The Cranes

A Short Getaway Weekend

2009-02-15T17:34:00.012-07:00

Last weekend Kendall and I were able to take a little getaway trip to Portland, OR. It was nice to getaway to relax, shop, and well eat! A little work too, for Kendall anyway. Kendall had an interview at the VA hospital in Portland on Monday so we went for the weekend to check out the area and just have fun. Portland is a beautiful city, lots of green everywhere and I love all the bridges over the water!

While we were there we decided to stay right downtown rely on the public transportation. First I have to say that the Trimet system (Portland's public trans.) is awesome! We had almost no problems getting anywhere we wanted. We took the Max (light rail) from the airport to downtown and took a bus to right in front of our hotel! The buses were easy to navigate if you just got onto the trimet website and typed where you wanted to go and it would just tell you what number bus(es) to take.

On the other hand, it IS public transportation in one of the hippie capitols of the nation! So you can only imagine what kind of people you run into using trimet. Starting right off from the airport we saw a woman with a mustache and sideburns, a family of dreadlocks (children included), a man hopping on asking for spare change in exchange for candy, and much more. The next day we even ran into a guy rolling his own pot on the bus! That's right, its legal there! So I guess we had a little bit of a shock initiation of downtown metro life, but it was still a great experience!

The lobby of the very modern hotel we stayed in, cleverly named the Modera.

This is the room we stayed in, I loved the big comfy bed and the fur blanket!

Kendall standing in the sky walk in Pioneer Place mall downtown.

We went to the Japanese Gardens for some "peace and tranquility", it was very beautiful but it didn't have very much color since it is still winter.

Here is a close up on one of the sand gardens.

Trying to do a self picture, doesn't always work out, especially on stairs!

Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T17:16:00.005-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Kendall and I had a good one hear at home. I have been sick the last couple of days with a nasty cough and didn't feel like doing much or thinking of anything to do at that. We made some coffee cake for breakfast (more like brunch, or even lunch!) exchanged valentines and then went to Macaroni Grill for dinner. We were lucky we didn't have to wait too long since everywhere most likely was the same, one hour wait at least! I love Macaroni Grill because you can color on the tables! The waiter always comes by and writes his/her name on the table upside down so Kendall and I like to practice our upside down writing (just in case we ever have to work there someday).

I have never been a huge fan of V-day, but I do like the concept of celebrating love. I AM a fan of LOVE! Lately I have been getting into scrapbooking and card making (more so now that I have my cricut machine from "I love you Aunt Suzie"!) and I decided to make some valentines day cards for my family. Although the majority of them got sent out late due to being in Portland and being sick (and whatever else I can blame it on) but its the thought that counts right?! Here are a few of the cards I made. I want to say a special thanks to Kendall for putting up with all my scrabooking stuff in the kitchen in "my corner", it really is just EVERYWHERE!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Food For Thought...

2009-02-05T20:25:00.002-07:00

I feel a little monotonous in my life lately, and I have decided its not a good feeling. Most of the blame is my work I believe. I feel like I live there! I started working 4 tens a week, but after the first couple of months our group of three became two. So now its two of us doing the job of three and our boss thinks "it works this way." So now it has been about 9 months of between 40 and 50 hours a week (18 hrs overtime last pay period). Too much! Its been rough and doesn't help my personal life either. I guess its a good thing I didn't go to medical school! I don't know if I could handle crazy intern hours! I am just sick of finally getting home each day and not feeling like doing anything else. Some days I don't have time to do anything else when I get home after eight! So now back to the monotonous part, I do the same things day in and day out at work. I need something more challenging. I guess we'll see what the next year or two brings. For now I have to just figure out what I want it to bring!

Here is some more food for thought. I heard on the radio a few things to think about and I thought they were pretty interesting! If pizzas are round why do they come in square boxes? Why do we drive on parkways and park in driveways? Also, what kind of cheese is string cheese? It doesn't taste like mozzarella or American or even Swiss!

Funny Ad...Makes Me Laugh Every Time!

2009-02-03T08:17:00.011-07:00

This is not a Superbowl ad (I didn't watch any, I know...crazy) but I have been seeing it quite a bit latley and it makes me laugh seriously EVERY single time! I thought I would share it with those of you who have missed out on it or just need a laugh for the day (feel free to watch it over and over again!) This is: T-Mobile Ad-A girl teaches her boyfriend a lesson for butt dialing her one too many times. Featuring the BlackBerry Pearl Flip from T-Mobile.

Nine Words Women Use

2009-02-02T09:00:00.003-07:00

I got this e-mail the other day and it started a discussion at my work (all women I might add)! We all agreed with it almost 100%! So guys, husbands, fathers listen up...this is what we are all 'really' saying when we say these things! After all you are suppose to read our minds right?!

1. Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
2. Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half and hour. Five min is only five min if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
3. Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
4. Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!
5. Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and ownders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)
6. That's Okay: This in one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
7. Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here- This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot'- that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'your're welcome'. That will bring on a 'whatever'.)
8. Whatever: Is a woman's way of saying...well, it's her way of telling you off!
9. Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to #3.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

2009-01-29T16:38:00.014-07:00

Well, its coming up on Valentine's Day and while I have never really been a fan of the holiday it has still got me thinking more about my hubby. I just wanted to write about some of my favorite things about Kendall to let him know how much I love him.

