Tuesday, December 9, 2008

ashley and cj come to visit!

a few weeks ago ashley and cj came to mesa to see us! it was so fun having them here. they were wonderful guests and it was fun to have some girl time with ashley and virg. we had a high school musical marathon and made homemade samoas that were DELISH. (this is the recipe, don't know how to do the link thingy though -thanks kristen :-). http://http//thepkfordfamily.blogspot.com/2008/04/homemade-samoas.html )


in classic ashley form- her not letting me get a picture of her.


high school musical 1 and 2 were not terrible. don't get me wrong, they were not good either. they were cheesy and predictable and corny beyond belief, but not so bad once the experience was over :-). just kidding ashley...kind of. haha.

PUPPY!

we have a new puppy! yes, i am aware this is the third time i have announced this on my blog. in my defense though, we don't actually have three dogs that live with us. dakota (the first dog) is at brads parents house and will probably (hopefully) be there forever :-). i know i know, i'm a dog abandon-er, whatever. she has too much energy for a house with a little backyard. we still have our little moose though, and now that we have a backyard we decided he needed a playmate. thus, puppy is now a part of the young family.






he is a 7 week old lab/golden retriever mix. and he is quite possibly the cutest thing EVER. he is tiny and we love him! he doesn't really have a name yet though, we are still working on that. originally we thought 'duke'... but it isn't really sticking. any ideas????
PS-one of the best parts about getting the new puppy: as soon as we can trust moose to be alone with him for long periods of time they will both be OUTSIDE DOGS!!!! hallelujah! no more mass quantities of dog hair all over my house! YES!

Monday, November 10, 2008

heathers wedding, girls trip and the cruise

in october i had the chance to be a part of heather FERGS wedding. it was really so much fun. she was a beautiful bride and they couldnt of looked happier as they came out of the temple. it was great to spend a few days with heather preparing everything for her big day. everything turned out beautiful and the reception was a BLAST. i am not much of a dancer, so at other receptions i have been to i have always held back on the dance floor. this time though, i figured i didnt have anyone to impress so i may as well show off my fabulous dance moves- and it was so much fun! here are some pics of the weekend up there:

the coslett clan

all the bridesmaids

making the center pieces
bffs reunited!
the beautiful bride!

the morning after her reception i flew to huntington beach for a girls weekend with my mother in law and sister in laws. i missed the first day and a half but was able to be there for the last two days. we ate, went to the beach for a min, went shopping, got makeovers, talked and shopped some more. it was such a fun weekend and i cant wait until next year!
all of us at the beach
audrie and marianne with the lady who did their makeup
marianne getting her makeup done!
there were not enough dressing rooms and we had to show each other our clothes anyway...so why not pile 5 people into one dressing room???

the floor of our dressing room. yes, they employees must have LOVED us.
the next week was the northstar cruise to cabo san lucas. it was so much fun, except for me getting sick the last day- boo. virg came this year and it was great to have a girlfriend there to hang out with. i was determined to not get burned this year (last year i didnt put any sunscreen on and was MISERABLE bc i was so burned), so i layered on the sunscreen thinking i would get a perfect bronze through the sunscreen after a few days. wrong. i got nothing. oh well, there are always tanning beds :-) haha. the day in cabo we just walked around to all the shops and ate at this little mexican place that was really good.
we were even lucky enough to spot this gem on our walk back to the dock.
haha. dont ask bc i dont know. all i know is virg walked right up and started snapping pics of him. haha.
virg and i on the boat to cabo
on the boat
after dinner one night
eating in cabo! yum!
bj was able to spend time with his mission buddy aaron wheeler. i love it when those two get together, they really are like little girl BFFs who giggle and talk the whole time. he would kill me if he knew thats how i described their relationship on my public blog. buts it true and its cute.
it was a really fun month of trips for me, but its nice to be home!!!! i have started working and i really like it. i cant believe its already almost thanksgiving. crazy. i am loving this cooler weather and getting EXCITED to put up some christmas stuff. woooo hoooo. bj gets irritated when i play christmas music before thanksgiving. imagine that. ;-). so im trying to hold off as long as i can. wish me luck.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Help!

i need yalls help! i am trying to pick general paint color for the interior of the house but i cant decide! i was told a study was done over interior paint colors to show which has more appeal to the general public and a tan/taupe came out to be the winner. i have also read that tan make it look smaller inside. and that white is too boring. i know its just a matter of preference ....but any suggestions???? :-)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

arizona!

