

January 30: Grandma Corley's

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On Saturday, January 30th, we drove up to Grandma Corley's to help her prepare for her upcoming home construction. . .

January 17: Charlie

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On Sunday, we got to meet Charlie, someone who Spencer taught while in Florida. . .

Charlie and Grandpa got REALLY close!

January 15-17: Tiffany's Wedding {Utah}

2010-01-19T09:53:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I joined my family for a trip to Utah for my cousin Tiffany’s wedding. It was so cold outside, the high was never more than 32 degrees. It was nice to actually experience some winter weather for a change, but at the same time, I’m glad the trip was short and we don’t have to live in a place like that!

At the airport, waiting for the rental carUtah public transportation, on our way to GatewayMan, am I glad we flew!Yes, I am wearing boots that make me taller than Brandon, but I asked permission first and he was a good sport!Van De Graaff Brothers! Wayne, Earl & KenTiffany looked absolutely stunning! {We kept saying that she looked like a celebrity}

One of the Highlights of the Holidays. . .

2010-01-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of the holidays. . . .
Is seeing FRIENDS!!!

Friend Holiday Party: Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Dinner with Brianna: Saturday, January 2, 2010

15 New Posts

2010-01-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

Lots of catching up to do. . . Enjoy!

December 25: Best. Christmas. Gift. Ever.

2009-12-31T14:02:00.001-08:00

Chelsea & Chase have this ongoing "disagreement" about Hooters. You can guess who is on which side. . . Well Brandon and I decided to give them a Hooter's Sponsered Christmas!I wrapped the gifts especially well, so as not to give anything away. . .Chelsea's First Reaction, I like how you can clearly see Chelsea's discust, but Chase is laughing! Not only did Chelsea receive a Hooter's pink T-Shirt and a $10 gift card. . . .But a shirt for Chase. . . with his face photoshopped with three lovely Hooters girls! Below is the original picture that I had Sean (the Graphic Design Artist at my work) "modify" and used that image for the printed t-shirt and coffee mug (which I hear Chase uses every chance he gets).

December 24: Christmas Holiday

2009-12-31T13:58:00.001-08:00

December 20: Temple Lights

2009-12-31T13:55:00.001-08:00

December 12: Salem's Holiday Party

2009-12-31T13:50:00.000-08:00

December 5: Quading

2009-12-31T13:46:00.000-08:00

November 29: Renee's Wedding

2009-12-31T13:44:00.001-08:00

On my 27th birthday, I was honored to be a part of Renee's Bridal party! The wedding was beautiful!
I stole all of these pictures, let me know if they need to be removed

November 26: VDG Thanksgiving

2009-12-31T13:39:00.000-08:00

For the past few years, my family and I have driven to California for the day to be with Grandma and Grandpa for Thanksgiving, this year, the Gilbert and Utah cousins joined us. It was so great to see everyone!I stole some of my pictures from Chelise's blog. . . Above is a picture of the Utah cousins. Joey just trying to burn off some of those Thanksgiving calories
Me and $Money$

November 20: New Moon

2009-12-31T13:38:00.000-08:00

The four of us sisters got to see New Moon on opening night

September 24: Audrey's Home!

2009-12-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

Audrey returned from her Fort Lauderdale Spanish Speaking Mission!

August 12: Grand Canyon

2009-12-31T13:32:00.001-08:00

Brandon and I had the incredible opportunity to be invited to a wedding that took place on a private rim of the Grand Canyon. It was so amazing. The only room available when we booked had two beds, so we invited Kelly & Robbie to join us.
The picture below was taken right ourside our hotel room, this elk was MASSIVE!!!

August 25: Incubus

2009-12-31T13:27:00.000-08:00

Brandon suprised me with tickets to see my favorite band, Incubus! It was such a great suprise, and an incredible show. They are so talented!!!

