fist pumping in arizona.

my sweet cousin ashley got married a few weeks ago. kyle and i traveled west to scottsdale, arizona to meet up with my family to celebrate with ashley and her new husband, adam. the weather was BEAUTIFUL! we enjoyed the sun, some shopping, good eats, hiking camelback mountain, and lots of laughs with family.  the wedding was at my aunt's house at the foot of some beautiful mountains. here are a few pictures from our weekend...

 Gram looking ever so stylish in her ray-bans.

 ash with her parents.

my uncle ken reading a beautiful version of 1 corinthians 13.

the cousins + kyle.

the sibs.

first dance as husband and wife.

i come from a family of extraordinary dancers.

even my dad can get down.

which side are you on?

we saw this new miricle whip commercial the other night. i thought it was so funny! i'm with pauly d.

sorry for being a "jrk".

i've recently started working with a first grade class on more of a regular basis at school. i've been doing reading groups and helping them with their writing, which has been really fun! i've always loved the little "love notes" and pictures that students have given me. last week i started getting a barrage of love notes. here are two of my favorites.

translation : "dear mrs. short, i am sorry for reading, you know, when i was a jerk."

my name often changes. mrs. good, mrs. small.

kids are sweet, and funny.

snow-tastic!

early in the week we found ourselves right in the middle of a blizzard. school was cancelled for 4 days in a row, kyle's work closed early, and most of springfield was essentially shut down for a few days. it was so fun to just sit and watch the snow pile up outside out windows. the roads are still very snow covered and icy. they could take some tips here from northeastern states on snow removal.

it's been fun to have some time off to sew, spend time with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law, and catch up on stuff around the house.

here are some pictures from our snowy day.

my shovelin' man.

meal of regret.

a month ago i was voted staff member of the month. i was pretty excited about it. some perks of this recognition included a parking spot near the front door, a certificate, a "supersaver card" to local restaurants, and two free meals at golden corral.

last saturday night kyle and i decided to cash in on a free meal. i don't think i had ever been to a golden corral before. i now know that i will never be going back. we should have turned around the minute the scents of the buffet wafted towards us when we opened the door. but, we stayed, and we ate, and we left feeling really sick.  

my brother really loves golden corral. i have a feeling if he ever visited our corral he might change his mind. it was a true picture of the midwest. yuck!

we're famous!

not really. janae posted some engagement pictures she snapped a few weeks before our wedding. the pictures she took at the wedding will be soon. here are some of my favorites.

snow day = sew day.

last week we had a snow day. i loved it. i giggled when i read "springfield schools" on the TV and then shook my head when i looked out the window and saw only a few inches of snow on the ground.

i took it upon myself to really enjoy my unscheduled day off. i completed a mountain of laundry and put my sewing machine to good use. it was great. i didn't talk to one person all day (except for kyle, who called 3 times to ask if i'd talked to anyone:)).

the first thing i made was a pretty ear warmer. i used the tutorial found here.

then, i made a matroyshka doll for hazel. she turned 2 on the 24th. i can't tell if she's stoic, sad, or sleeping. it took hazel a little while to warm up to her.

finally, i made some paper heart garlands to decorate our home. so easy and so pretty.

i would love it if every day was a snow day!