.golf date.

Today was the first sunny day we have had in a very long time, and since it was nice outside Nick and I decided we needed to take advantage of the sunshine and spend sometime enjoying it. So we decided to go to the golf course so Nick could play a round and I tagged along, hitting a few balls here and there and taking pictures along the way. Here is a little preview of some of the pictures I took today. It was so refreshing to be outside doing what I love...taking pictures and spending time with my husband while he does what he loves, playing golf :)

.the countdown.

The countdown is on...until April 15th!!! With Nick being a tax guy in public accounting he has been logging a ton of hours. Usually leaves the house around 5:30-6:00 am and is home well after 9, sometimes after 10pm and is in the office every Saturday for a full day and nearly every Sunday as well. I cannot imagine working that hard but Nick loves it and is really enjoying learning new things and putting that CPA to use :) 3 weeks from yesterday tax season will be over and 3 weeks from today Nick will be 24 years old!!! Cannot wait to go to California to celebrate tax season being over and Nick being born :)

.exercise hangover.

Yesterday was quite the day for exercise. I ran about 4 miles, did an ab circuit and then played in a full soccer game. When I got home from my soccer game last night I felt like someone had beat me up!! My body hurts so bad today...but in a good way! I am feeling the effects of the workouts and can feel my body changing (which is always good). But when I woke up this morning I felt like I had an exercise hangover...haha thats the best way I could describe it. My body hates me for making it get out of bed and everytime I move it is aching!!! It makes me think about my days when I ran track and played soccer and was in such great shape and could do workouts like that day after day....sucks getting old I guess :)

.anna elyse photography.

I am currently in the process of starting a photography business and building my portfolio. I would love to take picture of you, your family, your kids, etc. I am still in the process of learning about my camera and refining my skills but practice makes perfect and I would love some practice. Let me know if you are at all interested :)

.s'more cookie bars.

This weekend I made a delicious new treat! Since it is still cold and rainy...we dont get the chance to roast marshmallows and eat smores very often. So I found this recipe online and it was the perfect replacement for a smore treat. I highly recommend it to everyone to try!

S'more Cookie Bars

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (7 full graham crackers)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 super sized (5 oz.) chocolate bars (ex: Hersheys)

1 1/2 cups marshmallow cream/fluff

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in one egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter muxture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over the dough. Two 8 ox. Hershey's bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag so it will open up book style. Open it carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough sid doen, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up and spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30-25 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

.photoshop fun.

So I got Adobe Creative Suite the other night...and let me just tell you that it is my favorite thing! It is so crazy all of the things that it can do. I took a photoshop class in high school but am having a hard time remembering all the things that I learned. So tonight I spent a while learning new tricks and here is what I came up with...

This picture I removed Hannah's braces (you can still see them a little bit but its still kind of cool to see what she looks like without them on)

Here is the original photo...

In this picture I made the camera have a mirrored reflection...

This was the inspiration behind it....Apple uses the reflection a lot for their advertising.

That's it for now. Just thought I would share my new photo tricks :)

.reality check.

Yesterday was Nick's anniversary of being hit by a car. 13 years ago Nick was crossing the street by his house and a car didn't see him and hit him, launching him into the air and he skidded across the pavement and ended up in a ditch on the side of the road. He was air lifted to Spokane and had a very small chance of survival. Even the doctors and medics working on him told the neighbors that he wouldnt make it to the hospital because his body was starting to go into shock.

We like to say that an angel caught Nick that day, because all the odds were against him and the recovery for a boy his age, was very unlikely. Once he was out of the hospital, he got a 12 inch blood clot in his leg and had to be on blood thinners for 6 months. He easily could have been killed by that as well, but God was watching out for him. He had an external fixator in his leg that had to be tightened because he completely snapped some bones in half. He broke his elbow and many other things (there are just too many to remember!). He was in a wheelchair for a while, and then had to use a walker after he was out of the wheelchair to regain strength and full mobility of his body again.

Not only did Nick make a full recovery but he went on to play sports all through high school and college and even had scouts looking at him to draft him for baseball out of college. What an unbelievable miracle that Nick is still alive.

I feel like the luckiest person in the world that God spared Nick's life so that he can accomplish great things for His glory. I am in awe that part of Nick's purpose was to be my husband and that I get to partake in that. God is good!

Nick and I were talking last night about what it feels like when he comes around this time each year and what he remembers about the accident and everything. He was telling me that it really puts things in perspective for him and it makes him realize that there really is only one way to live. Because God gave Nick a second chance to live, he wants to live life fully and live with the purpose God has for him. Thank God for second chances!

