This is My Life

Happy St. Patricks Day!

2011-03-17T11:48:00.001-06:00

Cali Bound

2011-01-27T17:30:00.005-07:00

SOOOOO excited to go to Cali next week to see my family, friends

and sunshine!

Last week my dad and sis surprised me

(with the help of my mom and some sneaky friends)

with a trip home for my 30th birthday (yikes).

I'm also, excited to eat some In-N-Out,

shop at Anthropologie and Ikea and be in the sun!

I can totally handle my birthday as long as there is SUN!!! Ha.

California, here I come!!!!!!!

Christmas Past - 2010

2011-01-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

Christmas posts over at

C stands for ... CARRIE!

The Craft of Christmas Past

The Decor of Christmas Past

The Table of Christmas Past

December 2010

2011-01-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

December is somewhat of a blur.

One night I came home to Frosty greeting me at my front door.

Help-Portrait Montana.
Giving portraits to people in need.
AMAZING day!!!!!

Made Creme Brulee in the crock-pot for Sara's birthday.

I went to North Carolina to visit Elevation Church.

I learned A LOT, was encouraged, inspired and motivated.

We ate delish southern cookin.

Enjoyed the sun (just a little).

Shopped at a real mall!

Went to the Billy Graham Library, ate Chick-Fil-A
and flew in a lot of airplanes.

Baked. My go-to cookies.

I had fun making crafts and messes.

My favorite Christmas craft. The full post can be found here.

Christmas Eve services at Fresh Life.

Christmas brunch with friends.

It was a fun, crazy, busy month.

Fall into Winter

2010-11-30T19:52:00.059-07:00

Some Fall activities in my life...

Beauty all around!

Shopping at the Vintage Whites Market

Jessica and I helping to build a playground
with our Fresh Life Group.

Photo-shoot of Ruby Lou with Kelli Trontel.

Finished photos on Kelli's blog.

Pretty much amazing!

Jenn's Woodland Baby Shower.

More beauty.

Snuggle time.

Elisha and I going grocery shopping
for Thanksgiving Part 2.

Elisha and I cooked our own Thanksgiving.

Hunt and Cut 2010. 2009
2008 Part 1 & 2

Favorite Montana Tradition...
Cutting down my own Christmas tree!
Even if it did mean trekking through the snow this year.

3 Baby Showers in 3 Months.... DONE!

2010-11-22T09:14:00.003-07:00

Visit C Stands for... and see what I've been up to....

Butterfly Garden

Vintage Picnic

Woodland

What shall I plan next?!?!!!

Halloween Weekend 2010

2010-11-01T18:26:00.009-06:00

Fun times were had this Halloween weekend! I went to a Costume Kareoke Birthday party on Friday night to celebrate B. Ray.

I dressed as a Mouseketeer from the Mickey Mouse Club and of course brought cupcakes.

Jenn was a fox den and none of us could fine Waldo.

The hosts, Mr and Mrs Incredible.

Liv as an Angry Bird (an iphone game).

Tiff was Baby from Dirty Dancing and Daisy was another Angry Bird until I turned her into the youngest Mouseketeer ever.

Elisha was a Rubik's Cube and it was very entertaining watching her make her way through crowds and eat. There were a lot of other fun costumes, but these are the pictures I took :)

Sunday was Halloween and I went to JohnMark and Amanda's house for dinner, but before that we took Eli to downtown Bigfork for candy. He was Dumbo and to say he was adorable is an understatement.

I also made a yummy pumpkin chocolate cake.

It was a great weekend indeed!

shapes

2010-10-22T22:26:00.000-06:00

The Trammels girls came over Sunday night - Monday morning and we had a BLAST.

One of my favorite parts was the different shapes of food we made.

Last time they were over we had pumpkin sandwiches (pb and honey sandwiches cut out with a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter).

THIS time Emma had a birthday cake sandwich and Ella had a popsicle sandwich.

For breakfast we had "moose pancakes".

It was cracking myself up saying things like,

"wait, I have to flip the moose"

"did you like the moose?"

"do you want more moose" and

"look at that moose!"

It was super FUN and TASTY!

oh my pie!

2010-10-20T22:15:00.003-06:00

NEW posts over at C Stands for Carrie!

Pie in a Jar

A Vintage Picnic Baby Shower

Supermodel Documentary Hour

2010-10-08T19:42:00.000-06:00

Elisha and I took a very short trip up to Glacier just because we can and we wanted to enjoy the gorgeous fall leaves AND take some pictures...

She's so cute!

So thankful for my friend!

I took these last few pictures through my sunglasses, just for fun.

BEAUTY FULL!

