our weekend in cali!

A couple weeks back we were finally able to take a break from our business for a few days and head over to California. We didn't get to do and see as much as I would have liked- but it was stil fun and a nice break none the less. Here are some highlights!

This is where we stayed:

We got a pretty good deal on our hotel with the name your own price feature on Priceline. $75 a night and no further than 15 minutes away from anywhere we needed to be! Well... if we knew where we were going it would have only taken fifteen minutes. Thanks to the not-so-reliable GPS, it took about 30-40 minutes to find my aunts' hotel that otherwise would have been 15 minutes away. It was an adventure! lol

We got there late Friday night and the next morning, after a nice long sleep-in, Nathan and I met my aunts Amy & Lara for brunch. They were lucky enough to get a room right on Venice beach. Their hotel room was small- but super cute. I was loving it. They had a great view of the ocean-- unfortunately the smell of the nice ocean breeze was sometimes over powered by somebody's "medicinal" marijuana! Gotta love Cali, right?

We went to a little organic cafe that was right down the way from their hotel- it was pretty good! After that we took a stroll down Venice beach to see what it had to offer. I have never seen so many strange and interesting things & people all in one spot! I could have spent all day there- it was awesome. I wish I had taken more pictures!

One guy was making this awesome sand sculpture on the sidewalk for tips. It was pretty neat, so my aunt gave him a dollar. We saw many other forms of very unique art too; paintings, collages, jewelry made out of junk you find on the beach, song, dance, you name it- you can probably find it somewhere in Venice!

Naturally the freak show caught our eye. I don't care who you are- you know you secretly want to go in! Nathan and I paid the $5 each - because we are total suckers. They had some cool things, but for the most part it was kind of lame. lol At least we can say we've done it though!

Above, is my favorite thing from the freak show. A two headed duck! Isn't that the cutest little freak you have ever seen!?

After our Venice excursion, it was time to rush back to hotel and get cleaned up and changed for the whole reason we drove out to Cali in the first place...

My cousin Desiree's wedding!! Don't she and Devin make such a cute couple? I am so happy they tied the knot and to have a new cousin-in-law! I've considered Devin part of the family for a while I now- but now it's official.

They got married at a restaurant in Marina del Rey called the Shanghai Reds. It was so beautiful! (Must give a special thanks to everyone who took and shared such great pictures! My camera died within the first 30 minutes of being there) Here are some pictures that my dad took of the grounds before the ceremony started:




Amazingly pretty, right? Everything going great- we were all getting in our seats ready to see the beautiful bride walk down the aisle when this happened:

yup! A bird flew over and pooped on my dad! It sounds funny, but I really did feel so bad for him. He was looking so schnazzy in hit suit, and his tie matched his shirt beautifully, and he had to take off the coat and tie all because of one pelican! It even leaked through onto his shirt and got on his glasses too. Ewww! But he and Nathan went to the mens room and got him all cleaned up, just in time!

They had the ceremony right on the water, just as the sun was setting. It was gorgeous! It was exactly the way I would have done it if I had, had a bigger budget for my wedding. So romantical! =p

Devin's mom did a wonderful reading at the beginning of the ceremony about love! She is such a delightful woman and such a great hostess. She introduced everyone to everyone and made us feel so welcome!

It was a nice, intimate ceremony; really beautiful- I even teared up a bit! They exchanged rings, pretended to light the unity candle (it was too windy to do it for real, so we all imagined it,) and before ya knew it, the bride was kissed and it was on to their lovely reception!

Desiree always looks fantastic, but she looked especially stunning in her wedding gown. Isn't it gorgeous?

Mr & Mrs Cruise!

They had 4 or 5 different flavors of cupcakes that were absolutely delicious! I wish we had gotten more pictures of the food- it was soooooo good.

Not only was the food great, so was the entertainment. A friend of Devin's mom came and sang some awesome love songs towards the end of the reception. She had an amazing voice- everyone loved it. My dad even gave her his card to be added to her mailing list, so he can come back and see her perform sometime.

Every detail of the wedding was perfect. I feel so blessed that I was able to share such a special moment in my cousin's life.

Congratulations, again to Desiree and Devin!

After the wedding, we met up with my parents and my aunts and we all went down to Santa Monica Pier. (I couldn't believe that I actually convinced my parents to go out and do something after 9:00 at night!! I thought they turned into pumpkins if they stayed out that late! haha)

There is a little amusement park there are on the pier, and though we couldn't afford to hit up Disneyland- we could afford a few rides there at Pacific Park!

First stop- the Ferris Wheel!

This is just the view from one side of the wheel- if you looked out the other direction, the wheel turned right over the ocean! It was crazy awesome! It was dark though, so no one got a really good shot while we were over the water. It was a really nice little ride though- we all enjoyed ourselves.

Next we went on the roller coaster. I was soooo excited because Nathan and I both loooove coasters but it turned out to be kind of lame. Not really worth the $5 we spent to ride it. But again, it was one of those things we did just for the experience of riding a coaster on the pier. It's hard to see, but we actually are in the picture below. Can you see my bright green sweater?