1. He makes me laugh. (Even when I want to be angry at him)
2. His beautiful green eyes, and long eyelashes I might add too.
3. He has a great smile, especially when he his truly laughing!
4. He is very smart. (Too smart sometimes :) )
5. He is a hard worker.
6. He has high standards and morals. (I really respect him for that)
7. I love when he tries to warm his feet up on mine at night. (Even though they are usually like ice blocks!)
8. He has a great sense of style. (Maybe better than mine?)
9. He looks really good in his church/professional clothes. (My favorite!)
10. He loves kids! (Babies too, especially his nieces and nephews)
11. He makes "the face"!
12. He is such a thoughtful gift giver, really puts the effort into the perfect gifts!
13. He doesn't like to watch sports on TV. (Love that!!)
14. Sometimes he tries to pretend he is Italian...very funny.
15. He sticks to his goals, its very important to him. (An example to me in that manner)
16. I love when he holds my hand, anywhere.
17. He LOVES his family. (And so do I! They are so amazing, all of them!)
18. My little sister Abby loves him, its pretty cute actually! (I have to fight for him when we visit)
19. He is loyal.
20. He is creative. (More so than me even, I get a little jealous!)
21. Sometimes when I work late he makes dinner so its ready when I get home. (I love that!)
22. He eats my food (and says he likes it), I am not a good cook whatsoever!
23. He loves fruit roll-ups! I think its funny! :)
24. He scraped all the ice off my car one morning before I got up! It was so nice of him!

These are just a few of my favorite things. I just want him to know that I love him dearly! He means the world to me! I love you babe. xoxo

Sun Valley, ID

2009-01-22T18:48:00.002-07:00

Kendall and I took our first trip to Sun Valley, ID in December. My work had a party there and put us up in the Sun Valley Lodge for the night as well. It was so much fun to visit a new place and to be surrounded by my co-workers (I actually love them all! hard to believe, right?). I believe Kendall even had a good time as well :) My boss was very generous and put us all up in very nice rooms and took us out to a place called the Sawtooth for dinner (nice restaraunt). We even hit up a few bars till all hours of the night! (and by all night I mean midnight, and all diet coke of course).

We got there early Saturday so we could walk the town a bit (in 5 degree weather!) and see what Sun Valley had to offer. Of course Candace and I found the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Co. first! Yummy!

From Sun Valley 2008

Here is a look down one of the main streets in Sun Valley area (Ketchum, ID)
If it looks cold to you, it was! One of those its so cold your nose hairs freeze!

From Sun Valley 2008

Kendall and I on a GIANT chair we found outside a wood carving shop! I love the red cowboy boots too.

From Sun Valley 2008

This is Candace, one of the PT's I work with. She is one of those rare amazing people that you meet who just love life and look for the opportunities it has to offer! She has an infectious smile and such a warm personality! I LOVE working with her and she is also a great friend to me!

From Sun Valley 2008

Candace and I at dinner!

From Sun Valley 2008

Kendall and I in the lobby of our hotel. They had beautiful Christmas trees everywhere.

From Sun Valley 2008

The view out one of the windows in our hotel room! Look how beautiful it is with all the snow!

I Love This Show!

2009-01-19T09:39:00.009-07:00

The Gosselin 10... Jon and Kate Plus 8
Jon and Kate Plus 8 is another little obsession of mine (Kendall's too even though he may not admitt it). I love watching this show on TLC! We have been watching for a long time now so I feel like I know these cute little kids. This show is SO fun to watch. I mean could you imagine having twin girls and sextuplets?! Less than four years apart! I think God definitley knows the people in this world that are capable of handling that kind of responsibility and watches over them. I don't think I could ever be in Jon and Kate's shoes and still live to tell the tale!

I am acctually reading their new book, Multiple Blessings, that just recently came out. I am enjoying it so far. Its amazing because Kate goes through her whole pregnancy with the sextuplets and there are some things I just can't even imagine going through. Then there is all the stuff you don't really think about like, 60 plus diapers a day, and 30 bottles and six baby carriers, six cribs in one room etc...!

The Kids!
Maddy, Kara, Alexis, Hannah, Leah, Aiden, Collin, Joel

This show is great when you are having a bad day or just need a little pick me up. Just imagine your life taking care of eight kids under the age of 8! It looks like a lot of work but also very rewarding. They have had so many people donate their time and resources to them its amazing! It is nice to know that people care. I love this cute "big" family!

Florida Vacation

2009-01-13T18:26:00.002-07:00

More fun pictures from our Florida getaway! (aka Kendall's pharmacy conference). We had such a great time. It was Kendall's first trip to Fl and to Disney World. Unfortunately we didn't make it to the beaches so I guess that will be our next adventure! Thanks to our good friends Kami and Kyle for putting us up and catering to us :) We love you guys!

The Holidays in a Whirl!

2009-01-09T20:25:00.039-07:00

Thanksgiving with the Cranes!

Christmas Tacky Sweater Party at Kristen, Katy and Steph's place!

By the way, Kendall did all the shopping for us for these cute sweaters! Good job hun, we could definitely have rocked the 80's in style!

I think we will wear these again Kristen's life size Santa present from her Granny! (for real)

Christmas with the Utah Youngs

Abby making our Christmas craft while the Texas Lighthearts were visiting us!

