Faith in my little seeds

I FINALLY DID IT!!! 

I've talked about planting a garden forever and I've been too lazy/conviced I couldn't do it all in one day to actually do it. 

 So, Friday night after the munchkin went to sleep I went out and started digging a trench to bury my boards.  Seeing my slow efforts, my hunky husband rolled up with the tractor and dug me some ditches in no time and nailed my boards together. 

Saturday morning, Mel and I rolled to Home Depot in our little white car and LOADED the trunk with fertilizer and soil...it was a stinky ride home.  Tyler picked up some chicken wire on his way home from work since I didn't have room in my car overrun with poo :)

When she went to bed that night and I unrolled chicken wire, went to town with the staple gun and even got to use my sewing skills with metal 'thread'.  (see below)

After my hardscape was complete I lugged 6 bags of 40 pound poo around my giant yard and mixed my perfect soil concoction.  Sunday morning (this morning) before the sun got too bright I went out to do my 'sowing' and planted watermelon, squash, bell peppers, and tomatoes. 

Some people think I'm crazy to do it all from seeds but to me it's about the processes.  If I get any kind of green to pop out of the grown in the next two weeks....I'm a freaking winner.  If I get any actual food from them...slap a gold medal on this chest! 

Blessing Day

On July 31st, Tyler gave Melanie a beautiful blessing and we were so grateful to have our wonderful family surrounding us.

4 Girls Sitting in the Grass

I got to go to my cousin Sasha's wedding this weekend in Yuma....lucky for me I have some awesome family in Yuma too!!

These girls are the girls I grew up with, loved, threw dirt at, ate thanksgiving on a tailgate with, and they have turned into some of my really great friends. 

I feel SO lucky to be close to my cousins.  A few are missing, but if we all got together it would be like we were all 5 again.  I LOVE them!!

Here's the Rundown

Alright folks...this is the worst blog famine I have created in a long time.

Sorry!!!

1. Work (good excuse right?!)
2. Tyler's school (lame excuse...don't judge)
3. Got nothin' else you'll likely except :)

Life is good to us, we've gotten a lot of good family time in, went to an awesome ward Christmas brunch, finished this dumb semester, gone to the sand dunes.....we're happy, but obviously nothing crazy is happening....hehe

I'll post before Christmas you have my word (and if you're lucky you'll get some pictures!)

I'm starting the countdown

So, this is a little anticipitory, but I figure 5.5 years should allow time for some pretty cool stuff.

What am I talking about???

Are you as excited as me!!!

So, first thing on the list:

Before I'm 30, I'm making an appearence.

I'll Spare You The Mush

So....you saw my fancy sewing machine, but I didn't have a good place to put that beauty. So, I desperately needed another desk for two reasons:

1) Awful Walmart corner desk for the computer
2) Really cute refinished desk from craigslist that ONLY holds the sewing machine

CHECK OUT THIS BABY................

Hand crafted by my awesome husband

(that's right ladies...he rocks)

Don't let the picture fool you. This bad boy is long enough to hold not only the computer, but also my sewing machine, AND the serger. It's a small room's dream table.

My personal carpenter offered to cut cord holes in the top to organize all the chaos and he even suggested carving out the back of the legs so it would sit flush to the baseboard and wall.

I decided it was perfect the way it was and I didn't want to risk not thinking it was perfect, so I had him leave it just like you see above.

Hasta la vista nasty corner desk!

AND.....if you know anyone that wants a really great desk that I refinshed, just let me know :)

Only the Beginning....

One Girls Camp craft down............

So many to go......

You're Gonna Be Popular....

Guess what I am dragging my sweet husband to see tonight!!!???

!!!!!!!Wicked the Musical!!!!!!!

I seriously cannot wait. I read the book, I have the soundtrack, I've held the music in my own hands and it is fabulous!

Go here to enjoy some of the tunes for yourself:

Music from Wicked

I met one of my very good friends from high school for lunch the other day and we both reminisced about our theatre days and how we miss it. I can't describe how badly I would love to do something creative again, and by creative, I mean musicals :) They are really a piece of my soul and I know that sounds cheesy but it is a feeling from my gut that I can't shake and I haven't stepped on a stage for 5 years. One day...that is what I keep telling myself.