Our final ride of the evening was the sea dragon. Here we are- all smile before the ride starts:

Put your hands in the air, and scream!!

Rides usually don't bother me at all, but I have to admit that after a delicious 5 course meal at my cousin's wedding- my stomach was a little bit queezy after that ride. My dad's was too. Nathan claims he felt fine...

After our amusement park experience, we walked down to the end of the pier. The weather was so amazing. I wish I could enjoy weather like year round.

Nathan and I were enjoying a moment, watching the waves and the ocean when all of a sudden :

"There it is! There's another seal!!" We could see seals swimming at the marina before Desiree's wedding, but every time my Aunt Lara came to look, they would go under water. We saw some more there at the pier and were really excited! I am not sure if my aunt ever got a good look at them or not, but it was pretty cool!

Here's a little fact for ya- if you didn't already know- that pier is the end of Route 66. Of course Nathan and I had to get a picture in front of the sign.

The had a cool little "Route 66" display up on the wall.

A couple views of the Ferris wheel from the end of the pier.


Who are the Arizona weenies wearing sweaters and jackets? Nathan was a tough guy and gave my dad his hoodie to wear. He likes being cold... freak. lol

Look! Nathan even got to go swimming with dolphins!

There was a Bubba Gump Shrimp down by where we parked- so we got a couple tourist pictures out there too.


It was a very fun, memorable night.

The next morning was a Sunday, and time to head home (I told you it was a short trip!) But that morning we had our first, and only, celebrity encounter! If you can call him a celebrity... I don't watch his show, but I knew him right away. Nathan didn't know who it was.


Dr. Rey- also known as Dr. 90210- was at the L.A. temple visitor's center with his family when Nathan and I stopped by to take pictures. I did not take any pictures of him- I stole this one from google. I figured it was probably rude to bother him while he was at the temple with his children and stuff. It was neat to see him though- he was wearing a pretty swanky suit and was driving a deliciously sexy car- his kids were adorable too.

I can honestly say though, I was way more excited to be seeing another temple in person than I was to see Dr. Rey. It was beautiful, but I expected nothing less. The L.A. temple is on a hill too, so it gave a nice little work out walking all around the outside.




I thought the fountain was really pretty, so I had to take a picture.

And this is the view of the city from the bench out front.

And this is Nathan and I outside the temple! One of the only good pictures I have of the two of us from this trip. I have become such a picture slacker! I think that might be one of my resolutions for next year- take more (and better) pics. So there it is- our trip to California!

We have a lot of other fun things planned from now until the end of the year. I will do my best to keep you posted!

grateful praise

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind's delight;
For the mystic harmony,
Linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on Earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thy church that evermore,
Lifteth holy hands above;
Offering up on every shore,
Her pure sacrifice of love;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the martyrs crown of light,
For Thy prophets eagle eye,
For Thy bold confessors might,
For the lips of infancy.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thy virgins robes of snow,
For Thy maiden mother mild,
For Thyself, with hearts aglow,
Jesus, Victim undefiled.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thyself, best Gift Divine,
To the world so freely given,
For that great, great love of Thine,
Peace on earth and joy in heaven.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

happy owl-o-ween!

I don't know why- but for some reason I have been an owl kick lately. So I decided that this year I would give Halloween an Owl theme.

It all started with my custom carved pumpkin. I finally got around to painting it, a week before Halloween! I got my inspiration from an owl plate I saw at As You Wish, and it turned into this:





Doesn't it look so cool- when it's lit up?


I couldn't just stop with the pumpkin though, oh no, I had to make...


...owl cupcakes!!

How cute are those?!
I combined two different owl cupcake designs I found online. I think they turned out pretty well though.

And to keep my in an owl mood while I baked and painted:


Of course, I had to watch the Labyrinth! I need an owl movie and I couldn't watch just one Harry Potter movie. If you are going watch the HP you need a marathon, and I didn't have that kind of time. So I settled for David Bowie turning into an owl and singing with his muppet goblin minions.

So now you might be asking yourself, what candy is Tarin going to hand out for Halloween? They don't make owl candy.... Well my friends, I am handing out Tootsie pops. First, because I hate them and if there is any left over candy I don't want the temptation since I am starting a new diet November 1.

And secondly- THERE IS AN OWL IN THE COMMERCIAL!! duh.



Happy Owl-O-Ween Everyone!!!

marley jane lunt

Born September 30, 2010 at 2:57. 8 lbs 9 oz, 20 1/4"long.

Nathan and I were at work that day, as usual! but we did manage to make it to the hospital later that night to visit our new niece.

Nathan with Marley. I love seeing Nathan hold babies! It's so cute.
One of these days it'll our baby in his arms.

Chatting with the proud daddy!

I think she looks so cute in the one!

I had to get a picture of her without the hat. She has hair! Yay!

The rest of these pictures are stolen. I took them from Marvin & Sarah's blog and facebook because Nathan and I are the overworked auntie and uncle that haven't had time to see her since she has been born. But we are still proud enough to plaster her picture all over our blog. =p

Marley with her daddy...

...and her big brother Brick...

...and big brother Rusty!

