Yesterday

Tahoe

2012-01-02T09:04:00.001-08:00

TAHOE

We spent Christmas with Preston's mom and bros then headed to Tahoe to see my fam and baby Lincoln, who I am maybe so obsessed with.

My favorite Baby Lincoln.

Matt, Jules, Babylink

Kes and Lincoln

Niece, Kes,

My Street in Tahoe

My awesome dad made these 7ft snowflakes and they are all over Tahoe. Too bad there's noreal snow yet. whaaaa?? So strange to have no snow in Tahoe for Christmas.

Oh, and why wouldn't my dad get me this crocodile skin purse with a real stuffed crocodile sewn to the front? He would. he did. he's an awesome present giver. We never know what we'll get. I feel like my dad should have his own show. He spends the year finding the most obscure oddities and coolest things. It makes for an amazing Christmas.

Last year, from my dad, Preston got a ship in a bottle, a machete, and a Dexterish knife set. This year all the boys got guns which they could not be more stoked about.

We really had such a great year. 2011 was a hit. I've loved traveling with Preston. We have been to about 30 states since August. And been able to visit friends all over the country. We had a 3 week break for Christmas and we'll head out again on the 10th of Jan. for another 60ish shows.

We spent New Years in Salt Lake at a big dance party.

We got to help throw all the balloons out to the crowd.

I felt real important and more static-y

2012

These guys made theses awesome outfits.

Sewed track suits out of stripper material just for New Years.

I loved it.

Just Preston dancing for 2000 peeps

NYE

This super long post is to make up for the fact that i hardly ever post any more, but i'm going to get better at it.

Baby Love

2011-11-13T06:38:00.000-08:00

Oh is he not the kissiest sweetest looking baby in EVER? This picture stole my heart. I am so soooo sooooo in love with baby Lincoln. Matt and Julie are amazing. Shauna and I are going to be the best aunts.

i held an alligator

2011-11-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

We met these animals and peeps at the last conference Preston played. The conferences are a ton of acts/ cool stuff colleges can bring to campus. Everything from animals, spoken word poets, Mr. Belding or Uncle Joey, comedians, bands and Preston. The conferences are so much fun.

Reno 911 guys. So nice. So funny.

My dream come true.

I really have always wanted to hold an alligator.

I felt like one million dollars.

This is Preston's monkey girlfriend, Mindy. She is at a lot of the conferences Preston goes to. The last time he saw her she sat on his shoulder and tongue kissed him. for real. He has video of it and its one of my favorite things. This time she just stole his hat. I think I want a monkey pet.

This is Halloween Preston. We spent it in Indiana with Seth and Maddy. We watched scary movies and went to a haunted house except I chickened out the last minute and didn't go in.

oh hey

2011-11-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

lets be honest. im not a great blogger.

We've been on the road since August. we got to go home once for 6 days. now we're back out. yesterday we were in Indiana today we're in Michigan. We've been in at least 25 different states over the last few months.

we probably drive about 3 hours a day. and every week and a half we have a big 10 or so hour drive. i get carsick in the passenger seat and Preston speeds without cruise control and gets tickets. so i drive 95% of the time.

His shows have been awesome. He played a conference last week to book shows for the spring and was the number one booked act of the whole thing. He has never played a conference where he hasn't had the most bookings. He plays about 60-70 shows a semester. That's a ton. He works real hard and i'm real proud of him.

My jobs on this tour: I drive, I read a lot of books, keep us eating healthy, find cool stuff for us to do in the cities we're in, find a church to go to when we're not driving on a Sunday. and keep us up to date on awesome tv shows. basically, what would Preston do on the road without me?

TV: We think New Girl is not as funny as it should be and i'm over it. Up All Night is sooooo much funnier than we thought it'd be. like so great and funny. It's the current fav. We tried to watch An American Horror Story. Its real cool and awesome story line and cast, but i'm such a wuss. I wish I could do scary creepy shows and movies, but after the first episode I was so scared and creeped I could hardly sleep, then woke up a hundred times that night just thinking of the creepiness. So I think i'm checked out of that one.

We are reeeeal excited for Thanksgiving. We get to go to california and meet Julie and Matt's new baby Gillrie. I am so excited to have a nephew.

Scranton

2011-09-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

In the past couple weeks we've been through a dozen states. Preston's shows have been going so great. I get to see him perform every night and every night I still find myself so impressed and in such awe of him. He is so so good at what he does.

We have been in Pennsylvania the past week or so. We were driving down the freeway going a good 70mph, listening to the new Lil' Wayne record. I looked in front of us and saw a good sized chunk of pipe from the overpass fall down. I watched it, watched it and watched it until crashed down directly on our windshield.

For real.

It was like incredible timing.

Teeny glass chunks and glass dust covered our laps. We were so shocked. It hit super hard. And really, it hit in the perfect spot. Any higher and i'm sure it would have gone through the window and hit Preston right in the money making face. We were real thankful for the timing of the whole thing. We went to a car wash to vacuum up all the glass inside the car, called our awesome insurance agent and got it all taken care of pretty quickly.

But really how weird is that?

A piece of the overpass fell down and hit us?

Real crazy, Scranton.

We are here in PA for a few more shows, then New York, then Missouri and on from there. We are doing great, having fun and even though i packed enough clothes for 3 months I think i've worn the same 3 outfits the entire time.

i love tracy jordan

2011-08-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

This fall i'm traveling with Preston. We spent the last 2 days driving through 6 states, eating lots of candy and re-watching season 1 of 30 rock which is sooo funny. so so. Preston had his first show of the tour today in Indiana. Such a great time. Southern Indiana pretty much looks like Idaho except instead of potato fields its corn and instead of bugs that don't glow, its fireflies. Real pretty. From here, we go to Iowa, Missouri, Pennsylvania and almost every state in between. I'm excited to see places i've never seen and get to spend time with Preston. And for season 2 of 30 rock.

Havasupai round 2

2011-07-27T15:09:00.001-07:00

This year's Havasupai trip was a dream.

We took a helicopter into the canyon

Best decision I've ever made.

For real.

If you are on a 10 mile (each way) backpacking trip and

there is an option to take a 3 minute helicopter ride instead,

always opt for it.

You won't regret it.

But take a good picture of your humongous backpack

so you still look as hard core as last year.

This is our Campsite. We slept in trees under the stars.

It rained at least once everyday we were there.

So we we're soooo loving our ponchos

and hammock covers made by Preston

He is a problem solving genius.

We had a blast.

Hiking, eating, cave exploring, swimming,

cliff jumping, the works

And, yes, we accidentally wore matching outfits.

We filled our water bottles from waterfalls

you could straight drink from

Teal water like nowhere i've ever seen before.

Havasupai is such a beautiful place.

I love love it all.

Havasupai, I love you and now that I don't actually have to hike to get to you, I think i'll see you again next year, and the year after that and the year after that.

A rescue story

2011-07-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

Preston and I were swinging in our hammock

when we saw a bright yellow smiley face scamper across the lawn.

It was this guy.

Really, owner of turtle? a smiley face?

embarrassing.

After we decided that it wasn't any of our neighbors' pet

Preston scooped him up in a cooler and we took him to the pond.

He ran to the water and dove in.

