direction

new years resolutions are tough for me sometimes. because i am a task oriented person i find it difficult to narrow my list down to an appropriate/realistic amount of goals or ambitions. so i tried to think about it a lot and talk it over with tyler. together we have decided on the following goals. some of them are mine and some of them are ours.

mine: read five (5) books. this may not sound like much, but since i graduated it's been tough for me to start a book and actually finish it. so this is actually a bit of a challenge for me.

ours: read the book of mormon together

ours: save enough money to pay off our student loan in july

mine: stick to my diet plan. exercise self control & self discipline. stretch myself in my work outs.

mine: live life simpler. be happy with what i have & try not to complicate things by putting too much on my plate. don't waste time watching tv when there are more constructive things i could be doing.

mine: try out my dad's old road bike.

mine: continue to make progress with my photography. maybe be brave & quit my job so i can really focus on making money while doing something i am passionate about.

ours: make meals from the biggest loser cookbooks i got for christmas

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last year  i made an inspiration board and i did accomplish some things. i would now like to toot my own horn just a little. there are still things on that list that i need to accomplish, but i would like to share what i actually did accomplish...

• i now have created the habit of reading scriptures everyday. for a long time i would start up and just lose the motivation or forget to read each day. i know it helps me to be happier and closer to the spirit so i have tried really hard this year to finally make it stick. this has been an ongoing struggle for me to remember, but not anymore! yay!
• i am proud to say that we got a lot of use out of our bikes over the past year. it's been really fun to ride with our friends too. 
• i made the goal of running another marathon and in october i did it! it was awesome. 
• i wanted to sew more & i made a blanket for my niece!
• i tried a bunch of recipes from my jillian michaels cookbook.
• i bought my D700 & launched my photography blog. i also attended the tonya joy workshop and learned a ton. i am really grateful that i was able to make some major progress. 

so maybe i didn't finish everything i wanted to in 2011, but i did do a lot. i am excited for 2012 and all the changes it will bring. it's kind of scary how uncertain our future is at this point. the fact that our lives could drastically change fairly quickly depending on what job tyler gets is actually kind of exciting.

here's to another great year.
i have a feeling it will be even more exciting than the last.

back to reality

pretty sure this is my favorite pic from our trip... more to come.

thanks kris!!!

 we have returned to the mainland and are (slowly) getting  back to reality and we're still adjusting to waking up to the sound of an alarm clock. 

 our trip to hawaii was hands down the 

most incredible vacation we have ever  been on. 

it was so much fun to stay with tyler's brother ryan, his lovely wife kristen and our neices taylor & dylan. we got to stay at the fanciest schmansiest hotel we've ever seen for a couple nights too. while there i spent most of my time in the hot tub.

c'mon... what did you expect?

we feel so blessed to have been able to share that time together to celebrate 4 years of marriage, tyler's graduation and his 27th birthday. it was like a little refresher. somewhat of a second honeymoon i suppose.

so... since today is my man's actual birthday... i just want to let him know that  i am so grateful for him and our life together. i had so much fun with him on our trip. i remember many occasions where we just laughed with one another. those instances will be burned into my memory forever.  i just felt so in love with him and so lucky to have such a happy person to spend all my time with. 

happy birthday tyler!!!

i love you with my whole soul & i think we should start every year celebrating in 

hawaii relaxing & laughing together.i'm so glad you're mine forever.

merry christmas

christmas was awesome. i baked goodies. we went to two christmas eve celebrations. 

we sang songs and read scriptures. 

we love our families and are so grateful to be able to spend time with them during the holidays. 

stout christmas eve.

brady christmas eve. 

christmas morning at the rex house. if you have ever wondered what i look like after i roll out of bed just scroll down. it's pretty glamorous. i know. 

 no traffic. in orange county. a must see.  

pitts christmas morning.

 i made these vintage looking canvas prints for my parents. they were my favorite photos that i took after brylee was born. thank you beautiful mess for the tutorial. mom and dad loved them. 

rex christmas afternoon.

highlights: 

tyler & brekyn wore matching outfits

grandpa's santa hat & grandma's matching bow

eloise eating a turkey leg

julia's singing

my pretty pearl that tyler gave me

watching brylee open her presents

seeing my parents reaction when they saw the canvas'

tyler playing with his new globe

my new camera bag from jo totes

owen asking me for more chocolate popcorn with a chocolate mustache