Leland'd 62nd Birthday

At dinner last night it was Sam's father, Lee's, 62nd birthday.
Sam was reminiscing and said Mara taught him Yo Mama jokes when he was ten years old.
Lyn asked, what that was.
Lee quickly responded in a ghetto voice saying, "Oh you know, yo mama's so fat, she has her own zip code."
HILARIOUS.

Hannah's Best Week Ever!

So here is why this is Hannah's "Best Week Ever"
She found out she gets to move to the Big Apple (do they still call it that? Either way she's New York bound).
This goes along with the above, but her soon-to-be husband was offered his dream job
She turns twenty-two
She gets MARRIED!!! YEAY!!
She gets to...
She is going to the Virgin Islands

No one deserves a great week more than Hannah, I love you baby!! I know this great week is product of all of your hard work and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You deserve all the best and happiness that this world has for you. I love you very very much and this week is just the beginning of many great weeks, months, and years to come.

Where to begin...

I have been trying so hard to come up with a great way to express my feelings of love and overwhelming gratitude for my wedding day and everything that everyone did to make my day perfect and it's just so hard... But, how do you thank the people who made the best day of your life possible? How do you tell them how grateful you are? How nothing could ever have meant so much to you? Well I'm just going to say it, Tyler and Luke thank you. The truth is my amazing sister Ambyr planned my entire wedding. Why am I thanking Tyler and Luke you ask? Well they were kind enough to lend me Ambyr's time and attention that should and would be given to them for weeks, maybe months. So thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

I would next like to thank Chico, he too gave up the time and attention of his mommy. And after helping fund the reception, I'm sure mom and Gary can no longer afford to buy Chico as many accessories or treats as he's become accustomed to. What a sacrifice. Thanks Cheeks!!

I don't want to embarrass the other contributors who made my day perfect, but to all else, I sincerely do want to say thank you and I love each of you. Thanks to everyone who came to the wedding to support us. And if you didn't come, I can't wait to tell you all about it (if your interested).

I will give an actual update tomorrow!

Are you interested?

Sam asked me to come up with at least 5 hobbies we can do together. My problem with this? I feel like I'll come up with my 5, we'll get interested in 1, we'll be super into it for a few weeks, maybe months, and then gradually we won't do it anymore, and then it'll become something that once was. Now you are correct, I suffer from fear of commmitment and over thinking things. But still this is a daunting task for me, so to aid the process I have begun a list of things I am interested in:

Wakeboarding and Wakesurfing (life long love)
Cooking/Baking (duh)
Sunbathing (but I am not as into wrinkles so I have given this up:)
Reading (I love to read, this is Aunt Shelly inspired thanks to all the books she gifts me)
Photography (I LOVE taking pictures, but only of people, I am not into scenery)
Tennis (Sam is really good at Tennis and I think it'd be fun to learn)
Writing (thus my blog)
Dancing (Sam is so not into this idea)
Music, (specifically the piano but I would LOVE to learn to sing)
Sewing (my dream is to be like Roma)
Crafts (weird right?)
Babies (having my own but I'll have to wait a bit for that so I love other babies until then)
Camping (Am calls me "outdoorsy")
Carpentry (nothing amazing, but to build a table or chair or something would be fun)
Pilates or Yoga (I have already failed at both but the book I just read inspired me to try again)

The problem with the things I am interested in is they really aren't things Sam would enjoy. He wants us to develop a hobby or hobbies that would be fun for both of us. So I have to come up with 5 potential hobbies we can do together so here goes:

1. Bike riding (I do love biking)
2. Tennis (see above)
3. Running (gulp)
4. Nature Hikes (Uncle Steve used to take us hiking and I always really enjoyed it)
5. Rock Band (I'm kinda kidding so I will come up with one more)
6. Playing Piano (we will have a piano, soon)

My list seems to suck. Any ideas?

Is immitations really the most sincere form of flattery?

