Em·brace.

to take or clasp in the arms;

 press to the bosom; hug

to take in with the eye or the mind.

Rachael at Rachael Tyler Photography took

many splendid photos of our big day

I am eager to share said photos

As mentioned, I have many to share

I loved this day...

But mostly I love that it is over

and now I can think back on these exquisite memories

01.07.10

Family. Friends.

 Red. Aqua. Heat. Flowers.

Husband. Wife.

Killian kept asking me,

"Shanae why do you have a fish net on your head?"

I didn't have a good answer.

I still don't.

Ryk. Killa. Tay.

Zak. Me. Blake.

Brothers.

I like you.

Forever.

My Family.

Anxious.

You know what I mean.

Don't make us sit this far apart...

Emily. Cortnie. Chelsea. Me. Kellie. Kelli. Kaley. Crit.

Brooke. Tiffanie. Kate. Jenna. Mandie.

I have cool friends.

While we paraded around the temple grounds doing

whatever Rachael and Kale told us to do...

I tried to wrap my mind around the fact

that we were married.

 Bonded/Wed/Linked

Together from that moment on.

I will always treasure these pictures

 that captured the beginning of our forever.

xoxo

beau·ty.

the quality present in a place, thing, or person

that gives intense pleasure
or deep satisfaction to the mind,

 whether arising from sensory manifestations

(as shape, color, sound, etc.),

 a meaningful design or pattern,

 or something else.

 A couple weekends ago Josh and I

(Along with Zak, Emily, Huey

Jacki, Josh, and Sergeant)

hiked up to Cuberant Lake.

Mr. Kevin Guy has been going to this

lake since he was in high school.

I imagine that is why we keep going back.

Because our dad loves it up there

 and because the scenery is simply sublime.

Josh and I are going up one more time before

it gets too cold.

Right, Josh?

I want to live up there.

Josh really likes this little lake we pass on our way to Cuberant.

I have to admit, I like it too.

Cuberant Lake

In preparation for our hike,

Josh and I each picked a bag of trail mix from a fabulous

selection at Target. I chose the tastier of the two.

(Ask Emily)

S'mores Trail Mix

Delightful.

Shrimp. Boil.

A social event where shrimp is boiled

in a large pot with other foods

 (generally sausage, potatoes, corn, etc)

and then poured out over picnic tables.

Particularly popular in Louisiana.

Josh organized a nice

get together for his dad's birthday.

 Because Duane and Kristi

were married on Duane's birthday,

they rarely celebrate their dad's birthday as a family.

Josh served his mission in Louisiana and Jordan served in Texas--but Jordan spent the last few weeks of his mission in Louisiana.

Together, they were able to pull off a pretty impressive boil...

The huge pot used

 to boil all of the food

They seasoned the food with this:

The food was just the right amount of spicy.

Nothing Bundt Cake flavor: red velvet.

Originally the candles read: "35ish"

This cake was glorious.

Birthday Boy

Me, Josh, and Kristi

The shrimp boil was a success

We plan to have another one soon

Happy Birthday Duane

and

Happy Anniversary

Kristi and Duane

(August 16th)

Here's to 24 years of marriage

Cheers!

Mishap.

Bad Luck.

An unfortunate accident.

August 3rd, 2010.

Josh turned 23.

He went to work that day.

I had the day off and attempted to put together

a nice dinner for the two of us.

After work, Josh decided that he wanted to workout.

By all means...It was his birthday.

So we met up at my parents house.

We worked out. I went tanning.

Then we headed home.

When we made it to our house,

 Josh and I attempted to lift

his birthday gift out of the bed of our truck.

Birthday gift=grill.

Just then--our Bishopric walked up.

PERFECT.

 I had my hair on top of my head.

I hadn't showered.

Was in my workout attire.

I was so sweaty / lotion-y / gross.

But the worst part was yet to come.

We had to invite them inside...

*At this point in the story you must know that

my sisters gave me and josh a kitchen table for our wedding.

They refinished an old wooden table and it looks fabulous.

However, it didn't come with chairs.

So josh and I had been eating in our front room on a blanket.

We do what we have to do.

**You also should know that last year for Josh's birthday

I took him on a picnic.

This year, we wanted to stay in.

So, naturally, I set the picnic up in our front room.

In walks the Bishopric.

Surprise. Surprise.

We had no place to sit.

So we stood, huddled together,

in a small space in our kitchen--around our new grill.

They awkwardly asked

 if they were interrupting something.

Josh had the nerve to say no.

No?

Really?

Nope, this is what we do every night in our house.

We get out the picnic stuff

along with the champagne flutes 

and the sparkling cider.

In fact--we leave it out.

We never intend to sit on our couches.

Or have company over. 

We prefer to have a permanent table-setting on our floor.

It is just the way we roll. 

So, I explained that it was Josh's birthday.

With that, they wanted to end our little meeting.

One of the men asked Josh if he could sing to him.

Josh said that wasn't necessary.

We ended our surprise visit with a prayer.

Following the prayer the singer guy said to Josh:

I will sing 'happy birthday' to you in Portuguese.

I was tickled pink.

I needed to go grab my flute of fake champagne.

It seemed fitting.

The rest of us watched as Josh and singer guy

stared intently into each other's eyes.

Josh was mesmerized by the eloquent way

 in which this man sang to him.

It seemed as though, the pair of them would

 share a kiss afterwards.

That moment was truly engrossing.

I loved his birthday more than

 I have loved any birthday before.

Here are a few pictures of his big day...

We like our pajama's. 

See picture at top of our blog...from when he proposed.

Pajama's yet again.

 We love them.

 We love the bouncing souls too.

(Josh. Is. Handsome.)

Compliments of the Sweet Cake

on 2nd North in Kaysville

And yes, I know that August 3rd is no longer

in the range of Fourth of July decor...

But it is my favorite holiday.

So I break the rules.

This really happened...the day before his birthday

I loved it.  

Smile.

to assume a facial expression

 indicating pleasure, favor, or amusement,

 characterized by an upturning of the corners of the mouth.

Here is an excerpt of an actual telephone

 conversation I had last week with a stranger:

S: Yes. I can help you--but first, who is your hero?

Me: Um. Well...It's Kellie.

S: Who?

Me: Kellie.

S: Can you spell that?

Me: K-E-L-L-I-E.

S: Yes. That is correct.

At least I got it right.

Phew.

Amiga. Hermana.

A person known well to another

 and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty.

having a close relationship

with another because of

shared interests, problems, or the like

The year was 2008.

Shanae and Mandie Lynn took Costa Rica.

It is true. Costa Rica has never been the same since.

We had an incredible time and became close 

in more than one way.

Stop that you sicko. 

Let me explain.

We lived in a room about the size of a small SUV.

Included in our compact room

was also our bathroom.

No door separated the facility from our sleeping area.

No, nothing, save a curtain to offer a bit of privacy.

We were together every hour of every day for 3 months.

And I mean every hour.

We were friends before Costa Rica, the best of friends even.

But after an experience like ours, we are damn near blood.

One thing that I am certain of,

when you spend 3 months with the same person,

you see their TRUE COLORS.

And, you can trust me on this, Mandie is truly a good soul.

What I discovered about this chica

is: she doesn't have a mean bone in her body.

She likes everyone.

Her insides are prettier than her outsides.

She is happy pretty much all of the time.

Even in the moments just after the alarm goes off... 

She is just NICE / FRIENDLY / POSITIVE. 

Our beautiful view we woke up to every morning

Meet Osvaldo. The Costa Rican Tyler Ballard.

Happy birthday (two days ago)

Sister Friend

May 22 be good to you