Happy 25 :)

It's my birthday today and I was thinking about all the wonderful people I share my birthday month with (it is, after all, the best month to celebrate a birthday)! Thanks for the birthday wishes in advance - I love all of you! I really never thought I would reach this age, not that I thought I wouldn't live to be 25, just that when I was 16 I could never see my self this old. When Matt hit 25 this last Wednesday my birthday seemed so far away, now it's here (and he is constantly reminding me that he's older than me, albeit by only four days). In the last few years it has become alarmingly clear that I'm an adult and as such I must complete my education, grow up and work for the next 25 years (at least), but as my wonderful husband puts it, "we must make the best of every situation." There are benefits to aging - driving, voting and getting married, to name a few. 

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me to be nothing more than myself - I will always remember your words of encouragement and insight. As for growing older I just think that we must always stay young at heart. As the famous song says, 

Young At Heart - Frank Sinatra

Here's to 70 more years of birthdays and bliss!

Cooking Class with Tien

Our friend Tien is an Asian cooking extraordinaire! She asked Matt what he wanted for his birthday and he said, "eggrolls!" Tien was born in Thailand and grew up in Georgia and now she and her husband Tyler live in our apartment complex. So, I went to her house and she taught me how to make eggrolls - mom was so jealous! She then asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I replied, "I would like to learn how to make pot stickers!" Today was pot sticker day - I also learned how to make fried rice and pineapple shrimp stir fry! Man, how much fun is that? And mom is still sooooo jealous! Hehe :) So jealous in fact that she said, "I've never been so jealous in my whole life!" I love it!

Here's a little teaser - yum :) Matt is eating this plate of amazing goodness as I type.

Birthday Boy!

I love my husband - I just wanted to start off with that! A few weeks ago we started talking about our birthdays, which are only four days apart (24th & 28th of February), and my husband said that sometimes he feels like his birthday is just like any other day :( That made me feel so bad! And I wracked my brain trying to remember what we had done last year for his birthday, I couldn't. So, I thought this year I would throw him a surprise party - he loves parties, people and just having fun, I thought this would be perfect. So, I made invitations and passed them out like crazy. Everyone helped out so much and it turned out to be a big surprise for him - which stunned me because he always knows everything (and I'm not good at keeping secrets, but I did it!). 

To the birthday boy I would like to say I love you and I hope that you had a wonderful day! You are the perfect man - kind, considerate, hard-working, funny and full of life! I'm so proud to be your wife and I look forward to many, many more birthdays with you!

 

Bowling!

We went bowling last night, well I did, Matt had to work and came a little late. Anyway, we had a great time with everyone - I love bowling, although it made me so sore. I took my camera, but didn't get too many pictures - I guess I just wanted to have fun and not have to worry about it. So, after bowling about 60 the first time and breaking 100 the second, we decided to quit while we were ahead. Amanda kicked our butts! Josh wasn't too sure about the noise at first, but after a few times bowling with his mom and dad I think he got the hang of it - he even bowled with me once and we totally got a spare! 

These are for the awesome Bjarnson family!

Brittney & Morgan :)

Across the street from my Grandma and Grandpa Wadsworth's house was the Robinson family - and what I remember the most about their house was eating Twix in the backyard with their granddaughter Megan. Our parents went to high school together and our older siblings - my brother Talin and her sister Brittney - went to preschool together. So, I've known this amazing family since I was born and hopefully I wasn't too annoying when I would cross the street to play with the Bell girls. 

Brittney (Megan's sister) and Morgan (her husband) are this fabulous couple that I have the privilege of knowing. I love reading their blog - they have wonderful adventures and have an obvious love for their friends and family. Their little family also includes an adorable dog named Mable - who loves hockey! Anyway, Brittney and Morgan have been trying to adopt for quite a while and, sadly, have had no luck - so, I want your help. They deserve a bundle of joy to complete their family. Check out their blog and adoption profile. If you know of any babies that need a loving mommy and daddy just let them know! Loves to you Brit and Morgan!

Brittney & Morgan!

The Best Day!

I have to say that this was one of the most amazing events I've ever attended - I can't believe how wonderfully moving "Tiffany's Winning Mile" was for me. I absolutely loved being a part of something so special for this incredible family and their Tiffany! I want to thank Breanna for asking me to come and the Searle family for their example of love and family. I hope that the pictures are what the family hoped for - I think I got some wonderful shots. I especially love the moments between Tiffany and her mom, they are so special! I will never forget this experience.

