pretending to be a photographer

a few years ago i bought a nice camera. i never had any intention of becoming a photographer. i just wanted a nice camera to take nicer pictures. it definitely does take nicer pictures. i always wish i had more time to actually learn how to use it, but for now i still shoot on auto most of the time. i recently started branching out and learning a few settings, but i still have no intention of being a photographer.

when laurann opened flippin waffles, she needed a few pictures of her stuff so i volunteered to use my nice camera. by the time we got off work from our real jobs, we lost most of the good light so we improvised. i climbed on her brand new kitchen counter and actually got some good shots.

she mixed and cooked and topped. i shot photos, and we ate a ton of waffles.

the menu and recipe book

the unicorn

to die for BLT

chicken and gravy

bananarama

snickers

true love

laurann

a few behind the scenes shots

unblogged bloggables...the 4th of july

i realized last week that i never blogged about the 4th of july. it was pretty uneventful this year. since chelsea and jeff moved a few days before, the move kind of took over the holiday. we worked pretty hard on the move the days before and after but decided we should probably celebrate a little.  we took the kids to a park in the neighborhood. they had music, food, games, etc. the kids had fun and really loved running through the big sprinklers.

some people from church got together for a celebration. they had quite a few fireworks so we ended up doing that instead of trying to find a place to go watch regular fireworks. the kids had fun.

even though it was a little crazy with the move, i am really happy i got to spend the fourth of july in cali.

blogging the bach 10.11...finale+after the final rose

did this season seem forever long or is it just me? it's finally over, and now we can move on to bachelor in paradise. from the promos, it looks like we'll have plenty to talk about.

this post could go on and on, but what's the point?!? we all spent 3 hours of our lives watching it. we don't need another hour long post. before we really start, i missed a little bit of the beginning. the weather was crazy, and my tv was going crazy. i missed parts of nick meeting andi's family, and therefore probably missed a few words for the word tally. i also stopped counting when the bach actually ended. i was over it during after the final.. journey...12 amazing...5 (i think i forgot to count this part of the time) love...71 (20 of those were probably in the last 2 minutes) fairytale...did we hear this? did i miss it? husband/wife...13 lucky...2 connection...4 romantic...3 andi did not say stop 1 single time now that i just added them all up, i'm pretty sure i messed up my counting this week. sorry!
the boys meet the fam. some observations 1. nick is super nervous. he says he eventually calmed down. i never saw it. 2. andi has total tropical humidity hair. i prob have said this before, but i never knew i had curly hair until i lived in the dominican republic. straightening my hair was impossible there. it was so humid (more than north carolina where i grew up), and i discovered my hair is curly) 3. andi calls josh "babe" when he walks up. 4. josh is really nervous too, but he jokes about it so it seems less awkward. 5. hy says "i have no concerns about josh whatsoever"
final dates josh calls andi "baby" there's a fine line between cheesy (poetry) and cute (baseball card). josh nails it. nick wants andi to say how she feels before he decides. has he ever seen this show? you can tell what's going to happen by andi's face. she gives nick the you're going to be ok honey mom face, and her face completely lights up with josh. #deadgiveaway
the end of the end josh picks out the biggest freaking diamond i've ever seen andi (not neil lane) shows up at nick's. it doesn't go well. he's defensive. they're both sad, and even though i never thought i would do something like the bach, i now know for sure i wouldn't. i'm way too insecure. nick was confident, and yes he got his heart broken, but you have to be confident in order for this to work. chris h says "farmer chris is in the house", and we all wonder why they didn't announce the next bachelor. i thought for sure it would be chris, but who knows. josh is emotional, and it is actually quite cute. he proposes, she says yes, and the rest is sooooo cheesy.
after the final the whole nick thing is weird and drawn out for me. i totally believe his heart was/still is broken, but it's time to let it go. i am really sad for him, but i was done with that whole thing before it started. josh finally comes out, and they seem really happy. they both live in atlanta so in the words of andi they've "obviously" been sneaking to see each other. i hope the rumored abc wedding is for real. i really like josh. i've said in past weeks, he is totally my type too. we have a type for a reason.
the final bleachable moment...nick discussing what happened in the fantasy suite...that was just embarrassing for him and for andi and completely unnecessary to bring up on national tv.
the season was pretty predictable to me. i love andi, but i'm pretty happy it's over. what did you think of the end? are you team josh? make sure to link up your bach posts.
this whole time in the domincan republic is making me feel very nostalgic about my time there. it was really really hard for me especially at first. the language was nearly impossible, the food was different, and technology wasn't like it is today. once i made the decision to be happy there, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. i met some of my best friends and learned so many things about myself. it really is one of the most beautiful places i have ever been. i haven't been back since i lived there, but this definitely makes me want to go back.

An InLinkz Link-up

mathis family reunites part 4...the rest

these family reunion posts are really kind of dragging out. this is the last one, and it's been fun to relive the fun we had that weekend.
besides not getting together for way too long, the main reasons we finally got together this year were to celebrate grandma and grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary and their 80th birthdays happening later this year.
we took some pretty informal family pictures. trying to coordinate schedules with everyone and a photographer didn't work out so we decided to keep things simple. enough of us have nice cameras so we set up a tripod and did that instead.
as much time as i have spent with them since moving to utah, i have very few pictures with my grandparents. karlee wanted to get in too.

 brittany and her family

 missing ashley

 the johnson fam

the wuehler fam minus austin

 my mom, her siblings, and parents

 eric and megan, ryan

 the whole fam. only missing a few people.

random side note...don't put your phone in your back pocket. i made the mistake and it makes my booty look huge.

 

we didn't have plans saturday afternoon so we took the kids to the children's museum. 

kyler driving the mail car

 karlee milking a cow

 karlee working at the bank

 karson and kyler shopping

 kyler playing music with a shoe

 karson playing music with a shoe

after church on sunday we walked over to the st george temple and took a few pictures

my grandparents, parents, and sister were all married there. i always thought it would be nice to keep the tradition going, but it's not very convenient to where i live.

 by the last day karlee and addison were finally friends. i wish we all lived closer together.

it was so great spending the weekend with my family. most of the time i do ok living far away from family. i have done it my whole adult life so it is very normal to me. leaving is the absolute worst. the goodbyes are crazy hard, but it makes the time spent together that much better.

the color run-2014 kaleidoscope tour

i've talked about running quite a bit around here. most people know i'm a runner. right now i'm in the middle of training for my 9th full marathon.

that means my runs are long. if you're new around here or if you missed my 5 little confessions about running, you might think i love running. the truth is i don't always love it, but sometimes i do. today i did. the run was crazy long, but it was perfect. i felt good. i ran well. i didn't want to die. lots of days i don't feel great. i don't run well, and i really want to die. the miles add up, and i sometimes wish i was training for a shorter race. enter THE COLOR RUN doesn't this look fun?!?
The Color Run, also known as the Happiest 5k on the Planet, is a unique paint race that celebrates healthiness, happiness and individuality.Now the single largest event series in the United States, The Color Run has exploded. They have more than tripled their growth, hosting more than 170 events in 30+ countries in 2013.
announcing the 2014 kaleidoscope tour hitting more cities with more fun, more music, more participant gear, and more color attractions.
if you're still not convinced... let the race kit convince you. this is way better than just a t-shirt.
this is more than your average 5K. this is a party.
now that you're convinced (you are convinced right?), i've got good news. you can save 5 dollars off the registration fee with the code COLOR5OFF (enter at time of registration, please type code-not copy/paste) head to http://thecolorrun.com/events/ to register. i'll be at the utah race on aug 23, but you can use the code for any city. who is joining me?