Eli and Carter making the little snowman craft. They are getting so big! I miss you guys so much! They really had some creative works of art going here

Carter, Abby, Seth, and Austin at the craft table!

Abby and Maggie making some Christmas cookies My adorable, not so little teenage sister (wow, still wierd that she is going to drive soon!) making christmas cookies. Does she look like this is what she wants to be doing? Shes a good sport!

I wanted Kendall to show me what he made since it was so cute. I think he may be mocking me?! He won the best snowman creation award though :)

Maggie and me in a kodak moment. Ariane, do you let her have Pepsi at home? She didn't want to put that soda down for anything! Gotta love the Koolaid 'stash' though :)

Abby got this Hello Kitty play tent for Christmas and she started to "live" in it right away! With ALL her presents inside, whether they fit or not!

Christmas morning in UT, we got SO much snow! This is my mom's cute ornament display on our porch!

Kendall liked playing with the boys DS, maybe Santa should have brought him one of those!

Christmas with the Cranes!

Short Sleeves in December...

2008-12-17T17:21:00.035-07:00

Yes, can you believe it! Short sleeves in December! Well in Florida that is. We were able to take a little vacation the first week of December to the sunshine state. It was all for play for me, and a little work for Kendall. Kendall had a pharmacy conference to go to in Orlando for a couple of days to get a closer look at some residencies he is interested in. It was a great excuse for me to tag along! My best friend from my hometown, school, and even a previous roommate, lives in Orlando, FL with her husband so of course I wanted to see her! Kami and Kyle have lived there now for about three years so it has almost been that long since the last time we were able to see each other. It was just like old time for me though, I miss her tons! They have a cute little town house and a little Pomeranian named Oso who is just a little ball of energy. They were so gracious in letting us stay with them and just being such great hosts to us. Thanks guys! Oh and Oso I miss you too (can't say the same for Kendall though). :) On the first day we were there Kami and Kyle took us to Tampa, FL were Busch Gardens is located. We spent all day in the park and had a great time on all the crazy roller coasters!!

We also turned it into a Disney vacation since Kendall has never experienced Disney World. We did two full days of Disney parks and it was great. But I do have to start out by saying thank you to my parents who took me to Disneyland and Disney World when I was younger, I appreciate it now after seeing how much money is EASILY spent in Disney World! Thanks mom and dad and family! Kendall and I had a fun time seeing all the young kids (girls especially) that were just decked out in Disney and princess stuff (which by the way the princess dresses were like 70 dollars a pop!). We did have a great time in Disney World though despite all the money we had to spend. We went to the magic Kingdom, which was Kendall's favorite, and then the Hollywood Studios (previously MGM studios), and then to Epcot, which is my favorite!

We rented a car while we were there so we could get back an fourth to parks and the convention center for Kendall. It was both of our first experiences with renting a car on our own. It was such a pain! First of all we are both under 25 so we have to pay extra per day and also all the other coverages that come along with renting a car. Of course there is all the extra charges too and we did rent a GPS so we could actually find our way around (thank heavens we had that!), and that too was extra! But we did get a very cool car! It was a brand new Nissan Altima coupe and it was a great ride! Maybe that is because I have never driven a brand new car... just my somewhat reliable cavalier.
All in all we had a great vacation, it was so nice to get away to warmer weather for a bit and to be kids again for a few days.

There are more pictures to come!!

Coming Soon...

2008-12-12T11:30:00.004-07:00

Our adventures in Florida!

Kendall and I just got back from the Sunshine state, we had a great time! We are so busy lately that I don't even have time to blog about anything! By Januaray we will have been out of town for 5 weekends in a row! It is nice to be busy with fun things like family and vacation though, so no complaining here.

Ode to Twilight

2008-12-01T11:17:00.008-07:00

A little obbsesion of mine...

I know I am not a 14 year old girl, but what can I say...a beautiful immortal vampire who will do anything for the one he loves...tell me you wouldn't fall for that! I love these books, I was a follower right from the beginning! I was not online planning my vacation to Forks, WA, but it was a popular topic of conversation for me all year. I even was able to get a few of my co-workers hooked on the books as well. We had great "work" conversations getting ready for the big movie to come out! Speaking of the movie...I admitt I saw is TWICE! It was definitley much better the second time. I was able to sit and enjoy it more instead of spending the whole movie comparing it the the amazing first book. I was skeptical about the actor that played Edward until I saw the movie, and I am still on team Edward! Bella and Edward were amazing in the film but it took me until the second movie to warm up to the rest of the cast. I have heard a lot of different opinions about all the characters from all my fellow fourteen year old at heart girlfriends. The most popular opinion was about Jacob, that he was not a young enough looking actor to play Jacob in the first movie. I didn't mind, I thought he was a perfect Jacob and you didn't get to see him much in this movie anyway (Sorry Jen, I know you were dissapointed about that :) ! But while we are talking about the characters here...can we discuss Robert Pattison's hair??!

The Hair

Robert Pattison was on Jay Leno the other night and looking pretty unkept if you ask me! With Hedi Klum even! She asked him if he works hard for that look or just rolls out of bed...that would inspire me to change my routine, I guess thats just me though!