He was like the happiest turtle i've ever seen

and not just because of his yellow back tat.

We felt like one million dollars the rest of the day.

4th and the 5th

2011-07-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th at the Rexburg parade which is always a dream.

Candy, The fire truck hose full blast in the streets, ladies walking on horses backs, Chevron gas station workers doing choreographed dances to Grease Lightning...We got the good stuff this year.

We headed to IF for fireworks with our friends the Brady's.

I love love love the 4th of July. First cause the fireworks (and Idaho Falls has one of the best shows in ever), and second cause when it turns midnight it's my birthday, which I super love.

So now it's my birthday! 27. Whoa. We woke up and rode bikes all around our little town, packed our backpacks and now we're headed off to this little dream land. For real. I love me some Havasupai

I'm glad he was born

2011-06-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Preston

You're makin' 30 look real good.

schools out for summer. except that it snowed this morning. which makes me not feel so summery.

2011-05-26T20:40:00.001-07:00

My first year of teaching.

My first class.

And aren't they dolls in their grad hats? And do you spy the tuxedo t-shirt? My favorite.

Today was the last day of school.

We did Kindergarten Graduation yesterday

so we could straight party today.

I'm talking hula-hoops, parachute, popsicles,

Justin Bieber freeze dance contest...the works.

The Pre-school teacher, me and the other kindergarten teachers got together and choreographed a dance to Rebecca Black's "Friday" to do for our kids. Maybe your thinking- what teachers take the time to make up a dance to perform just for their students? Um...Awesome ones who hang out way too much and have too much sugar and caffeine all the time. The kid's reaction was so funny. Real confused. like why is my teacher dancing for me? and how does she know this song?

We ended the dance by silly stringing them all. It was a blast.

I will so miss my kindergarteners.

I'm not teaching next year because this guy has 70+ shows booked just Fall semester and about that many for the rest of next year. This year has been crazy with Preston gone so much and me spending all my time teaching or lesson planning and we feel like we deserve some time to just be together more than a lot. So we're going to tour the country together next year.

And then i'll teach again forever after that. Because I really love it like an unreal amount. It is so fulfilling and rewarding. The chance to get to connect with so many children and play a role in their lives is beautiful. This year has been the best year of my life. hands down.

MOM

2011-05-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

We painted portraits of our mom's for Mother's Day.

They turned out incredible. These kids are 5 and 6.

I also interviewed each kid about their mom.

Turns out their mom's range from ages 9 to 78

The absolute majority of their favorite things to do include:

1. laundry, 2. cook and clean,

3. vaccuum, 4. clean my room and do homework.

Meet some of the Kindergarten Moms:

Christian lives with his grandma, Cindy.

She is 18 years old, loves adult food,

cooking and cleaning and she is the very best duster.

Kason's mom looks like she's on the cast of Jersey shore.

He's pretty sure she's 16 years old,

but he hasn't measured her yet.

Parker's mom will turn 78 on May 19th! exciting! Mostly because she has a 6 year old, a 3 year old and a 9 month old baby. She is looking great for 78. She also loves the color orange because they used to live in Texas and Parker told me everything is orange in Texas.

Samantha's mom, Patty, is a 13 year old shop-a-holic

who loves ice cream and anything purple.

She likes to be called Patty Mama.

(I said, 'Sammy is that really what you call your mom?'

she said 'no, but I want to.')

Here is MY pretty mom.

Wedding announcement 1981

Church last Sunday 2011

She is the best lady in ever. She is constantly learning. Ever since I can remember she has been taking random classes at the college. she took a wildflower class when we were kids and would take us on hikes and teach us the names of all the flowers. She took a belly dancing class and we looooved to play dress up in her tinkling, jingly bra costume. She has been taking photography classes for the past few years and is an amazing photographer. She wakes up early most mornings to watch photo shop tutorials and will stay up all night editing pictures. She doesn't do it for money, even though she could make bank. She does it out of simple joy and love of learning. She is inspiring to me. I love my mom so so much. more than I can ever say. I am so thankful for the way she has lived her life. She is a constant example of love and charity.

And she's really funny without trying.

Shouldn't have left you, without a dope beat to step to.

2011-04-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

For Easter my mom sent me pictures of my baptism.

I had never seen these pictures before.

It was my favorite Easter gift.

(I'm on the far left with the awesome wannabe Zack Morris bangs.

Which battle Tresa's bangs for worst ever.)

Preston has been touring a lot and i've been loving Kindergarten a lot. I've also been loving Survivor a lot. How have there been 22 seasons of Survivor and this is the first one i've ever watched? It's so good. like scream at the t.v. and geek out alone in the living room good. And I'm still not sure if I love Boston Rob or hate him.

He's one of those people.

Also, this happened...

Its a key. IN my tire

Which is so so weird. How do you run over a key in such a way that it impales the tire completely?

I have just 4 weeks of Kindergarten left this year. Preston has 1 week of shows left. Then we are vacationing fools all summer. We really do deserve it. So far we have a Caribbean Cruise booked. Havsupai permits reserved. A Kentucky trip, a Tahoe trip and a lot of real lazy summer days planned.

Oh, I dream of summer. Or even Spring. We're not feeling any of it here.

It snowed today. really. I don't mind cozy winter, but i'm over it.

Except I do love this winter picture.

We went to the Midway ice castle with Matt and Jules. Preston decided a shirtless photo shoot would be the best decision for him. Turns out he was right.

The end.

Be my

2011-02-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

Can you even think of a better Valentine's Day gift? Its a blow dryer with a

Ferrari designed engine in it!

It seriously dries my thick frizzy hair in less than 10 min.

whoa. usually takes me like 30.

Plus it has a turbo button that'll blow your face off.

really. I feel like a billionaire.

A Ferrari blow dryer? whaaat!

Real cool. Good job, Press.

Plus I got a whole lot of these.

Which kind of makes me very happy.

It was most of the kids' first real Valentines.

They were so excited to hand out and get their little treats from each other.

Kindergarten is maybe one of my favorite things.

100

2011-02-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

Today was the 100th day of school.

Its kind of a big deal. We celebrated hard.

I gave each student a lime green $100

and asked what they would buy.

Which one of these 5 year olds

do you think will be a millionaire?

A Zebra

A Volcano

Jelly Beans

I would put it in my savings account.

A water park, A shark, and a ninja

were some of the other choice answers.

Oah I love you Mooah

2011-02-09T19:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day. I love Love. And i love love this.

All of it.

And I can't stop singing it.

Don't don't play with your food.

2011-02-07T18:17:00.000-08:00

Preston just bought this for his friend Olive.

Ms. Food Face -Dinner Meets Dress-up Plate.

I'm insanely jealous.

I feel like i'm not too old for a present like that.

So what if Olive is 6 and i'm 26.

I'm just saying.

How much cooler would any meal be eating off one of these?

My birthday. I want one.

He seriously loves her.

He gets to see her and her fam when he goes to

New York which, the last couple months,

has been more often than he's been in Idaho.

Press + Olive= BFF.

Especially after she receives that plate in the mail.

Olive got a plate, but I did just get to spend the best weekend maybe in ever with Press. Next post.

It was so fun to be together after a couple weeks apart.

