The District

We went to Washington, D.C. We stayed with Shelley & she let us borrow her car... we love her. Nicki got us an amazing deal on tickets... we love her too. We visited A LOT of people and places. We ate A LOT of yummy food. We saw the cherry blossoms. We walked where some of our most inspiring leaders walked. We remembered how much God has had a hand in the establishment of this amazing (yes, currently lost/struggling) country that we live in. We are grateful to have gone, seen, ate and visited. And also grateful to have ended up in the "Even More Legroom" seats there and back.

Here is a collection of our favorite photos. There were over 500 to start with so this is just a piece of the puzzle, but I hope you enjoy it.

Untitled from Amy Rex on Vimeo.

Farewell

The hubster and I are off to Washington, D.C. to see where he served his mission. We have great family who hooked us up big time. With cheapo Jet Blue tickets (Nicki you are the bomb-digity), a free place to stay and a car to use while we're there (Shelly, we love you). Thanks granny for raising such kind ladies. Thanks to the Darrow sisters we are taking our dream trip (I've never been) for a steal of a price. And thanks be to Uncle Rob for marrying a great lady, Aunt Steph...you are our favorite.

So, off we go to see the Cherry Blossoms, hang out with Aunt Shelly, see our nation's capitol and probably gain a few pounds eating yummy food. We leave tonight on a red eye...my first one...wish me luck!

Happy Spring Break to the rest of you!!!

Pure Insanity

When we got home from Vegas on Saturday night Tyler left with his buddies to stay with our cousin Christina down in LA. She lives just down the hill from Dodger stadium where the starting line was. The beginning of the race wasn't bad. Supposedly it was actually enjoyable for the first 15 miles or so, even with some rain. But after that, when it got colder, windier and the rain got heavier, it wasn't quite as exciting. Joints locked up, shivering ensued and goal times got farther and farther away. BUT, they all finished. Tyler and his 3 friends all took a little longer than they had hoped, but they all stuck it out. Me and two of the other faithful wives stuck it out at mile marker 15 and then headed to the chaos that was the finish line. Basically the finish line area looked like the location of a natural disaster. Shivering, crying, limping bodies looking desperately for familiar faces as they walk 5 blocks to the family reunion area. The set up was unbelievably stupid. We stood at the finish line for a couple hours in the worst part of the storm. We were SO happy that we eventually found our husbands. The rest of the day was spent in traffic trying to get back to Christina's to get Tyler's stuff & then back home where I could finally change into clean, dry clothes.

It was not a very fun day. I wish Tyler had chosen to do a different marathon. LA was just terribly set up at the finish. He says he will never do one again, but I don't know if that will change in the years to come. He did it and I am proud of him. He is a strong man and I am lucky to have a man that never gives up. Even when the rain and wind crash down he just keeps on pushing through life. I'm grateful for that, but I am also grateful for the sunny days.

Welcome to Fabulous

Last weekend we went to Vegas to see our best man Regan and Kate get sealed in the Temple. Friday night we went to eat at D.O.C.G. in the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Tyler's friend from high school is one of the cooks and totally hooked us up. Now, if you know anything about Tyler and I you know that we LOVE to eat. We both have decided that our food at D.O.C.G. was the best meal we have EVER had. That is huge people. If you are ever in Vegas and you want to eat the best meal you'll ever have go there. It was insane. Seriously. Oh and after dinner we went up to the 4th floor to check out the pool area... It was also mind blowing. I seriously cannot wait until Tyler gets a real job and we can afford to stay there. We will never have to leave the hotel. It was gorgeous. Afterwards we walked around on the strip, saw a drunken brawl and saw the water show at the Bellagio.

On Saturday we saw our friends get married. It was beautiful + her Grandpa was the sealer. The reception was awesome. Both Regan and Kate are graphic designers so the reception was beyond creative. Definitely unique. I loved it.

Congrats Regan + Kate. We were so happy that we were able to be there for your amazing wedding day.

My Hero

I don't mean to brag, but my husband is pretty fantastic. Not only is he the best friend I have ever had, but he is also pretty strong. Just a couple weeks ago he had emergency surgery. He had his appendix removed.

Now, please keep in mind that he has been training for a marathon for the past few months, of course the first thing he asked every doctor or nurse that entered his room was "so... I'm running the LA Marathon in 18 days... you think I can still do it?"... to which they all replied... "Well I don't think you'll be up to it" with inquisitive/confused facial expressions.

Here he is pre-surgery...

After surgery it was pretty bad. I think because so many people said that it was a "routine" surgery it made him think that the recovery would be super easy and that he wouldn't be in much pain. I have to confess, that was one of the worst days of my entire life. I have NEVER seen Tyler so distraught, so much in pain, so scared, so uncomfortable and so emotional. It was very difficult to watch someone I love more than anyone else hurt so badly. I was sleep deprived, sore from sitting in horribly uncomfortable chairs all day long and sad to see my sweetheart hurting. I drove home from the hospital and wept. It took me all but 3 minutes to fall asleep once I finally sat down on the couch.