July 30 - August 2: Lake Powell

2009-12-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

The Corley's took us for a trip to Lake Powell. Our Mission: To go the end of the lake!

This picture was taken at the same place where we had the houseboat in 2008, the most amazing spot!This is how far we went.
Outside the place Gregg rented, it was about midway up the lake, and we each got our own bedroom, it was so nice!! A wonderful suprise!

July 25, 2009: Wicked

2009-12-31T13:15:00.000-08:00

This was my third time to see Wicked. We bought our tickets months in advance. We were bummed that the seats were 10 rows further back than we were told (we were supposed to be 8th row, dead center) and Brandon didn't even get to sit on the same row. I guess nothing will ever compare to the first time (thanks Millers!) The production was still amazing.

July 11, 2009: Baseball Game w/Grandpa Piep

2009-12-31T13:10:00.000-08:00

Even though Grandpa Piep is a huge sports buff, this was the first Major League Baseball game he has ever attended! My cousins The Webbs got us these tickets, it was so much fun!

July 3: Lake

2009-12-31T13:02:00.001-08:00

proof that I actually got up on a wakeboard (even though it was for only a few seconds)

June 23-28: Colorado

2009-06-30T12:35:00.002-07:00

These are pictures of our recent vacation to Colorado with Kelli & Gregg Corley

DAY 1 (Tuesday, June 23): Arrival to Durango, Colorado

This is the plane that Brandon and I flew out on, it's the smallest plane that I've ever been on, there was only 9 rows, and only 2 seats on each side of the aisle. We flew into Durango, Colorado where Kelli & Gregg had been for about a week before we showed up. The Durango airport was so tiny, Brandon kept comparing it to the size of a Walgreens! Until the moment we touched down, it totally looked as though we were landing on a grass field.
This is the first place that Kelli & Gregg showed us, aparantly there's a scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid that was filmed right here!
Kelli & I in the back of the Jeep
It rained every day we were there, this picture it kinda looks as though it is snowing, huh?

DAY 2 (Wednesday, June 24): Durango/Silverton Train

DAY 3 (Thursday, June 25): Jeep Touring

These Llamas were so funny, it almost looks like they were posing for this picture, because when we drove by they all stopped what they were doing and were watching us like they were frozen.
proof that we made it to the top of Cinnamon Pass
How Beautiful!

Poker Alice was DELISH! We highly recommend their pizza! I also sipped on Ghirardelli hot chocolate there!

Proof that we made it to the top of Engineer Pass

DAY 4 (Friday, June 25): River Rafting

Kelli was determined to see a bear in the wild while we were in Colorado, the only one we saw was this guy chillin on the bench outside the chocolate store in Durango.

DAY 5 (Saturday, June 27): Alpine Slides & Moab, Utah

Fun, Fun, Fun! Draining the sewer tank of the motorhome!
on the ski lift
I look rather ghostly on this picture because I tried messing with the color, oh well

Brandon and I thought we were SMOKIN down the Alpine Slides, until these two boys came racing up behind us! The one behind Brandon said "Come on, hurry up Buddy"

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-06-30T12:35:00.001-07:00

For Memorial Day Weekend, we all packed up and went to the Showlow/Pinetop/Lakeside area to help Grandpa with his cabin.
Victoria and I found an old mattress to jump onLoading up the trailer to take to the dump Our drive to the dump. We got there literally 7 minutes after they closed, and they refused to let us in. Chase even called and spoke to the guy in the office, we had to take all of the trash back!! Can you believe it?!?
Raking up pine needles
The girls being dog-piled by the boys
me and my mountain man!
I got to scrub the bathtub (I should have taken a "before" picture, it was DISCUSTING!)
Chloe got to scrub the toilet, she did a great job!

Pay It Forward

2009-05-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me (yeah for handmade!).

2. If you are one of the first three to make a comment, you are a winner! And you then agree to post this challenge on your own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count!

4. When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward.

Enjoy!!!!This should be fun!