But...for now, I feed my hunger by dragging my poor husband to whatever I can put my hands on. Seriously...you should hear this soundtrack....capital 'A' Amazing.

Driving While Sleeping

Here is a quick excerpt from our drive tonight. It had been a long day at the lake (10 hours) and we were exhausted. Just as a pre-cursor, Tyler likes it when I sleep because he can blare his crazy rock music and since I'm such a hard sleeper I don't wake up.

Example 1:
Tyler: Would it be wierd if I told you I wished you were asleep right now?
Me: Yes. That would be wierd.
Tyler: Well, it's a good thing I didn't tell you that than, huh?

Example 2:
Tyler poured himself a fresh soda with ice in a cup while we were driving down the road. He looked at me, paused, raised his glass, and knocked it right up against my head. I looked at him stunned, "Did you just 'cheers' my head?"....
"Yep."
A minute or two later I picked up my water bottle, took a drink, and Tyler stuck his head out awkward while driving and gave me this weird look. I took another drink and he cleared his throat. I looked at him, again stunned and said, "OH...am I supposed to 'cheers' your head?".....
"Yep."

Oh heavens....the things that happen when we are tired. I love this kid.

Let the Good Times Roll

It's long overdue...but I wanted to still share! In the midst of all the wedding planning for L we have managed to find several lake trips at the same time. Boy, my body was craving a tan in a bad way....we're re-donkulous pale up in this hizzy! haha!

Dad on the Knee Board

D had the time of his life at this trip to Roosevelt. We shortened up the rope really tight so he was riding the knee board right on top of the wake and sometimes infront of it like a surfer. He had SO much fun!! Look at that big 'ol grin on his face. I would have been terrified but the boys seemed to love the thrill of potentially throwing their face right into the prop...whatever it's all in good fun right? lol

Me and Ruby Sioux

Here's a quick glamour shot of me and the puppy. She did so great on the boat! She was a little nervous to get in and out of the boat but just hung out for the most part. I got her to play in the water a little bit on the shore but anything past her shoulders must have been near drowning because she was terrified. One day...a little more exposure, and I'm convinced she'll be able to save my life if I needed it....haha...yeah right!

Cause It's a Ladies Night

What a fun weekend! I still don't have pictures of my backyard...hehe...sorry about that. We ran down Thursday night and I got to spend the evening with the girls in my mom's family. It was so much fun and even though I have been blessed to see these girls more often lately, I never get bored with them. They are each special, loud, fun, giggly, and beautiful...I love them to pieces. I got too see my cousin's new baby girl who was absolutely precious and tiny.

Some of the Girl Cousins (we're missing like 15 more)

Mom and Grandma (obviously someone is being shy)

Friday I worked at my grandma's house all day for a little celebration we had for my mom that night. It was so hot outside! It was so fun to hang out with my brother and his fiance, it was the longest I had spent with my brother since Christmas so it was nice to be together.

Saturday was another girl's adventure with my sister and mother-in-law. We spent ALL morning at the mall...from the opening at 10:00am to about 3:00pm!!! We tried on clothes, we looked at jewelry, we pretended to buy cookies for our boys even though we all ate one, LOL! Of course, in my usual style I didn't buy anything until we got to Target to buy a present for someone else and I spyed a sweater I had my eyes on but promised myself not to get until it was on sale (it was a whopping $15...I am too cheap for my own good). Lill came away with some good stuff and Momma C restrained herself as well, but we had such a good time.

That afternoon we hit up the housewarming party for our friends who just bought this gigantic 3,000sq/ft house (so jealous!) but it was nice to visit with them. Then we jogged down the street to Christie's house for her graduation party. She is all done with college and I know she couldn't be happier.

YAY!!!! 3 DAY WEEKEND HERE I COME!!!! We've got a big fat nothing planned except maybe a little camping with an air mattress in the back of the truck at the lake...a good time had by all!

Can't Stop, Won't Stop

We ran down to Tucson and while we were there the boys wanted to go test their new dirtbikes...I don't blame them. Dan, Tyler, Scotty, Shauna, and Gary all ran the track down by the fairgrounds. So...in an effort to be more productive and have a little bit of our own fun, Christie and I decide to drive later and meet them. Boy....what an adventure! Had to turn back for food, got some crazy directions, got a little lost, did some doughnuts in the front office parking lot, ate some junk food...long story short...a dang good time! Here is us at the end of the our adventure sitting in the freezing wind watching our boys ride :)

I thought I should provide an updated picture of our yard after all the hard work last weekend! We scooped and shoveled and raked until we just couldn't take it anymore.