Happy Birthday Abby! The big 5

2008-11-25T18:51:00.004-07:00

My youngest sibling Abby, just turned 5 years old on Monday the 24th! I can't believe she has turned 5 already, time goes by so fast! I left for college when she was only a few months old! Luckily I have been able to visit a lot since then so I haven't missed her growing up so far. Kendall and I went down for a visit and to celebrate with the family. We had a great time hanging out with the family, and we even got to meet Kitty! Abby's new stuffed animal dog! That's right, Kitty is her doggie! She is so funny, I think kitty is even one of the first words she ever said as a baby! Abby got to pick out her birthday cake and she had chose Hello Kitty and seemed to be very excited about it! It was fun to be there to celebrate with her, I know she loves when her brother-in-law "Kindell" comes to visit!

We also went to the new movie Twilight on Saturday, my mom was nice enough to get us all tickets (although the little boys and Abby went to Bolt). The show was sold out, which I am sure is not a surprise! I enjoyed it, but the books are MUCH better! The best part was I got to run into my old drill team coach, Brooklyn, and her new baby girl! It was great to see her and talk for a bit. Definitely brought me back to some old memories, Brooklyn was really like our mom away from home since we were dancing more than we were probably ever with our families! Good times!!

Happy Anniversary! One Amazing Year Already

2008-11-18T09:46:00.007-07:00

Kendall and I celebrated our first anniversary on November 16, 2008. I can't believe how fast time goes by, it seems like I was just planning a wedding... I am still in my brown and orange mode! We have had a great first year of marriage and booth look forward to many many more. I love Kendall with all my heart and am so happy he is my eternal partner! I am looking forward to the many new and exciting adventures we will experience in our life together. I also must mention how thoughtful my husband was in celebrating our anniversary! He surprised me with 2 dozen handmade roses (from beautiful scrapbook paper) complete with stems and vase! They were so beautiful I thought they were real! The best thing is they will never die! It must have taken him hours upon hours. He also found me the greatest book, Love Letters of Great Men, and wrote me the sweetest most touching inscription in the cover. This is just a taste of all the sweet things he did for me. Thank you for a wonderful day babe, you were SO thoughtful and I loved everything! I made Kendall a new blanket (second blanket I have made for him) as a gift. And those of you who know Kendall and know about his quilt tie habit of tying and untying them repeatedly, know that he was happy to have extra ties in his "blanket of love", as I like to call it :) All in all we had a great anniversary and hopefully set the tone for the rest! Thanks to all for the wonderful anniversary wishes and for remembering us on our special day.

At the new James Bond movie!

What I woke up to on our anniversary! So thoughtful! See all my pretty paper roses!

The blanket I made for Kendall. Yes, those are High School Musical candy canes next to him...and he loved them!

Future Family?

2008-11-15T13:59:00.001-07:00

What do you think about my little new baby Baby Girl?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Future Family

2008-11-15T13:58:00.001-07:00

What do you think about my little new baby Liam?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Our Future Family?

2008-11-15T13:54:00.001-07:00

What do you think about my little new baby Leighton?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Halloween!

2008-11-01T15:38:00.003-06:00

The Bad Day Blues

2008-10-15T20:00:00.004-06:00

Ever had a bad day? I guess that is a pretty dumb question if you are lets say...a normal person! Hopefully it's not just me anyway. Sometimes you don't even know why it is such a bad day, it just seems its not your day. I also think they come in streaks...Mine is on day two. It is hard to be humble and think to myself that whatever kind of day I am having, it is probably not as bad as it could be, or as bad as someone else who is going through a rough time. Sometimes I just want to be selfish and wallow in my own self pity...who doesn't think "poor me" every once and a while right? Anyway, maybe I will try to actually think about why I am feelin' the "Blues." For one, the weather has gotten very COLD here and gloomy cold weather always gets to me. You know those days you are at work all day and look out the window to the blustery cold day and just want to be at home warm and cozy in your bed. Then there is the sudden realization that you don't feel as good about yourself as you did a year ago, or even a month ago! My bad day(s) also include the simple mundane things of life that just don't go right. For example, being at the checkout stand with definitely more than ONE thing and realizing you don't have your debit card with you (I never have cash on me, or even checks!) and you have to quietly say I guess I'll have to wait on this, while everyone in line is tapping their feet wondering what in the world is taking SO long! Then there is the realizing that the laundry has escaped me and I don't have anything to wear to work (or under the clothes!) when I am already running late. I can't forget the part when I stubbed my toe on my closet door, hard! Then to finish up the night forgetting to grease the muffin pan while making dinner, I am sure you all know how that turned out. Just helped me further realize, I am NOT a cook by any means. Back to the pity party part, hating my car cause it has so many problems (inside and out), including the fact that the heater doesn't warm up until I pull into the parking lot at work! Let's not even mention the defrost on that thing either!

Well for any of you who are actually even reading this sob story, I am sorry for the depressing pitiful attitude. Maybe I will try to end on a better note...
I am grateful for my family and friends, I love them all dearly. I am also grateful for the many blessing I do have in my life...even if at the time I am not focusing on them very well :)

Reba and Kelly!