Saguaro Lake

2009-04-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

We went to the Saguaro Lake for the first time this year on Saturday. Brandon couldn't go because he had to work :( Even though everything that could go wrong, went wrong (roads were closed, part of our group got lost, boat battery died, tube flew out while driving home), and it was freezing cold and windy, we all had good spirits and had an excellent time!

love ya spence!!!

I live in a model home!

2009-03-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

This is my house. FOR REAL! Brandon and his mom spent all day Monday decorating our downstairs, it looks INCREDIBLE, don't you think? Seriously, it was so nice to come home from work, and have the entire lower level of our house completely decorated. I am so blessed! We will definately be having an "Open House" after we get the upstairs done, and the shutters installed. Can you believe we've only lived here since Friday, and it already looks like this!?!?

This isn't even the master bedroom, this is one of the guest bedrooms, isn't it gorgeous?

Girls Night In

2009-02-22T11:33:00.001-08:00

February Girls Night Out was at Mandy's house, we watched Baby Momma, ate Barro's pizza & other snacks, and chatted the night away!Picking the videoAdventures in camera self timers
The only people not in this picture is Natalie (taking the picture, the self timers didn't quite work out) and Monica who came later

New Home

2009-02-22T11:08:00.000-08:00

We're moving next weekend. We are thrilled to be moving out of Coolidge, and to have a Gilbert address, here are some photos of the amazing new home that we move into in 5 days!!!
View of the Great Room
View from the Living room into the Foyer, Kitchen, then Great Room
Foyer
Kitchen
View of Kitchen from Great Room (notice the dirty carpet)

Same room after having the carpet cleaned, my guy did a great job, let me know if anyone would like a referral! We are EXTREMELY satisfied, and for a great price!

Las Vegas

2009-02-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I had the amazing opportunity to enjoy a long weekend with David & Lindsay Bennett in LAS VEGAS. We flew out on Thursday, February 5th, shared a room at the MGM, and enjoyed a weekend of fun! When Lindsay and I went to redeem our tickets for Cirque du Soleil LOVE there was some guy fishing for the change in the fountain, so I had Lindsay stand by the fountain for a picture, but really, it was just an excuse to take a picture of the guy stealing the change. The is the "After" picture of David's birthday cake. No "Before" picture was taken. Brandon putting around with Tiger Woods at Madame Tussaund's Wax Museum Me & Cameron Diaz, just chillin.

This vacation was a lot of fun, I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do (I decided to give Brandon a break). We came back on Sunday, we were planning on flying, but got bumped off our flight, so we rented a car and Brandon drove the whole way home. All on just under 2 hours of sleep. All in all, a very fun and memorable trip with such great friends, Lindsay posed more details on her blog, you can check it out here

Spring Cleaning

2009-01-19T18:31:00.000-08:00

My home desk area was a royal disaster, but since I actually had some free time today, I had the opportunity to clean it! I took a before and after picture of that area. I can't even remember the last time I filed my personal bills, there was quite a lot to do!

Dave & Lindsay, you wouldn't even recognize our loft, it is immaculate (if I do say so myself)!

My next project is to get my craft room organized. I already took a "before" picture, but it is much too embarassing to post until I have the "after" all done.

Augustana

2009-01-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I had the fortunate opportunity to be invited to a VIP event at the W hotel in Scottsdale on Friday, January 9th. We got to go to the rooftop and listen to the band Augustana play to a small audience. They did an amazing job, and it was so fun to go do something different for a change.

If their name doesn't sound familiar, this song should help. . .

Picture OVERLOAD!

2008-12-31T09:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve @ The Corley's

Clay seems uber excited about his Victoria's Secret . .

So as Grandma is leaving the Corley's house on Christmas Eve, I hear someone yelling "Everyone come out here, you gotta look at this" Someone has a car covered in Christmas lights, it's quite amazing, so I run back in the house to grab my camera, and I start taking pictures, I hear one of the fellas in the car say my name. . . .
It's none other than BRIAN SLADE! I hate how I look in this picture, but it's the only one I took. . .

