micah sue and rachie were here

(it is hard to get a normal, handsome smile at of Micah, but look I got one)

(click on this one, Steph and Rob are so funny, you will laugh)

(I really like this picture of the two of them)


(the shops under the market, still part of the market, I just don't go down there too often)

(gorgeous colors, with the sun setting)

(over in West Seattle, you can almost see the city lights behind them)



(Micah Sue and Rachie meet the troll, he is nice and creepy at the same time)

My friends from Provo, Micah and Rachel, came for a couple of days to visit. It was so wonderful to have them here. I was able to get President's Day off to play with them. Steph didn't have classes and Rob got off from work early, it was one of the first times I really got to hang out with them (other than Sunday night dinner). Micah and Rach explored by themselves in the morning then around 3 we met them at Pike Place Market. We ate free samples, listened to some street performers and took a lot of pictures. I love the Market and although it was a little chilly it was such a gorgeous day. We walked down by the waterfront, ate some fish and chips, went over to Alki to see the Seattle skyline from that side. We ate a burrito that is the size of a baby, for real, it is that big. Next time I go I will take a picture. After we dropped off Steph and Rob we drove to the Seattle Temple. It was so fun having my friends at my home. Look how much fun we had, who else wants to come for a visit?

valentine's palooza on location

All the ladies and their crafty creations. This year we held Valentine's Palooza in Lynnwood at my parents house. It was a small party, but very fun and quite girly. I even made a card! I can't wait for next year...put it on your calendar. (P.S. Friends from Provo, I missed you ALL very much) Nicki spent the whole time at the Palooza, crafting is not her favorite, but she made darling cards for the men in her life. Emily had too much on her plate that day to really attend the party, but she stopped by long enough for a quick photo shoot.

super bowl sunday and mcdonalds "play place"

I don't know why I am so bad at updating this thing, especially because I really like it when blogs I read are updated frequently. But, what can I say, I am a slacker. Super Bowl Sunday was spent at Mom and Dad's eating delicious tacos that Dad of course made. Leah and I danced to a little "Free Falling," it was a Super Sunday! Leah loves the McDonald's play land which she calls the "play place." It is so cute when she says it, not so cute when she didn't want to come down from the very top and I had to crawl up after her to bring her down. But she is just so darn cute.

this is me...

Kaitlin tagged me a while back....here are my answers to "7 things you never knew you wanted to know about me" (I renamed it). I am tagging Abi, Elyssa Mae, Ammon and Easton. My friend Kendra's kids were tagged, it was fun to learn more about them. Now the WWW will get to learn all about the crazy Shaw kids!

usa. When I straighten my hair (maybe once a week), I get a lot of compliments. I mean, A LOT. It is nice, people are kind. But, it makes me wonder what the heck my hair looks all of the others days of the week. Is it really that bad? I should obviously be embarrassed to out in public with curly hair. I am not. However, I should find time to "brush" my hair more often. That should be a new goal, but I might be too lazy for such things.

duha. I am so excited for summer (have I mentioned that before?), yesterday I bought 2 new pairs of shorts and tried on my last year's summer clothes. I am so excited.

tulo. I cleaned and organized my bedroom, I even vacuumed in preparation for my houseguests Micah and Rachel. I am so excited to have 2 friends from Provo come spend a couple days with me. The sun is shining and I have tomorrow off, we are going to have so much fun!

upat. I am moving from my darling apartment that I have lived in for only 1 year. So sad. I couldn't find a roommate to replace my current roommate that is leaving. Where am I going? Oh, I have no clue. Don't even worry I am about to be a thirty-something homeless person. Thanks in advance to all of my friends and family that will let me sleep on their couch. And their husbands that will be helping move in 3 weeks. "I grow up to be a loser" (from Disney's The Kid, so funny and fitting).

lima. I have given up sugar/sweets until Easter. My own version of Lent. Emily is doing it with me and she is rocking it. I am so proud of her! We allow ourselves one dessert a week. Last Friday we had dessert at Claim Jumper-YUMMY! We can eat sugar free stuff and up to one Chocolate Chip Fiber One bar a day (they taste like cheating, they are that good).

unom. Something cute happened at Church today. I was sitting down the pew from the missionaries and half way through Sacrament Meeting one of their investigators walked in. Man, you should have seen their faces. They were so happy. I think they exchanged low-fives (a high-five would have been inappropriate in the middle of Sister Suber's talk) and I know they wanted to do a little dance. It was darling, and it brought me back 10 years ago to my mission. I have known that feeling before and I even felt a little of that today with the Elders! Way to go!

pito. I am really happy. I know that my happiness comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ and from my knowledge in a loving Heavenly Father that knows me. I will be provided for. I am not worried. I don't know very much about my future, or shoot even the next few weeks, but I do know that everything always works out. I am always blessed. In the World Wide Training Meeting it was mentioned again that "when we do what Heavenly Father wants us to do He WILL bless us." I know this to be true. I have seen it and I see it every day. This is one of favorite topics so if anyone is struggling with this please let me know and I will tell you what I know...I am so blessed.

friday night with the ladies

A couple of weeks ago I met my sister Natalie, our mom and a few ladies from their ward at a local bookstore to hear one of my favorite authors speak. I started reading Shannon Hale in my college Children's Lit. Class. Her books are mostly fairy tales, with some magic and romance. They are great for girls, but everyone loves them (my brother-in-law read the Goose Girl series). Traveling with Shannon was Libba Bray, I hadn't heard of her, but I bought her books and I am already a fan. I am having issues with blogger so I couldn't link their names to their websites, but google them to find a list of the books they wrote. Have fun reading!