2008-10-14T17:52:00.004-06:00

Over the Weekend Kendall's parents made the trip over from Menan to visit us and take us to the Reba and Kelly concert! We had such a great time at the concert and even got to enjoy a little comedy as and opening act as well! Reba and Kelly were SO amazing together, I hope they come out with an album of their tour. It was great for Reba fans and Kelly fans alike! Scott and Cathie didn't know any of Kelly Clarkson's songs but still had a great time. Scott bought Cathie a Reba hoodie that she got to sport around all weekend; Lookin' good Cathie! Friday we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and did a little bit of shopping for the upcoming birthday in the family. (Happy Birthday Heydan on the 19th!). The Cheesecake Factory was great, those of you who have been there know how good everything is! Though, I would suggest if you are an indecisive person (like ME) to allow PLENTY of time to look at the 20 page menu! Two pages alone committed to cheesecake alone! YUM!

Saturday we were able to just hang out and take our time getting ready. Of course finishing our leftover cheesecake pieces for breakfast! (I highly reccomend it!). We drove around Boise showing Mom and Dad where Kendall goes to school and other places around us. All in all we had a great weekend, so thanks Mom and Dad!! We appreciate all you do for us!

Wasting Time (another blog tag...that took entirely too long)

2008-10-06T19:21:00.071-06:00

Here is a fun blog tag that I saw on one of my friend's blogs. I decided to do it for for Kendall and I...lets see how well I know my husband. Oh, and here is the other part of the game, you have to find your picture on the first page of results! Give it a try!

1. BRITTNEY 2. KENDALL

My First Name

City I was Born in

A Past Love

Favortie Animal

Favorite Object

Favorite City

Favorite Food

Favorite Color

One of My Bad Habbits

My First Job

My Future Job

Place I Would Like to Visit

My Age

Fun Pix

2008-10-01T16:52:00.006-06:00

Okay so I found this site to "dress-up" your pictures and it is so much fun!

Check out this stud! Celebrity or what?!

Everything Fall

2008-09-30T19:31:00.005-06:00

This is my favorite time of year, Fall! I just love pulling out the sweaters and coats, being able to walk outside and smell the crisp fall air. Also, fall means the holidays are just around the corner. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, all the best holidays of the whole year right in a row! I think my love of everything fall begins with my mother, she has always been big into the holidays this time of year. By big into holidays I mean, decorations EVERYWHERE! I would have to say Halloween is by far her favorite to decorate for. Last Halloween the young kids in the neighborhood cried all the way up to the door step with their parents dragging them by the wrist just to get the candy and force out the words trick or treat! I guess it had something to do with the fog machine, and freaky cackling witch and giant spiders and webs all over the porch. We were the family that had the Christmas tree out after Thanksgiving dinner! Maybe my love of everything fall also led to wanting to have a fall wedding.

All this talk about holidays makes me think about another subject, traditions! I am sure ever family has their own traditions especially around the holidays. It has been interesting being married for almost a year now and experiencing my new family's traditions. We haven't had the problem of blending them just yet, but I am sure that is yet to come.

To add to my love of the fall season, one of the best parts, all my favorite shows come back on! Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, Gossip Girl and maybe I should stop there since I am already probably being judged! Haha, but I love them anyway!

Tag You're It!

2008-09-23T07:56:00.007-06:00

3 Favorite Last Purchases
1. Grey's Anatomy Season 4, Love Grey's!
2. Plane ticket to Oregon for my grandmother's wedding!
3. Decorations for our place. I love to decorate...only if I had a money tree!

3 Favorite Movies
1. Sweet Home Alabama (I LOVE Reese Witherspoon)
2. Baby Mama (So funny!)
3. Tarzan (I am a sap for Disney movies)

3 Things I Haven't Done Yet
1. Have a baby (Sometime in the hopefully near future)
2. Go to graduate school (Still want to, need to get my act together!)
3. Use my passport again (Somewhere, anywhere!)

3 Things I Cannot Live Without
1. Kendall Mark Crane
2. Definitely my cell phone (I don't know anyones numbers without it)
3. Mexican Food, yum!

3 Favorite Dishes
1. Basically anything Mexican. I love Costa Vida and Cafe Rio
2. Breakfast! Most anything breakfast related. Cereal use to be my downfall! I have tried to control that though :)
3. ...hmm not sure, ice cream I guess. I love the endless creations from Cold Stone!

3 Favorite TV Shows...
1. Greys Anatomy for sure!
2. Gossip Girl (It's so bad, I know)
3. Secret Life of An American Teenager

3 Last Places I Traveled...I so wish I had better answers to these
1. Oregon (Eugene, Springfield)
2. Menan, Idaho (population 707)
3. Salt Lake, UT

3 Favorite Deserts
1. Brownie and Ice Cream
2. Cheesecake!
3. hmmm...not sure what else. A nice warm cookie I guess?

3 Things I Would Buy if Money Weren't an Issue
1. A new car! SUV preferably
2. A European Vacation! Five Star syle!
3. A house

3 Wishes
1. That I had more self discipline and motivation for things I wanted to change.
2. That my family would always be safe and healthy. And that I will never loose my mother, or anyone one in my family!
3. That I could just get a new car. I hate my tin foil on wheels.

3 People I Tag...
1. Kati
2. Ariane
3. Janet
4. Laura
5. Megan
6. Shea
7. Lindsay
8. Anyone else who is interested! Thanks for the Tag Jacque!