being the worlds worst blogger, i failed to mention that bj and i were moving to arizona. we have been here since the 28th of september, and we LOVE it! we closed on our house on september 29th. i know, i didnt blog about that either, shame on me. although i didnt blog about it, i love love love our house. it's so cute and perfect for us. its actually kind of a funny story-


bj went to arizona for some training during august, while he was there he looked around at some houses. he found one he liked, took pictures to show me and told me all about it ect. a few days later, he sat me down and very seriously said "katherine, do you really like this house? are you 100% SURE???". i assured him that i did indeed love it, and thats when he said "great. bc we are going to put an offer in". haha... shocking??? yes. i was super excited, but also a little shocked bc we had only talked about getting a house, but not that seriously (or so i thought). everyone thought i was mad at bj for buying it without me ever seeing it in person, but he really did a fabulous job. all of the little things we talked about wanting in a house, he made sure to include. he has great taste, and it all has worked out wonderfully. its been so fun putting the house together so far.

i feel like i have become a boring person to talk to because decorating has consumed my mind. i think about all the different options to decorate with so often.... when in reality i have not actually decorated anything yet. i have only pained one room. twice actually. the first color i picked out looked fine on the sample, but on the wall it looked VERY similar to a blue you would find in a little boys nursery, so i had to change that up.. haha. now its a much more muted blue, and i think it looks a lot better...hopefully at least, bc im not painting it again :-)

we live really close to two of my sister in laws (we miss you audrie), and its really nice to have familiar faces close by.

i loved our ward on sunday. there are 700 members in it, or something crazy like that. we are being split in a few weeks though. there were tons of young people, and so so so many babies. i previously said i wanted a calling in nursery, but i retract that statement. there are too many of them, and it may scare me away from having my own :-) haha. just kidding.

anyway, here she is- she is a beaut and we love her! come visit us. haha.


oh yea! virg is moving out here too!!!! i am so excited about that. she will be here in early november, and will start school in january here. all of bjs sisters finished school out here, and they loved it. virg is really active and loves outdoor stuff, so i think she will fit right in.

i go to provo tomorrow for heathers wedding, and then to huntington beach this weekend for a girls trip with my mother in law and sister in laws. i will post lots of pics when i get back! have a good week!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

breaking dawn

i loved it. better than i expected actually. what did yall think??

....and even though the last page very clearly said "the end", im really hoping she surprises us all with another book. or the continued story of bellas daughter and jacob would do.

i have stephanie meyers other book the host, but in the beginning she starts going on about some guy named glowing river or something, and i have just not been able to get into yet. i say that as if a guy named 'glowing river' is just too sci-fi or unrealistic for me.... while for the past month i have suggested to anyone who will listen that they should read this "really good series about vampires". haha.
anyway, i finished this book a few weeks ago:
and it was really interesting. the author believes that we each have a "private logic" we use, and it effects the way we view ourselves, the world around us, why we do things, what choices we make, ect. he says that generally our private logic is formed between the ages of 6 and 7. normally people dont have a lot of memories before the age of 8, so the ones we do have, we probably have them for a specific reason..... the reason being that at the time of that memory our psyche was trying to figure something out, and the you experience you remember answered that question in one way or another. so basically, by looking at those older memories we have, we can figure out why our personal logic is the way it is, and be able to start changing those things that were formed on illogical reasoning.

anyway, i really enjoyed it. im not saying its all fact or that it will be life changing if you read it, but the author has a lot of interesting points and views in it. bj even picked it up and read it for a little while. which is a miracle bc he does NOT read for fun. ever.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

fun in the mud

with all of this rain, everything is getting pretty muddy... so naturally, we decided to go outside and have a mud fight. we are pretty scary if you ask me.

Friday, September 12, 2008

babysitting fun

a boring afternoon + a box + virg+ a four year old = a very entertaining time.

i am going to miss this little guy!!!!!

