Musetastic proposal of Preston and Krista!

Virtual Birthday

My awesome dad turned 57 this year! It was Brooke's idea to make a 'virtual birthday card' from all of us since we don't all live close to give hugs and birthday wishes. Jord did a great job putting this video together (as always) and I think it does a great job of highlighting how fantastical this man really is! Happy birthday dad!

Cake For Everyone!

I absolutely love to craft! As my sisters would all say, we like to 'craft our pants'. Over time I have been making this birthday calendar to keep track of our growing family and all of the newly added birthdays I need to remember. Nobody likes it when you forget their birthday!  Or more so when you forget to give them a present. So this is a fool proof yet decorative way to avoid doing so. Thanks to the wood connection for supplying all of my crafty cravings. I've got this one in the bag!

Mexico, Amigos!

Well folks, he's at it again! We are going to back track from everything else that has been going on because Jord just finished editing our honeymoon footage and now all can experience the thrill of beach slides, parasailing, and snorkeling. We love Mexico!!

Official Biz

It took a little chunk of time, but it is all set! I've got my very own Etsy shop. I made these a few years ago and have sold some here and there from friends and family but I decided it was time to put them out there a little more. So if you would like to see the hottest jewelry on the block, just go here. Also, necklaces will be up soon so keep a look out!

A little taste of the Jord especial

As you may already know, Jord is gifted with cooking (seriously). One of Jord's favorite restaurants served this sauce and Jord couldn't convince the owner to give him the recipe. So, being the go-getter that he is, Jord played with ingredients, proportions, etc. and figured out his own custom sauce that might I say rivals Cafe Rio's green ranch sauce. People, you will fall in love. I am going to give you the secret to happiness here, his very own Jalapeño Ranchera Sauce. Enjoy!

You will need:

• 1/2 cup Mayo
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh minced garlic OR 2 cloves (but no powder allowed)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon Hidden Valley Ranch powder (the stuff you use to make at-home hidden valley ranch)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (3/4 if you like it picoso)
• 1/4 jalapeño
• 1 heaping tablespoon Crema Mexicana (this is the key to the whole recipe!)

Blend and refrigerate to desired thickness. This yields about a cup, so depending on how many people and what you are serving it with you may want to double it. This goes great with just about anything mexican! Chimichangas, burritos, Cafe Rio-type salads, fish tacos, you name it. Cramers: I had you in mind on this one, I know you'll love to try it. Let us know how it turns out!

**I added this picture because I know how it is when recipes get too exotic, but I'm here to tell you that regular creme will do just fine if you don't want to use crema mexicana :)

Hamren Family Staycation

Instead of caravanning everybody somewhere far away, Mama and Papa Hamren made a staycation week of it and one of our adventures was going to the Flowrider in Ogden. Thanks to my new sissy-in-law, Kami, we got the hook-ups to rent both lanes for a whole hour. Might I say that we HIGHLY recommend it, you will have so much fun trying it out, having fun, and as you can tell, falling. The most important thing we learned is to wear clothes that will stay on well... right guys? Yeah. Jord went to a lot of work to edit this video and he is so excited for everybody to watch it. So enjoy our test run of GoPro editing and Jord's expert-ness in the making! (Not shown: The Kater.. she had to sit this one out because buns in the oven don't mix well with flow riding)

6.22.13

The best and most magical day! June 22nd 2013 - The day I finally got to marry the ever so handsome Jordan Hamren. The entire day felt like 5 days worth of time but yet flew by all at once! Thank goodness for photographers to capture every single moment to remember all of the wonderful people and sweet smiles and hugs of everybody who shared that day with us. From the Ceremony to the luncheon, to the pictures and reception - we couldn't have asked for a better turn out! It was exactly how I always dreamed it to be and was the best day to celebrate the beginning of me and Jord's life together. Thanks for everybody's effort and contribution during all of those crazy wedding plans! We have such wonderful family and friends that really made our day super dooper great : )

A Day on the Green

Jord and I spent the day on an outing with Ja and the squink (Jord's catchy name for Ja's 4-year-old daughter Ella) walking around the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point. I started off the day so ecstatic to put on my big poofy princess dress and meet up with my handsome fiancee for the big "First Look." Plus it's always fun to walk around feeling like a (wanna-be) model getting our picture taken at every pose - especially since it's been 10+ years since our last family picture. Luckily my talented brother Steve played "photographer" and helped us get that updated while everybody was in town for the wedding.  (Thanks Steve, I'm looking forward to retiring my 10-year-old Shopko pose self) ...However, I didn't realize that long-term walking in my corsette-like dress in the sun, while poor Jord carried my massive train on his freshly re-rolled ankle along the un-level grass would turn into such a crazy day. I mean, don't get me wrong it's a blast getting dolled up and feeling special but by the end of the day all we wanted to do was put on the baggiest sweats and eat cheetos. I'm just being dramatic here; we had a WONDERFUL turnout and as always Ja did a stellar job :)