birthday olympics.

it has been said that our family treats birthdays like the olympics. there is an opening ceremony, the actual event, and then the closing ceremony. we draw the party out for weeks. in this case, it was my dad's 60th birthday.

kinda girlie, but i had to use my new stamps.

this is a little shack on bellevue way. there is nothing like a mom n' pop place. where the tables are few and the calories a-plenty.

icon grill. we asked the waiter to take our picture. and he said "oh, i see. the only people that matter are already here." (the rest of the group was still parking) whatever.

um. craig and me.


my mom and dad. i told him to get anti-glare on his glasses.... i hate to be the one to say "i told you so."

my cousins, adam and dani. we will be sad to see them leave this summer. they are moving to arizona so adam can finish up school. good thing we have these blogs!

the birthday boy.

louis is so pooped out from all these celebrations.

the story.

craig and i met up at ricks (byu-idaho) in early 2004. he had been home from his church mission for about four months. he served in the Raleigh, North Carolina mission. I was starting my third semester at college.
he was VERY excited ( i mean, not normally so) that we were both from the seattle area. he would bring it up all the time. at one point i thought that was the only reason he was dating me! however, we loved spending time with each other and quickly became best friends.
after a couple of months of dating, craig wanted some time "getting his grades back up" and so we split up! :) it was really sad, but i think an important time for us to grow......
until, at the very end of that semester he called me and asked if he could see me one last time before we left for the summer. and the rest, as they say, was history.
we dated for another year and half . and towards the end of that time period my "missionary" came home. craig wasnt too happy about it but i felt it was important to date that guy for a little bit... to see if there was anything there..... (we had dated all throughout high school) it turned out that we were better off as friends. so craig and i got married four months later.
we got married in the LDS seattle temple and went to Manhattan for our honeymoon. shortly after returning from new york, we packed our stuff up and moved to orange county. craig sold pest control and i found LOUIS. after that summer we went back to ricks to finish up our last semester. craig got his bachelor degree in biology and chemisty. i got my associates degree (mom, be quiet) in general studies. we then moved to seattle so that craig could attend university of washington dental school.
and that brings us up to the present. i tried to be as brief as possible. i just wanted all of my old friends to know how i bagged such a winner.

our graduation.

our engagement dinner at bonefish. craig had proposed at this same restaurant just a couple of days before. my ring came with the creme brulee.

these fine flowers are from my office. honoring administrative assistant appreciation day. i was also treated to pf changs and cake n' ice cream. they are good to me. only because i keep the office fish alive. i am off to get my dad's birthday present. he celebrates his 60th birfday this friday.

baby shower ok. but before i get to the shower, i gotta post this picture of a perfect specimen. not kidding.

the invitations. it was so nice of me to think of the concept and then have my mom do all the work (50 invitations). but hey, sometimes that's just how it is.

this was at the shower for Jessica Rands Kettle's little baby boy, Max. he is so cute. especially with his little baby leggings. my mom and i put it together, and it was a blast. the miniature cupcakes had light green frosting on them to go with the pear green and brown theme..... and my mom bought the big bags of M&Ms and picked out the other colors. geek.
i love this shot, because her face is clear. not happy, but clear. we were a little stressed about food.
these were the little favors that the women got to take home. the labels turned out so cool!

i stole the little picture of max from jessica's blog. hope the copyright po-pos arent after me.



this is what louis thinks of the shower.

elder short, treating his companion to a romantic dinner at OUTBACK. where else? i look at pictures of my brother, out on his mission, and i honestly cannot explain how proud i am of him. he made a tough choice, and is sticking to it. i love him so much. he looks so old......

this picture is like that page in Highlights magazine. you gotta find what is wrong with it.

elder short, with his favorite little couple in palm bay. there are couple of things to note while looking at this image. it was taken in march. the mirrored walls. the wooden dentures (made by the man himself) that the guy frequently has to paint white. the fact that taylor is acting as though the entire situation is completly normal. taylor says that they are the absolute best missionaries ever. they are really good people and taylor loves them.

the smith home
FINALLY. i wanted this entire post to be pictures of our apartment, but craig's computer wasnt working last night, so it only posted those first couple pictures..... this is our family room type-thing. our apartment is only 850 square feet, so it all feels like one big room. there are a couple of beautiful quilts in this picture. i think i will dedicate a separate entry in their honor.

this is my favorite piece of furniture we have purchased since being married. i guess you cant really tell, but the table is amazing! we got it at cost plus and i love it. and if you can believe it, it is not distressed white paint.... kinda unorthodox.

this blurry little picture is of my first watercolor painting. i have no idea why i chose that medium, but it is a toughy.

this is the only room craig would allow me to paint (actually, to more accurate, he painted) we are going to have a heckuva time trying to paint it back to white. maybe we will just never move. SCARY.

craig's dad found that window for me at a really old house that was about to be demolished.
the knock-down clowns are from a circus in the early 1900's.


the headboard is an old door. i didnt have that color in my room, but i absolutely loved it. so i made it work! louis always feels compelled to ruin a freshly made bed.


this vanity was at value village for 14 bones. it was bright yellow and orange. the stool ended up matching the door headboard perfectly! louis is so vain, it is kind of sickening sometimes.

this is for the one in the leather. my dad was hosting himself a pity party because there were no pictures of him on this blog. so this was us, last december, in downtown seattle. we were on our way to see a christmas carol at one of those theaters "in the round". it was really amazing.

this is craig's family. we were at craig's best friend's wedding. from left to right: me, craig, ryan, cheri, rod, and eric. i think it is safe to say that craig and i will have blonde, blue eyed, white-as-can-be babies.......:)

this picture is super dark. and probably will be even worse against the black background. but i had to show the devil at work. this crinkly paper is his most prized possession. but it is more complicated than that. he only plays/attacks it when we are trying to sleep. funny how that works....

louis and me on our balcony. he cries to get outside to look at the action below. to help with his obsession of the outside world, i take him on walks..... craig has this leash from when he had a bunny in like third grade. the bunny's name was buns. and for some reason, this name always gets me. i am laughing as i type this. buns died from vertigo. but only after my dear sweet mother-in-law had it go in for brain surgery. back to the leash. so, louis loves his walks outside. however, he is mysteriously (that was for shanna) always drawn to the dirt piles. no bueno.

i am so proud of craig. he ranked number one in his class at udub dental school this year. it has been a lot of hard work (on his part: studying, on my part: leaving him alone) but he did it! maybe i should treat him to a vacation. maybe san diego in the summer... oh wait...... :)

jocelyn and me in san francisco. i went there last august and had a great time. the caramels are the best.

our wedding day. craigs hair was a wee bit long. but other than that, the day went perfectly! :) we left for new york the next day. it was amazing.

tucker. on his thirteenth birthday. i got that shirt in Tijuana one year. tucker enjoys watching Lost and baking cookies with his friends. i cannot believe he will be a freshman next year.

this is my brother, elder taylor short. he is serving in the orlando, florida spanish speaking mission. he left in november of 2006. he loves the people and has already gained five pounds! :) we are all very proud of him and miss him a lot. by the way, his hair kinda scares me.

craig and i just booked our flights to san diego for june sixth through the 12th. i am so excited. i am praying to the weather gods that the weather will be decent. i cannot wait to see my two aunties and possibly go to disneyland. we leave the night craig finishes finals! he is doing so well in dental school, so he deserves this vacay. we get to stay in my aunt's new little house. :) it will be great.