This is some of the day labors that we hired to do some dirty work, looks like they're working hard huh?

Christmas Morning @ The Van De Graaff's

Natalie's Birthday - Going to Chandler Mall

More Flower Magnets (Lindsay made these, they are just TOO adorable)

New Arizona Licence Plate Law

2008-12-18T14:28:00.000-08:00

You have 2 weeks to pass this information on... No one needs a $130.00 ticket. They will give no warning!!! Do you know about this new AZ law?

Everyone please read carefully! This new law takes effect Jan 1, 2009. Please understand you can have a license plate frame holder as long as it doesn't cover the name Arizona on the top your license plate. This is your responsibility as privileged Arizona drivers to know new motor vehicle laws - the state doesn't send out mailings. For more info on new motor vehicle laws click on the link below.

What's new in 2009

My Wishlist

2008-12-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

$49 Curly Wire Card Holder from Pottery Barn

isn't this so cute? I know exactly where I would put it. and I love that it can be hung either horizontally or vertically. Not just for the holidays, great uses the whole year through. I can already see personal photos and wedding announcements to be displayed . . .

Two More Flower Magnets

2008-12-04T11:56:00.001-08:00

I made a few more (20) this weekend, these are the two that I kept, photographs really doesn't do it much justice. My coworkers keep telling me that I should sell them

100th Post!

2008-12-02T15:52:00.001-08:00

Busy Busy Weekend!

2008-12-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26
On Wednesday Brandon and I went with Chase & Chelsea to the Coldplay concert. We actually had quite amazing seats! Right on the aisle of row 23!!

There was a part in the concert that they walked RIGHT BY US! We were seated right on the aisle, so Chelsea actually touched Chris Martin! They went up to the statium seating and and played the scientist from there!
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27
On Thursday Mom, Dad, Natalie, Logan and I piled into my car and took Thanksgiving to Grandma and Grandpa Van De Graaff in Calexico, California

Food Preparation

Mom & Logan Playing with their hair

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28

On Friday, Brandon and I woke up early to do some "Black Friday" shopping. We didn't really have much we were looking for, we picked up Mom's Christmas present, and got some movies, but that was it for us.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28 @ 5PM - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30 @ 9 PM

Brandon and I babysat a coworker's child. She is 3 years old, and is quite brilliant, but let's just say, I'm glad it's done. We joked that we're set for another 4 years of no kids. . . It's different when it's your own kids, right? Please?

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29

My 26th Birthday! Brandon was wise enought to have the two of us celebrate it on Friday before we started the babysitting job. He got me a bunch of wonderful Cricut cartridges, and a WillowTree figurine. On Saturday, we took the girl we were babysitting to my parents house, which was such a relief. For my birthday I also received a projection alarm clock that displays the time on the ceiling, money for a new temple dress, WillowTree Friendship box, First Aid Kits, Woodwick Candle, Wii Fit, Scrapbooking Book, and many wonderful "Happy Birthday" wishes from close friends and family!

Make it a Happy Holiday

2008-11-24T12:58:00.000-08:00

I got this from an email forward:

When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one cared and send it to this address. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get. When you are making our your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

GUIDELINES

All cards must be postmarked no later than Wednesday, December 10, 2008. Cards sent after this date will be returned to sender.
Participants are encouraged to limit the number of cards they submit to 25 from any one person or 50 from any one class or group. If you are mailing a larger quantity, please bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes. Each card does not need its own envelope or postage.
Please ensure that all cards are signed.
Please use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
Please send cards as opposed to long letters which delay a quick review process.
Please do not include email or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
Please do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
All cards received may be used in program publicity efforts, including appearing in broadcast, print or online mediums.

find out more information at http://www.redcross.org/email/saf/

Wheelers are in Town!