Monday, August 18, 2008

better late than never....happy anniversary!

june 1st marked our first wedding anniversary, and it has been such a great year! not every moment this past year has been pure bliss (shocking, i know), but marriage really is the best. i love that it provides us with experiences to learn and grow from, on so many different levels. maybe im just slow in life, but i feel like i am continually being stretched and (almost by default) progressing each day. and i love it. it really gives us the opportunity to try and become our best selves, plus we get help from a hottie along the way ;)

on the 1st bj called me at work and told me to be at the house at 4:30p.m. when i got there, there was a note on our bedroom door that said

"go to the mall and find a pretty dress. be back by 6:45 SHARP. when you get back, look for your next clue in the top dresser drawer".

so, i went to the mall and found a pretty dress. surprisingly, i was back on time. the next note said

"Now, take a shower and get ready in your new dress. i know you, so i have given you until 8:00pm to get ready. at 8:00 get in the car and put the address at the bottom in the GPS. pack an overnight back for both of us and bring it with you."

i followed the instructions, and the GPS took me to a restaurant in down town dallas, where bj was waiting in a suit and tie. we both ended up not liking the restaurant very much though. it was referred to bj from a friend who said it was amazing. however, after eating there we came to the conclusion that people really only eat there because it is expensive and "hip", or something. there was a live band playing REALLY loud , and we literally couldnt hear each other talk over the music. they brought out our food, and it was a little like that credit card commercial where the guy asks if they brought him elf food. haha. im sure tons of people love that restaurant, but its not not really our type of thing.

after dinner bj gave me another address to go to, and said he would meet me there. the address took me to the hotel we stayed at our first few nights as newlyweds. in the room there were rose petals on the floor, and the bj had put the top layer of our wedding on the table. i was very excited about that because while i am a lover of any tradition, bj thinks it is a little odd to voluntarily eat cake that is a year old. haha.

the evening was really great, and it was nice to get out and just be with each other. i loved the thought and surprise he put into each part of the night....bj youre the best and i love you!!!!!

Monday, July 7, 2008

congrats al and perry!

okay, i have seriously neglected blogging this summer. shame on me. so first up, i need to congratulate alayna mulkey on her engagement!


alayna is one of my closest friends from high school. despite the fact that we rarely see each other, we have remained close over the years. i love her and am so excited for her and perry!!

the two love-birds on al's graduation day from unt

i just thought id throw this one in for good measure- us playing dress up in high school. or maybe freshman year in college? hhmm. ill stick with the high school story. haha.

i am so excited for you and perry. you are going to be a such a beautiful bride! AND despite your fears of being bridezilla, everything is going to be perfect:) i am so excited to be part of your special day, and cannot wait to help you plan. i love you two!!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

table dancer

todays a saturday, which equals a long day in the office. i went to the bathroom, and came back to this....

hahahhaa.

im pretty sure he was going for the chocolate covered pretzels next to my phone. seriously. he steals food off of our desks all of the time. and the worst part is, he is sneaky about it.

one day i had some breakfast on my desk, and noticed part of my muffin was missing. i noticed, but i really just assumed that my admin got hungry and ate half of it (sorry kendra haha). later on when i was the only one in the office (with moose of course), i went into the other room to do some inventory stuff and came back to the rest of my muffin AND all of my donut holes missing!!! moose was also pacing around my desk giving me a guilty look. haha.

oh geeze. my last two posts have been about moose.

maybe this is what my in-laws were talking about when they suggested we have kids soon......lol.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Moose

this is how our little moose takes his afternoon naps in the office.


haha so funny. he is seriously cute.

Monday, May 19, 2008

The Dash

my mom is so cute, and everyday she sends me an email titled "moms daily tid bits". they are all different. sometimes they have 'this day in history' events, quotes, or just random interesting facts. today i got to the office and checked my email, and of course i found the daily tid bit for today. it was a poem, "the dash" by linda ellis. i had never heard it before, and i loved it. it really made me think, and i made a personal commitment to try and be more patient and appreciative toward the people in my life. we only have such a short time here, and what is it worth if we arnt constantly trying to better ourselves and make the best of everything we are given? so enjoy! the following link is the video of the poem with music in the background:

http://www.thedashmovie.com/

for those of you that dont have speakers here are the words too, if you can though watch the movie bc i think its better. have a good day yall!

The Dash Poem by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the Beginning to the end
He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash
would you be proud of the things they say
And how you spend your dash?

Friday, May 9, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIRGINIA!!!!

Yesterday was virginias birthday!! she is officially 19! woot! enjoy 19, and here are 19 reasons why i love you virgy smirgy!!!!!