Not-So-Secret Garden

2010-10-03T17:48:00.001-06:00

My dear friend Linda and Debbie have gardens and they are amazing (the ladies AND their gardens). When my mom was in town we went to the garden to pick flowers and then all of my friends were jealous, so we went back.....

Tiff and Emma.

Izzi and Crystal.

Linda (it's her garden) explaining how to cook a squash.

Sara and Emma.

Emma and I took this picture and then she grabbed my strawberry and said, "now let's switch". I told her no way and ate my strawberry!

Linda and her grandson Archie.

So fun! In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm going AGAIN tomorrow.

Butterflies and Mittens

2010-10-01T22:33:00.003-06:00

2 new blogs on C Stands for Carrie...

Oh Baby, Baby!

Smitten for My Mittens

Vintage Whites Market

2010-09-20T21:13:00.002-06:00

Have you ever found something that you were so excited about that you wanted to tell everyone? But on the other hand you didn't want to tell a soul, so that you could keep it all to yourself? Well, that is exactly how I felt last month after visiting the Vintage Whites Market.

My dear friend Sara called me and told me about it and asked if I wanted to go and I'm so glad I said yes!!! We woke up super early, well for a Saturday, packed a breakfast and headed to Somers. The line had already formed, so we quickly jumped in and waited till 9am when the market opened.

Pretty sunflowers in the neighborhood.

Ella eating scones.

Peaches. Emma is such an intense eater, it's adorable.

Sara saw an add for the market on craigslist and there was a $20 gift certicficate to the market for the 1st person in line and a fabric rosette for the next 9 people. We weren't 1st, but we didn't even care anymore once we got there and found out the girl who got there 1st had been there since 7:45. We were 4th and 5th :)

Here's the line of people.

The market is at an adorable house.

They also sell yummy baked goods.

They have a white truck parked on the highway directing people to the market.

Here's me and my treasures! I absolutely love everything I purchased (an old Pepsi bottle crate, a glass jar with wooden aqua lid and a white pedestal bowl).

Needless to say we couldn't wait to go back next month (they only have it once a month which I think is genius!)!!!

The days and weeks passed and Sara and I laughed at how excited we were to go back and how if we were going to buy something we would weigh it against buying something at VWM. Basically we're obsessed.

So this past Saturday we woke up early and headed to Somers, but this time with friends. Yes, we told people about it, we're such good friends ;-)

We had quite the crew and we even braved the rain.

This time I only purchased a new jar, but it was still so fun to go!

Oh, I also purchased a cookie for Sara and I since last time I purchased cookies for us, they mysteriously disappeared... seriously.

Afterwards we all went to Buns by the Lake for breakfast. It was a gloomy, but fantastic Saturday monting.

Counting down till next month!!!

Red Bus

2010-09-19T13:38:00.003-06:00

Mom and I in Glacier

The first full day my mom was in town we went up to Glacier National Park for a tour on a Red Bus. The day was sunny, rainy, cold and fantastic. It was amazing to see this beautiful place and pictures don't capture the gloriousness of Glacier, but here you go...

The roof rolled open so at some stops we would just stand up and take pictures.

Mom saw a bear! We turned around (twice) so we could see it and as we pulled up we saw 2 cubs running away (Mama bear was hiding in the bushes and a few of us saw her).

Mom in MT

2010-09-18T23:00:00.002-06:00

My marvelous mommy came to visit me from Wisconsin. It was her 1st time in Montana and the 1st time we've seen each other for over 2 years (horrible, I know). We had a wonderful time together and it was so hard to say good-bye. Here's some of our adventures...

We walked around Bigfork, which I think is similar to Laguna so I was excited to take mom there.

My feet and a moose.

Relaxing at Wayferes park.

My friend Linda invited us over to pick flowers. Mom was in heaven!

Mom was in love with Daisy, but who isn't?!?!

Happy Birthday Lenya!!!

Mom's favorite new sweater.

Mom got me a sewing machine for only $9 at the thrift store, plus some extra parts at the Sew Center.

Back to Linda's garden.

Buzz and I in the garden.

lots of antique and thrift store shopping.

and more flowers!

We make a great team! Setting up dessert for Crystals bday bike ride (more about that at my other blog here).

We spent a GORGEOUS Sunday afternoon/evening on the lake with some of my mom's high school friends.

My mom's flight was cancelled on Monday, so she got to stay and play till Wednesday! We spend most of the time sewing, cooking and rearranging/decorating my home. It was wonderful!!!

We also went to Glacier Park and took a Red Bus Tour and you can see those pictures here.

Camping 2010

2010-09-16T22:00:00.000-06:00

Caping at Apgar, August 2010.

good times.

