My favorite hobby

For those that know me, I love love love decorating! It's so bad that I'd rather spend my money on cute things for my house instead of making myself look cute. So although I look like I just crawled out from under a rock, my house is looking fairly decent! We've been here 3 years and there's still alot I'd like to do, but most of the rooms are almost done. I'm definitely open to suggestions because I don't have a creative mind- I always have to look at pictures of other people's homes to get ideas for my own!

The 2 things that would make this kitchen perfect are window treatments and stainless steel appliances. I've refused to do blinds in here because we have them in the rest of our house- I'm thinking roman shades?

Our monstrosity of an entertainment center. I do love white, but that's alot of white all in one place.

Here's the living room (when you first walk in the front door). It's 99% finished, I'd just like a few more accessories.

View from the living room

Poor Clay- his room needs the most help. I have big plans for it, I just need the money to follow through. :)

The girls' room

And the master bedroom- this is a work in progress. I'll post pictures of the finished room, but it could be a while. :)

This one's for the girls! (well, Heather & Candice anyway)

I'm finally giving in to Heather's tag so I hope it's worth it!

4 Jobs I've held-
1. Sales associate at Famous Footwear
2. Teller at Wells Fargo Bank
3. Member Service Rep at Desert Schools Federal Credit Union
4. Receptionist for my dad's law office- I know he was sad to see me go, but it's okay now because he has Linda.

Places to go for a weekend getaway with my girlfriends-
1. Kierland Commons Resort and Spa
2. New York to be on the Martha show!
3. A beach house
4. The Rose Bowl Flea Market

Movies I Can Watch Over & Over-
1. Just Like Heaven
2. Elf (or pretty much any movie with Will Ferrell)
3. Hitch
4. The Wedding Planner

My Guilty Pleasures-
1. Arlecchino's gelato- I could eat it all day every day
2. Antique store shopping- the thrill of the hunt
3. Looking at decorating magazines
4. blogging

Places I Have Lived-
1. Mesa
2. Provo
3. Mesa
4. Mesa

Shows I Enjoy-
1. The Office
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Friends- I never get sick of all the re-runs
4. Almost anything on Bravo- Top Chef, Top Design, Project Runway- all good.

What were most likely the first things you thought of when you saw your significant other for the first time?
1. Hmmm- he's pretty cute.
2. I bet he works out.
3. He could use a haircut.
4. I wonder if he could be my first kiss? (And he was!)

Places I have Been on Vacation-
1. Paris
2. Mexico
3. Hawaii
4. New York

Favorite Foods-
1. Avocado pizza
2. Sweetcake's turkey delight
3. Chicken spaghetti
4. Macaroni Grill's chocolate cake(but pretty much any form of chocolate will do)

If in a "jam" with your spouse, what tactics do you use to get out of the doghouse?
1. What? Derek and I never fight. We always talk sweetly to each other.

Websites I visit
1. Chase bank
2. Gap
3. Forever 21
4. YOUR blog!

Best 1st kisses landmarks- (best or only?!)
1. In the parking lot at Applebee's
2. on the couch at my apartment in Provo
3. Sorry to dissapoint, but that's it! I was a very good girl:)

Places I'd Rather Be right now-
1. Scottsdale Fashion Square
2. Hawaii
3. California
4. In my bed

Summer Days!

This is what Clara looks like when she gets herself dressed. First of all, it's the middle of summer in Arizona and she puts on a sweater and jeans (just a tad bit tight and she looks like she's waiting for a flood) and if you look closely you can tell that she put them on backwards! Looks like I've taught her real well about fashion sense.

This is what summer is all about- we hooked up our hose to a mist system and connected it to the trampoline. Clever, huh? I got a kick out of watching the kids. It always makes me happy to see them playing nicely together- these days it's a rare occasion.:)

Camping in Carpinteria

The kids had so much fun at the beach- they're finally old enough to enjoy it!

Janie was in sand heaven! Of course we didn't leave without a few fistfuls making it into her mouth- Delicious!

And for those of you who can't imagine me riding on the back of a motorcycle- here ya go! Don't laugh at my helmet- at least I was being safe. :)

Sneak Peek

Before

After

This is a sneak peek of Candice's kitchen. It's not 100% yet, but getting close! This is what has occupied most of my time these last few weeks, but it has been so fun! I'm sure Candice will post all the after pictures once they move in next week!

Happy Birthday To Me!

