Photog' Friends

I just wanted to give a shout out to some amazing ladies in the photography world. I've had the privilege to work with three outstanding professionals, assisting in wedding photography, across the valley, and out-of-town. These ladies are not only HILARIOUS and SWEET, but they are BEYOND TALENTED. Only one thing comes to my mind when I see their work--PERFECT! Every picture taken is a masterpiece. I am always blow away by their creativity, not to mention, all the crazy equipment and "techy stuff" that goes into their work.

First, Kimberly Jarman:
She owns her own studio in Mesa (coolest studio ever), and runs the show. She has multiple photog's that work for her (second shoot, etc). This is how I met the other two sweet ladies. You can check out her work here.

Second, Mary Jordan:
She is a second shooter for Kim Jarman, but also does a lot of work on her own. I'm so proud to hear the recent news that she is the photographer for ASU (marketing and what not). What an awesome gig, and that just goes to show you she's got talent. You can check out her work here.

Third, Kimberly Bee (also known as KB):
She is a main shooter for Kim Jarman, but also has her own photography business, Bumble and Bloom. You can check out her work here.

I'm thankful to have this opportunity from Jenny Prefling (a close friend of mine since high school), who use to be the office manager for Kim Jarman, but has built a business of her own called The Concierges. She is an amazing writer, with multiple writing gigs. You can check out what her new business is all about here.

~I love you ladies. Thanks for all the fun, laughs, and dance moves (Mary). I look forward to many more weddings/etc, spent with you and maybe a camping trip someday (KB). We will always have Tuscon (Kim & Mary), and now Sedona. See you all soon! XO~

Mommy's Day

Mother's Day just happens to fall right before my finals, so this usually means I need the day to study. You would think I would plan ahead, but I am quite the procrastinator, and no matter how hard I try, I always get stuck with school work. This Mother's Day was not too bad. I decided I wanted to do something just for myself. So all I asked was to get up early and head to two yoga classes (3 hours straight). Since Jearel works late every Saturday night, I never ask to go on Sunday morning. It was my day, so why not?! I LOVE yoga. I never thought I would be so into something, but it is my peace, my intense workout, and my savior for my horrible back (I have two herniated disks, and yoga has kept me pain free for the past year and a half).
My yoga teacher was surprised to see me on a Sunday, and let me just tell you, I GOT MY BUTT KICKED. She made it a point to show me just what I've been missing on Sundays. I enjoyed every second of it :-)

After I got home, Jayla and I played around with my NEW camera (my present from Jay and Daddy). Don't mind my messy hair/no make up, and Jayla in her panties. I had to share since I never get pictures with just me and Jay.

I told Jayla to pose, and this is what I got!

and this too... HA!

and this OH SO sweet one... Look at that beautiful face!!!

After we played, Jayla and Daddy took a very long nap while mommy did school work, of course. I got enough done that we were able to go out and enjoy a nice dinner.

We headed to Hayashi, and let Jayla experience the teppanyaki table for the first time.
We had a silly chef!!
You'll have to zoom into this picture to see what's in his hands putting out the fire!

Of course Jayla stayed entertained by the iPhone!

Using chop sticks for the first time!

She loved them!!

Ah, a family picture :-)

Thank you so much to Jay and Daddy for making my day so special!! I love you both so very much!
I hope you all you mommies had a special day as well!

Party at the Park

Party in my neighborhood!!!! I love, LOVE my new neighborhood (not sure if I've shared that before?). And I REALLY love all my neighbors, both sides, and all around. We often all hang out outside, share beers, and have lots of laughs. Jayla is surrounded by little boys, not sure how daddy feels about this one, especially Jay's love, Quinn (he's 3).

Anyway...

On May 1st our neighborhood had a "Party in the Park" (one of many they will have through-out the year). We have 3 huge parks in the neighborhood, one is considered the "big/main" park. That's where the parties are held. The HOA puts together the parties as a way for us to mix and mingle with our neighbors. They organize several events for the party, post signs through-out the neighborhood, and send out a newsletter.

For this party, we had the Surprise Police Department, the Surprise Fire Department, two HUGE water slides, a rock climbing wall, three bounce houses, tons of food, drinks, and snow cones. There was even a DJ for entertainment (music, and temp tattoos), a balloon guy, and face painter. We were suppose to have a petting zoo, but no luck.

Of course, we headed out early with our friends from across the street. I think we were the first ones to arrive at the party (I guess we were so excited-HA).

Jay and her shades, and shaded wagon. The girl HATES the sun in her eyes!

Waiting in line for the yummy burgers and hot dogs!

Jay and her two little friends from across the street, Danica (the only other girl on the street, and Quinn's little sister), and of course, Quinn (her lover, even though you can't tell in this picture).

Bounce houses and rock climbing wall.

Water slides!

Police, and the neighborhood block watch.

Firemen (my fave-hee hee)!

The kids got to play in the truck, and see all their cool "tools".

Jay and her new fireman's hat.

Quinn and Jayla playing!

The police had a K-9 dog with them, and gave us all a show.

We had a great time, and can't wait until the next one!
Again, I LOVE my neighborhood!!

Easter

Holidays just keep getting better and better. Jayla gets so into them, and believe it or not, she actually remembers Easter last year (this girl's memory blows our minds...more about that on another post).

The day before Easter, we colored our eggs. Of course Jay enjoyed every second of it, and she actually enjoyed eating those eggs, for days to come.

She's very creative lately, and wanted to see what a dyed egg would look like re-dyed another color...

The finished product!