Cake Donuts :)

Some of you might know that my first try with donuts was an epic fail. This time I wanted to do everything right from the start. So, I actually got out our deep fryer, bought a ton of vegetable oil and a donut cutter. Poised to go, I started this afternoon and made the dough - which had to chill in the fridge for two hours - and I felt very accomplished.

After those two hours that I filled with work and getting ready for the day, the dough was ready for the fryer! I have to admit that I was pretty excited to use the fryer for the first time, we got it for our wedding. I followed the instructions, something I rarely do but I didn't want to burn my hands off, and it all went unexpectedly smooth. But I did double the recipe, and we're up to our elbows in donuts - I gave a bunch away to neighbors and took the bulk of them to work. So, now that I have a major tummy ache, I will share some pics and the recipe. Enjoy - they were pretty easy to make, just time consuming.

Dough cutting - I have no rolling pin, so I improvised with my Pam bottle :)

Deep fryin'!

Let dry a bit!

Dust with cinnamon and sugar! Yum!

Finished product!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
• 3 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup 2% milk
• Oil for deep-fat frying

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Turn onto a heavily floured surface; pat dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. doughnut cutter. In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°.
• Fry doughnuts, a few at a time, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon; roll warm doughnuts in mixture. Yield: about 2 dozen.

Nutrition Facts: 1 doughnut equals 198 calories, 8 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 112 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein. 

I guess it's safe to say that our weight loss is out the window. Such is life.

James & Stephanie Full Post

I love these two - they are so cute! I am so excited to be there on their wedding day!

Park Walkin' with Jen & Ezra!

My sister-in-law has had a brilliant idea. She has made a blog that will document the 30+ parks in the San Mateo, Calif. area. She saw a need for a guide to these parks letting parents know what to expect and what kinds of fun things are waiting their for them and their little ones. So, she has decided to do that for the parents of the bay area! How cool is that? You can take a look at her blog here. 

I think it's wonderful that she has decided to do this! What a great way for her, Talin and Ezra to explore the amazing places around their home! I must say that I'm jealous that they have such beautiful weather year-round. Good job Jen! I'm so excited to read more, and hopefully come with you on some of your adventures when we come to visit - which, hopefully, will be some time soon!

And I had to share this adorable picture from her blog - I love it!

Tiffany's Winning Mile!

My friend Breanna called last week and asked me to take pictures at the Make a Wish Foundation's wish for Tiffany Searle, a nine year old who is unable to move and her one wish was to "run." So, Make a Wish got BYU athletes and the local community, including Tiffany's family and friends, together for a mile run in her honor. It was such a special night, I had never seen anything like it - more that 500 people showed up! This beautiful girl was grinning from ear to ear all night, it was so special - the best night! And it was topped off by a special guest.

Much more to come! I was so honored to be able to share this night with Tiffany!

Photo Outtakes

I love it when I catch funny faces when on a photo shoot. James and Stephanie were hilarious - James was telling jokes the whole time. Here are a few of the many faces of James.

I also loooove this one we took during the baby Morgan session - big sister LaShay made this face just at the right moment! So funny!

We have a busy weekend coming up - I was asked to shoot photos for a Make a Wish Foundation event. Stay tuned for that! And I'm going to see our friend Jason Cosmo perform - mom and I are super excited, we've been hearing about Jason's show for a while and can't wait to see it! Have a beautiful weekend!

Cache Valley Winter

I have to say that this winter has been beautiful, and as I look back at my past seven winters in the valley I don't think I ever really stopped to notice. I got a chance to do just that when I got to finish up my time photographing Kyle. He wanted to transition from bearded Kyle to non-bearded Kyle and document the transformation. So, we made our way out in the lovely weather to grab some shots near the awesome, valley-surrounding mountains. I finished these up today and I'm really happy with them. We want to thank Kyle for being so much fun to work with - he's been so generous with his time and friendship. He is definitely one of the nicest guys we've ever had the chance to call friend. Thanks Kyle!

I do, however, want you to know that no matter how much I say the winters in this valley are picturesque, it does not mean that I prefer them. I just wanted to clear that up.

A Few More

I've been pretty excited about James & Stephanie's pictures - I love them. Here are a few more.

Got my kitchen and front room all cleaned today - I love it when I walk into a clean apartment!
Is today Tuesday? I think I need a vacation.