I had a fun birthday weekend! On Saturday Derek took me to Houston's- yum! Sunday, we went to my parent's for a birthday dinner- roast, potatoes, salad, asparagus, fruit, croissants, and jello cake for dessert! My mom got me a Sunday dinner cookbook(can't wait to try them for all of our future Sunday dinners!) and a really cute shirt.

For lunch on Monday, my dad took us to Cafe Rumba (I love food!), then that afternoon I received a package from the UPS man (I love getting packages in the mail!) and inside it was this beautiful umbrella stand from Candice- thank you!

Monday night, Derek took me to Chandler mall where I got more cute clothes along with this really cute ice cream cone cupcake pan- can't wait to try it out!

Bunko!

I had Bunko at my house Friday night and thought it would be fun to do a theme. Can you guess what it was? I hate to brag, but I thought it turned out pretty cute!

Clay's 2nd Birthday!

We started off the day by singing "Happy Birthday" to Clay and letting him open presents which he loved! This is one of the first times he's smiled on his own for the camera!

He can't get enough of Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story so you can imagine his excitement when he opened a BIG Buzz- he didn't even want to let go long enough for me to take it out of the box!

After presents, we went to Granny's for a hair buzz which he also loved!
For dinner, we had a picnic at Granny and Grampa's- hot dogs, chips, strawberries, lemonade, and of course cupcakes. It was a fun day!

Family Pictures

We got family pictures a few weeks ago by Ashley Whiting- she's amazing! Here are some of my favorites.

Utah/ Colorado Road Trip

We just returned from a 6 day trip. First, we went to Utah for my sister Kelli's graduation. We haven't even been up there since Mason, Amanda, and Kelli have been there so it was really fun to see their homes and get to spend time with them.

It always makes me laugh to see Derek try to hold the 3 kids when you only have 2 arms. I guess he figured it out!

Mason and Amanda have the most beautiful park by their house, so we decided to go Saturday morning and have breakfast and let the kids play. I think we came at the right time- the weather was perfect!

After Utah, we drove over to Colorado to see Derek's sister and her husband Brian and their 2 kids. They live on 40 acres with horses, goats, dogs, and cats. Our kids thought they were at Disneyland- they loved the animals! On Monday, we went to Glenwood Canyon for a bike ride. It's a 16 mile bike trail that takes you through the canyon with a running river- so pretty! We only made it about a mile because I am the most out of shape person in the world and couldn't go anymore. I honestly don't think I've ridden a bike since I was 12. How sad! But we still had a really good time and the kids did exceptionally well considering all the driving we did!

Comfort Food

I promised myself I wouldn't post pictures of places or things that I liked, but looking at other people's blogs is so interesting and I love to see what kinds of things other people enjoy. So on the subject of food, there is nothing I'd rather have than pizza from La Grande Orange and gelato from Arlecchino's right next door. Guaranteed to be the best pizza and gelato you've ever had. I know some people were posting about the Gelato Spot in Scottsdale, but trust me, this is better!

Easter

Clay already had chocolate on his face by the time we got the camera.

(And we thought Clara was the sweet tooth!)

I got new easter baskets for the kids this year, and Clara didn't even have to ask which one was hers, she knew it was the PINK one!

I love having 2 girls I can dress the same, especially since Candice is in San Francisco, so Clara and Maya can't always be matchy matchy. But come June I'm sure that will change!

The typical Cook children photo

Little Angels

As much as I love being a mom, Clara and Clay have really tested my patience this week. I came outside to find them hanging on the pool fence with their suckers which I thought was cute, so I grabbed the camera to capture the moment. This was a good day. The next day, however, didn't go so well. Taking a hammer to the fridge, spitting juice and milk at each other while running around the house, putting things in the toilet, scratching Derek's leather chair with a screw, and drinking from the dog's water dish were just a few of the mischievious things they did. Nothing major, but all firsts and within a few days was enough to make me crazy! Maybe that's their way of telling me to get out more!?

San Francisco with the Drews!

Clara's first plane ride that she can remember-

she thought she was an old pro; rolling back pack and all!

On the merry-go -round at Pier 39. Thanks Derek. We celebrated Clara's 3rd birthday with an earthquake from Ghiradelli- delicious!
Even though it was a bit chilly, the girls had so much fun at the beach.
Candice was so nice to make ice cream cone cupcakes- It was all Clara could do to contain herself while we sang Happy Birthday and she got to blow out the candles.