Quick Life Update

2010-09-14T21:16:00.008-06:00

Life's been busy, but fantastic! Summers are usually very busy here, but I like it that way. The fall is upon us and I'm excited about it and actually i'm looking forward to winter a little (so things will calm down and i can craft more :) So here's what's been going on in my life...

Vacation Bible School - Pretty much my whole July

huckleberries

Camping - more on that later

church

friends

babysitting the cutest kid ever.

Rock this City

kids ministry

and so much more!!!

Northwest Montana Fair

2010-08-22T21:07:00.004-06:00

I went to the fair last weekend with Sara and her ADORABLE girls and we had a great time looking at the animals, walking around and saoking up the sun. Emma (3 yrs. old) loves all the animals and would even tell them that she loved them and make animal noises at them (meowing at a pig and barking at a cow, just to be silly). Ella (2 years old) on the other hand, was super nervous around them. They were both very entertaining!

Sara wasn't allowed to ride the carousel because she is pregnant (apparently they're afraid all that motion could send her into labor. seriously?!!), so I got to take the girls for a ride. This is the extent of me riding anything at the fair!

That night Jake and I went to the rodeo! It was my first rodeo and I loved it. So many cowboys... just sayin.

After the rodeo we ran into some friends and walked around. Jess and I liked showing off our boots.

A great time at the fair!

B is for...

2010-08-14T22:20:00.000-06:00

Baby

Boy

Bonner

Bennett

I made Cake Pops (Bakerella has all the instructions here) for a baby shower. It was a polka-dot themed shower with blue and green as the main colors. Alyson, the mom-to-be, wanted strawberry and chocolate flavors, so i made a strawberry cake mixed with cream cheese frosting and dipped in dark chocolate.

Alyson and I have been friends for quite a while now. She was (sad face, was is past tense) one of my kids ministry volunteers, but since she's going to be popping out a kid soon (Bennett Paul Bonner) she's taking some time off. Anyways, I love Alyson and I can't wait to meet Bennett!!!

Took some pics, so here you go.

Escaped from the nursery!

2010-08-11T20:52:00.002-06:00

Ella is 2!

2010-07-19T16:15:00.001-06:00

Stinking adorable!!!!

4th of July treats

2010-07-05T22:44:00.002-06:00

Visit C Stands for Carrie to see the yummy treat I made for 4th of July!

Cupcakes, Cupcake Tower and more to come!

waste of 34 sec.

2010-07-05T21:22:00.003-06:00

This is really for my long distant friends, here is a glimpse into my "summer" here in MT. Just for the record the sun did come out later.

The only reason I enjoy the rain today...

2010-06-17T18:32:00.000-06:00

My new rain boots!!!

Salted Caramel

2010-06-16T09:39:00.001-06:00

recipe for Salted Caramel cupcakes on my new blog!

New Blog!

2010-06-15T20:50:00.005-06:00

I created a new blog...

I want this blog (This is My Life) to be more personal and the other blog ( C Stands For) to be more crafty with ideas for parties, cooking, baking and stuff. You can check it out here.

California LoVe

2010-05-27T21:31:00.011-06:00

The whole trip seems like a blur now, there was just so much fun in one week! here are some more highlights...

Meg, Matt (home after an audition in Vegas- he got the part and will be traveling with Disney to Asia) and I at the Mission mall visiting Meg at work and shooting a quick Mother's Day video for my mom (that I never figured out how to send).

tried a new cupcake place. they were pretty good, but I think I like Sprinkles better.

Matt and I went to Ikea... oh how i miss Ikea!!!!

Dinner with Dad.

Brandon got us some sweet Angels tickets. It was so fun to go to a game and see my Angels win. We technically I didn't see them win live, but I did watch them win in the 12th or 13th inning at home after they blew the lead in the 9th. sheesh!

No, Brandon didn't wear his Dodgers hat to the game... thank goodness!

Monday morning (or was it Tuesday, hmmmm) I went to San Clemente for breakfast at La Galette Creperie with April and Ava. It was gorgeous out and it made me miss the beach a lot.

Avagail and I met for the first time and I adore her!!!! I think she likes me too :)

Campfire Crepe

Some yummy scrambles egg and sausage in a crepe. Seriously SOOOOO good!

April and I on the pier. Just a little windy.

I also had the pleasure of spending time with my friend/mentor Debbie. She watches her granddaughter Grayson and she is a characcter! I told her to say cheese...

Then I got a real smile. pretty girl!

Alice (sporting her new breast cancer awareness shirt from me that I purchased at Cowgirl Coffee) and I hanging at the Spectrum.

Matt and Chick-fil-A with many sauce options. This was the last supper in Cali (Meg was there too).

On the wat to the airport Matt and I stopped at Sweet and Saucy. I have been following her blog for over a year now and it was fun to finally go in the shop and get some cupcakes.

look at all the cake stands!!!!