I want my wedding to be pretty timeless. My colors are pink and campaign my dress is all lace, my ring is a beautifully carved rose gold band, my flowers are roses, things are really very classic. It's important to me when looking back at my "big day" I don't feel like the pictures are dated or trendy, it just isn't me.
If you haven't seen my engagement photos, you should, http://www.mattclaytonphotography.blogspot.com/. Now for those of you who have seen them you'll agree that they are the best engagement photos ever, well the best for me anyway. They are black and white and very unique looking. Matt, the photographer, has an amazing eye for art and beauty and he and I discussed making the scene original and timeless. The photo shoot was so fun, and I was more than pleased with the outcome.
On Monday of this week I was reading one of my favorite blogs of an acquaintance who lives in Provo and happens to be an amazing writer. This blogger mentioned that Matt Clayton was the photographer for her engagement photos. She then goes on to note that she is wearing wellies (rain boots) and holding a wooden umbrella for their picture. For those of you who haven't received your invitation yet, she described the engagement photos Sam and I took just weeks ago. I was very sad that our 'original' idea was now unoriginal. I immediately appealed to Sam who sharply reminded me the scene was in fact the photographers brain child, not mine and he was at liberty to recycle it as he so chose. Since then, I have heard of other brides-to-be planning on a similar idea. And so it goes, my engagement photos are now officially trendy. The good news is: I think I'll live.

Retraction

I am happy to say our dance lessons are coming along nicely; we no longer meet with our instructors, we graduated and now practice by ourselves. It turns out the Gold’s gym, a block away from Sam’s house, has a huge exercise room with mirrors all around, the perfect place to practice. Sam agreed to our new rehearsal location with the stipulation that we practice at 12am, so no one would see him and call him a “Nancy”. Now that I can actually see myself dancing I have to tell you, I am really not that bad! I mean I still lack focus and struggle to remember the moves, however, my technique is pretty good. It was a relieving discovery to see I didn’t embarrass myself by calling myself a dancer growing up. I will try to do you proud Natalie.

First thing on my list next time I visit my mother’s house: watch old cheerleading footage.

Fear of commitment

So the other day my mother called to ask why I have yet to create a new post on my blog. My mom was given permission to distribute my blog address to her friends etc and now they check it and it's been weeks and I yet to post an update. I got this sinking feeling in my tummy... A feeling I was well acquainted with, I had made a commitment that I may not have been ready for. I mean I just thought blogging would be something fun to do when I had random thoughts to share, little did I know I was actually making a commitment with family and friends to keep them updated on the goings on of my life. But like most commitments I make that I may or may not have been ready for, I make it right. So here is my update.

Last weekend Hannah, Sam, and I flew to LA to meet up with my Mom, Ambyr, and Luke who drove up from the Bay Area to throw a combined bridal shower for me and Hannah. Ambyr, Aunt Shelly, Grandma Ducks, Chrissy, and my mom threw us an amazing shower. They left nothing for want, that's for sure. The food was good enough for the Barefoot Contessa, the center pieces would Martha Stewart swoon, everything was just perfect. So many of our friends and family came, it was so much fun!

Maybe I talk about my childhood a little much but I think it's fun so here is a little more. Growing up there was always one person who would always stick up for me, someone who would always listen to me, someone who was always proud of me, someone who made me feel special, someone that made me feel like I'd always have someone to talk to... It was, and still is, my grandma Ducks. It was grandma's birthday the other day and I wanted to take a minute to mention what a sweet grandma I have been blessed with. She is the prettiest grandma I have ever know, and I tell that to everyone, and no one has ever disagreed. My grandma would always rub my back for me when I couldn't sleep, she would take us on walks to the local ice cream shop on warm summer nights, she'd make sure we wore our shoes when we went outside so we wouldn't catch pneumonia, and she would cart me and my siblings all around the San Fernando valley so we could see my relatives. My grandma has done nothing my whole life but shown me just how much she loves me. I hope she knows how much I love her!!