Day 365: Farewell to 2011

Had a great night out on the town with our dear friends! Great way to end one year and start a new one!

Day 364: Day at the Spa!

Greg planned a wonderful, relaxing day for us at the Spa Toscana at the Peppermill. We got a couples massage and spent the whole day using all the spa amenities and relaxing. We felt like the rich and famous that don't have anything better to do all day other than be pampered. It. Was. Heaven.

Day 363: High Heels & Combat Boots

Had fun playing around with Greg's Army accessories and my cute high heels! In the morning we met up with Amy who did an amazing photo shoot for us-we had so much fun and are excited to see her photos!

Day 360: Visiting Kassidy

Today we had some family photos done by our dear friend Kari. It was cold, but we had so much fun and I know we will treasure the photos forever! Thank you Kari for a wonderful shoot! 


On the way back to Scott and Nancy's house, Greg and I stopped by to visit our beautiful niece, Kassidy. It has been a while since we have seen her and we both miss her every day, so we were glad we could stop by and see her. She is an amazing little girl...so sweet, so smart and so full of life! She is the spunkiest little thing, let me tell you! It touched my heart to see her and Greg together...she ran right up to him and gave him the biggest hug! There were tears in his eyes and I could tell that being able to hug her, hold her and tell her that he love her, helped a little to heal the scars he still has from losing his brother and sister-in-law in such a horrific way. She is an angel and already such a strong, determined little girl. I know that in spite of what happened to her parents, she has the ability to be a whole and healthy little girl, teenager and women. I pray everyday for that for her and now she will be just fine. I hope she knows how very much we love her and that we cherish every moment spent with her.

The joy on both their faces bring tears to my eyes.

Playing with "fart putty"! ROFL

Special hugs.

She thought he should wear her dolly blankie on his head! So funny!

Day 125: Sparks Marina

We took an evening walk around the Marina tonight. Ranger loved playing in the water and we were happy to bask in the beauty of our new neighborhood.

Days 123: Date with My Honey

Greg and I went and saw the Fast and Furious movie...we have followed the movies since they first came out and were excited to see this one. It was really good and was cool to see a lot of the original actors back together again and see where how their stories have progressed.

Love my hubby! (and the Bokeh in the background! :)

Day 122: Fabulous Fountains

This beautiful fountain is one of three that are on the property here at the apartment complex and I must say...I love them! I had fun changing the settings and capturing the water with the different shutter speeds, which of course changes the appearance of the water ("blurring" it or "freezing" it).

Day 120: Little Family Visit

After three colossal days of moving, moving and more moving (up three flights of stairs no less), and cleaning the house it is finally done! We made it out by our deadline and can now start on getting settled. A special thanks to Matt for all his help moving everything and to my mom who came up all the way from her house to help us move a ton of stuff and also helped clean our whole house! There is no way we would have gotten it all done without them!


This afternoon, I went and hung out with Silver, Catherine and the girls, as it is Keira's birthday today. It was a nice break and a good excuse to not move boxes and furniture for a few hours. I had a blast as always, and I almost forgot to take some pictures. I quickly took some, unfortunately they aren't the best photos, but they get the job done.

Day 119: Organized Disarray

Over the last few weeks we have tried to move as much stuff as possible from the garage at the house into the garage at the apartment. Yesterday afternoon and evening Greg, Matt and I tried to move as much of the big ticket items and heavy boxes. I took today off work in order to get as much done as possible since we have to be out of the house by May 1st. We stayed in the apartment last night, which was a nice feeling to know we are on the right track and are moving right along. The only funny thing was that I hadn't arranged for the power to be turned on until today, so last night we were without light! It was kinda fun to "rough it" and we just got a couple of battery operated lanterns to use as light. We knew it would just be one of those fun things we laughed and talked about when we were old and gray.

The apartment looks like a tornado has struck!

Ranger is a little perplexed to say the least! LOL.

All day we just busted our tails and worked like mules...only a couple more days to get it all done and the house cleaned before we move out. Ahhhh!

Days 114-118: Officially Moving!

April 28th-
We got the keys to the apartment! So incredibly excited! It is weird that I am so excited to move out of our big, amazing, wonderful house into a tiny little apartment, but I totally am! Don't get me wrong...I love our house and have loved living there for the last year and a half, but I guess I have just come to terms with the fact that it is time to move on and start another part of our lives. And to top it all off...we will be saving a TON of money since the rent is considerably less and the only utility we have to pay at the apartment is NV Energy. Right now we are paying water, sewer, trash and NV Energy. So, all in all, this is going to be an awesome thing for us...and we have been so blessed to have found such great apartments-they are well maintained, are spacious, are in a great location, are super safe, have a great ambiance, they allow us to have Ranger and the management is super awesome! The Lord is good!

Our dear friend, Matt helped us move all the big ticket items and heavy boxes. He was a life saver! There is no way we would have gotten all our stuff up three flights of stairs if it had just been Greg and myself! Thank heaven for amazing friends!

Day 113: Pond Bully

I took this photo while shooting Sarah's graduation photos on the UNR campus. These sweet little geese and their parents were trying to get into the pond, but the infamous swans that primarily reside in the pond were being extremely nasty and were not allowing the geese to get into the water. We seriously thought that the swan was going to attack and kill some of the babies! Poor little guys! It is funny because I love swans and think they are beautiful and always thought that geese are the aggressive and mean ones, but I have come to find out that they swans are also horribly mean bullies!

Day 112: Bridal Shower Fun & Catching Up with Cat & Chris

Tonight after work I went to Sarah's bridal shower...it was so much fun and it was great to meet her mom, sister, grandma, aunts, friends, etc. She (and Matt) got a lot of really wonderful gifts! I am so excited for them and can't wait for their wedding! 

Sarah with her sister, mom and grandma...they are all such amazingly wonderful ladies!

After the shower, I went and met up with Catherine and Chris. They had come up to visit her family and were staying at the Grand Sierra Resort. We went down and wandered around the casino for a bit. She and I each played $5 in the slots, won it back and then lost it again. And this is why I think gambling is totally lame. LOL. But we had a good time and it was super awesome to see them! I wish we lived closer to them!

Overall it was a fun night and I am so glad I got to spend time with such wonderful people! 

Days 110-111: Beautiful Sarah

My dear friend Sarah is graduating from UNR and asked me to take her graduation photos. I was extremely flattered and excited for another opportunity to develop my craft. I have photographed Sarah before when I took her and her fiance's engagement photos and I must say that I love working with her! She is extremely photogenic, is stunningly beautiful, has a warm and engaging personality, is bundles of fun and is so comfortable in front of the camera.


We went to the UNR campus for the shoot for multiple reasons-it is a beautiful location and it is her Alma Mater. I couldn't think of a better place to document such a momentous thing as her graduation then in the place where she accomplished it! It was a great shoot and as always, it was an extreme pleasure to photograph her! I love you to pieces my dear, sweet friend! XOXO