By they time I got to eat my cupcakes they were a little smushed :( but still yummy!

Good-bye California, my love!

Hello Montana, my home (I love MT too).

some Cali friends

2010-05-15T22:56:00.004-06:00

it's so nice to be able to spend time with my friends after not seeing them for a whole year! Alice and Brandon hung out with me at the Spectrum for a while and chatted and enjoyed the sun.

Later that day I met up with some friends at BJ's pizza. It was so fun chatting, laughing and reminiscing. Amber actually gets the prize for knowing me the longest! Amber, Heather and I all met at church in 1997ish. Minesh and I met in High School (he was closet drama nerd, posing as a tough guy, haha) and Nick and I net through mutual friends. Then came the spouses and the group continues to grow. I love these people so much and loved spending the evening with them.

Mike, Amber, Neeta, Minesh, Me, Heather, Jamie and Nick.

Sister came too after work. She is beautiful!

Friday-

Dad came home from Cleveland Thursday night and the next morning we went grocery shopping and he bought me Angels cookies, so fun.

Then we went shopping and to the driving range.

Loved it!!! I need to buy some clubs and go on the range for fun.

Later, Meg and I went to get manicures and pedicures. I picked out a bright greenish color. An old man at the baseball game said I had Irish toes and he's right!

That night we went to Laguna, oh how I love Laguna Beach!!!

One of my favorite restaurants...

Peppertree Lane, so many wonderful memories!

MT to CA

2010-05-15T09:56:00.008-06:00

My fabulous father decided to fly me to Cali for a week and I was so excited! This is a picture of us a year ago in Cali when i flew out to surprise him for his 50th birthday. I was a great trip filled with family, friends, shopping and lots of fun. I really enjoy visiting California, but I have to say, I was glad to come back to Montana. The longer I live in Montana, the more I love it. Anyways, here are some pics from day 1...

Tiffany, Rachel and Kelsey Kimport drove me to Missoula since I was flying out from there. We had a delicious lunch at Red robin and then did a little shopping.

Models of the runway at Old Navy. We all purchased a Jacket in Packet (rain coat) and that's what the girls are modeling.

One more stop before I take off.

Happy to leave the clouds and rain.

Getting really excited!!!

Good-bye Montana...

Hello California!

After I landed my sis and I headed to a wonderful dinner at Cheesecake Factory.

Somers Beach

2010-04-29T21:42:00.001-06:00

It was Elisha's 21st birthday on the 25th of April and to celebrate we went for a lovely lunch at Tamarack and afterwards Jake showed us Sommers beach. Elisha and I both fell in love with it and then Jake proceeded to crush our hopes and dreams and tell us the beach goes away in the summer when the lake fills with water. Grrrrrrr. However, it was nice to walk on the sand and not lots of rocks and enjoy the spectacular view. The pictures don't do it justice...

I feel like this should be my album cover... if I had one.

Sun

2010-03-20T19:27:00.000-06:00

One of the biggest adjustments to moving to Montana has been the lack of sun (especially in the winter) and i'll be honest, it's been rough at times. Coming from southern California, when the sun seems to always shine, I've learned to really take advantage of the nice weather. A few weeks ago, Angie (my roommate) and I decided to go for a walk and enjoy the lovely sunshine...

Big blue sky.

The train...

I liked the yellow and grey house in Somers, it's a fabulous color combo.

No headless horsemen allowed!

Angie found Frosty's girlfriend.

Beautiful!

Loving the green bench.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T10:03:00.000-06:00

Some things are just hard to part with...

2010-03-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Valentine's 2010

2010-02-22T20:21:00.013-07:00

This Valentine's Day I decided a few things-

1. I was not going to babysit like I've done so many years before

2. I was content with sitting home and relaxing

3. I wanted to bake goodies and

4. I wanted to people who were babysitting to feel loved and appreciated.

On February 14th 2010, I accomplished all of the above.

Fresh Life Radio was putting on a Valentine's Soiree, so I decided I would surprise the volunteers with a yummy dessert buffet. It was super fun to bake and create this fun dessert table! I stuck with simple desserts, so i could make more and not stress :) here's how it turned out...

Before

(this is one of my classrooms at church, the orange room. Complete with play kitchen, green canopy, toys and a heater cover)...

After...

A white table cloth and 1 yard of fun Valentine's fabric was the base.

I have this great old window without the glass that I put fabric behind and then just hung the Valentine's day sign over it. It really looked cute!

I used waffle bowls that are usually used for ice cream to hold the puppy chow/muddy buddies/ whatever you want to call it.

I dipped the rim of the bowls in pink melting chocolate and then added some sprinkles. I think this was my favorite little touch.

