ASHLYN'S 3rd BIRTHDAY!!!

Well this year I decided I didn't really want to stress out about making Ashlyn a cake, but that I wanted to stress out about the decor instead haha, I know I'm weird. So I made cupcakes instead and we had meringue cookies, rice crispy treats, strawberries, grapes, and donut holes. It was simple and I loved it. I really wanted it to stay classy and simple. It was a "ballerina" themed b-day party which I loved and so did Ashlyn. I made: ballerina cupcake toppers, a tutu to go around the base of the table, hanging pom poms, and happy birthday banners. She had tons of b-day presents and family and friends come over. I hope you had a great b-day Ashlyn LOVE YOU!

I Finally Finished

Well after almost 2 weeks of working on my paper bag wreath it is finally finished (I probably spent about 8-10 hours on it throughout a 2 week period)! So anyways this is what it looks like. And it only cost me a whopping $6!

My all time favorite comfort food!

So ever since I was little my momma would make me this amazing cheap meal every Sunday. Of course, she made us the common roast and potato meal for lunch but in the evening we would always have grilled cheese, tomato soup, and pickles. I absolutely love it. Just thought I would share my favorite cheap comfort food! Yall should try it some time, its amazing. Tyler always makes fun of me cuz I swear I eat this at least once or twice a week. Hahaha and yes I know I burned my grilled cheese a little, I like it that way.

CRYSTAL RIVER

Well to celebrate Tyler finishing Tri-5 (which is the half way point of Chiropractor school) and to celebrate Tyler getting his Bachleor's degree in Anatomy; we decided to head to Crystal River, Florida. Tyler's uncle has a summer house there right on Crystal River. We were there for about a week and it was by far the best vacation of my life! My friend Sarah from college flew all the way from Montana to vaca with Tyler, and his friend and me. We went kayaking where we got to see a Manatee (it literally swam right under my kayak, so fun!) We got to see a dolphin, baby alligator, bull shark (kinda scary, but manly cool since we didn't get hurt). I got to learn how to surf at Cocoa Beach and got to go to St. Petersburg. So much fun check out the pics.




















































Here are some pics of Tyler's graduation party I threw for him. Congrats Tyler!



























I had fun making his banner!

HOPES AND DREAMS

Have you ever been so determined to do something that you completely immerse yourself in that something? Am I making any sense? Let me back up.....

A few months ago I was sitting in church listening to a Relief Society lesson about "Talents". I was sitting there thinking about how I used to have a lot of talents that I utilized daily, when I was in high school and did all my sports but now I am a stay at home mom. I hardly ever use those talents. I kept pondering.....I had to be good at something else. Then someone raised their hand and said that sometimes people can posses a desire to learn new things or try new things and that in itself is a talent. And that's when it hit me, that is 100% my talent, my gift from God. I absolutely love trying new things. I love pretty much everything I try, not instantly, but I try really hard to find something to love in everything I do.

For example, my husband loves to play golf. Have I ever played golf? Did it ever intrigue me? NO. But since my husband played it and loves it, I wanted to learn to play so we could play together. My husband loves a lot of things I had never tried before I met him, such as: playing guitar, wake boarding, snowboarding, surfing. So of course I had to try them. Now I absolutely love all of them.

Anyways long story short, there are 2 new things that have been keeping me up at night, yall are going to think I am such a loser because yes they really do keep me up at night. I just get so excited about it that I can't sleep, or when I finally do get to sleep I dream about them. And what are these 2 things.....crafts & running a marathon! I know I know I am such a loser. Its just that I have always wanted to be this crafty person and make things from scratch, which has never really been me. I can find what I like in the store, buy it, and set it up nicely when I get home; but never do I make things. But lately I have been having all these dreams about different crafts I wanna do. My most recent craft is a paper bag wreath and ballerina cupcake toppers for Ashlyn's 3rd birthday. Yall must be laughing at me by now. It was the same with learning how to play the guitar. I had always wanted to learn how to play, I love singing, love the guitar, but have never been very good when it came to playing musical instruments. But then all of the sudden I started having all of these dreams about me playing the guitar and singing. I felt so alive in my dream, so fulfilled. I woke up excited and ready to take on the guitar that day. Tyler has been teaching me ever since and for my birthday he bought me my very own red guitar. I just love her!

Anywho the 2nd thing, the marathon. This little bugger is always on my mind, and I don't really know why. I curse the ground, every time I run while training for this thing. I have never loved running but do it to stay in shape. If you know anything about me you know I am competitive and love a challenge. And to me this marathon thing is a huge challenge that I must conquer. I get all gity just thinking about crossing the finish line, and in that moment I will know that my mind has ultimately conquered my body. I own my body not the other way around. To understand my deep passion for this subject I guess we have to back up a little. A few months ago I decided to turn my life around physically. I have never been what I consider fat but I definitely was at my heaviest and was always feeling tired, and sick. Headaches began to plague me. I didn't like what I saw in the mirror either. And it really didn't have to do with what I looked like physically, it was what I had let myself become. I saw a woman who had completely forgotten about herself and her needs. Was concerned about everyone else but herself. And I was running on empty. I could feel my body falling apart. I was always getting sick. And the funny part is that I didn't even eat that bad. I just wasn't necessarily eating well. Plus I wasn't working out. Plus I wasn't getting enough sleep. But when I saw myself in the mirror that day and saw the scale say 150 lbs. I was disgusted and the one thing Kimberly is good at is being determined. At that moment I was determined to lose weight, to get down to 140 lbs. in a month. There was one stipulation. NO DIET! It had to be a lifestyle change. Nailed it. Ever since that day that I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a pathetic version of myself I have never wanted to be that person again. I mean if I am always sick who is going to take care of my family?!

I am determined to conquer mind over body. Wish me luck. I am going to do some research and find a marathon that I want to run and start my training. It is my hope that I will be updating yall on how the training goes at least once a week so again I say wish me luck.....oh and stop laughing at my corniness haha!