So fun.

what's cooler than being cool...ice cold

2011-02-02T16:56:00.001-08:00

NEGATIVE 20 degrees this morning. -32 with wind chill. For real. 15+ districts in SE Idaho closed school. not mine. Ridiculous. Just picture those tiny little kids walking to the bus stop. Freeeeezing. My ears almost fell off my head just walking from the car to the building.

The good news is: Punxsutawney Phil
did NOT see his his shadow - predicting an early spring. Which I love the idea of.

Today in kindergarten a boy told me that he was sad about

Phil seeing his shadow cause he loves winter.

Not because of sledding and hot cocoa and snowmen.

...Because he can see where his dog pees so he knows where not to walk.

A few things I love

2011-01-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

-Grey's Anatomy. So so so much. Everything about it. Every week.

-My new glasses. I had no idea I was seeing everything blurry until them.

I seriously spend a good chunk of each day staring at things with, then with out the glasses. It blows my mind every time.

-That Preston gets to record a new record

because his kickstarter project got fully funded!

like whoa. Thank you, Thank you generous people.

-Trips to Tahoe to see the family

-Preston's brother lives in China and brought this back.

Yep buy two Snickers Chocolate bars...get a free battery!

And on the battery itself is a little reminder that says: Do Not Eat.

-Julie's hair. ugh its only so so cute. I die.

-This youtube video

-Kindergarten. Its real funny.

Yesterday a little boy got to miss recess because he called a girl a 'butt jerk'.

It was real hard for me not to laugh.

-Shauna and p.s. I really miss you more than a lot.

xoxo

2010-12-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

OOOOHH I can hardly wait.

I feel so Christmasy this year.

Maybe its all the kindergarten crafts

Or that we've been ripping links off our paper

Christmas countdown chain every day since

Thanksgiving.

Or that we have a Holly Madison bobble head doll

instead of an angel on our tree.

I loooove it.

I'm still not into Christmas music.

But i'm into everything else Christmas.

Let it Snow

2010-12-19T12:47:00.001-08:00

Woke up this morning to this. And it still hasn't stopped.

Perfect cozy sunday.

Church, Taco Soup, Wrapping Christmas presents,

Arrested Development and cuddling with Press.

It won't be long

2010-12-05T08:23:00.000-08:00

We have a good life. We both get to do exactly what we have always wanted to do. Since I can remember, I have wanted to be a teacher. i love love my job. My Kindergardeners inspire me and remind me of everything lovely in life. Preston is so good at everything he does. He is brilliantly smart and so handy. His passion is music and he gets to do it as a profession and support our little family by traveling the country and playing songs from his heart. How cool is that. This means that our life lately consists of Press being out of town at least a couple days a week. This last trip he has been gone for a week. We are both pretty independent people and I do fine by myself, But of course we are so much better together and sometimes, a lot of times I miss him. bad. So we go on skype dates and talk a bajillion times a day and I tell him about kindergarten and Grey's and he tells me about New York and Vermont and Wisconsin and airports and shows that went real well and ones where he accidentally dedicated 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' to the only Jewish girl in the room.

So Thank you technology. because seriously, how did life even exist without cell phones and Skype and youtube and texting and Modern Family? Thank you technology. Cause you make Preston feel a little less far away even when he is miles of air and road and land away.

One thing that is nice about having time to myself is that I am extremely productive. Like just last night I watched at least 3 episodes of Greys Anatomy while cutting out 40 giant paper candy canes, separating 20 boxes of crayons by color, and water proofing all my snow boots. Oh, and I shaved my legs. Happy Saturday night.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-04T19:13:00.001-08:00

We flew to Tahoe. It was real snowy.

Then We road tripped to San Jose

To See Aunt Babe and Uncle Tony:

Babe

Tony

It was so nice to just be with my family.

I love love them.

Mostly we were real lazy. Ate a lot, lounged a lot.

We got Lou Lou a Lady Gaga hair piece.

Looks very nice. Can you believe she is 11 years old?

So pretty. She's my oldest niece.

Then theres Kes who is the cutest 3 year old ever.

I think I'm obsessed with her. Good job Tresa. She is real perfect.

I can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas.

Dear family can you please all move to Idaho?

Immediately?

Our Kindergarten Thanksgiving was awesome. We partied hard, then watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and ate popcorn. I wish I could post more pictures but I feel like its maybe not ok to put pictures of the kiddies on my blog. But this one's just the back of their cute heads loving Charlie Brown, so I think its ok.

Yesterday

2010-11-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in kindergarten...

Little girl motions me to lean in real close then whispers in my ear:

"Mrs. Pugmire did you know there are two kinds of P? One is like the letter P.

P says 'puh'. The other one is like I have to go pee really bad."

Me (laughing): you're right

Little girl: "and I really do have to go pee.

thats what made me think of it."

______________________________________________

-Then the other day at recess another girl

in my class came up to me tapping her chin & said:

"Mrs. Pugmire right? I remembered you!!

Want to know how I remembered it was you?...

(I think: um...because I'm your teacher and have been every day for the last 3 months? Or because I JUST saw you in class 2 minutes ago?)

...I remember your earrings.

And I remember your voice."

Perferct.

And I really do wear the same earrings like everyday,

but its a good thing, huh?

Cause how else would my students know it was me when

they saw me on the playground?

ALSO.. We made these turkeys for art the other day. They turned out so funny looking, more like deranged big birds than thanksgiving turkeys. But my favorite part is that without any provocation from me, all the boys cut the eyelashes off their turkey eyes. I noticed it and asked one of the boys if it was an accident.

He said: no, you accidentally gave us girl eyes.

Girl Turkey

Boy Turkey

Its been a while

2010-11-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my pictures today. These made me happy...

First: Preston's little brother, Kason is so into art. He draws constantly. We took him to a local art show a few months ago. He fell in Love with Makana's style.

So Makana offered to come over and teach him some things.

They cut up magazines and drew tattoos all over pretty girls.

Second: Double Rainbow! Right over our house!

What does it mean?

Look at Preston geeking out.

Third: Belly Dancers opened for Preston when he played in Tacoma.

How funny is that?

Fourth: We got to go to SUU last weekend. Preston played with We Shot The Moon. Jonathan is launching his solo career and just raised over $13,000.00 in a month on kick starter to record his album. So cool. People are amazing and generous.

Preston loves Jonathan a lot.

Like enough to dry kiss him.

Last: These little faces.

It was crazy hair day so we took a crazy class picture.

For Real Last: Preston's mom got these aprons

when she married his dad 29 years ago.

We recently inherited them.

mine says To- For- Preston gets -Gether -Ever

And yes, they're denim.

Saved By The Bell

2010-10-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Why, yes that is Preston and Mr. Belding

They met at a conference this week in Tennessee.

He sent me this picture probably to make me extremely jealous,

and it worked.

but one time I did meet Uncle Joey from

Full House.

Except I can't find the picture so does it even count?

boom

2010-09-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

Preston made cheesy potatoes. He put them in the 350 degree oven to bake for 45 minutes cause thats what the recipe said to do. At 4o minutes the entire Pyrex pan exploded. Like a nice new heavy duty Pyrex. Weirdest thing i've ever seen.