The Easter bunny visited our house, while Jayla was spending her FIRST night with her Nana and Papa (Jearel and I both had to work the night before). When I arrived that morning to pick her up, she REFUSED to leave, even after knowing there were presents waiting for her. Her only concern was, "is the Easter bunny on my trampoline?" Silly girl!

After finally getting home, so was beyond happy. Especially after seeing all her presents, and her "Alice doll" (she might just own ALL of the Disney store now)

Presents sent from her Grandma and Grandpa Skorstad (thank you, again).
She is one spoiled little lady!

She LOVED searching for all the eggs. She had the same response to every egg she found, "I GOTCHA *big smiles*".

Opening all those eggs. She got lots of money for her piggy bank!

Later that afternoon, we headed off to Jearel's Aunt and Uncle's house. We always have the best over there; great food, good company, and so much fun.

Jay and her Auntie Jennifer

Kingston, Jayla's cousin, got an extra special present from the Easter bunny...
These baby chicks.

Jayla and Kingston playing.

What a little CUTIE!!

We ended our night, at home, hanging outside (enjoying the last of the beautiful weather), watching Jay play with her new chalk.

Happy (late) Easter to everyone!

A Little of This & A Little of That

Okay, really... It's more like A LOT of this and A LOT of that. I suppose this happens when you are a blog slacker?! Here I go again *deep breath*

For starters I got a brand new car :-)... 2011 Nissan Altima
I took these pictures about 3 weeks ago (with my new iPhone, that I oh so LOVE).
I'm quite the negotiator and got the salesman to throw in a FREE rear spoiler (not pictured here, they needed to order it).
I'm too lazy to go out and take another picture since the spoiler was put on, which looks WAY better. Maybe in another post ;-)

REASON FOR MY NEW CAR...

Long story short, my Armada was a big gas hog, and I drive EVERYWHERE. I filled that sucker up every 3 to 4 days (about 95 bucks each visit). Each time I watched those gas prices rise, I about fainted. Do you know what I would like to spend my money on? NOT GAS, that's for sure!

My brother desperately needed a bigger vehicle for his family of 6 and counting, so my decision was simple. Give my brother the Armada, take back my Kia, and
this was the outcome...
MY NEW CAR!!
Jearel called it my "adult decision". Seeing how I will be driving to downtown Phoenix, from Surprise, 5 days out of the week, not to mention, my clinicals for nursing school rotate through just about every hospital in the valley (2 times per week). Plus, there is NO WAY I could squeeze that BIG Armada into ASU's tiny parking garage downtown.
I guess it's official, I am an adult now.
And I love my new car!

Don't quote me on this, but about a month ago, we took Jayla to Princesses on Ice (coolest show EVER). I took a thousand video's, but I will just spare you the time and show you one. It's was the Wicked Queen and Snow White. I just love how interactive the crowd of children were. You can hear them all screaming "NOOOO". So cute!

Jayla happily sat on Grandpa's, Grandma's, Mommy's, and Daddy's lap ALL night (even though she had her own chair).

Watching the show, eating our $10 popcorn, and drinking our $10 lemonade. I can't even imagine how much Disneyland is gonna cost us?!

We had AWESOME seats. Thanks Daddy!

Jayla hiding from Maleficent (from Sleeping Beauty)

Just a peek. At one point she shouted out, "Grandma Maleficent can SKATE!!"
(she's been to two Sleepy Beauty plays, with Grandma)

Next up... Jearel's Uncle was in a show thing (AZ Game and Fish Expo), at Ben Avery's shooting range. So we headed out to watch him for a few hours.
Grumpy Jay.

Walking around checking out all the cool exhibits and wild animals.

HA!!

At the actual show. Jearel's Uncle Bob, and Aunt Jana, both compete in mounted shooting, and are both world champions :-). It was cool to finally see what it was all about!!

Jearel's Grandma, Jay, and Daddy.

Jayla and Daddy have made several cakes in the past two months.
It's kinda there "thing". We never actually eat much of the cakes, but it is something fun for them to do.

Of course, she LOVES to decorate the cakes with A LOT of sprinkles (this might be why we never eat much of the cakes-HA).

On a side note... I just LOVE my new kitchen. I promise someday, I will share more pictures of our new house!

This was a rare occasion, so I just had to provide proof.
Jayla HATES to sleep. Here she just crashed on the couch. If only it was always this easy?!

Jayla has not mastered riding her new bike, from her birthday, but we are still working on it. If only the weather would just stay cooler a little bit longer!

Play-doh is one of Jayla's new faves. Such a mess, but keeps her occupied for a few hours. A plus in mommy's eyes :-)

And.... about two months ago, Jearel and I went to a home and garden show at the Cardinal's stadium...
Jayla and Daddy played, ran, and played some more after the show.

Jayla thought these big numbers were soooo cool, and loved playing hide and seek with daddy around them.

Finally the END... Don't ask me how long ago this was, Oh wait, it was over my Spring Break back in March. Anyways,
I took Jayla up to Westgate's splash pad. She was not too into it. She just wanted to watch all the other kids, and stay dry. Her excuse was, "It's too cold mommy".

Either way, Casper needed to get some color, and we spent a few hours in the sun.

We enjoyed some yummy pizza for lunch.

I LOVE her smiles, with her crinkly nose.

And then headed over to Cold Stone. Her favorite!!

So happy, and...

so into her ice cream.

Our little beauty!

After all that sugar, she ran around for hours. She even found 3 little girls about her age that came up and asked her "do you want to play with us?" Melted my heart!

DONE!!
See, we do have a life.
It just doesn't always equate to blogging.
I hope you enjoyed!!!