All Work and No Play

2008-09-18T16:49:00.010-06:00

Here are some fun pictures with people I work with. We get together a lot outside of work. Partly because my boss Ben is a music producer and has a lot of his artist playing at various things around town. Also because, well we just like to get together! I love everyone I work with, they all have such wonderful personalities and I love getting to know them more and more! As you can tell, it is really all play and no work with us!

Boating Fun!

2008-09-18T16:49:00.009-06:00

Here are a few more pictures of our boating adventures with the Nelsons! We had a great summer thanks to our wonderful friends. Kendall learned how to wakeboard this summer and is going Pro I think?!

Weekend of Fun!

2008-09-16T16:39:00.002-06:00

Holla, I am posting this from my blackberry! I didn't know I was this savy! Well, really I'm not but you have to admit its pretty cool. Well as the title says, Kendall and I had a great weekend! Friday night we went to the Sarah Evans concert in Nampa, I'd and we met up with the Nelsons who also had tickets. We were able to get great seats thanks to the Givens and their friends who got there earlier than us. So thank you! Sara put on a great show, I had forgotten how much I love her! We were able to go thanks to my boss Ben who gave me the extra tickets he had! Even Kendall had fun :). After the concert we met the Nelsons and our other friends the Bastians at Shari's for a late night dinner! We all had a blast and were the loudest ones in there I am sure.

Saturday we got to sleep in which was great. Who doesn't like sleeping in every once and a while? Then we decided to use our passes to the water park here, Roaring Springs, since it was the last weekend it would be open for the season. It ended up not being very crowded so we got to walk right onto everything! More than once. I must admit one of the slides we got to go on together was pretty SCARY! Kendall's face was priceless! Also I will have you all know kendall was like a kid in a candy store in the big wave pool! I don't know how many times we went in and out of there. It was great! I am glad we got to experience it. Don't worry our events for the weekend do not end there. Saturday night we went to the seasonal Halloween superstore here to take a look around. We were there for quite some time looking and trying on everything! We found some great stuff! Crazy, funny and outlandish even. We were looking for costumes we could be as a couple. I must say I came up with the idea and didn't think my wonderful hubby would take to it so well! But he has been looking eversince! Here are some ideas we have: pharoah and Cleopatra, scarecrow and Dorothy, or Mark Antony and some greek goddes or something for me. Any other ideas? We asked our primary kids last week and they gave us the pharoah idea, but they also suggested Jasmine and Aladin, or just me as some Disney princess. They all had some pretty good ideas.

Labor Day Trip

2008-09-03T18:33:00.005-06:00

For Labor Day weekend Kendall and I went down to Menan to visit the family and go to Trevan's flag football game. Even though it was a long weekend it seemed like a quick trip. Saturday morning we went to Trevan's football game and it was so much fun to sit and watch him play. Although, poor little brother Heydan was just trying to get in the game himself! Only a few more years Heydan! Now these are 5 and 6 year olds playing here so picture these little kids with these huge mouth guards in their mouths. The whole field was like a color show in between plays (and during!) with each kid popping his or her mouth guard out and playing with it. Neon green, yellow, pink, black etc... It was pretty funny to watch. I guess they are still just learning how to breath with them in! Trevan is a great little athlete though and we really enjoyed getting to see him play.

The rest of the weekend was mostly just much needed R and R. We sat around and watched TV a lot. Darn those Top Model marathons right Cathie! I did help cousin Brittany with her baby shower announcements. We had fun making cut-outs with the Cricut! Which by the way is one of the coolest things if you are into scrap booking and fun things like that! Like cousin Melissa and aunt Susie say, "It makes you a better wife and mother!" That will be my excuse to get on someday. I also got to drive Scott's Miata around a bit. That was great! Hey Scott, we will gladly take it off your hands so you can fit your new fast car in your garage soon!

All in all the weekend was pretty relaxing so that was nice. Spending time with my in-laws is always one of my favorite things! Hope to see you all soon!

The Name Game

2008-09-03T18:06:00.007-06:00

So at work we have been talking a lot about baby names since one of my coworkers is about to become a grandma. Of course I love the topic of baby anything really! Last weekend Kendall and I found a book of baby names now and purused through it finding some pretty funny names. Naturally, I went back and bought it this week (hey, it was super cheap so why not!) and brought it to work so we could all have fun. We found a few good ones as a play on Karen's daughter's last name. So I thought I would have some fun myself! Let me know what you all think.

1. Ichabod Crane (fairytale)
2. Candi Crane (sounds like a...well you know)
3. Sugar Crane (are we from Hawaii?)
4. Jauquin Crane (walking cane?)
5. Africa Crane (Bird?)

Two Families and a Wedding!

2008-09-02T21:47:00.021-06:00

I recently got back from a trip to Oregon to visit with family. I flew out to be there for my grandma Shirley's (Lightheart, for my fellow Crane/Poole readers :)) wedding. She is now officially Shirley Lightheart-Perkins! Congratulations Jim and Shirley! I had a great time visiting everyone and being able to help with wedding preparations. Although, it brought back way to many memories of my own wedding planning not so long ago; some good some bad! I am sure you women out there can relate. It turned out great though, simple and beautiful. My lovely grandma wore a beautiful sage green dress and she looked absolutely radiant! Her colors were blue and sage green so my Aunt Janet and I went looking for some cute ribbon and flowers for her youngest girl, Emily, to make her look like the cutest flower girl ever! I do believe we succeeded. Wouldn't you say Jan? I had fun doing little Emily's hair. It's a good thing she is one of those rare two year olds who likes getting her hair done! She was precious! I love getting together and seeing all my family, especially when it has been so long. All my little cousins (and yes I can say little, I am the oldest still!) grow up so fast. The boys definitley passed me in height a long time ago.