1. i laugh with her in a way that few come close to. that 'feel it in your heart and stomach' laugh that you cant stop once you get going.
2. she is one of the most genuine people i have ever met
3. she is a hard worker
4. she is unbelievably funny (see #1)
5. she has a badonkadonk that i am jealous of.
6. she is always honest, no matter what the circumstance. ex: the other day i told her of my butt envy i have toward her, and she suggested that maybe some lunges would help mine "perk up". well, okay. i wasnt aware that mine needed perking up, but its good to know.
7. she has the most tender heart, and will tear up hearing a sad story that involves a loved one.
8. she would never judge anyone.
9. she loves food as much as i do :)
10. we have always stuck together. jonathan jokes that when virginia was born she stole me away. we have been inseparable since i can remember.
11. she is always true to who she is.
12. shes SO fun!!! she is always down to do anything at anytime.
13. she rode the bus/bike everywhere her first year at UVSC, and didnt care at all.
14. she is a great sport about everything, and can laugh at herself.
15. she is tough. she can beat up half of the boys i know. haha. seriously.
16. when we were younger and played "house", i always wanted to "cook" something, so she willing ate croutons drenched in syrup, over and over again. but im pretty sure she enjoyed it at the time.
17. things that other people would find strange, she just doesnt. ex: she has been here about two weeks and is staying at our apt until her roommate gets here. for the first 5 days she slept on a pallet in our bedroom, right next to our bed...because she was scared. and thought nothing of it. i didnt mind too much, but bj has since put a stop to that. haha.
18. she is very level headed.
19. she knows no stranger.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIRG! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!


Sunday, May 4, 2008

busy week!

this past week and a half have been crazy. with moving, setting up the office, starting the selling season, along with it being the last two weeks of school, i have hardly had time to shower. i really cannot express how happy i am that i take my last finals tomorrow. i knew being the office manager for northstar would be time consuming, but trying to go to class, finish projects and study for finals while doing it has been ridiculous. so HALLELUJAH that tomorrow is my last double dose of school and northstar. im all for a busy summer, but this girl does require the occasional shower ;)

we are moved into the new apt, and for the most part the rain held out on us, thank goodness :) however, i did discover something about moving. NEVER TURN DOWN HELP. you would think that would be an obvious thing, but no, it was not. haha. we really did not have very much to move, so i figured bj and i could handle it easy enough. wrong. moving sucks, no matter how much stuff you do not own. So the first day when my mother in law offered to come help with two of bjs little brothers, i told her thank you but that i thought we would be fine. wrong again. it took us two days, a trailer, and three full car fulls to move. now, im not saying that it was a TON of stuff, or that two days to move is a long time. BUT, in comparison to how easy it could be been with help from my mother-in-laws who has fabulous organizing and cleaning skills, along with two sets of extra hands that belong to a 12 and 9 year old, it could be been a heck of a lot easier. Thus, my lesson is learned: i will never again turn down help when moving. ever.

i really like our new apartments! they have a little river in the back with a dock, an outdoor tennis court and basketball court, this little jogging trail in the back and then all of the regular stuff apts have. i really like the outdoor tennis court! its not in use that often, so bj and i have taken the dogs in there, and since it is fenced we can let them off the leases and just play while they run around. its pretty exciting. haha. speaking of dogs, does anyone have any good advice on training dogs??? i really dont want to have to send them both to dog school, but lately thats looking like the best option. moose is not as bad as dakota. dakota on the other hand...holy cow. i honestly HATE taking her on walks. how sad is that. she thinks she is dora the explorer and has to check out EVERYTHING outside, and will pull as hard as she can in the direction she wants to go, making it very difficult for my not-so-strong arm muscles to keep her on the trail. and trying to walk them both is just a joke. for example: the other morning i decided to take both of them on a walk. so we are just walking along and we go past the tennis court. there were some guys playing tennis and they asked about the dogs and what not. as im walking away i hear one of them say something along the lines of "how nice she is walking both dogs....well, actually both dogs are walking her". cool. haha. but you can kinda get the picture of what walkng them is like. so the other day i bought this book hoping it would help:



haha. seriously. haha. and yea it has helped a little, but not really. i mean, there was some interesting information that i would have never known about labs, but as far as training and what not, the advice in it is not working. all it talks about it positive this and that, never ever spank or hit your dog, just praise them for the good they do, and they will learn. well my doggies are not learning. granted, it has only been like a week and half, but they seem to get the general idea a lot quicker if i smack them (hhmm, do i sound abusive to anyone else? haha). so if you have dogs give me your advice!

the selling season is going good though! we are still waiting on about half of the guys that are moving in this next week, but the ones who are here are great. my little sister virginia is out here selling for the summer, and it is SO fun having her here!!!!!!! there is something really special about the bond sisters have, and im so excited that she will be here all summer with me. virginias roommate doesnt get here until next week, so she has been staying with us. this morning she even fed and took our dogs for a walk so we could slept in. it was awesome.

