Here I come ...

My friend DJ is getting married in May in the Boston temple and he invited us to come. I'm SO excited. It will be so awesome to be there and be apart of the big day. DJ is someone I've always looked up to and admired and to see the smile that Loralee puts on his face is priceless. He is a happy that I've never seen in him before .. Love I presume.

We might just have to hit up a Red Sox game while we're out there! Can't wait!

*hOmE*

So ... Colby is home :) and... I'm loving ever single second of it! We've been busy busy and going going since he got here but I couldn't complain even if I tried. He got here late on Thursday and we grabbed a bite to eat and spent the rest of the night laughing and catching up. We woke up early on Friday and surprised his parents before the reunion. We wanted to wait but Colb was too excited. They were so happy to see him and they were equally as excited to have him here. We headed to Huntsville to wish Grandpa Carter a Happy Birthday and then to the reunion. Colb's grandpa is a crack up, he's hilarious .. definitely Brock's dad.
The reunion was so much fun. It was so awesome to meet so many new people and to be able to put a face with a name. Holly's family is incredible ... I'm so glad I got to be apart of such a fun weekend and I honestly can't wait to be able to do all of it next year. Everyone was really excited to see my ring, to hear how Colby proposed, and to hear the wedding plans (which are still few and far between but we'll get there)
My best friend Kendra got married on Saturday in Logan and it was amazing. Colby and I BARELY (understatement) made it to the ceremony. We were SOOO late. In fact .. They waited until we got there. The temple worker told Ken they were waiting on one more person and she said she knew it was me so they waited. From now on I'm going to try and be early for whatever I can... I never want to be in the position again. Old habits die hard but I'm up for the challenge.

We headed to Belmont for a little family get away on Sunday. I've never been there so I didn't know what to expect but it was fun. We went with a good family friend of the Carters and we shared a lot of good laughs. I'm excited to go back there and maybe stay for a night or two next time. We made it home for Sunday dinner with my family. Mom is crazy busy all week long so she doesn't cook much but she ALWAYS cooks on Sundays .. it's my favorite so I try not to miss it. She's been in Cali a lot the last few weeks so Logan and I have been starving. I should probably just learn how to cook huh ... Eh someday.

I keep thinking Colby is only here for the weekend and he'll be heading back to Spokane any day now but I'm so glad he doesn't have to. This summer was super long and totally worth the wait but I'd rather not do it again. :)

My new favorite picture .. Isn't he cute?

FiNaLLy!!!

Colby is heading for home tomorrow. (technically today) He's coming home earlier than we originally thought and planned on but you won't get a complaint out of me. His parents don't he is coming home til the 23rd and he's supposedly calling them tomorrow on his way home to inform them he's extending so we'll see how that goes.
We're really excited to surprise his family at the big Froerer reunion this weekend (we've been planning this for a few weeks but we didn't think we could pull it off).. it'll be fun to see everyone's faces and to of course catch up.
I'm anxious for him to be home and for the summer to finally be over and I'm sure Colby feels about the same. I'm incredibly nervous and I have yet to figure out why .. I know everything will be good and we'll pick up right where we left off so who knows .. I'm pretty sure it's just a sever case of the butterflies anyway. :) Lots of emotions these last few days ... I'm really happy that we've survived the summer and that we had the chance to learn so much from all of this. Distance really does make the heart grow fonder .. I'm so thankful for the trials and blessings we were able to learn from these last 4 months.
Hopefully he can find a good job quickly so that we won't be going anywhere for work next summer, just vacations.
I can't wait to see his cute smile and hear is laugh in person .. Hopefully tomorrow flies and he remains safe in his travels .. see you soon Colb ... I love you!

hard work pays off ...

Last night when I got home Logan walked up to me and gave me a big hug. Cute huh! Don't be fooled ... that means he wants something. I knew right off the bat what it was, but I played it cool and started to think of things I was going to make him do to earn it. poor kid. He needed my car for a date and I knew I was going to let him use it but if I make have him earn it, he appreciates it more.
For starters I sent him to Triple Stop to buy me beef jerky, (listening to country music the whole time) at 11:45 PM. He almost died, luckily we only live about a mile or so from the gas station. The jerky was delicious.... It's my favorite.
We ended the night by playing a game we used to play as kids. It was torture for him but we had a lot of laughs and I'll forever tease him for it. ps .. I'm still just as awesome at Old Maid as I was years ago.
Today I made him buy me dinner at Warren's ... I love their OJ Coolers ... YUM!
He's on his date right now, appreciating all his hard work. :) I'm sure he's having and blast and I hope he needs my car again soon! I love Logie and all the good times we have., He's hilarious and I couldn't ask for a cooler little brother. He's awesome!
Just a few random pictures of Log.