So, I know it's hard to tell but you can see all the pea gravel we layed in the back...12 tons...didn't even begin to put a dent in this beast. BUT...we have some rock to keep the dirt down, thank goodness! Tyler and John dug some trenches and then Tyler and I laid and glued all the pipe for the sprinklers. Yay! Sprinklers! I am so glad we are doing it the right way this time...no more half-way business.

Here is a picture of John keeping our dog busy while we were working :)

We will probably finish the drip system this week and be able to lay sod and plant some more plants this weekend. But there is still so much more to do....there will definitely be future updates including brick laying, more rocks, and a firepit!

Tearin' it up!

Just some fun and quick snapshots of our hard work this morning in our backyard. I am so grateful for my family and all of their help....seriously, I could not have survived the day without the tractor.

Let's Get This Party Started!

Riding the Smoother

He Had to Try

The Good Ol Days

This weekend Tyler went on a boy's trip to the dunes and I went down to Tucson for a babyshower. My cousin Camry is absolutely adorable and even more adorable pregnant! But I'll back up and give you the whole weekend.

Friday night I drove down right after picking up my dog and saying goodbye to Tyler. I dropped Ruby off at my mom's house and drove to Fred's Bar and Arena to see my friend Megan since her birthday is on Monday. Her grandpa owns this bar so it is basically a staple of my childhood. We went in the back and made some tacos and ate some birthday cake and then topped it off with a little karaoke and a present :)

Saturday morning Mom, Charles, and I drove out to Ryan Field, another childhood staple, and ate some breakfast at the cafe in the small airport. Then we went out to my grandma Janet's house and they helped trim some trees for an older couple that lives near by while I visited with my grams and my cousin Morgan, her husband Doran, and their beautiful little boy Wylan. (Morgan is Camry's sister) When Mom and Charles were down the three of us drove back to the house and watched general conference and ate some lunch.

Wylan, Morgan, and Kristina

Saturday night I went to the babyshower and my aunt Nila, Morgan, Camry, my aunt Terry, and cousin Sasha were all there! We had so much fun, I think we scared Camry's inlaws...we tend to by loud and laugh a lot when we are all together. Right after the shower we stole Camry and the 4 cousins all went to Chilis for a little post-baby shower noshing. It was so fun to catch up with everyone...this was my crew growing up...my best friends....we had a really good time.

The Whole Crew

Sasha and Camry

After dinner I drove Sasha back to her mom's house (Aunt Terry) in Sahuarita. That house is absolutely beautiful. Terry and Joe have only been there since around Christmas and it is decorated so pretty with the bones of a beautiful back yard that just needs to grow into itself...the area is awesome. I loved it and I couldn't resist hanging out and visiting with Terry and Sasha for another 2 hours. I felt like a single girl again driving all over town and getting to my mom's house just before the stroke of midnight..haha!

I drove back early Sunday morning with my puppy did a few things around the house, watched some more conference and took a little nap. Now I'm getting my second wind and I think I'm going to clean like a mad woman...haha. Happy weekend everyone!

Just when we think it slows down...

Oh it is that time of year again...the holidays are long gone, dune season rolls to an end, but what is around the corner...so much more!!

We have at least 3 weddings coming up in the next 3 months, a baby shower, the end of the semester for Tyler, annual account planning at work for me, and a honey-do list about 80 miles long :)

Granted...I do a lot of my own honey-do tasks.....it's more of a Curtis family list. The catch? We have to get it all done before lake season!!! We have decided it's time to do the backyard right instead of just half way, so within the next few weekends we will have a ditch-witch, some sod, gravel, and weed killer. I know it sounds like SO much fun, so if anyone is interested please give me a call. Luckily my father in law has a tractor and even more luckily our backyard and side gate are big enough for him to tackle the hot mess that is currently behind our house.

I visited with my grandparents this weekend down in Tucson and my grandpa is such a green-thumb, just talking to him gives me the itch. He has beautiful blossoms (popcorn popping) on all of his trees, an awesome garden-by-the-square-foot, and I just want to be a farmer now!

