NEW BLOG

Due to the overwhelming amount of comments on our posts that are NOT in English...
Zach and I decided to get a new blog. Rather than going private, we just gave it makeover.

Visit our new blog at:

http://kplusz.tumblr.com/

The "Cool Kids"

Oh....hello! [Sarcastic Font] Our names are Derek and AJ and we are SO cool because we have iPhones. Oh, Katie? You don't have an iPhone??? That's SO lame.



Since Zach is at the Jet Convention in NYC, I went out with Derek and AJ to the Red Iguana for my first time.
We were all waiting for our checks and had a break in our conversation (which rarely happens with me there) and they whip out their iPhones and both start texting/tweeting/facebooking/iChatting or whatever cool people do on the CYBER SPACE PHONES.
Yeah, I was jealous.

One day, iPhone: I will text/tweet/facebook/iChat on you for myself.
Until that day I will live in Blackberry land....which is a dark, dark place.....

Motivation and Gratitude

Yesterday, my work had all these tickets to the 'Get Motivated' Seminar in SLC. I met a co-worker (Janette) there and went to the first half of it. (It was from 8:00-5:00, there is no way we could have lasted the whole time). And showing up was....pretty mandatory. I KIND OF enjoyed it. Keep in mind it was WAY too long. I have to admit though, I have been to my fair share of "Motivational Activites". If you count ALE, UAE, Ambassador Retreat for 4 years, several NKBA meetings, and all the other stuff in between...I am the seasoned veteran of seminars. There were TONS of speakers at this thingy, but my fave was former Secretary of State, Colin Powell.


The economy stresses me out, to the MAX. People losing their jobs, people losing their homes....and so many other hardships. I can't stand to watch the news anymore, quite honestly. But, this sweet guy put a lot of positive points out there. Not to be all patriotic in your face....but I am so grateful to live in America. He put it into perspective for me, and I appreciate him for that.

After I left the seminar, I had to run over to the hangar (where Zach Attack works) to drop of some postcards to my Brother-in-law. I was zipping around the corner and had to slam on my breaks because #1 - I drive too fast, and #2 - I almost hit my Brother-in-law in the fuel truck!


As you can see, Trav is VERY excited about the Postcards...haha!
I was driving around the hangar and I stopped in the parking lot. I DO have a point to this post, I promise.
It made me stop and think at how grateful I am for mine and Zach's jobs.



I thought it was so cool that the jet was there in front of the hangar, usually when I go there I can't see anything cool like helicopters or jets because they are all out on jobs.
I am in love with every single person I work with and can't imagine working anywhere else (for as long as they'll have me). I have to admit, I always wanted to work at an Architecture Firm with my degree, particularly FFKR. When I graduated, I must have applied 4 times. I was heartbroken when they told me that they weren't accepting applications, and wouldn't be in the near future. I thought I would never find something I enjoyed as much as I imagined I would love FFKR. I was SO wrong. I know now that FFKR would NOT be for me. I would just be a payroll number and a face behind a monitor. Here, I actually matter.
Zach is so lucky to work where he does. Besides, what guy wouldn't love to work at a place with Helicopters and Plaines all day?! And I know Zach agrees with me when I say that I can't thank my new family enough for what Classic has done for us. Zach has a secure job which he loves and works hard at every day. I am so SO grateful for that and for the family that made it possible.

Thank you.

Olive's Blessing/Sealing...

My adorable Niece Olive is getting blessed this weekend and then sealed to her family on Tuesday! Lori, my sister-in-law, had me make up some invites for the Blessing and the Sealing. She found the flower image, and I just re-created it in different colors. Here is how they turned out:



I took them to the printer and the girl that helped me was GAGA over OG (Olive Garden, is what she is called by her sister Lola and my Father-in-law). She asked if she could keep one of the invites....

I can't wait to go to the Sealing. I have never been to a family sealing (I couldn't go to Lola's because I hadn't gone through the temple at that time). I am going to bawl my eyes out, guaranteed....