Mini dark chocolate cupcakes with triple chocolate chip frosting.

Too cute!

With the left over cupcake batter I made heart shaped cakes, heated up some frosting and just poured it on top.

Side view.

Brownie bites form the day before.

Candy.

Basic rice crispy treats with Valentine sprinkles.

Goody bags to take the left overs home.

And of course I had to take a picture with the table :)

Hope your Valentine's day was as SWEET as mine!

The plane, the plane!

2010-02-22T10:55:00.001-07:00

I went for a stroll with Jenn on Saturday and this plane flew over us really low, so I snapped some pics. Then I changed them with one of my iPhone apps. I think they're pretty cool...

Saturday stroll with Jenn

2010-02-22T10:38:00.001-07:00

The sun is shining...

2010-02-19T13:46:00.001-07:00

... and we're going out for Alyson's birthday. Lovely.

I guess it's time for some new boots...

2010-02-17T16:52:00.001-07:00

The bottom fell off my shoe, but don't worry, I fixed it with masking
tape.

Genius...

2010-02-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

LOST posters

2010-02-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Happy LOST day (also known as Tuesday)! I came across these amazing LOST posters from Mattson Creative on Twig & Thistle and I love them! You can check all of them out here, but these are my favorites...

Can't wait till tonight to see what happens next!

snuggle time

2010-02-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

if only they'd let me keep her!

barefoot brownies

2010-02-14T19:54:00.006-07:00

i love an excuse to bake and Valentine's day is just that! so i decided to bake my FAVORITE brownies for my volunteers and as usual they were delicious!

the recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) and it makes a lot of brownies! i made them over 2 years ago and have never had a better brownie.

so cute :)

mmmmm..... i love walnuts.

i divided the batter into 2 cookie sheets this time and

used my cool double heart shaped brownie cutter.

also, i do not suggest cutting these brownies in the morning before you've eaten breakfast (like i did). there is too much temptation and you may end up with a stomach ache (again, like i did).

no brownies left behind! i chopped the edges to serve as brownie bites and saved the little scraps for me to much on.

bag them up.

this is what the kitchen table looked like...

this is cuter though.

Outrageous Brownies

1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares. Or 32 paris of hearts, a bunch of brownie bites and a bag of scraps ;-)

Did i mention these are NOT low-fat? Just sayin.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dinner

2010-02-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Egg in a heart shaped hole.

Baby Shower

2010-02-13T19:49:00.001-07:00

My friend Amanda is adopting a baby from Ethiopia and she had a lovely baby shower today.

I don't remember the last time I was at a baby shower that I wasn't

hosting, helping with or playing silly games at. It was kind of nice.

Definitely didn't miss eatting baby food or smelling chocolate in a diaper.

Anyways, Amanda and JohnMark leave in 13 days to go to Ethiopia to pick up their adorable

Eli. It's been so fun to be a part of this experience with them and I

am so stinkin excited to meet Eli and play with him!

Congrats Amanda!

Side note- the baby cake was a really cute idea...

until they started cutting him up and eating him. haha.

Gloomy...

2010-02-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

... but still beautiful

Superbowl party!

2010-02-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I watched some of the game... as we were walking out the door to
go shopping. Haha.

Just another Sunday morning

2010-02-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

Taylor and I.

29 and feeling fine!

2010-02-03T10:09:00.011-07:00

Some pictures from my birthday party....

Sara made adorable polka-dot cupcakes and Tiff hung buttons and lanterns to decorate.

Elisha crowned me Birthday Queen!

I'm so fortunate to have such great friends. We had a fun night of hanging out and eating yummy food from crock-pots. Also, I'm 29 and i'm ok with that.

30 before I'm 30

2010-02-01T14:05:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I read a post on Jordan Ferney's blog (I don't know who she is or how iI found her blog, but I like it, haha) about a list she made of 30 things she wanted to do before she turned 30. I loved that idea, so I started thinking of my own list and here it is...

Travel... somewhere... anywhere (preferably somewhere outside Montana).
Finish the 90-day NT challenge on time and start a new challenge.
Purchase a bike and ride it often.
Create more do-it-yourself projects (I want to have a house filled with creative stuff, not all target brand items, although i love target).
Journal more.
Go garage sale shopping for unique items.
Have a garage sale and get rid of unnecessary items.
Work-out on a consistent basis (at least 4 days a week).
Keep in better touch with my family and friends.
Organize my craft closet.
Mentally prepare myself for turning 30.
Blog at least once a month.
Organize my files.
Go camping at least twice this summer.
Read 3 books (this is going to be stretch!).
Make time to get to know my volunteers on a more personal level.
Continue cooking new recipes and don't be scared to cook more than chicken.
Focus on the positives of turning 30.
Bake at least 4 new cupcake recipes.
Invite friends over for dinner more often.
See my mommy- some how, some way.
Update Kids ministry classrooms and programs.
Volunteer at Providence Home, although I have no control over this.
Pan a VBS for Fresh Life, yay!
Switch to the envelope system (cash instead of cards. Dave Ramsey style).
Take advantage of the glorious Montana summers (hikes, lakes, picnics, camping, etc).
Don't obsess with turning 30.
Write more cards- birthday, thank you, miss you. etc.
Go to Glacier park at least 4 times.
Find a time machine, so I don't turn 30.