I am so truly thankful for this reminder every year and the fact that Nick is still here and that I get to be married to him!

Nick is a miracle.

.derek dietzen.

Simply put...we are SO PROUD OF YOU DEREK!!!!! Derek pitched his first game on Tuesday against San Marcos since he had Tommy John surgery about a year ago. Last spring Derek had scouts looking after him and had a great chance of getting drafted last June...but during one of his outings, his velocity dropped and that night he woke up with horrible pain in his elbow. Not good!! He went to the doctor and found out that he was going to need Tommy John surgery AGAIN. It was very disappointing news, but Derek never let that get in the way of his dreams of playing baseball and went ahead with the surgery. It's a good thing he did because when he came out of surgery the doctor told him that was the worst elbow he had ever seen!! They also thought that he would only have, at best, a 50% chance of ever touching a baseball again.



Derek rose to the challenge and spent an entire year doing physical therapy and getting his arm back into shape. He stayed down in Los Angeles this summer to work on his arm with the trainers and persevered through all the pain and struggles.



Because of Derek's hard work and faith that God has a plan for him, he has been able to make a full recovery and he is pitching again in collegiate games. This is an absolute answer to prayer and we couldn't be more proud of Derek. His attitude is what got him through and no matter what happens, we love you and are so proud of the adversity you have overcome!!!



Here are some pictures from Derek's first outing on Tuesday :)

.kiddos.

Here are some pictures of the Brust Kiddos....my favorite kids ever!

Here is Billy wearing his "superman" glasses

Janelle and I with Billy and Abby (Molly was napping)...
Silly Face!!

.sunshine to snow.

This past weekend I was lucky enough to be able to go home to visit my family in California. It was a much needed trip home as I was starting to get homesick and missing my family a LOT! The winter is getting long, and with Nick working so much during tax season, I went to hang out with the family.

It was such a fun and busy weekend...but I loved every second of it. I flew in on Friday night and my parents picked me up and then we went to dinner. We went to Dos Coyotes, which is one of my favorite places to eat, and I actually ran into a friend from high school, Jenn Ponder, that I had not seen since graduation or shortly after. It always crazy to see someone you knew after such a long time. After dinner we went to Borders and walked around...I love going to book stores and always walk out with way too many books. That night I sat around and talked with my parents, and then my mom and I ended up staying up and chatting until about midnight. Talk about way past my bed time :)

On Saturday morning I had to wake up bright and early to make it to my hair appointment at 8:00 am. I finally dyed my hair back to brown...so I am not officially a brunette and no longer a wanna be blonde :) I like the way it turned out and it is really natural looking. Then as soon as I was done with my hair appointment, my mom and I went to the spa for a relaxing morning/afternoon. We had a massage, pedicure, and facial...I was so pampered. Thanks to Nick and my Dad for getting us this spa package for Valentines Day. Ashley was going to come with us as well, but had to attend a job fair insted...we missed you!

After the pampering, my mom and I met Katie at Utopia Grill in Roseville and then got frozen yogurt afterwards. I hadnt seen Katie in such a long time and it was so great to sit and talk and hear about what is going on in her life! It is great that even though we dont see each other very often, we can still pick up right where we left off. After lunch we went and picked up Ashley and went shopping at Home Goods...I love this store. There are so many cute things to decorate with and they are so cheap! I bought some things for our house and carried them back on the plane.

Saturday night my Dad and Joel got home from golfing and we ordered Fat's Chinese Food for take out and had dinner at home. We then spent the night talking and Joel gave me a photography lesson. It was so great to learn from someone as talented as him and he gave me a lot of good tips that I will be using in the future.

Sunday morning Janelle (who flew in from Colorado) came over and we went to visit the Brust family. It was so good to see Bonnie, Paul, Abby and Billy and to meet Molly since she was only a few days old the last time I saw them. They are an amazing family and it was so fun to hang out with them for a few hours. I miss them so much!!!

After the Brusts, Janelle and I went to lunch and then had to say goodbye again since I was flying home that night. I guess a little time is better than nothing, and we caught up right where we left off too...I have the greatest friends ever. My parents and I did a little shopping that afternoon and then they took me to the airport. It was such a quick trip and so much fun....I miss everyone already!

I came home to a winter wonderland. Yesterday it was basically a blizzard for a few hours...you could barely see anything besides the snow falling....and then the snow stopped, the sun came out and the snow melted. Talk about schizophrenic weather!!! It just can't decide what it wants to do :)

p.s. I am loving Daylight savings time. I love that it is light when I get home from work. It makes me feel like I have more of the day left when I get home and now I can start going for runs when I get home since it will still be light out for a while :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend as well!!!