And way sad, cause the potatoes looked way good.

No big deal, just scooping glass out of the bottom of our oven.

This is a more accurate brown hair picture,

cause the last one looked like black hair.

Kindergarten

2010-09-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

I started teaching kindergarten two weeks ago.

Dream.

Its real fun slash reeeeal busy and my voice sounds like a frog from using a nice friend voice and singing everything all day long. I teach two half day kindergarten classes.

All the kids are to die for adorable. And real funny too.

I died my hair dark because i'm obsessed with Julie and Kristine who are most likely obsessed with Jane's darkness.

this is the only picture i have right this second to post

Preston starts his fall tour at the end of the month. He's going to Maryland and Pennsylvania and a bunch of other East Coast colleges. Then he'll be in the MidWest most of the winter. I'm so proud of him. He works real hard. He played in Rexburg the other night. Such a killer show. He is my favorite

Life...

2010-08-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

I just finished this book for maybe the 5th time.

I am so in love with it every time.

I cannot explain the gooeyness I feel for every word on every page

and the story as a whole.

Perfect.

I think i stop at least once a page and beg Preston

to let me read him a passage or just a phrase.

Julie, who is the best book recommender,

gave me this book a year or so ago

it changed my whole mind about books and reading

and life.

- I got a teaching job this fall. I took 4 state exams last month

and the job is pending I pass all 4 of them

I have passed 3 and am waiting for the results of the last one.

But I feel real confident about it.

Confident enough to post that I have a job this fall

I will be teaching either Kindergarten or 5th grade.

The principal will let me know...

the first day of school.

awesome. keep me on my toes.

-Also, Preston's first name is not Preston, it is Donald after his Grandfather.

We were with all the cousins yesterday and we were guessing middle names. I told his 8 year old cousin that Preston's middle name was Preston.

She looked at me like his parents were the weirdest baby namers on the planet and said.

"His name is Preston. Preston. Pugmire?"

Funny.

Its like when there's some missionaries

whose last name is actually Elder

so their name tag says Elder Elder.

I always think that's so funny.

HAVASUPAI

2010-08-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the most incredible place in ever.

Really.

We hiked down into the Grand Canyon to the

Havasupai reservation.

Dream land.

Preston's whole family came.

Matt planned it all out and it could not have been more fun.

We started down the canyon at 4:30am

I really thought the 10 mile hike would be not too bad.

I've been working out regularly and i've hiked long hikes before,

but this was absolutely killer.

Maybe it was the 20lb pack on my back that did me in

and I think mine was the lightest of the crew's

I felt like a 100 year old lady by the time we got to the camp.

All my joints were creaking.

But it was real worth it.

We hiked through caves and down mountains to waterfalls

Walked for miles through forever green ground to go cliff jumping

stopping to fix my feets

All the boys jumped off the ledge and off the waterfalls.

i took pictures. cause i'm not the jumping off high things type.

We slept in hammocks.

and swam in blue green water.

The hike down was 10 miles, but if you and your hubby and his 14 year old step bro accidentally miss the turn that leads up the switchbacks to the parking lot and follow the river bed instead of the trail for 3 miles in the wrong direction then the sun goes down so its pitch black out and you only brought a key chain flashlight and you're real disoriented and freaking out, then run into another group of lost hikers who just saw 3 mountain lions eating a dead horse so they're a bit more freaked out than you and so you end up hiking in a more wrong direction with them for a few miles before your family organizes a search team to come find you... then the hike out takes about 18 miles plus a few extra creaks in your joints and blisters on your feet.

Bruises on the bottom of my scraped up feet!!

so lately i've been eating ibuprofen like its candy

walking like a gangsta with my gimp legs

sporting slippers

...and dying to go back to Havasupai

and do it all again next year.

Arizona

2010-07-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

We spent a long weekend in Arizona to visit family

It was a mild 115 degrees

and it maybe got down to 95 at night

Maybe

Press took extreme measures to keep cool on the drive down:

yes, that's a wet sock draped over his hot face

and yes he took his shirt off

and rolled it up in the window to block the sun

and yes the car was air conditioned,

but not enough for Preston

Despite the hellish heat, we loved every second of it.

we got to go to Kyle and Jillie's sealing and reception.

We love them madly.

Their reception was one of the best:

mustaches on a stick for photos,

a candy land emporium center piece

where you got to fill yourself a bag full of treats.

an ice cream bar with heart shaped scoops and toppings galore

great music and dancing.

I love weddings.

We stayed with the Kemptons,

Preston's mission presidents.

The kindest people in ever.

President Kempton cooked us breakfast every morning

and Sister Kempton made us a huge basket of treats for our room

Our bed was so high off the ground

there was a stair case to get into it

We felt like royalty

Thank you, Kemptons.

We went to a Diamondbacks/Dodgers Baseball game

The Diamond backs are the worst baseball team

Ever

Its just true

They are really bad &

baseball is a really long game.

but the game was really great

because it ended by the roof of the stadium splitting open

and fireworks going off.

Dream.

We love you, Arizona.

xo

2010-07-14T15:14:00.001-07:00

Preston had summer flowers sent to me

cause he said i'm real summery and real pretty

I think he's real nice

and i'm real glad I married him

LOVE

2010-07-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

Its my Birthday

One of my favorite things about my birthday

is that my mission president and his wife call me

every year.

I've been home for 4 years now.

President and Sister Seal have 10 children

a jillion grandkids

and over 400 missionaries to keep track of.

That is a ton of Birthdays

and I know they remember everyone of them.

They are the best.

Today they called me from Germany!

It was 11:30pm their time and they called

to make sure I knew they loved me.

Thank you thank you President and Sister Seal

for everything you taught me in Oklahoma

and everything you continue to teach me.

You are the perfect example of

LOVE

My last night in the mission home. Aug 2006

At their homecoming last June

Happy Birthday Press and Gwen!

2010-06-28T13:17:00.001-07:00

Sunday was Preston and Gwen's

BIRTHDAY!!

Julie made them the best birthday treats.

Homemade chocolate bowls

with pudding and homemade whipped cream

We spent the day at Mona Lake, relaxing, swimming

(except Gwen who refuses to swim and

will only sit on water noodles in the water.

What kind of dog hates to swim?)

and jumping off the rope swing.

Preston attempting to show Danny up

in the muscle and tan department.

Happy Birthday Press, I love love LOVE you.

Thanks Matt and Jules for such a fun weekend

DAD

2010-06-28T13:09:00.003-07:00

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy

who I love soooooooo much.

He is the best dad in the world.

He...

*Works so hard so his girls can have everything

*Finds the best garage sales and sends Jules and I packages of treasures all the time

*So smart and So funny.

*Loves my mom so much and makes sure everyone knows

*Reads his scriptures everyday and is such a good example

*And the list goes on and on and on.

I love you, Daddy and am so so grateful

for everything you are and do.

Today

2010-06-09T11:59:00.001-07:00

Today I...

mowed our jungle of a backyard

before and after

Joined a Gym. And got a trainer.

I never actually worked out.

That starts tomorrow.

But I felt so fit just for joining that I treated myself to a

big fat burger

Finished My Name is Asher Lev.

Which took me a really long time to read cause its a real thinky book.

