Where the wild things are!

After a few attempts to snap a clear photo from Karl's phone, I had to settle for this shot of the crew having a nice Sunday gathering at Grandma Fau's house. We went to my mom's this last Sunday for a family dinner and some relaxation-- though Drake, Guy and Teni quickly realized how much more fun it was to hitch a ride on Uncle Karl's back then to sit and quietly enjoy a Sunday evening. We always have so much fun with Ana's boys; they are the best nephews you could ever want-- cute, well mannered, loving and endlessly entertaining. Baby Teni has taken to "Wuncle Kawel" and loves to just sit by him or on him. I am so blessed to have such a great family!!

Happy Birthday Ana!

Happy 29th birthday to my beautiful sister LaAna!!

Happy Birthday Eddie!!

Feliz Cumpleanos Eddie!!! Happy 33rd birthday to an amazing bro-in-law!! Thanks for taking such good care of my sister and nephews! Like I always say, you're the older brother I never wanted but am so grateful to have been blessed with!! ha ha ha! Hope you had a great day!! (p.s. it's been a long time since you've invited me over for dinner-- what's the deal with that? Carne asada burritos sound good!)

Fun Babysitting!

Sia and Lauren- Karl's newest niece!

Karl and his girls--nieces Mallory & Hallie

Lauren & Sia hanging out!

Karl and I had the opportunity to babysit for Karl's older brother, Aaron (he's the brother who set us up on our first date!). Aaron and his wife, Jennifer, have 3 beautiful girls. We had a fun night of disney princess movies and pizza. It was, however, a bit odd for me-- coming from an all nephew background it has been a LONG time since I watched anything with a princess (unless it also had a swamp rat in it!). I'm so used to trucks and bugs and karate moves and "leaky basements" that I've forgotten what little girls like!! ha ha ha! But I was happy to find that my girlie instincts quickly returned and we had a great night! Karl is so good with his nieces-- they absolutely LOVE him! He is even good at changing yucky diapers!!

Road trip #2 & a new truck for Karl

2 weeks after our first road trip Karl and I took another trip, this time to pick up his new truck from Utah. We flew up to SLC-- and of course, we were both selected for the "intensive" security screening at McCarran! Of all the times I have flown I've never had to go to the extra extra security line, so this was a new thing. We had to stand in a big machine that sniffed us, it was like a metal detector but you stand in it for a minute and it blows air all around y0u. Needless to say, we both passed the test! Upon arrival in SLC we headed up to Logan to pick up Karl's new ride. It was an easy and overall pleasant experience-- and the truck is really nice (I drive it every chance I get!! Good thing Karl is really really good at sharing!! ha ha ha!). We spent some time at Temple Square, saw the Joseph Smith movie (okay, so I saw it-- Karl caught up on some sleep!). We had lunch in Provo at Fudruckers-- of all my time at BYU I never ate there, it wasn't too bad, I think the Mormons just like the name. Then we spent the night with Karl's sister Elisa and her husband James in Cedar City. We caught a movie (Iron Man-- surprisingly good, considering I'm not a big Robert Downey Jr fan) and had a good time visiting his family. I think we'll be takin a road trip to the Grand Canyon next, we'll see....

Our 1st Road Trip!!

Karl and I took our 1st official road trip a few weeks ago to San Diego! We got up early and drove down for a quick getaway. We went to the San Diego Zoo-- which I must say, is not as exciting as watching Animal Planet in HD, as far as animal action is concerned!! We still had a good time, though. The hipppos made for the best show, with the polar bears putting in a pretty good appearence too. Karl's favorite animal is the tiger, of which we were able to see its head only. Overall, we had fun. We had dinner on Coronado island (4 cheese pizza-- too cheesy!) before driving home. One road trip down, many many many more to come!!

The engagement...

After a wonderful courtship, Karl proposed to me on a Sunday, December 30, 2007 as we watched the sunrise over the valley from a hot air balloon! It was a perfect proposal. Of course I said "YES" and we were on our way to our 'happily ever after!'

The beginning...

Karl & I met on a blind date which was arranged by his brother, who worked in my office. It was an unforgettable date, though not necessarily for all the right reasons! However, it wasn't long before Karl's quiet charm, great sense of humor and strong, broad shoulders won me over!