He looks sooo grown up in this one ... crazy!I stole this one from his facebook ... I'm not sure where he is or why that dog is eating his hair but I laughed just hard enough that my stomach hurts and my eyes are watering so I'm fine without an explanation.

Draper Temple

My friend Kendra took out her endowments yesterday at the Draper Temple and I was so excited to be able to be there with her! Kendra and I have been through it all together so it was really awesome to be apart of this. Ken has been through a lot so it was a pretty special day. I'm super excited for her and Matthew to get married next week. They are so cute together. I love seeing her happy and I'm so proud of her and all her work. Love you Rae!

Natalie, Kendra, Me ... I love these girls!

Colb will be home one week from today ... he's coming home early to surprise the family (shh .. don't tell) at the big huge family reunion that he hasn't attended in 4 years ... I can't wait to see him. Hug him. hear in laugh in person. hold his hand. jump on the tramp. stay up late doing nothing. get a jamba juice.

Buhler ... Buhler .. Buhler ...

You know those people in your life that you can't help but love? The ones that can make you laugh at seriously anything and everything... The ones that quote movies with you until you can't breath because your laughing so hard... The ones that make you wonder why Heavenly Father made you wait to have them in your life... The ones that you can talk about anything with... The ones that truly care about what you think and value your opinion... The ones that bring out the rebel in you just so you'll have something to laugh about later... The ones that take you back to your childhood by coloring and watching old movies until the wee hours of the morning .. the ones that look up to you for reasons unknown .. the ones that will always love you no matter what ... the ones that make you want to be a better person from just being around them ... the ones that you can't live without ...
I have one of those ... and she's amazing! Chelle is one of the funnest girls ever. I can't believe how alike we are and how similar so many of our stories are .. I punch her when she's mean and she pinches me in return (friends do that right???)... sometimes she finishes my sentences and it drives me craaazy .. but I do the same to her because it's funny.

I love this girl.
I'm completely sober and in mid sentence in this one ...

She's laughing at my 'happy' face ...

GuRkeeS ...

Colby's aunt was wearing the cutest sandals at the family reunion last month, I fell in love! She told me where she got em and mentioned they had a website. She has had hers for several years and they are still in great condition. I jumped online the next day and bought my own. There were a couple problems with the website at the time so tt took em three weeks to get here but they were well worth the wait. I wear them everywhere and I can't get enough. They are soOo comfy! Gurkees.com ... eat your heart out!

I want one ...

Just over a month ago The Carters invited me to a family reunion. I was excited to accept the invitation but I was crazy nervous as well. Colby hadn't been to one in about 4 years so I was mostly concerned that I would be introduced as Colby's fiance and they would say 'who is Colby?' Luckily they all remembered who he was and I didn't have to explain it all. It will be nice to have him home for the next one though.
We had a really good time and I'm really excited for next year. Brock even bought us delicious shakes on the way home. I love the Carters and I'm so excited to be apart of such a fun family.

There was an awesome teeter totter that Chelle and I couldn't get enough of. We got laughing pretty hard and probably could have played on it all day but we decided to share with the little ones ... We asked if maybe Santa could bring us one of these for Christmas .. we'll see what happens I guess!
I'm flying off my seat in this picture .. Chel would push off so hard every single time that I could barely hang on.

This girl is hilarious... I can't wait to have her as my sister in law. She's such a blast.

Cook .. Not so much ... yet.

I found this super cute tile that made me laugh.
I took a picture of it and sent it to Colby ..
He asked me how much it was and then told me to go back and buy it.
I couldn't resist ... I'm a horrible cook!
But .. I am trying!

DeRbY DeRbY!

My friend Shaleese is from Henefer and we always give her a hard time about being from somewhere that is too small to exist. She invited My friend Dallin and I to join her and family at the Demolition Derby put on by another small town just miles from where she is from. We of course said yes and joked that we would be just a few of the 25 people attending. Boy were we wrong, there was a million people and parking was insane. Apparently they take their summer festivities so far .. they last for longer than a week. Here are some pictures of the Derby and I will have more to post after the Rodeo this weekend.

Shaleese's family is a hoot! They've already invited us to come again with them next year!

Not only did we not anticipate the huge crowd, we also underestimated the lows temps that came quickly after the sun went down. It was soo cold!

This girl cracks me up, she's hilarious and we keep each other laughing forever!

Dallin was taking FoReVeR to take the picture and the sun was in my eyes ... I became a titch frustrated .... :)

keep reading ...

Mi Madre

It just occurred to me in proof-reading those last two posts - which I did very quickly so if you find a typo .. deal with it- I post a lot about my Mom so here is a post just for her .. and it's not even her birthday... Only one a year Mom.