well thats it for right now, ill be better about updating this week and hopefully ill have some new pictures!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

this adorable little girl is our new (ish) niece! her name is sage michelle, and we cannot wait to meet her! it seems like everyone is having babies, hopefully our turn doesnt come too soon ;)

we are moving today! selling season for northstar officially starts on monday, so we are relocating to grand prairie for the summer. we dont have very much stuff yet, so aside from some furniture, it should be pretty easy. the forecast said to expect thunderstorms for the next few days (including today), but hopefully they hold out on us until all of the furniture is moved this afternoon :)

i wish i had some pictures to post of our little moose! he is growing SO FAST!! he is only 13 weeks old and weighs 25 pounds already! he has gained 10 pounds since we bought him. haha. i wish all of you could really be around him because he is possibly the cutest thing i have ever seen in my life. except when he is peeing on my carpet. about that, he is not catching onto the whole 'dont go to the bathroom in the house thing'. its pretty stinkin annoying, especially to bj. i was at a study group last week, and during the middle of it i get a text from bj that says " i am putting moose on craigs list.".....haha. i guess he just kept going inside. gross, yes. but what can ya do, he is a puppy.

for all of you that dont watch american idol, its going great. i have been a die hard jason castro fan since the beginning (despite the fact that my mother-in-law and audrie both said he was too feminine, and i believe one of them may have even said that they couldnt tell if he was a boy or a girl. lol.)


but this week, i decided i also love david archuleta. he seriously has an amazing voice.

and im sorry, but brook white gets on my NERVES. she is always doing some strange thing with her lips and lipgloss, and is always crying. yea its sweet blha blah. im over her. and now that i have blogged a little too much about american idol, i will move on.

there are two movies coming out soon that i am so excited to see. the first is:

i think it looks so funny. hopefully i will be able to con bj into seeing it with me. the second one im excited about is:
haha. seriously it looks so funny to me. i cannot wait and will probably go see it on the opening night.

wish me luck moving today!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

spring break, easter and MOOSE

its been a while since i have posted, but in my defense- i have tried to post, but my pictures wouldnt upload, so i just waited. but there is lots to post and there will be lots of pictures this post!


spring break- we went to angel fire, new mexico to snowboard/ ski with the youngs! almost everyone was there (we missed you marianne) and it was lots of fun. bj and i couldnt figure out why we never went snowboarding in utah when we were there together.

chase and zach on the car ride there....

the whole young clan outside the cabin...

father-in-law brad and zach....

all of the boys on the first day posing trying to look tough. very cute picture, in my opinion :)

craig and chance sledding....

cute kinsey!

bj and i on the way to the top of the slopes!

the car ride there...

chase and beej


Easter- right after the trip bj went up to arizona, so we werent able to spend easter together:(. i went up to my moms though and that was lots of fun. tristan, who is four, did not want to take his easter picture so he hid behind a tree for a while. haha. it was pretty funny., so i documented it.

tristan hiding...haha.

after hiding, we got him to pose. this was the first try. we tried again bc there is just a little too much personality in this picture. haha.

final shot, much better :)

group shot with my mom, liz and tristan.



MOOSE- okay so heres the story. saturday we went with chase to traders village to help chase pick out a dog for him and melissa. before we went i told bj "we are NOT getting another dog, no matter what", thinking HE would want another one, bc he is such an animal lover. well....we get there and see this face:


and thats when i knew i NEEDED this little guy. he is seriously the CUTEST thing i have ever seen. i had to talk bj into it a little (or a lot...whatever), but we ended up coming home with this 8 week old, 16 pound, adorable boy chocolate lab. i am so excited to have him. i did forget how much it sucks having to potty train them, but its so worth it because he is so stinkin cute.

i mean really, who could turn this guy down??? not i.

bj and littler moser at his parents house this weekend.

zach and dustin with cosmo, dakota and moose. bjs parents have a yellow lab named cosmo who dakota LOVES. this is such a cute picture.

the whole fam! Bj, kat, dakota, and moose.

so, we therefore we have a new dog :) he is supposed to grow to be 110 pounds- WOW. we are pretty excited about that part, we have always wanted a big dog. you may be wondering where the name moose came from...bj. i picked dakota, so he wanted to pick this name, so moose it is. i actually really like it and think its cute.

well that is all for now....the semester is winding down (woo hoo) and we are just preparing for another summer with northstar.

oh, and i hope you all watched american idol tonight. i watched and even voted. how lame. haha. but i am only a little ashamed, and will probably vote next week too. oops :)