I am also really excited because I have finally decided that it is time for a family picture update and I am doing it right this time. I have gotten some awesome suggestions for photographers that are all at a really great price so now it's Tyler's choice. I narrow it down and he picks or he just makes me pick :) We're a good team that way.

Just for fun......

I don't have any pictures from exciting adventures so I thought I would throw this on here to break up the words. We were on our way home from the temple in Snowflake for a wedding and caravaning with Tyler's parents. We stopped at the lake for a quick break and Jessie caught us with our puppy :)

I'm An Aunt!

My sister had her baby last week! I was out of town on business so it was kind of surreal at first. I got a picture on my cell phone but it didn't really hit home because I wasn't a part of it. We went down on Saturday afternoon to check the youngin' out and make sure my sister was in good spirits. Emery is soooo sweet. Like I have mentioned in previous posts, we are surrounded by babies and they are all so adorable. Some of our good friends have such cute little kids, but there was just something about Rachael's little boy that resonated so much deeper with me. I have a connection with him as family that really makes him so special. I held him for probably 4 hours straight and just loved him like crazy! I am so excited to get to know him.

On Saturday morning, before going down to Tucson, Tyler and I had the chance to go to the Mesa temple with Tyler's family. His mom got permission to do her father's work (Tyler's grandpa) so Dan, Christie, Lilly, and his parents all met us there and we spent all morning together in the temple. It was really a wonderful experience.

This week Tyler is on spring break from school so it will be nice to soak up all of his free time...hehe. Hope everyone is doing well!

It Was A Success!

Lovebirds

We had so much fun this weekend! I was about to go on this trip myself because Tyler was driving me crazy with all of his questions, but I was able to withstand and it turned out well. I think I had him convinced for quite some time that we were going snowboarding. I always played stupid but I let him run with the idea as a distraction. He got so excited, bought a new snowboard (which he needed anyway, so I just went a long with it), and kept asking me if he needed his knee to feel better for his birthday adventure. Finally, in order to protect my own sanity and fun for his birthday weekend, I broke down the day before and told him we weren't going snowboarding. I knew that if I woke him up Friday morning and sprung a different plan on him than what he was expecting it wouldn't be a fun weekend for anyone so I thought I would save us all the trouble. :)

I packed his bags and some extra goodies and loaded him up in the car. I let him see where we were going for a while but then as we got to the freeway I told him to put his blindfold on. Then, being the naughty wife I am I said we would be to our destination in about 30 minutes. LIE LIE LIE LIE LIE...haha. I took the blindfold off and with some help from friends had "Viva Las Vegas" playing in the background. He got a huge smile on his face and screamed, "I thought so!". Let's be honest...what would Tyler like to do that isn't snowboarding, the sand dunes, or the lake? My only other option is Vegas.

The Mandalay Bay

We walked and walked and walked on The Strip, I swear we all probably lost 2 inches in our hips (which I quickly counter acted with my yummy dish of Haagen-Daz). Tyler had a designated amount of money to "enjoy" (aka: play casino games, aka: gamble with)...and he thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm sure the casino will thoroughly enjoy all of it as well ;) While sitting at a table one night, I had slyly sent some text messages to some of his buddies from Utah who I arranged to meet us there. YAY!!! That was the kicker because he had NO idea that Park and the Boys would be there. It turned out great. I think we are still both recovering from the lack of sleep.

I got to see a few things that I had not seen before. The Wynn...which is absolutely beautiful...and is now my dream hotel in Vegas. The whole thing was an amazing garden with beautiful ceilings and a panoramic window with a 3 story water fall in the middle of pine trees (in the middle of the city!). I love the street performers too. They probably make our trips to Vegas the most fun. These were both in the Palazzo and who doesn't enjoy a good living tree or statue now and then?

The Living Trees

The Living Statue

We had so much fun and it was a great weekend to reconnect with friends and enjoy each other away from our everyday lives for a while. I flew out of town for work on Monday night so it was nice to get some good quality time in while we could.
Next vacation...who knows? It's gonna be fun though!