There is something about my Mom that makes my heart melt ... It might just be her smile but I doubt that's all.

Colby and I are reading a book together called 101 questions to ask before you get engaged (awesome book-i highly recommend it even after you're engaged.) and one of the questions asked is 'who in your life has influenced you the most?' It might have been that it was nearly 1 AM and I was exhausted but I started crying - not hard I just teared up a bit. My answer listed a few people but #1 on my list was Leslie Ann ... The woman who has made it all possible. She truly is the most amazing person I have yet to meet. Growing up, when the crowd I used to hang out with started partying and drinking there was never a moment of hesitation when they offered me a drink. I could always see the look of disappointment on my Mom's face in the back of my mind. It wasn't that she would have been mad or angry for doing something I knew was wrong, it was seeing her face after letting her down that would have crushed me. She has worked so hard to get where she is now and I credit her for so much of my own success. She teaches me every single day how to live life to the fullest and to do it wholeheartedly (yes that's one word, I spell checked it) She is a constant reminder that the Lord loves me and wants me to be happy. From her I get my love of life, my blue eyes, my blond hair, my smile, my middle name, ( i guess technically she gave me my whole name but Ann was passed on to me ...) the roof over my head, and the chance to be alive. I don't give her enough credit for being so amazing, I couldn't ask for a more incredible Mom or Grandmother to my future off spring .. if she has any money left from spoiling the 4 we have now .. Mine will be just as spoiled! So here is to you Mom for being #1 in my book called life.

keep reading ...

Shingles Shmingles .. we go way back!

About a week ago I started getting an ear ache-nothing new, I get them all the time and most the time they don't stay for more than a few days. I know it's a bad one when my chin starts to itch. 96% of the time the ear ache is accompanied by a lovely rash on my chin that itches like no other. Usually it's fairly small and goes unnoticed by many unless I point it out. This ache was no different .. first the ache, then the itch ... only this itch seemed a little more intense -it hurt worse than the ache. It turned out to be the biggest rash I have had yet. I asked 4 of the 5 pharmacists I work for to take a look and they were all baffled. None of them had any idea what it could be or why it would be related to my ear ache.

I asked my Mom about it and she had a few ideas but nothing that I agreed with -Like I know anything ... I count pills all day long and fight with insurance companies! Finally I asked her opinion one more time and her guess what shingles .. So ... I jumped online and had a little chat with my favorite internet friend - Mr Google and I go way back - and Mom was right. Who knew!?!? Mom's always know there stuff .. I should have believed her the first time.


The picture I found when I googled Shingles .. Mine looked EXACTLY like this a few days ago.

Gross ...

My chin yesterday ... It's finally starting to get better and doesn't itch nearly as bad.

In googling shingles I also read that they don't normally come back (which doesn't explain why 96% of the time I have one with the ear ol' ache) and they can be caused by a weak immune systems because of stress, injury, or certain medications.

Shingles occurs when the virus that causes chickenpox starts up again in your body. After you get better from chickenpox, the virus "sleeps" (is dormant) in your nerve roots. In some people, it stays dormant forever. In others, the virus "wakes up" when disease, stress, or aging weakens the immune system. It is not clear why this happens. But after the virus becomes active again, it can only cause shingles, not chickenpox.

You can't catch shingles from someone else who has shingles.

keep reading ..

Winner Winner ... Chicken Dinner!

I've recently put the wedding planning on hold .. with Colb coming home shortly I figured I could take a break and he could help with what's left. (which is a lot more than he's expecting but he'll do great) To be honest it has been kind of nice not having to stress about the big day being just around the corner. I'm really excited to be able to just hang out and enjoy being engaged before the stress of it all hits too hard.
I've been researching a lot of photographers trying to find exactly what I want. There are so many great ideas out there but most seem to be pretty expensive as well. I have a lot of options in that department though so more than stressed I'm excited.
I randomly pull up wedding dress sites just to take a peak and I have found a few that I liked and could picture myself wearing but nothing that I loved and had to have. Every time I try on a dress I try and picture Colby's face when he sees me in it... I can always see his smile but I never got the 'This is the one' feeling.
Yesterday I was watching Ellen and a commercial came on advertising a sale for Bridal Satin - a place in Roy we'd been to a few times. I found a dress I loved there but when we went back the second time to try it on, I only liked it. I told them I'd probably be back. I called yesterday to see if that dress was on Sale - they said yes then .. they mentioned they had just sold it but they had also just received a new shipment. I called my Mom and Holly - (colb's Mom) and we headed up there. I tried on two dresses - neither of which were on sale- and I fell in love with the second one. It was so cute and unlike anything I had ever seen before!
My Mom's opinion has meant more to me than anyone's so I was super excited when she also loved it. We paid for it in full and headed for home. She was so excited that she called my sister in CA on the way home to tell her all about it! I love when she shares my excitement! I must have one incredible Mom - She's giving me another wedding of my dreams (the last one Mom, I promise) and she's loving every single second of it.
So I guess technically I haven't put the plans on too much of a hold if we are out making crazy 'ALL SALES FINAL' purchases. I LoOoOvVvEeEe the dress and I'm SoOo excited to wear it and see Colby's face when he sees me in it.

tick tick tick ....