Ok, here are the replacements for the ones about me turning 30....

11. Memorize 1 Bible verse a month (another hard one... my memory is not the best).

18. Don't be afraid to get out of my comfort zone.

27. Make a conscious effort to remember kids and parents names (without the name tags).

30. Hang out with 6 new friends on an individual basis.

Some of these items are going to be easier than others for sure, but this might be kind of fun having a list of goals. Look for next years post on how i did!

28 was... Great!

2010-01-31T23:28:00.000-07:00

It's almost midnight on my last day of being 28. I feel that I am finally ok with the fact that I will soon be 29. It's taken me pretty much the whole month of January to get here, but I made it. I feel that tomorrow when people ask how old I am, I will be able to reply 29 without shedding a tear. Some of you readers (whoever you are) may think I am being a little dramatic, but I don't care (you are right though, I am a little dramatic when it comes to my birthday. I've been this way for as long as I can remember and I will probably always be this way, well, maybe not).

Anyways. I am not known for having the best memory, so It's a good thing I love photography. I went through my pictures and pulled some photos of some highlights of my year. Warning- there are a lot of pictures (hey, it was a busy, crazy, exciting, fun, year!). Here we go!

I continued to be the director at the daycare in Whitefish. This was a HUGE learning experience for me. Even though it was very challenging, I am very thankful for the experience and lessons i learned.

Sara and I at our garage sale.

Easter was super fun watching all the kids look for eggs after service.

We got a new building for infants-2 year olds for church and it made my life a lot easier.

I went to Missoula for the 1st time and went to my friend Sarah's wedding.

I moved from my apartment with Elisha into a nice house with a couple from the church. This is the lighthouse that would guide me home at night ;)

I baked more delicious cupcakes.

Took an wonderful trip to California to visit family, friends and enjoy some sunshine.

Also, I surprised my dad for his 60th birthday, it was an epic moment!

Continued to see the Lord do awesome things in lives of people here in Montana and through Fresh Life.

Saralyn came from Jersey for a visit and we had tons of fun.
Tiff's b-day/4th of July was fun hanging with friends, playing whiffle ball, eating food and watching fireworks.

July 1st was my official first day as the full time Kids Ministry Director at Fresh Life. I am so blessed to LOVE my job!

Elisha and I hanging out at the lake. I love Montana summers.

I love it when the girls come to the office for a visit and we have "meetings". I adore them.

Baked more goodies and had more parties.

Camping!!!
Love these ladies!

Hot dogs, kids and ...

... baseball.

We started Fresh Life Groups and it's been great to get to know others at church. Here is some of the group at the Samaritan House serving dinner.

Tiff and I at Crystal's 80's birthday party.

Elisha, Jenn and I having a great day at work.

Ella and I at the pumpkin patch. Love this kid.

Jake, Erin, Tiffany and I dressed as the Ray family for Brian's birthday party. We also sang "That's What Friends Are For".

More babies! Beckett and I.

Angie and I moved into a townhouse in November.

Had a great appreciation dinner for my AMAZING kids ministry volunteers.

Another year of chopping down my own tree.

The roomie and I with the decorated tree.

My new found love... ice skating.

Baby-sitting some of the cutest kids EVER!

A wonderful sunggie Christmas.

More yummy goodies.

New Years with great friends and lots of noise makers.

Homemade ravioli on New Years day.

More hanging out with wonderful friends.

If you really read/looked at this whole blog, yay for you and wow! It was a great year full of lots of growth and now I'm excited for the next year to see what God has in store. Bring on 29!!!

I really appreciate ...

2010-01-28T14:41:00.003-07:00

... God keeping my keys safe on my trunk as I drove from my house to
work (approx. 2 mi.) as I wondered where they were. Very funny.

highlight of 2009

2010-01-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

Last night I started writing a blog of the highlights of last year (it will be published on my bday, hopefully) and I realized I never blogged about the highlight of my summer and possibly my year (ok, surprising my dad for his 60th b-day is up there too)!

You must be thinking to yourself, what could this fantastic event be??? Well, it was... camping!