But very good. Very.

Next on my endless book list is Franny and Zooey.

Oh and when we went to Vegas a few months ago I definitely entered a drawing to

win a Chris Angel car in the Luxor.

Didn't win the car

but I got a phone call this morning saying that we

DID win a 3 night 4 day stay at the Luxor.

FREE! and its good for a year.

fine Luxor, we'll take another Vegas vacation. My arm is twisted.

Today I feel like a champion

wind up

2010-06-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

The Parents

2010-05-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

We got to spend Mother's Day in Tahoe with my fam.

I LOve Love my parents. These are just a few reasons why...

Their names are Gary and Terri. Its funny. They rhyme.

They just had their 29th anniversary. Whoa.

They sleep on a select comfort bed, you know the ones where each person can choose how much air to put in their side of the mattress so both sleep perfectly?

This is their bed.

My dad's side is set to like -20 and my mom's is +100.

I laugh every time i see it.

Since all us chillins moved out they have gotten 5 dogs

my dad said he'd have a hundred if he could.

(Sydney, Bosley Beans, Zoe, Pico. not pictured, Spencer, the 5th Bell dog)

My mom is an amazing photographer. She is so passionate and sees beauty all around.

She took this in San Diego on a photography retreat she went on.

Pretty huh?

And EVERY time we go home, she does a photo shoot of us.

This one accidentally looks like a senior portrait session.

My dad LOVES The Beatles. He is a master collector. There is an entire room in their house dedicated to his collection. The Beatles Room. Floor to ceiling with the coolest original memorabilia. He has everything Beatles you can possibly imagine.

Its like a museum.

This is just one small corner of the room.

A few more reasons why I love Them...

*They are super supportive of everything we do

*Whenever my dad finds cool stuff at garage sales he puts together surprise packages to send to Jules and me

*My mom thought my dead grandma (her mother in law) was haunting her through her Bosch mixer... so she threw it away and bought a new one.

She also says my grandma haunted her by typing A55 A55 on to her paper reel calculator repeatedly. She says Gma Bell was trying to call her an A-hole from the other side.

They are so great.

Never a dull moment when we go to Tahoe.

2 Years

2010-05-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

For our anniversary a couple months ago we took a trip to Vegas.

It was a dream. Here's the highlights...

Lazy river at our hotel

Preston got Disappeared and then reappeared by David Copperfield,

We found my twin at Mandalay Bay

We went to the Tournament of Kings dinner show. AMAZING you get to eat with your hands, scream Hazaaaa!! and watch jousting, knight fights, fireworks, wizards and midgets. It might have been my favorite dinner ever.

And then we got to go to the Beatles LOVE Cirque show. Dream. It was so beautiful. The music and the acrobatics and the dancing and the flying girls were perfect. Words can't describe it. We went with our friends Oshri and Inbal from Israel. They were on an Israeli Newlyweds television show and won a honeymoon to America. I think for our 5 year anniversary we will go to Israel and visit them.

LOVE

Everything is amazing and nobody is happy.

2010-05-15T22:32:00.000-07:00

Its great. Take 4 minutes and watch it. Really. You're welcome.

BBQ

2010-05-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

For a wedding gift we were spoiled with the nicest stainless steel BBQ grill ever. We spent our whole first married summer grilling up a storm. I don't think i cooked in the house once. Dream.

Then one tragic, dark Rexburg winter death day, A block of ice the size of a train came tumbling off our roof a demolished it to smitherines.

R.I.P. Grill

And its been a bummer for like a year now. And we probably talk about getting a new one twice a week, but we were so spoiled with the first one that we'd have to splurge quite a bit to get a satisfactory replacement.

Last week we were shopping and our dreams came true when we saw that all the grills were on super sale 1/2 off, plus when you buy one you get a $50 gift certificate to go with it! Score.

So we came home with this beauty.

And the grilling season has begun again.

(Even though it's rained or snowed everyday in Rexburg since we got it. Awesome.)

On the road

2010-04-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

So the last few weeks we've been here

and here.

(and everywhere in between including a Beatles LOVE Cirque show that changed my life, but more on that later.)

And both were so great, But I gotta say, If this were a contest and I had to pick one I'd say that some dude carving 4 presidents faces out of a mountain and it looking so legit and presidential is a little more Grand to me... To me.

But maybe when we go on our Havasupai trip this August, the Grand Canyon will steal my heart back.

Til then, Mt. Rushmore has my vote for America's awesomest national park.

Two Years

2010-03-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

Its been Two Years today. We got up early.

Kissed a bunch.

Did a quick imac photo shoot to document the day. Went on a walk and Press made us lunch.

We're taking a Vegas Vacation tomorrow for our anniversary which will include two Cirque Shows which I'm reeeeal excited about, a lazy river at our resort, Belagio fountains and good food.

Our Vegas trip will be followed by three weeks on the road for Preston's shows. Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota then back home. Its real fun that we get to travel so much and have adventures and its Preston's job.

He is the funnest husband. smart, funny, outgoing, creative, inspiring.

I adore him.

2010-03-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

Top Five Celebrity Dream Boats

1. Michael Scofield from Prison break. Hands Down

2. Zac Efron who is so funny in 17 Again and Justin Bieber ,who's new album My World 2.0 is my inner pop lover's dream, are tied in second place for hottest young thangs

3. Jay Z

4. George Clooney preferably with a little bit of salt and pepper scruff on his face

5. Justin Timberlake I think he is on Preston's top 5 list as well.

book worm

2010-03-27T19:11:00.001-07:00

So, last summer I read my first novel all the way through. really. I have no idea how I got through junior high or high school. Oh yes i do: cliffs notes and Julie telling me about books and i'd re-tell them to the teacher for credit. I know. I'm 25. Its just never been my thing. Julie was always the hard core reader and she'd tell me all about every book in so much detail that I never needed to read it, right.

Then one day last summer when I was jobless and had too much time on my hands I actually read one of the books Julie said was too good to retell. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Brilliant. I couldn't put it down. I was hooked. And I've been reading book after book after book since then.

And sometimes I feel real frustrated at myself and real far behind because there are so many amazing stories and I am just now getting started. I just finished This one and I love love loved it. Thank you, Rayna.

If you haven't read it, really its great and a fast read except it took me like a month cause I purposely drag every good book out so the story won't end as quick.

But you will love it. Whoever you are. Trust me.

Next on my list is a comic book, or graphic novel maybe sounds smarter, called Maus about WWII. From Julie. Who is the best book recommender of all time.

Anyway to all you book worms, what are some of your favorite books?

I'm making a To Read List. And I want it to last me a long time. I think I've used my library card more this past year than I have in my entire life all added up. It feels great.

Anaconda Opportunity

2010-03-20T17:27:00.001-07:00

Montana:

If you get pulled over for speeding 12 miles over the speed limit, the cop gives you the option of taking the ticket and sending the money through the mail or

...paying him right there. $20. And he only takes cash. But he gives you a receipt so its legit right? Kinda shady, but more cool. And I was real glad we happened to have cash on us.

There isn't too much to see driving through Montana, but every 5-10 miles for 50 miles are billboards advertising the 50,000 Silver Dollar Truck Stop/Casino/Gas Station/Trinkets Galore. Turns out one of my favorite things is HUGE truck stop trinket /gas stations.

