dan & han get blogs

check it out! my little brother and sister started blogs:

dan's

hannah b's

pictures & memories

so in spite of the last few days being incredibly (and sweetly) busy, i have found myself spending a good deal of time reminiscing. yesterday, mom and i met with my wedding photographer to FINALLY order some wedding prints. i know, just two years late right?! as we poured back over hundreds of images, a flood of memories rushed back. while i know that i have previously blogged about our wedding here and here , i mention it just to say that it brought back a lot of memories. and, i cant wait to get these new prints. in addition to that occasion, my friend erin posted 103 images that showed why her life was great. i made it in a few of them, but it made me realize and think back over the last few years of all the sweet moments i've had. finally, tonight, i joined nathan for a going away party for his old youth pastor, and got to meet a lot of his old friends from high school.

so, it has left me in a nostalgic mood. funny how when these moods hit you remember the oddest things. as we drove home, i was asking him when he knew i was "the one" and other questions about when we dated. it was so sweet to hear his side- and cool because some of the things he was telling me i hadn't heard before.

now we're home and i'm looking over old pictures. i thought i would share just a few glimpses of what makes my life great. i'm wanting to come up with a way to incorporate things i'm thankful for into this blog. not silly things like pumpkin pie, but meaningful things. be watching for a new feature on here- i'll be blogging more about that later this week.

but without further ado, here are some pictures (some quite entertaining) for your viewing pleasure. little moments that have had some sort of impact- and friends, family, and my true love, all of whom have helped make me who i am today.



my days at berry in friendship hall were so sweet. this was sophomore year (the sophomore girls) before the mountain day olympics. how fun those days were.



my best friend growing up, kk & i have shared many secrets, stories, and years together. while in college, we took a shopping trip with our moms up to the mall of america. kk was in my wedding, and a year later i was in hers. it was cool to think that the days we had dreamed about 16 years prior were actually happening- and we were next to each other just like we thought we would be

dorothy is the wife of garland, the director of the winshape college program which i was a part of while at berry. she was such a huge influence & encouragement to me while i was under their watch. because of our affection & appreciation for both garland & dorothy, we did our premarital counseling with them, and had garland officiate our wedding. dorothy is someone i will always look up to, value, and love. we miss the time we get to spend with them since we are not in rome any more, but are grateful for the impact they have made, and any chance we get to see them.



this was my sweet papa (dad's dad) when we went to the beach one year. papa passed away right before i got married from a long battle with Alzheimer's. what i wouldnt give for one more back porch chat, one more visit to the beach, one more chance to get to be with this man. i am grateful that i was old enough to know papa and remember him. he was a great guy who raised a great son (my dad). pictures like this remind me of how thankful i am to have known him.




i love traditions.  i mean, really. i'm not much for change & new, but i love old & meaningful. this picture was snapped at my senior mountain day while participating in the grand march with two friends from freshman year (christina & ty). if you dont know about the march, you are missing out. i loved that one of the ways i celebrated my senior year was a way that seniors at berry had been celebrating for almost 100 years. and i love that i had friends that stayed with me all along the way.




sweet han! my little sister is awesome. while i haven't blogged about her yet (her birthday isnt until january), she is one super incredible girl. this is us one year out in breckenridge skiing (maybe 4 years ago?). she is so cool. she is brave, generous, thoughtful, and a blast to be with (except early in the morning- but whos fun then anyways?). i love being a big sister, and i love having a little sister. so much so that i made her my maid of honor. shes the best.




crazy critter! my other brother (whom i also havent blogged about because his birthday isnt until february) is one of the funniest people i know. clearly, by this picture. critter is only a few years younger than me, and while we fought when we were little, i'm loving that we are turning into friends as we become adults. critter always has a story and a way to make you smile. he is also the most dependable person i know. i can always count on critter to help me with anything. even if its just a good laugh :)



this little girl (and the little guy in the background) are two of my favorite kids. sophie & calvin are dorothy & garlands kids, and my senior year i babysat (ok, it was more like play time than any sort of work). my last night babysitting with them, i brought stuff to make funfetti cupcakes and some craft stuff to make frames. we took lots of pictures, ate lots of cupcakes, and i cried when i left. i love these kids. sadly, i dont get to see them much, and they dont remember me too well because they were so young, but i will always remember them. i mean, look at that chocolately smile framed with cute curls- could you forget that?! :)

this was a sweet moment while i was getting ready for my wedding. while i had gotten my toes done the day before, i, being the klutz that i am, stubbed a toe and chipped some paint. my grammie was there with white polish in tow to fix it up- and it gave me a few minutes to spend with her in the middle of the hustle and bustle. grammie is awesome. she is a strong woman and i look to her often. shes pretty cool.

yes, the big D. how cute is he?!



my college friends. what great girls these are. our senior year, we went on a retreat to the beach and enjoyed some pictures in the sand. and yes, i can get some major ups. erin, christina, lydia, and i had many great moments together, and continue to enjoy each others company.



and last but definitely not least is my best friend ash. this girl is incredible. she is there for me even when i have no words. our senior year, we passed on the new york senior trip and instead went to disney with my family. we had a blast- she had never been before. i love that we have grown from high school crazies to college girls to now married women and have stayed friends and allowed our friendship to evolve in each stage. i love that we can do things just the two of us (like our girls get away to ft lauderdale a few months ago) and with our husbands. and i love that our husbands have become friends. ash is pregnant now (yay!!!!) and so i am excited to see this new transition in our friendship- from married women with no kids, to best friends that are moms (well, at least one of us). i am so excited for ash. i want the world for her, and i truly thank God every day for the amazing friend He has provided in her.