Before visiting the Lighthearts and all the wedding festivities I was able to spend time with my other family, the Lightcap's. (No, there is no typo. Lightheart and Lightcap, crazy). I always love visiting my aunts and grandparents when I get the chance. My Aunt Pam (Big hair, you can't miss it) is great. We have always got along and she has always been a huge part of my life! She has recently become a grandmother herself! So I got to meet the little man, Sean. My cousin Mallory and her boyfriend Nick's little boy. He is about 7 months old and just a cute and sweet as can be. Baby hungry? Yes, I must admit I am. He is one of those rare really really good babies who just come out sleeping through the night and smiling all the time! I had a great time playing with Sean and all his fun baby food...have you been down the baby food aisle recently?! Well all in all I had a great time with all my family in Oregon and I miss them all already!

Just for Fun

2008-07-18T22:01:00.004-06:00

Don't we look just like our celebrities?! This was pretty fun to do, I have seen it on a few on my fellow bloggers pages and thought I would give it a whirl for Kendall and I! Of course Kendall is refusing to let me post is, but I figure I'll post it anyway and see how long it take for him to take it down! It was fun to do because depending on what picture we used the celebrities were different. So naturally we did it until we got a set that was fairly decent, who wouldn't?! So if you get bored give it a try!

Summertime

2008-07-17T17:26:00.006-06:00

Well it is definitely summertime here in Boise, ID! It has been so hot the past few weeks, no more indecisive weather! I don't think I was prepared for how hot the summers are in Boise, I only love the hot weather for so long. At least we have been doing fun activities in the sun! We go boating quite a bit with some good friends of ours, the Nelson's. We love our boating group! Kendall has been learning to wake board this summer for the first time and has picked it up like a charm! Now its just the staying up for long periods of time bit, which is where my own skills come into play. I didn't have much experience to begin with but I was at least familiar with it. He is definitely passed me up though! Its been fun to go to the different lakes around the area, there are some beautiful places! Most recently we went up to Lucky Peak area and boated there. Its also a great place for camping and hiking our friends tell us so we will have to try that out soon.

Fourth of July!

2008-07-09T17:19:00.009-06:00

To start off I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July weekend! We definitely did! Kendall and I were able to make it down to his family's place in the very large town of Menan, ID (population 700, seriously)for the annual under the apple tree celebration. This a very big event in the Crane/Poole family and has been going strong for ten plus years. For those of you who attend you know what I am talking about, but this party is great! Its tradition to get shirts made and change the color each year, this year the shirts were white with and option to tie dye at the tie dye party (my idea on the tie dying a year ago! sadly I didn't get to do my own). The shirts turned out great and there was lots of fun designs and some, even on the little ones! Back to the small town, Kendall's family is about half the population with his mom and dad and grandparents and two aunts all close by each other (walking distance of course). The "apple tree" does in fact exist and believe it or not, produces apples! :) Family and friends come from all over each fourth of July to party and camp out for days sometimes! It really is great, I love family reunions and I have the best in-laws anyone could ask for!

Menan has a parade that is lot of fun and they also have a big place where there are lots of food booths, games, and crafts so it was hard to be bored. It seems to get better each year (this is my second, and a half time)! The best part of the day is the fireworks at night of course, the apple tree area has prime seating for the huge firework show! (Serious, huge show! I have been a veteran of stadium of fire so I have some comparison here!)

Kendall's two brothers have two kids each so I have recently become an aunt and am loving it! They are some of the cutest little ones I have ever seen so I guess that's good news for us someday right?! fingers crossed :) The funny part of the weekend was the new hair cuts for the "Crane sisters" myself included. I recently cut my hair into a short a-line so my sister-in-laws and I all have very similar hair (did I mention dark hair brown eyes too?!) Be careful who you walk up behind boys!!

Our cousin Melissa came for the festivities all the way from Arkansas with her brand new baby boy! He was even better than the fireworks! Micah is now 8 weeks old and has a head full of dark hair, such a little man! Melissa is a wonderful little mommy already and I was so happy to spend the weekend with her chatting and talking about her new adventure. I definitely wished we lived closer to her! Hopefully someday.

We were also able to do a little float down the river, or better known as the "dry beds" for those of you who are from the area. We had 23 people go and we each got our own big tire tubs. It was a lot of fun despite the two minor (maybe not so minor if you were involved) incidents. Kyle, Kendall's middle brother cut himself on a rock going through the "rapids" and later on ended up getting stitches, and Danika my sister-in-law had a little bit of a scare when she was thrown off her tube and stuck under the water but Carissa and I were there for the rescue! Sounds traumatic but really its pretty smooth sailing most of the time, so I think it will become a tradition. We are glad they are okay though!!