So we had to stop.

So some GENIUS people decided to make the theme of their truck stop 'silver dollars' so everyone who ever went there since it started just gave them a silver $$$ and carved their name by it. And over the years it all added up. Now silver is worth a whole lot more than 1$ and these peeps are rollin' like Jay Z in the bling.

Only all their bling is mounted on the walls and in the counter tops... all 50, 000 blings and counting. Smartest people I ever heard of. Why didn't I think of it? I could be a ten thousand maybe hundred thousandaire if they didn't beat me to it. But they did.

I maybe am too into this place, but it just blew my mind.

Also in the middle of nowhere Montana is this little gem. And I feel like these opportunities don't really come around too often. You know? I'm also glad that this anaconda opportunity is at the same exit as a hospital. You really have no excuse not to seize it.

Lately...

2010-03-09T14:54:00.001-08:00

Its been a while.

Here are some highlights from the past few weeks:

Press played UNLV and they paid for us to stay in a sweet room at the Hard Rock, so we decided to make a mini Vegas trip out of it.

Saw the Belagio water show and gardens.

We spent an entire day walking down the strip and maybe saw 1/10 of what there is to see. Maybe.

We went to a Mentalist show that blew my mind. Awesome. Cause he knew my birthday and star sign. AND threw confetti on me.

Terrible explanation of the show, but trust me it was amazing.

Oh, and Preston's Grandma is serving in the Las Vegas mission so we got to see her and her missionary life. Senior Sister Missionaries have it made, man. They have NO rules. For real. No curfew, they can watch tv and go to Vegas shows and call home and their families can visit. But they still get to do missionary work and be a huge part of the mission and changing people's lives. Its a dream life.

We loved spending time with her.

This is Kason, Preston's youngest brother.

He asked Preston to baptize him last Saturday.

Look at that face.

Perfect.

His baptism was amazing. Strong Spirit. So much Love and truth.

...Life is great. Lots of traveling and i've been substitute teaching all the days we're actually home. I think that real teaching is so much cooler than being a sub, cause the kids are always always pushing the limits with subs.

And I think i'm a way meaner sub than teacher, cause I've gotta hold my own with those show off kiddies.

I'm real excited for my own classroom this Fall. Real.

Diploma

2010-02-28T15:25:00.000-08:00

I am an official college graduate.

I feel like a genius or a doctor or a scientist.

Just brilliant.

It was supposed to happen in December.

But the school told me I couldn't graduate because I was deficient 1 credit even though I wasn't.

So I petitioned it twice and was denied twice.

Turns out a couple months later they realized that I really was right, but instead of telling me they just mailed me a diploma. I thought it was a joke.

Turns out its for real.

I framed it immediately and Press and I had our own little graduation party since I missed walking and graduating with a tassel and all that.

$$$$$$$$

2010-02-23T16:06:00.000-08:00

Today is a party day cause we are officially

DEBT FREE! We've been listening to Dave Ramsey and following his steps to financial freedom and today is our day.

Zero debt. for real. We are happy.

Press mailed this check to the Department of Education today to pay off ALL our student loans. Such a freeing feeling. We had to document it.

Portland

2010-02-16T21:53:00.000-08:00

Spent the day in Portland. I am in love love love with this place. Can I tell you about it?

We walked up and down SW 23rd which is just filled with perfect little shops that just happen to be real old old little houses.

Dream land. Lots of thrift shops, food, and boutiques.

And then we found LUSH, the coooolest place on earth. Its a shop of all natural cosmetics and bath and body stuff. All solid products with no packaging. Solid shampoos and bubble baths and on and on... I cannot even begin to describe the amazingness. We spent a lot of dollars there. Couldn't help it. Its not the kind of place that words and pictures can do justice.

Find one. Go there. You're welcome.

This is what we look like in a Space Shuttle (incase you were wondering)

Oh, and this? no big deal, this is just what we look like in infrared. Hot. I know.

We kind of love museums. Last week we spent 4+ hours at the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving point in Utah and we still had a good 2 hours left in us when we had to go. So we spent a half day in Portland at OMSI. Dinosaurs, space, infrared? Yes, please.

Preston did.

This is such a fun trip. Awesome hotels and food every night. The colleges treat us like we're famous. for real. Preston is living his dream. He's playing music all over the place and supporting our little family. I'm real proud of him.

Love & Road Trips

2010-02-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day...

Preston started his college tour, so we've been on the road for the past week and a half.

Started in Southern Utah and now we're in Portland. Its been real fun.

Preston played at SLCC for their Valentine's day masquerade dance. This boy asked me to dance. And I said yes cause I felt bad. And Preston was right there so I knew he wouldn't care. so the boy starts trying to fox trot with me and i'm no good at dances where you have to count the steps, so I'm tripping all over the place and laughing. But he kept telling me how great I was doing at the FOX TROT. Then the boy asked if he could take me on a date. I told boy I was married and I thought he knew cause I wear a ring. He got real weird and said that I need to tell my husband that he needs to teach me how to dance cause I was a not very good dancer. and then he walked away.

My thought, was that I need to tell the husband to get me a bigger ring so boys don't try to fox trot me during his shows. just kidding. Kidding.

But the entire thing was real funny and Preston made real fun of me.

We've been listening to so much 90's music on the radio.

Turns out I still know every word to TLC Waterfalls, even Left Eye's rap.

We've been laughing a lot, and meeting great great people.

And eating so much candy.

For Valentine's day Preston had this print made for me. Not this one, but one with maps of Lake Tahoe and Rexburg. He is a genius. I am in love with it and him.

And he bought me this little camera that I love so so much

We'll be out on the road for another couple weeks. We'll come visit you if we're in your town.

Yesterday

2010-01-28T00:26:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me how old I was the other day and I almost said 21, then corrected myself and said 24. And then was corrected by Preston who said

"You're 25." and I didn't believe him.

At all.

There's no way. I don't remember getting to be 25 years old! And then I did some math and turns out he's right. I'm 25. Wow. Strange that I actually forgot how old I was. But stranger that I even am that old. And its not super old or anything, its just that life goes by reeeeal fast. Cause I swear just yesterday I was in kindergarden.

5 years old

25 years old

And it feels like just yesterday Jules and I were kids and when I would get mad at her i'd bite my arm as hard as I could then go and show my mom what 'Julie did to me'. And when she got mad at me she'd convince me how cool it would be to

cut off all my eyelashes. So I did it...Turns out it was a trap and I looked real creepy for a while. But then we'd hug and make up and be best friends again.

Crazy how fast the years are going by. its 2010! Its the future. Remember when kids didn't have cell phones (except for Zack Morris to order pizza from class) and the only computer game was Oregon Trail? Remember when Troll dolls were the shiz.

And Pogs? how many did you have?

Man, I'm all growns up and it just happened real fast.

Life is so cool. I'm really really grateful for it.

So many experiences and I'm really thankful that we have brains to record and remember them all so we think back and smile.

I can't sleep. Press is out of town. I'm just looking at old pictures and remembering old times and friends and feelings and places. And I love it. And I love now a days too.

A lot. And I'm real excited for future days and then now will be the past memory times that i'll think back on and smile about.