so there you have it. a mish mash of good times and good people. not everyone was covered here (including mom, dad, mimi, grandaddy, my cousins, my husband, my work friends, and many more) nor were all my favorite places for memories (albania, lebanon, curtain bluff, my honeymoon, and many more) but this is just a start.

what are some of your favorite memories?

if you know me, what are some of your favorite memories with me? i'd love to hear!

dan's birthday cupcakes!

so i've FINALLY gotten a chance to settle down and blog a bit! i had an EXCELLENT birthday (which i will write more on later) which has kept me busy the last couple of days. so now, let the blogging begin!

i had mentioned last week that i was making dan hamburger cupcakes for his birthday. friday night around 10:30, i finally got to work. first, i baked the yellow cupcakes. ashley and i took the wilton cake decorating class last summer, and in we learned that duncan hines boxed cake mixes are the best things to use for the most consistant results. i have a from-scratch recipe for yellow cake that i like even better, but because it was raining and i was short on time (and buttermilk) i whipped up these guys. per the counsel of wilton, i add in an extra egg and a box of instant vanilla pudding mix.

while the cupcakes were baking, i whipped up some of dan's favorite brownies. i made them in a big 11x17 jelly roll pan so that i could get the most "burgers" from one box (in the future, i would make a double batch of brownies and cook them in a smaller pan, because they kind of ended up looking like mcdonalds hamburgers because of their shrimpy size)

while the brownies were in the oven, i started mixing frosting. now, normally i would whip up some homemade buttercream, but i happened to have one last container of canned frosting, and since i was just using it as a "condiment", i gave it a good stir and started coloring. the yellow and green batches turned out great, but unfortunately, the red turned out looking a little pinkish maroon. i have never been able to make good red frosting. so, i just gave up and figured, who needs a lot of ketchup anyways.

so now, i just had to start assembling. i had let both the cupcakes and brownies cool, so i was ready to work! i used my bread knife to cut my cupcakes in half, right below the tops of them.

once that was done, i used a biscuit cutter with scalloped edges to cut out "hamburgers" from the brownies. to ensure that they didn't slide off, i put a little spot of icing on the bottom half of the cupcake, then layered the brownie burger, and topped it with some squirts of "mustard" "ketchup" and "lettuce."

and here were the results!

saddly, when i showed up at moms the next morning to take them to the little guy, i found him very sick. he had come home from youth camp with some sort of nasty stomach bug, so he didn't get to enjoy any. i have promised him a birthday re-do, and i will make these again for him then.

on a side note, the rest of the fam enjoyed them and there were none leftover!

so there you go- hamburger cupcakes. way cute. way easy. quite a hit. definitely will make them again!

happy birthday dan!

at my berry graduation

today is my littlest brother dan's 12th birthday! that's so crazy! i'll never forget the night we got him (he was adopted in case you didn't know). i was heading out to go to relay for life with my dad, and my parents got a call and shortly had a newborn to look after.

if you don't know dan, you are really missing out. he is the funniest, wittiest little dude. he might be 12, but he acts about 65. from his perch on the couch (literally, a perch, a spot that he has worn down and sat in since he was like, 1), he is a champ at video games and loves to record and watch nba basketball games. he is so loving and thoughtful, and will always make you an ice water if you ask. his vocabulary is incredible (one time, him and nathan were watching star wars:clone wars and he said that the bad guy was impervious...what?!). he copies everything my dad does which is pretty darn cute.

at our wedding, he was a little too young to be a groomsman, so instead, he escorted my mom (along with critter) and read some scripture for us. he is our family's little theologian- its not uncommon for him to ask you for your view on israel or to tell you his thoughts on salvation.

dan has come to LOVE nathan. its pretty cute. no sooner have we pulled up in the driveway for a visit at the lake, and dan is waiting by nathan's door with a basketball in hand asking him to play. and he's pretty good.

dan and nathan chatting it up before the wedding

dan is also quite the ladies man. i'll never forget it- on my birthday a few years back, we were sitting at lunch and he tapped me on the shoulder and said "excuse me, but um, do you have a map?" i kind of laughed and said no why? he then went on to say, "because i'm lost in your eyes." throughout college, he would randomly call me (he memorized my cell) and he would leave me long messages, asking when i would come home and what i was doing. one day, he called me and said "hey love muffin" and ever since, we have called each other "love muffin"

one of our favorite treats- at the crepe cart in breckenridge, awaiting our scrumdidilyuptious nutella crepes

needless to say, he's quite a hoot! so heres to a happy happy 12th birthday little guy! we will be celebrating with him on sunday, and for the occasion i'm making him a surprise special treat (of course there will be a blog about it!) as far as a gift gos, no joke, when i asked him what he wanted from us for his birthday, he said that since he knew we were poor and trying to save our money to buy a house, he just wanted nathan to take him to the LA Fitness to play a game of pick up basketball, and then to go to the world of coke museum and then to dinner at Flip Burger Boutique (because thats cheap). so there will of course be a blog about that as well!

until then, happy birthday dan!

on the lift in colorado

and here's a sneak peek at what i'll be making tonight!

from bakerella's website