2008-11-22T21:54:00.000-08:00

I'll Be Your Bella, If You'll Be My Edward

2008-11-22T21:41:00.001-08:00

Lindsay and Kim made these adorable T-Shirts for us to wear to Twilight. . .

Thank you Mel and Lindsay, I had an awesome time!

Report Elder Abuse

2008-11-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

Sorry, this was too funny to keep to myself. It's a picture of Brandon's brother, Elder Corley, currently serving his mission in Tampa Florida

Best. White Elephant Gift. Ever.

2008-11-17T08:32:00.000-08:00

you can get it here

I Actually Finished A Craft!

2008-11-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

Seriously, how adorable are these! I was actually home for a few hours today (I know, crazy, right?) So I actually had time to finish the magnetic flower crafts from last night. Aren't they adorable? I love them, they're so easy to do, too.

P.S. Bea, I figured out a SUPER easy way to create the wire flowers, I'll have to show you when I return the wire to you this weekend.

November Girls Night Out (GNO)

2008-11-16T13:05:00.000-08:00

The second girls night out took place at Bea's house last night. We had so much fun that we didn't leave until after midnight!

I'm kinda bummed that Mandy isn't in this picture, but she was there too!

Bea did an excellent job setting the table, it was so adorable that we were all taking pictures. . . The food was DELISH! Thank you Bea!

I should have taken more pictures when we were crafting, but here's what I worked on. They're flower magnets. They aren't finished yet, I still have to do the adorable wiring part, I'll post pictures when I complete them.

U-G-L-Y You Ain't Got No Alibi

2008-11-15T09:16:00.000-08:00

I stole this from Bea's site - It's probably a good thing that we don't have any kids, those two don't stand a chance!
Hey Bea, it looks like our girls have the same baby daddy!

Personality Test

2008-11-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

Chase sent me a link to some personality tests, so I took it when I SHOULD be working on my paper.

Kinda funny that on this "Needs" personality test, that I would get rated as "distraction" especially that I took this test to further procrastinate yet another paper due in 5 hours. . .

To see this personality test, click on this

Work Halloween Costume Party

2008-10-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

Our "Pre-Costume"
Christina & I as Bacon & Eggs
We recruited some Toast
Our submittal for the pumpkin carving contest, my brother would be so proud!

In Honor of our 4th Anniversary. . .

2008-10-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Even though it was a week ago, I thought I'd share some random facts about me and Brandon, in honor of our 4 year anniversary:
1. We still are unable to sleep under the same blanket. We try about every 6 months, but it never lasts through the night. We still sleep under the same blankets we grew up with.

2. Brandon knew both of my older sisters before he and I met. Brandon was in my oldest sister's "Pioneer Family" during the trek, and he and Natalie had A hour Mr. Hawkins together in highschool.

3. We take the exact same time to get ready in the mornings. I shower at night. It's great because we wake up at the same time, and head out the door together.

4. We both wrote a letter to Steven Spielberg at around the same time in our youth. I wanted to be an actress in his next film, and Brandon wanted to direct.

5. We share a mutual dislike for country music.

This is what kept me busy last weekend. . .

2008-10-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

My boss' 40th Birthday party

This is me getting caught messing with the DJ equipment. (the music had stopped, but I got it started!!)

with coworkers

Me and Natalie caught washing dishes, this is what we did the ENTIRE night! The party didn't end until 3 am!

REFERENCES

DJ was Jaime Narvaez

This Brandy, everyone's favorite Go Go Dancer

Go Go Dancers by Steven Levine Entertainment

Flowers by Cactus Flower

Alcohol by Bevmo!
Catering by Atlasta
Equipment Rental by Y-Knot Party Rentals
Photography by Joe Jankovsky
Security by Paragon Protective Services
Valet by Desert Parking

Pictures from Glass Etching

2008-10-17T10:28:00.000-07:00