Just When I Thought.....

we were going to have a nice relaxing weekend! Oh no, that's not how we Curtis's play the weekend game :) It was such a nice day at work on Friday, relaxed, productive, and fun. I was looking forward to coming home picking up my boy and doing a little shopping (we both need new sneaks). Saturday morning I was going to go shopping by myself to update my sad little wardrobe, run by a baby shower, and host a big birthday dinner that night for Tyler. All of our friends and family are making a trip to the good 'ol Queen Creek to celebrate at a nearby Mexican place. Fun right? Well instead...in Tyler and Kristina fashion...here is what we stayed up doing until 2am..........



That's right! Those are the beginning of stripes on our bedroom wall! We are freakin' crazy but that is why our lives are so fun I suppose. We are going to do alternating stripes of tan and a metallic tan with a chair rail and a dark teal/blue on the bottom. Sounds crazy...I know, but hopefully it will turn out well. We are going to paint the baseboards, all the trim, and the chair rail a dark chocolate color. AND, you know what all this means? New room decorations too! AND, you know when we are going to have it done? This weekend.
WE ARE CRAZY!!

Quick Update

As goes our usual routine we went to the sand dunes this weekend. It was Valentine's weekend and though a girl would love to be pampered and treated special, Tyler was an extra ordinary husband prior and after our dune trip...so I cut him some slack. Really, flowers and chocolates aren't my thing. Flowers die and I have to take care of them. Chocolates only makes ME want to die when I see my hips in the mirror...haha jk. SO, Tyler and I decided to just write each other love notes, no more, no less. I love to have the words written down on paper so when Tyler is gone or lets face it...when I am mad at him for no reason...I can refer to my love letters and calm myself down.
We did run into a slight mishap when we got home from the dunes though. We store a toy-hauler at a place nearby. Their gate hours to access the property are 7am to 7pm. Let's just say, we didn't realize those hours refered to entry AND exit. We were about to drive off the lot at 7:20pm and we were stuck! It sounds funny but boy were we frustrated. There is a big automatic gate between us and freedom and the people that are supposed to live there and take care of the place...weren't there! Tyler tried calling and leaving messages but I decided to take matters in my own hands and call the police :)
I'm sure we sounded crazy...being stuck in a storage facility and not trying to steal anything...just wanting to get out. I called twice in the 30 minutes we were stuck there and no one ever showed. THEN we decided to put things in God's hands. Well of course, we all know the ending to this story. A truck pulled up that supposedly had an 'extension' code (we need one of those!!!!) and let us out. I'm sure we would have been there at least another hour if that truck hadn't pulled up. Being locked in a storage facility probably falls pretty far behind theft, violence, and red light runners.
Anyway, we're alive to tell the tale and now we are back to the grind. Tonight I made Chicken Chili for dinner (see the recipe above) while Tyler was at school. Now we're doing homework, watching tv, and posting ;)

Olive Mill, Gelato, and a Friend

I had all Saturday to myself since Tyler went snowboarding this weekend with some family/friends. I would really love to learn how, but making the poor guy teach a wet, angry, impatient Kristina when he could be cruising down a mountain with people that acutally know what they are doing....is not the nicest thing to do. So, I was a good wife and let him have a little solo adventure and I volunteered to hang back, clean the house, and babysit our dog.

On my agenda for Saturday: Grocery Store, Exercise, Clean, Get Gelato at the Olive Mill

What happened on Saturday: Take My Sweet Time at the Grocery Store, Walk Around the Block with Lyndsey, Gelato at the Olive Mill, Cruise Around the Mall with Beth

As you can see...Saturday turned out much better than expected. :)

I took at least two hours at the grocery store and looked at every inch of the store, bought things I didn't need but wanted, and I picked up an easy read "Confessions of a Shopaholic"...I'm already in love.

My camera batteries died, so I couldn't capture Beth and I in all our glory digging into our mounding heaps of gelato....but here is a picture and link to the Olive Mill. I think everyone within 30 minutes HAS to go. Granted...you'll be there for 1 hour tops, but I'm all about the 'little guy'.

Queen Creek Olive Mill

Afterwards Beth and I went to San Tan Village, a mall just north of Queen Creek, and she splurged on some makeup, while I talked myself out of every cute piece of clothing I picked up...my usual routine.

Now it's the end of the day and I don't know where it dissapeared to, but Tyler will be home in an hour and church is at 2 o'clock tomorrow.....there is still time to party....I better live it up!