I don't remember camping as a kid (even though i have cute pictures of my family and I camping at the beach). I did camp in high school with my church group at the beach and in college at Lake Mead, but never anything like this. I absolutely LOVED it. I loved relaxing and not caring what time it was, or what I had to do that day, or caring about what to wear or wearing make-up. It was AMAZING!!!!

So, typical Carrie style, here are a lot of pictures...

The girls and I chatting and having fun.

Kelsey and I went down to the lake to relax and read while the others went for a bike ride. This is Kelsey "reading", but I later found out she was really texting... sneaky, sneaky.

Breath-taking view.

I also found a new love for bike riding. We would take little rides every now and then and I think the girls were sick of me singing songs from the Sound of Music after the first few rides. Do-a deer, a female deer... Anyways, I feel it helped keep the bears away.

Here's me in my cute little tent. My tent was awesome!!! It rained like CRAZY the 1st night we were there and I stayed totally dry and I had an awesome time as the lightening and thunder was right over us. It was SO fun and very loud!

Tiff and Erin cooking some delish food.

Then we went on a float down the river. The funny thing is I remember more paddleing than floating. Jane, Rachel, Mable, Kricket and I were on the paddle boat and it was a challeng to say the least, but totally worth it!

Jayne was calling for moose. It sounded something like, "here moose, here moosey".

The kayakers surrounded by gorgeous scenery.

Break time... hey guys, let's jump off a little cliff and so they did and I did it too! I was actually really proud of myself that I jumped AND I did it twice.

Bonfire fun.

Singing time.

The boys cooking up some yummy breakfast.

Saturday morning CJ and Ruthie decided to get baptized at Lake McDonald. It was a very special moment and I was glad to be there.

I like this picture.

All the ladies.

The men.

Kelsey and I headed home and the group stayed another night. We stopped for huckleberry shakes on the way back. yummmmmm.

Mine was called a "bear poop milkshake". Chocolate and huckleberry. Silly name, great flavor.

The whole gang....

Rays, Hartmans, Kragers and Kimports and me :) I love these families!!!!

Seriously an epic few days and I can't wait to camp again this summer!

Random Video Blog with Emma

2010-01-24T12:16:00.002-07:00

Creative Calendar

2010-01-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

In my office. Props to my friend Debbie for the inspiration.

Silly Liv and Carrie

2010-01-20T18:05:00.001-07:00

i came across these videos a few weeks ago and couldn't resist posting them. Alivia cracks me up!!!! i hope they make you laugh too...

christmas decor 2009

2009-12-13T16:40:00.008-07:00

here are some pictures of my Christmas decor in my new place. i'll post other pictures of my new home in a few weeks when it's more settled :)

the lights over the kitchen table

kitchen

Christmas cards on the closet door.

my inspiration for this years tree and decor was a scrapbook called "Peppermint Forest" which consists on greens, reds, pinks and blues.

i also really wanted to make a pennant out of the scrapbook paper.

Merry Christmas pennant and the tree!

Little pennants for the tree, so cute.

Same snow flakes from last years tree.

i didn't have a tree skirt, so i purchased some fabric and placed it around the tree stand.

ta-da!

my roomie Angi and I.

hunt and cut 2009

2009-12-08T16:55:00.008-07:00

one of my favorite things about Montana is cutting down my own Christmas tree! so here are some pictures of this years hunt and cut...

look at these cute kids! getting so big!!!

i own a saw now, i'm pretty tough.

Elisha finds her tree and cuts it down.

yay for friends and trees!

here i am cutting down my tree :)

what a beauty!

oh and i was the winner of the best tree this year! decorated tree pictures coming soon :)

Snuggie staff

2009-11-24T15:14:00.001-07:00

Time out

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We make a great team...

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I cook and she cleans.

pumpkin patch

2009-11-10T18:18:00.001-07:00

last month we went to the pumpkin patch for Alivia's 4th birthday and it was tons of fun!

here's Alivia riding... i don't know how she can see though!

Ella and i chillin on the side-lines.

i'm pretty sure Emma was asking if she could feed the donkey a stick.

oh what parents will do for there kids!

they love it!

Lenya is getting ready for a ride!

Zachy too!

Sara's expression cracks me up! i think she enjoyed the ride more than the kids.

wheeee!!!!

the boys getting ready to race...

and they're off!

photo finish... Travis wins!!!

Sara's going for a ride.

trying to find their way out of the maze.

it was a wonderful day for a fabulous 4 year old!

(picture from Jen and Levi :)

So thankful!!!

2009-11-10T11:52:00.003-07:00

For my volunteers and kids!

Kids Ministry Volunteer

2009-11-10T11:52:00.001-07:00

Appreciation dinner

Moved out this weekend!

2009-11-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

I don't remember the last time...