We are so happy to have another niece to spoil! Congratulations Marvin and Sarah on your precious baby girl!

This won't be the last you see of this little one- I am sure there are many more pictures to come in the future.

catching up!

As usual, I have fallen behind on my blogging! Instead of doing a bunch of individual blog posts- I am going to do one big update, organized in alphabetical order by how I had the pictures named. Here we go!

BIRTHDAYS!

On September 2nd, our little baby Dave turned 1! He's gotten big so fast. Here are some of my favorite baby pictures of him:

And here he is now:

So big! But still super cute. I love my lil Dave!

***

I also had a birthday back in September- the 16th, to be exact. I turned the big 2-4! One year older, and wiser too! Next year I will be a quarter of a century old- and that kinda freaks me out...

Nathan & Tarin at Dave & Busters 9-16-10

(Thanks Amy, for taking pics!)

Anyway, my birthday didn't start out awesome. I was going to go to the temple with my sister, Jessica, to do baptisms- and after I got all cleaned up and ready to go I couldn't find my temple recommend anywhere! It's lost and I have to get a new one. So instead we went the the craft store and bought a bunch of flowers and ribbon to make hair bows. They turned out super cute! We also went to Cici's for lunch and as a birthday present to myself- I got waxed... and burned!! (but that's a long story for another day!)

Later that night we met up with a bunch of family (Mom, Dad, Rod, Virginia, Amy, Marvin, and Sarah!) and went bowling at Dave and Buster's! It was really fun. We bowled two games, got some food, and later played games! My birthday bad luck continued when I thought I had lost the digital picture frame that my parents had gotten me- but we found it before left D&B's- thank goodness! Even though things didn't go as planned- it was still a pretty good birthday.

BUNNY

One night, after dropping my sister off at her house from working with us- I got a phone call from Nathan. We were just randomly chatting as we were both driving home when all of a sudden he said:
"I hit something!"
"What did you hit!?"
"A dog or cat or something. I don't know, I gotta go. I'll call you back!"

He got out of his car to check on the poor creature he had hit to discover it was a bunny rabbit. Apparently it had darted out of someone's yard and ran into the side of Nathan's car. It didn't get run over or anything and the only apparent injury it had was a bit of a bloody nose.

We decided that we would call animal control in the morning and put the bunny in the backyard. The next morning, right after we had woken up, Nathan went out to check on the bunny while I went in to check email in the office. He had left the dogs inside, so imagine my surprise when I heard a shout from the backyard "Buster! NO!" If Buster was out there, that meant Dave was too. Oh no! So I jumped out of my chair and ran out back to see the poor bunny running for it's life and my two dogs in hot pursuit! So, the dogs were chasing the bunny, and Nathan and I were chasing the dogs- in our underwear! Nathan finally got a hold of Buster but we didn't get Dave in time. He pinned the bunny!! All I could think was that he was going to rip the bunny's head off right in front of me like it was one of his toys!

Thank goodness the bunny played dead and after pinning the poor thing, Dave was just sniffing and slobbering all over it. I am surprised it didn't die of a heart attack. After that Nathan got dressed and drove the bunny to the Humane Society. It was only in the backyard over night, but while it was back there it pooped EVERYWHERE! I am glad we didn't keep it. I hope it does find a good home though.

MARLEY JANE LUNT

We got a new niece! But she is special enough that I will do an individual post about her next.
PAINTED PUMPKINS!


Here are some pictures of pumpkins painted. We have tons of pictures of carved pumpkins on our facebook page- but they are usually being sent off to get painted elsewhere. Here are a couple we did.

My friend Jennifer got married, so I made one for her with her new last name "BUNKER." I think it turned out pretty cute! I wish I had gotten a better picture of it before I wrapped it up and gave it away. It was super fun to paint!


My dad wanted one for work that he could use for events and stuff. Nathan painted this one. Didn't it turn out awesome!?
PRIMARY PROGRAM

Bethany and Melody after the Primary Program 2010

This year was Melody's first Primary Program. She didn't have a speaking part- but she was a hoot to watch! I think my favorite thing was that she would mimic all the hand motions of the chorister. It was cute! Of course, she did the typical sunbeam wave to her family. She even gave the boy next to her a kiss. She wasn't a goofball the entire program though, she did a wonderful job singing all the songs she had learned this year. Afterward, a couple people told my sister how much they enjoyed watching Melody as well.

OCTOBER WEATHER

We got a couple days of crazy storms! Arizona is no stranger to monsoon storms, but I don't think they usually go into October- especially not like this! We even got hail!


Nathan sent me this pic of him holding a huge piece of hail. It was even bigger in some parts of the valley- it was reported as big as golf balls!!



These are pictures that Nathan took of hail on the ground at his parent's house.


CRAZINESS!!


And this is a picture of the awesome rain that my BFF Kassi sent me from work. It was the best weather day we have had in a long, long time. Luckily we didn't have any storm damage- a lot of places did. I was very grateful while I heard the rain pounding against my windows that we didn't have any large trees in or around our yard- there were branches down all over the place afterward.

Well that's my blog catch up from the past month! Stay tuned for a post about our family's newest addition! =D