Our Wedding

2008-06-28T22:29:00.003-06:00

Kendall and I got married November 16, 2007. We were married in the Salt Lake temple on a beautiful sunny November day, I can't believe the weather cooperated so well! We had a wonderful sealing ceremony with close family and friends joining us. We had a reception in my hometown of Riverton, UT that evening. Our colors were brown and orange, don't squeal just yet, they were beautiful colors for fall! We even got the men into brown tuxes and I wouldn't have changed a thing! My mom helped out so incredibly much with all the wedding plans and getting the reception to come together. We had a great cake buffet set up to serve from and lovely dim lighting to go with the brown satin table cloths and orange rose petals everywhere. I loved it! Also, my mom put together an awesome candy bar with custom made boxes and labels. I had a beautiful dress with a hint of gold and brown touches on it so it looked perfect. I did have to get in and out of it a few times that day and man was it a hassle! Thanks for putting up with me mom and grandma!

After our reception we started our honeymoon! We went to Zermatt Resort in Midway, UT and Park City, UT. We had a wonderful time relaxing and exploring the area, and well...just spending time together as Mr. and Mrs. Crane! After about five days of honeymoon bliss we were back to reality and headed to Menan, ID where Kendall's family lives (Basically all of his extended family as well!) for our open house that next weekend. It was great to see the family all again and my family came up as well. The Cranes/Pooles had everything all ready to go and set up for the open house. It was just as beautiful as our first!

Trip to Utah

2008-06-28T22:04:00.004-06:00

The weekend before Memorial day we were able to finally make a long awaited trip down to visit my family in Utah. We had not been down to visit since before Christmas. It seems like 5 and a half hours is not that far but when it comes down to a weekend trip it is hard to find the time to get down there so I was glad we could make it. It was crazy how much all the kids had changed even since Christmas! Haley is now 14 and definitely a teenager. She is in eighth grade and has lots of friends to hang out with now. She is also kind enough to let us take over her bedroom when we visit. Thanks Hay! Austin is playing baseball currently while it is not football season. He is 13 now which I can't believe and he is turning into quite the gentleman. Seth is 9 and loves to talk! He always has all sorts of stories to tell so that is fun. He is also loving playing the Wii with Austin and I think they get lots of practice! Last but not least is Abby, who is 4 already. She is still as energetic as ever and the little princess of the house as always. She has cute curly hair and loves to wear dresses and lots of pink. It was great to hang out with the kids again. Mom and dad were good as well. Busy with work and teaching their church class. Mom pretty much runs around and caters to everyone's needs, not to mention taxi driver! I am sure she will be happy when Haley starts to drive in less than two years, yikes!

Lets Try This Again

2008-06-26T18:32:00.001-06:00

Alright, well I attempted this blogging thing a couple months ago but only got one post up and a few pictures. I still am trying to figure out how it all works so bare with me! For now I will fill you all in on our life as of now (since its already been 7 months and 10 days since we got hitched!). We moved to Boise, ID after we got married in November and so far we are loving it. I admit it took a while for me to get use to it, not to mention to like my new surroundings! It was hard to leave my family and my friends all behind, it all happened so fast! But now that I have embraced the change, I love my new life in Boise. I have a great job that I started at the end of January and have been able to meet great new people. Currently I am working as a medical receptionist at a physical therapy clinic. I work with all female therapists who are awesome and highly recommended around this area. I work for two great bosses (owners, wife is a therapist, husband is aspiring music producer) they definitely spoil their employees and keep it interesting around here!

Boise has great shopping and a lot of great places to dine out! Which is definitely something both Kendall and I love to do together. Another great thing about Boise is that one of my best friends (old roommate in college as well) and her new husband live here so it has been so great to get so close to them and hang out together. They also own a boat and have invited us into their world of boating this summer which has been a blast. (Except for my minor incident two weeks ago while tubing behind the boat. I cut the side of my mouth open and it was pretty colorful and sore for a while). What else can I say, well we live in a new townhouse community for the time being (renting only unfortunately). But, we do like it and it does feel like a little house most of the time (when the neighbors are not slamming their doors and running up and down their stairs!). I have enjoyed being able to decorate a place of my own and shop for new furniture (window shopping mostly :) ). Kendall and I are currently teaching the CTR 8 class in our ward, it is our newest adventure so far, and an adventure it has been! Who knew 7 and 8 year olds could be so....well behaved?? We only wish! I guess its a good form of birth control for now ( so says my husband)!

I don't want to forget to mention whats been going on for Kendall these days. He is currently a P4 (fourth year of the Pharmacy D. program at ISU) and is very excited to be out of the classroom. He finished class work in May and started his rotations at various places around the valley for the next year. He just today finished his first six week rotation at St. Luke's hospital where he mostly got to observe the inter workings of the hospital pharmacists, but he did get to sit in on some pretty cool surgeries! He will be doing a medicine rotation starting next week where he gets to go on rounds with the doctors as the pharmacist (as far as I know) and he is pretty excited about that.

Okay, well now that I have written a novel here, hopefully we are all caught up for the moment. I hope to start posting things regularly and to stay in better touch with my family and friends through this blog. So everyone feel free to leave comments and stay in touch with us!

Cinco De Mayo!

2008-05-06T22:18:00.001-06:00

Cinco De Mayo!

We had a great time celebrating cinco de mayo with our friends! We had lots of Mexican food and even a pinata full of candy! I got sombreros for Kendall and I to wear, but he was not as excited about it as I was! He looked cute in it for pictures though despite what he thinks!