2009-11-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to sleep in my own bed!!!

Sneak peak

2009-10-15T21:21:00.000-06:00

Amazing baby shower coming soon!

sometimes we like to match...

2009-09-04T09:34:00.002-06:00

we're cool like that!

It's gonna be a good day...

2009-09-01T11:13:00.000-06:00

Elisha pointed out what time it was, just for the record.

Noooooooo!!!!!

2009-08-26T22:45:00.000-06:00

thank you...

2009-08-18T21:35:00.003-06:00

Starbucks for providing me with free wi-fi, so i could write 3- no 4 ;) blogs tonight! ahhhhhh... feels good. and for an added bonus, a picture of me taken by elisha...

at huckleberry days with my huckleberry lemonade in hand.

Saralyn part 2

2009-08-18T21:20:00.000-06:00

Saralyn celebrated her 30th birthday in Montana, so we had to make it memorable! we went on a zip line up on big mountain and hiking at glacier. i think it made for a pretty memorable 30th birthday :)

my sweet zip-line attire

sare's cool outfit

the view from the chair lift

preparing to launch!

there i go!

we look pretty tough ;)

after some thrills we went to piggyback for some yummy bbq

and then to glacier national park

glorious

wildlife

snow!!!

Sare hiked to the hidden lake outlook

then we hiked on the side of a mountain

down at lake mcdonald

lake mcdonald lodge for dinner

we had a blast and i look forward to out next visit!

tissue-poms

2009-08-18T20:17:00.009-06:00

we have a building at church called The Corner (it's caddy-corner to the church). we use it for all children under the age of 3 during services, Veritas (the college group) on monday nights and various meetings. well, because the room is a multiple purpose, we don't put up anything that can't be taken down every week. i was tired of my boring room for the kids, so i decided to add some color! i found these fabulous curtains at bed bath and beyond and purchased matching tissue paper to make pom-poms (thank you Martha Stewart). i LOVE these curtains for the corner because they are fun and vibrant and NOT pastels, which so many kid/baby stuff is. here it is...

loving my new curtains and tissue-poms!!!

poms in progress

love this color combo

my fabulous helpers Alyson

and Jenn

poms decorate the room for a meeting

and the kids love them too!

i heart them!!!!

Saralyn

2009-08-18T20:04:00.001-06:00

it's been over 4 years since i lived in new jersey and i am so blessed to still have Saralyn in my life! she came to Montana visit over 4th of July wekend and to celebrate her 30th birthday! super fun :) we took LOTS of pictures, but here are the highlights...

breakfast at LouLa's in Whitefish

if only i had a yellow trench coat!

rainy day

up at big mountain

brrrrrrr at whitefish lake

foy's lake

a cool shot at lone pine

kalispell

at flathead lake

more to come...

June 09

2009-08-14T19:47:00.000-06:00

there are a few events that happend a while ago that i still want to blog about and then i'll focous on the present :)

my friend Sarah got married in June! my other friend Heidi and i went to Missoula (about 2hrs away) to hang out for a night, shop and go to the wedding. it was a nice little get away.

as usual, here are some pictures...

Heidi and i in the nice hotel. Sarah's friend got us a sweet deal :)

Sarah the night before she got married

Heidi and i went shopping around town and i saw this cool purple door, photo op!

downtown farmers market was super fun!

free dance party, woot woot!

Sarah and TJ are married!

Tiff and I

cutting the cake.

fresh life friends!

the beautiful bride and i :)

pretty drive on the way home.

my yummy treat box from the yellow candy bar.

super fun few days. congrats Sarah!

Twerp and Rascal

2009-08-14T09:12:00.001-06:00

They're not too fond of each other. If there was sound with this
picture you would hear a lot of barking, hissing and laughing. I'm the
one laughing ;)

Made my own pizza dinner

2009-08-07T21:05:00.000-06:00

It was yummy

Just like Sonic

2009-08-04T21:09:00.000-06:00

Cherry limeade

Out for a bike ride

2009-08-03T21:30:00.000-06:00

The smoke monster

2009-08-03T21:27:00.000-06:00

In kalispell!

I think she's confused...

2009-07-29T17:37:00.000-06:00

You've got to be kidding me...

2009-07-29T13:34:00.000-06:00

I came home last night to a new roommate...

2009-07-27T19:03:00.000-06:00

This is Rascal

Lightning fills the clouds

2009-07-23T22:08:00.000-06:00

Sunday at the the BBQ & baptism

2009-07-22T22:22:00.000-06:00

Hanging with Ella.

Original

2009-07-21T19:42:00.001-06:00

I like the original picture better...

Liv and Len

2009-07-21T19:41:00.001-06:00

Another beautiful summer day in Montana.