I feel good about everything. And I feel like I get life again.

The purpose of life is to learn. Thats it. We're just here to learn and have experiences that will help us remember the love and perfection we came from.

Prison Break

2010-01-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

Maybe Preston and I are addicted to this show.

Maybe.

Have you seen it? Maybe I woke up Friday morning and had no clue what day of the week it was because it seems like all we've been doing is watching Michael Scofield be awesome and all the days kinda just blend together. And I know that the last 2 seasons get kinda weird and lame, but the first 2 are so so good. Trust me.

And lets be honest. Coolest tattoo ever.

I'd trade it for the Guns N Roses one I got when I was 16 any day.

Really.

Embarrassing huh?

today

2010-01-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

Just one of those no good days and maybe everyone needs one of these every once in a while to appreciate the real good days. But i feel like i don't even get anything about anything anymore. And my hair looks like this today. Maybe worse.

My Awesome Husband part II

2010-01-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

Not only is Preston a talented musician, he does decorative concrete as well.

Its incredible.

He does it all. Let me show you

Step 1: Pour a circle of concrete. Stamp it up for texture,

Then draw and cut out a geometric pattern free hand. For reals

Step 2:Acid stain one color at a time

Step 3: Cure seal it

Step 4: Pretty huh? now, take a drive across your awesome stained, stamped,

Preston Pugmire original concrete driveway.

Here's the before shot of the project

And he comes home looking like this. Love that dirty face.

Impressive huh?

My Awesome Husband

2010-01-05T14:14:00.001-08:00

This happened a few months back.

Preston submitted this video

People liked it, so we got to go out to Portland for a huge music convention. There were about 80 colleges being represented by students who were there to book acts for their schools.

There were about 200 acts there from muscicians to magicians, comedians, slam poets, motivational speakers, and on and on. Only about 45 got to actually perform, the rest just had booths and had to hustle themselves to get booked. But their booths were insane. Huge flat screen tv's playing their stuff, Some people had couches in their space, banners, free jump drives, food, everything awesome you could think of. Preston by far by far had the ugliest booth. See. And its extra funny, cause that prestonpugmire.com website doesn't even exist.

Press had 5 minutes to play for the colleges. And he killed it. Our ugly booth was bombarded with people fighting over dates that they wanted him to come and signing contracts on the spot.

He ended up being the highest booked act of the entire conference

We had such a great time and made tons of new friends.

So, this next semester we get to go on a ton of road trips. And the colleges pay for a Hotel and food. How nice. We'll be in Colorado, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah and even Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Its going to be awesome. Preston is so good. HE is totally supporting our little family by doing what he loves. Music. And he set the tours up so he's gone just one week a month. So doable. And I get to go with him.

We drove to Portland so Preston could play a FIVE minute set, and now he's booked through June. And he'll get to do it all next Fall as well.

Life is pretty great.

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EvE

2009-12-31T09:00:00.001-08:00

Headache?

2009-12-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

Tylenol and Aspirin are so 2009. Welcome to the future. The UCrown found at your local Brookestone. Yeah, it a huge plastic helmet with a remote control coming out of the back that allows you to heat your head, massage your temples and vibrate your headache away. PLUS the best part is that there are built in speakers right over your ears where the most pleasant voiced lady meditates you into a peaceful ache free bliss.

DREAM

2009-12-25T19:41:00.001-08:00

Do your arms ever get so cold when you're reading?

Oh, mine don't.

Christmas was good to us this year. And not just cause I got a leopard print Snuggie that came with a FREE book light. Awesome.

We started our Christmas rounds in Tahoe where the gang was bigger than ever

Press got a ship in a bottle, a rifle, knives, Beatles collectables and other manly man stuff from my dad who is so so stoked to finally have him and Gillrie as sons

Thank you thank you thank you mom and dad. We love and miss you already.

Tahoe is so pretty and we are real lucky to get to call it home.

Next stop, Utah with the Pugmires. Tons of family and food. I dared Press to shoot Cheese whiz up his nose and before I was even done with my sentence this happened.

We spent Christmas Eve and morning with Preston's mom and little brothers here in Rexburg. After a few weeks away, it felt sooooooo great to be HOME in Idaho. Love it.

Our brother Cy made us a 'Merry Christmas P and C' cake for christmas.

My brothers

We spent Christmas day in the snow.

Rope swings, sleds, snow balls and friends.

And Jonathon and Megan stopped by too

Such a great Christmas. I love my life. Love my family, my friends. Love Preston and our little Idaho house. I love my Savior and the time of year when we get to celebrate Him. I love that I have the kind of husband that would shoot cheese wiz up his nose just to make me laugh and I super love my leopard Snuggie.

Merry Christmas from our heart to yours.

Dream

2009-12-13T07:34:00.000-08:00

Oh, This...no big deal, just me and 90's country music star Collin Raye. Beacause my awesome work decided to have him play our christmas party. And I don't think anyone was as excited as me. Collin Raye was everything to me in tenth grade. Really. And I forgot that I even loved him until last night when he started singing and it totally took my heart back to high school and road trips and Julie and Caleche and me singing so loud in the car. And I might have got a little choked up. Ok, maybe I cried. It was so unexpected. I don't think any current artist, as much as I like them, could do that to me. There's something about music from when you were in middle school and high school. It gets real stuck in your heart so when you hear it now you feel exactly like you did when you were 14 and so you're not just hearing music, you're flooded with memories. That's what Collin Raye did to me last night. Man. It was cool. And I got to meet him and take a too dark picture with him. Can you say best night ever? Really.

2009-11-25T07:59:00.001-08:00

Today was my last day of student teaching. It was a total party day at school. I went to lunch with the kids and went to recess and schooled them all in freeze tag. Then the teacher and all the students organized a huge celebration for me with a billion presents and treats. It was the nicest thing ever. EVER. I felt like 1 million dollars.

And to top it all of, I came home and walked into Miley Cyrus 'Party in the USA' blaring and this...

My very own party. With 100 balloons...He is so nice

Maybe I got A little Jealous of Julie's Shauna Post...Maybe

2009-11-23T11:53:00.000-08:00

Dear Shauna,

Happy birthday darling!!

We love you very very very very very very very much.

You're real pretty, and skinny and funny and miraculous.

And you tie Julie for my favorite sister.

And we were real good/rich business partners

And I think you might have been grandmas favorite.

And Collin's hair looks so funny in this picture, I couldn't not post it.

I love you. Balloons or no balloons, but always preferably balloons.

Especially on your birthday

LOVE,

Corine

****

2009-11-13T07:02:00.000-08:00

It snowed today in Rexburg.

This place is so lovely, it kind of makes me very happy.

Love and Light

2009-11-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

This is Elder F. Enzio Busche. He was my mom's mission president when she served in Munich, Germany a long long time ago. I got to meet him one day. He is such a powerful, kind man. Hearing stories of my mom's mission all growing up inspired me to serve. It was one of the best decisions of my entire life. Meeting My mom's mission president was so so cool. Overwhelming. I just wanted to thank and thank and thank him for the impact he has had on my life.

And I LOVE his tie. I think its a real thick shoelace.