Colby will be done for the summer in THREE weeks .. Longest summer ever! I was so glad I had the chance to go visit him twice and someday we'll go back there and visit but until then it will so so awesome to have him home. He's working hard but I think he's getting anxious to get back. These 3 weeks will be extra long but totally worth the wait....

This picture is a classic ... Colb was in the Elder's Quorum Presidency before he left for summer. (he's on the left) This is a picture of him and our friend Dallin at one of their weekly meetings .. Probably the only meeting they didn't hold in the foyer or the Mother's Lounge - apparently the chairs in there are pretty comfy .. who knew? Well no one except Mother's... until now ... We used to run into them every Sunday in between meetings .. I miss that.

Did I mention I love Colb in a tie? It's my favorite!

He's kind of good looking ... :)

Live-Laugh-Learn-Love

Growing up all my friends had dream cars that seemed to be just a little outlandish to me. I never wanted a corvett or a convertible .. red or blue ... fast or faster ... a big truck or a jeep ...
A Honda is what I pictured in my dreams . Silly, I know. As a kid I remember riding in the car and seeing happy families driving Hondas .. Not that my family wasn't happy ... we just didn't have a Honda. Oh my .. I'm way off track ... anyway ... When Josh and I bought a new car two years ago we had a couple options. We came across a place who takes totaled cars, fixes them (or so it appears) and sales them. It never even occurred to me that there would be a chance the car would have problems down the road ... We bought a 04 Honda Civic and I immediately fell in love! That was June of '07 ...
October of '07 .. a week before Halloween I hit a cat (a black one might I add) and it cracked my bumper from top to bottom .. I was devastated ... We didn't get it fixed because we didn't see the point.
February of '09 I'm going southbound on I-15 in the fast lane going about 75 mph and the hood flies up. It flew up so fast and so hard it shattered my windshield, ruined both hinges, sent the rear view mirror flying, and dented the roof... I then had to cross three lanes of traffic to pull over .. that was the scary part ... Colby so kindly tied the hood down and I jimmy-rigged the rear view mirror ... it was hanging on with rope and I got sea sick every time I had to use it.
June '09 I realize the registration is expiring and there is no way it's going to pass inspection. Colb had taken it in to get a quote while I was in Hawaii and I stared at the piece of paper until I was sick. I finally called the bank and ask about adding on to my loan so I can pay to get it fixed. They give me the go-ahead and the repair shop can't get me in for three weeks ... I make the appt anyway and cross my fingers hoping they get an opening before that. They didn't but those three weeks came and went pretty quickly.
After a ton of paperwork - lots of questions - less answers - and a lot of tears ... I got my car back!
Apparently when I took out a loan in January so I could keep the car, the credit union didn't have Josh sign off on the title like they said they did so .. He had to go in and sign .. He was really cool about it and it's a good thing .. The bank told me to wait til the car was done to sign for the check and then when it was done they weren't going to give me the check. ... That would be the reason for the tears ...
Everything ended up working out in the end but my new favorite repair man explained a few things to me that were quite disturbing .. The hood flew up because some of the parts weren't welded back together properly (and it wasn't shut tight) ... talk about a safety issue. That snowy February morning ... the one where I must have eaten some luck for breakfast ... could have ended a lot worse ... Somehow no one was hurt and I was just a little shaken up.
I give Mike Anderson a High Five and eight gold stars for the awesome work he did on Bandit. I will go back to him for everything. My car looks awesome and he was so patient - He explained every little detail to me and called me every time he had a concern or an idea on saving me every penny that he could. I couldn't be more pleased with his customer service. I'm super excited to have her back and the thoughts of selling her have recently dwindled ... I'll probably drive her til she dies!
Did I mention the car was two different colors? I had him make it one solid color while he was at it!
Check out My hefty bill .... $$$Live: I bought my dream car ..
Laugh: I eventually laughed (several weeks after) about hitting the cat .. He walked away from the accident but there is no way he's the same cat - I was going 40 mph .. :/
Learn: I learned that life isn't cheap and accidents happen. Which is why I've forgiven Logan for jumping his friends car battery when he was in need and not shutting the hood securely when he was finished.
Love: I love my "new" car .. I'm excited to keep driving Bandit and to love every minute of it!