Shannon Hale, beautiful and talented. Read her books, magical I tell you.

I can't wait to read me some Libba Bray.

The Ladies singing for the audience. They were pretty funny together. Read their books and go listen to them speak if you ever get the chance. It's like a two-women comedy show!

Shannon rolled out a collection of her rejection letters before teaching us the "neaner neaner dance" About her rejection she said "rejection pushes you to where you need to be." True in life not just in trying to get something published.

phase one

My secret (I have mentioned this before but it is still hard for me to admit) is that I am messy. Mostly only in my bedroom so no one really sees it but it is constantly there, always nagging at me. It is so embarrassing to me, it is probably the thing I least like about myself. I am working on it, daily I work on it. Maybe one day I will have it ALL together. Today I spent most of the day working on my room and mostly the scrapbook room part. It is not at all finished, but I got a great start on it. I call it phase one, I still have a lot to do. I have dreams about my cute bedroom and darling scrapbook room, I am on my way. My clean room is going to help me sleep better at night, I can just feel it. P.S. If anyone is looking for a great scrapbook store I have one in my bedroom...come on over! Also, if any one has mad organization skills feel free to stop by, I can pay you in scrapbook supplies. One more thing, please don't tell any potential suitors about my little secret, he will need some time to fall in love me first before he is privy to know.

Before:

After:

a glimpse of summer

Do you see that? The shadow of the camera in front of my face, it is from the SUN!!! We had almost a whole week of sun here in Seattle, it has been so beautiful. I even brought out my sun glasses for the first time in months. I love it. Don't get me wrong, it has been freezing cold, but the cool temperatures are easier to endure when the sun is shining. One day last week the boys and I headed over to Natalie's work to play with the kids. It turned out to be a gorgeous day, we put our jackets on and went for a walk. It made me so happy, it turns out that my mood is, to some degree, influenced by the weather. This glimpse of summer made me so excited for the real thing. I am counting the days...

martin luther king jr. day

We had no school on Monday in honor of Civil Rights Day (or whatever it is politically correct to call it). It was a nice day but too cold to play outside. I like my boys and all but I don't like having them ALL day long just staring at me waiting for me to entertain them. I collaborated with my girlfriends, who feel the same way I do, and we organized a play gym to PLAY. We had a great morning just hanging, the kids play really well together, don't worry we have to play referee a lot of the time, but being together is better than being alone with THEM. We will definitely be doing this again, hope you will be with us next time Wrights.

the leah-nater

look what Leah's been up to this year...

hiding in the hamper

vaccuming the house

listening to tunes with Grandma

looking glam in pink lipstick

cuddling with Grandpa

i love it

Heidi Mae,

You are simply the best! I love my eye patch (it might be on upside down). I was so surprised and touched. Honestly, it is one of my favorite gifts EVER! This is now how I look when I sleep thanks to you, an eye patch and a smile. Also, the little snowman ornament was not broken and so cute. Love ya!

Alicia

goodbye 2007, hello 2008

Grandma Jackie stayed with us for a week or so after Christmas. Leah really loves her GG. It was fun having her with us.

Leah had a taste of the gingerbread house before it went in the trash. It was funny, she liked taking all of the candy off more than eating the candy.

Our friends the Carters came over to make birthday cards, it was so fun. They made really cute cards, I can't wait until we do this again.

I made a cute little present for a darling family I babysit. It was easy and not expensive, everyone should make one. There is a candle inside the jar.

Monica's new haircut is super stylish and way chic, too bad my hair is neither!

I celebrated the New Year a little after 10pm with the Shaws before running home. I should have stayed at the Shaws. My family was watching Harry Potter when I returned, we didn't even stop it to watch the ball drop....pretty anti-climatic. But it is the New Year just the same and I am way excited for 2008.

Dad and me, I think it was still 2007 when we took this picture.

We spent New Years Day with Leah, we had a dance party. Leah thinks we are a little crazy.

Kisses from Leah (P.S. I really like my hair in this picture, its like a commercial, too bad I got a haircut a couple of days later. It is not as pretty now).

We took a picture before Monicorn left us for BYU-I. Have fun Monica, we miss you.

Phew, posting that was a chore. I am glad that I am caught up now, well mostly. The holidays we fabulous. I got over one week off and it was so wonderful to have a vacation. It was great to spend a lot of time with my family and just chill. It was really hard to go back to work, but it is good to be back to my real life. 2008 is starting off well, I am still working on my goals for this New Year and I will be posting them soon so you will hold me accountable to them. I love you all and I hope this year brings all you deserve.