Here is a little message from his heart to yours.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T06:26:00.000-07:00

Corine and Preston's Halloween Past

Preston's not in this one, but how hot is Shauna's hair cut?

I don't know why its underlining everything i type here. and i'm too computer lame to figure out how to fix it. Anyway, my favorite costumes were from when Julie Tresa and I were kids. My mom went allll out making them. I don't have pictures here, but maybe soon. Our costumes were killer. I think thats where Julie gets her costume making talent. Can you believe that she made these? and these?

AND ON A DAY OF THE DEAD KIND OF NOTE...

3 years ago today, Grandma Bell decided to peace out and make Heaven just a little bit cooler. I was on my mission when she passed away and it was the hardest thing of my life. Even knowing about life after death and the gospel of Jesus Christ, it still super sucked and I might have cried at least once a day for 2 years. The thing that did make it a little better was the fact that she died on Halloween. Like early in the evening so there were still plenty of trick or treaters who definitely got the ultimate halloween spook by seeing a hurst pull up to the house and roll her on out. And i feel like thats how Grandma Bell would have wanted it, just a little creepy and sneaky and reeeeal funny. I love her so much and i miss her to death. Preston and i got to go to the Temple for her a few months ago. It was such a healing experience. The Temple is so real. Families can be together forever.

Porch Swing

2009-10-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

I served a mission in Oklahoma. Preston wrote me letters every week. I wrote him back. i would tell him how much i love loved the porch swings. They were everywhere. And it was such a dream to just sit and swing and watch the world.

While I was still out serving, Press wrote me this song below.

Push play for a listen.

And then for my birthday, he build me this...

I'm kind of more than obsessed with it... and him.

Sometimes

2009-10-15T05:11:00.002-07:00

Sometimes when I'm bored I like to show off for Preston.

He's a reeeeal great singer and musician. Look at this

I don't want him to think he's the only one with musical talent in the fam.

(can you hear him say 'you are the worst lip singer ever!' in the background?

He LOVES when I make him music lip singing videos)

We Got The Beat

2009-09-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

I teach fifth grade science. We're learning about the circulatory system.

I thought, how cool to let them see a real heart.

So I called a butcher and asked if he could save me one.

I expected a clean little organ that i could just stick in a jar and let he kids look at.

When I got to the butcher's he handed me the bag he saved for me. It was reeeeal heavy.

I got home and turns out he was a way generous guy cause he gave me the ENTIRE chest cavity of a sheep, fatty heart membrane, heart, lungs, trachea, intestines... the works.

So all i have to do is take it home and extract the little heart out. I'm freaking out at the thought of it. And pretty close to abandoning my amazing 'let them see a heart' science lesson and just printing off a picture from the internet.

Lucky for my students, my mom-in- law is a surgery nurse and offered to perform the surgery on the sheep guts and get my little heart out.

I'm nominating myself for teacher of the year.

Dear Lindsay

2009-09-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

Just look how pretty you are. And not just that, but soooo talented. Remember when Preston asked you to paint some of his musical inspirations for him and you came back with these most incredible canvas paintings? Me too. you are AWESOME. Pleeeease can you start a blog? Cause it would be the most perfect thing ever. And I bet i'm not the only one begging.

Thank you. Love you.

RAfting

2009-09-09T14:31:00.000-07:00

What we learned on our family white water rafting trip down the Snake River:

-Preston + Short Shorts= The best tour guide ever

-If the tour guide says it takes 3 hours to do a 26 mile stretch, he means 7 1/2 hours

-It's not necessary to prepare for the huge rapids 12 miles in advance and when i say prepare I mean wrap Kason in 5 garbage bags and not let him cut arm holes.

-The rapids are always just around the corner and they're HUGE and when you get to the corner and the water is as still as still it means rapids are just around the next corner and when they're not there either, its just the next one. And if we would have rowed for 8 hours instead of 71/2 I just know we would have hit A rapid cause i really think they were around the next bend

-Kason can walk faster than out raft rafted.

All in all it was a perfect experience. Frustrating, annoying, long, hilarious and we all learned about love and patience. We hit zero rapids and were fighting the wind to cover inches of ground. It was such a funny day. For me it was a huge wake up call about how I show up in life. I blamed my frustration on everyone else. And i thought i wasn't happy because the trip wasn't going exactly like i thought it would in my brilliant head. So I was more than bratty, mostly on the inside, but I might have let a few bad words fly out. And then i decided that maybe instead of it being everyone else, maybe the problem with my happiness was me. And i was right. I was looking and looking for it and it never came. Its because there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. If I look for it i'll never find it. Happiness is something that I bring to the table. There's no happiness to be found in doing things, I can only bring happiness to every experience. The first half of the trip I was pulling out my hair crazy annoyed at the situation, and then I just chose to BE.

And I remembered that its always a choice. And when I'm frustrated or mad or whatever, its cause I'm choosing it. And i can choose out of it just as easily. I can see it so clearly now, but you should've seen me on that raft. Can you say brat?

P.S. Preston wins for shortest shorts check out those legs for days.

Sing us a song, you're the piano man...

2009-09-06T14:05:00.001-07:00

Went on a date with The Gillrie's. Matt got us a table at the Dueling Piano Bar in Salt Lake. The fact that all 4 of us we were unintentionally (ok so only 3 of us were and we pressured Press into complying.) color coordinated pretty much guaranteed a perfect night.

And when i say perfect night, i mean Preston dancing on top of a grand piano to Sexyback in front of a bar full of strangers. No big deal, just my life.

Dirt made my lunch

2009-09-06T13:47:00.000-07:00

I went to Nicole's to get some fresh veggies out of her garden. I've never ever picked food from a real garden. It seriously blew my mind. Like this carrot just got made out of seed and dirt and water and how does that even work? And these corn stalks were taller than me!! And grew the biggest sweetest corn. But it all came from just dirt. And it was sort of a spiritual experience, like I loved that the earth just created all this food and if that's not a miracle, then what is? And now all i want is my own garden. So I can put a seed in dirt and get a giant zucchini out of it.

Dear Shauna

2009-08-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Shauna, do you miss Viv as much as I do...SOOOOO much?

Meet My Brothers

2009-08-26T15:59:00.001-07:00

I grew up with four sisters. Lori, Julie, Shauna, and Tresa. They are so pretty and my best best friends.

Lori and Tresa both have Girls. And i have a Girl mom and girl dogs. (my fav. sister, Shauna not pictured)

Then i Married Preston and got FOUR brothers!!! They are the Best!! Matt plays pro table tennis (who does that) and can do a gainer off a 30 ft high dive. Jamin is the buffest tallest 14 year old in ever, There is no one funnier than Cyrus and Kason can school ANYONE at checkers and is the best artist i know.

Also, Kason is the strongest 2nd grader in his school.

Boom. I got hooked up.

Our first date

2009-08-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

My most favorite video in ever.

This is how Press decided to end our first date.

You'd marry him too.

(Don't mind the butt crack)

zzzzzz

2009-08-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

Preston fell asleep

So, I might have surrounded his little body in bread crumbs. you know, just to see to see what would happen.

Funny.

2009-08-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

This is how I know that Preston loves me.

Cause before bed at night, when I wash my face, I look like this. And he still calls me pretty.