When I left him on wednesday he couldn't keep anything down and he was pretty miserable.

But when I returned early Thursday morning he was chipper and all smiles as he demonstrated to me how he could now eat the orange flavored sorbet that they brought him... he was smiling as he plopped a spoonful into his mouth as if he was saying "Look what I can do!". I was SO happy!

Thank you to all of the many visitors and for all of the kind words of encouragement and prayers uttered in our behalf. We both really felt the love of so many of you. It was also special to see the power of prayer and the power of the priesthood. Our nephews even brought their uncle Tyler a very cute sign...

For those of you who are wondering, Tyler is healing very well. They were able to remove it lapriscopically so the surgery was not very invasive which meant a shorter recovery... Tyler was happy. He went for a check up last friday and the doctor gave him the green light to run the marathon. Tonight he is staying with family in LA and tomorrow I will be there anxiously awaiting his arrival at the finish line. It was a little scary there for a while, but faith and the power of modern medicine pulled us through. Oh and maybe my super hero husband did a little bit too.

ex. cite. ment.

tonight my older sister finds out if she's giving me a nephew or a niece.

its warm and sunny here in So Cal.

did some sewing last night and didn't screw up too badly.

lost 3 lbs when I weighed in this week. Hopefully the trend continues and I can stick to my goals. I get a "prize" for every 5 lbs I lose. Let's just say I can't buy ANY more clothing until I lose 20. It can't come soon enough.

tyler is back to his normal self and is healing at a superhuman pace. The Doctor gave him the go ahead to run the marathon.

planning on riding bikes to the park for a picnic tomorrow. SO excited to dust Ruby off and get her outside again.

i'm getting a lot out of my photography class and I'm finally learning stuff that I have always wanted to learn. HUGE smile on my face and butterflies about getting into photography again. Let me know if you want a shoot for a steal of a price. I want to get back to business!

sitting in my office listening to birds chirping and iron & wine pandora radio

having a baby niece/nephew that lives within 8 minutes. it's seriously heartbreaking to watch my niece in Hawaii sing twinkle twinkle little star on skype and know that she barely knows who I am.

Homeward Bound

The Physicians assistant came to see us. She said Tyler can go home today! Yesterday was the most exhausting day of my life. Words can't really describe how terrible it is to watch someone you love hurt so badly. This morning Tyler is much more chipper and he is keeping clear liquids down-HUGE progress. I am grateful for the power of prayer & the love felt from all of our loved ones.

Waiting

Right now I'm sitting next to Tyler as he attempts to sleep in his hospital bed. Thank goodness for the St. Judes wifi network. Yesterday he complained about abdominal pain all day. After dinner I made him google the symptoms for apensicitis ( I had a hunch that's what it was ). He dealt with the pain until midnigt. He knew he couldn't sleep through the pain... That's when he went to the e.r. So now we wait for surgery... Probably until 12:30. So here's to a day spent in the hospital waiting around for someone to remove his appendix. Mostly just waiting until my sweetheart isn't in pain anymore.

Please keep Tyler in your prayers. We appreciate all the love thus far. We are lucky to have such a great support system.

ladies only

After Shira had Colton she told me she thought she would be the mother of boys, she couldn't really picture herself with a daughter. But when she found out she was having a girl she was, of course, over the moon about it. Janae threw her a great shower on Saturday.

After the shower Shira wanted some pics of just her & her baby belly. The lighting/landscape wasn't what I preferred so I told her she has to let me take her out to do a proper shoot before baby girl arrives.

vote. vote. vote

The Steelwells are a very special group. Not only because we have two family members in the group, but because they are musically talented like no one else. They are an amazingly talented group of guys who work really hard and treat their fans well. They are always graceful and kind and they make music that sounds as if it was sent from above. They are truly a gifted group and their talent never ceases to amaze me. They have been entered into a contest by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the best 16 unsigned bands in the nation. They need as many votes as they can get in order to win. If they win they would be on the cover of Rolling Stone, perform on Jimmy Fallon and get tons of media coverage. Please give them 5 stars because they definitely deserve it. Don't trust me? Just listen to their stuff and you will become a believer.

i want more

Valentines Day was radical. We were lovey dovey, he got me flowers, I got him cookies, we ate at Houstons, we cuddled, we kissed, we ate a hot fudge sundae, we laughed and we had to put on stretchy pants as soon as we got home.

By the way, if you're ever in Irvine and you want to be blown away... eat at Houston's. It was insane. The french dip was to die for. I literally start salivating every time I think about it. I can't wait to go back. Or I guess I can't wait until our wallets can afford to go back... lots.