Graduation / Cabin Weekend

I know I already posted about this, and probably should keep my mouth shut....but I only have one sibling and you'll never hear about this again. I really can't believe my brother Blake is officially a High School Graduate. Zach and I got work off so we could attend his graduation. It was LONG (520 students graduated) but so worth it to see him walk Friday. We are so proud of him. (I was just as proud that he didn't do anything embarrassing like pump his fists in the air, Jersey Shore style or do a cartwheel, like others did up on stage to accept their diplomas.) We didn't stay super long, because we had to hurry home and pack.

Later that evening, Zach and I took up some old friends of mine from Jr. High/High School and their wives up to his family cabin. Some of them I hadn't seen FOREVER, and it was fun to catch up with them and hang out with their darling wives. I love going up to the Henderson Cabin for so many reasons. The scenary is gorgeous, there is NO cell service (aka no crazy people calling to complain about their hardware in their kitchen), I don't know what Jeanene did to those beds...but they are SO comfortable, the kitchen is a dream to cook in, and it just feels so nice being somewhere that is far enough away so it feels like we're "escaping".
I had to steal pictures off of other blogs because Zach and I are horrible at remembering our camera...Photography Credit to Melinda and James....



Here are some highlights:

Good food

Movie Nights in the Theater Room - Yes, I know I have zero make up on and look like a man, just ignore that detail....



Hot Tub adventures



An improve dance performance by Quin, Sam, Georgie, and Ashton. (My two nieces and their cousins).

Riding in "The Tank" - some 6-wheeled creature/machine that apparently can float if submerged in water. I wouldn't let Zach try to take it through a giant mud puddle for fear of having to help him push/dig/tow it out.

Ping Pong Tournaments - Boys Only

Halo Tournaments - Boys Only



Games of all sorts

Hummingbirds - We were looking out the windows while watching a movie, and this poor hummingbird flew right into the glass, wanting to come in and enjoy some soup perhaps. I saw him fall on the gravel below, and a bunch of them went outside to check on it. It was alive, but dazed and confused. James went near it to take a picture, and it flew up and landed on his forearm. It just sat there forever looking stunned. It then flew up on his shoulder, checking out James' ear. I have never in my life seen a bird do that before. Yes, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but not in real life. It was ridiculous. Props to James for keeping his arm and body so steady.

Frozen Brownie Pops

Fresh Air

Sleeping In

Playing Pool



We had a blast, and were so glad these couples could come up and join us. Thanks for all the movies, meals, and laughs. We love being at the cabin, and feel so lucky that Mark & Jeanene let us use their "Home Away from Home". We didn't want to come back to real life...

Ice Hockey!

I had never seen Zach play Ice Hockey before, and when he told me he wanted to play on an adult league with my cousin's boyfriend, Dan, I was a little nervous. Dan, along with all of his friends, all range from 5' 8" - 6' 3". That means they ALL have 5" on Zach, and about 75-100 lbs. The first game I was SICK. Not like a virus, but like my stomach was turning. I was just praying Zach wouldn't get clobbered by anyone. Not like I didn't believe he was talented, I just didn't want him to get smashed.

Zach, as always, pleasantly surprised me. I knew he played in High School.....but he was SO FREAKING FAST. Nobody could crush him, even if they wanted to, because he would skate circles around these guys! Yeah, there are a couple of 40-year-olds...but STILL!

Fast forward 6 games later....our team (the Cubbies) is UNDEFEATED!!! (We've had one tied game, so that doesn't count!) With my husband averaging 2 points per game! He's most definitely the smallest one on BOTH teams every game, but can out-skate everyone. I am so proud of him.



My husband....the Blur, the Legend....

I'm his biggest fan!

First Boating Trip of the Season

One word sums up our trip to Utah Lake: FREEZING!


SO glad I grabbed a jacket on my way out the door!


Meet Paulette, (Mom) the chocolate bug.


Zach on Flag Duty. Notice there are NO other boats on the lake.


Gary, (Dad) who chose to wear WAY too much red this Memorial Weekend.


My dad convinced Blake (brother) to try on HIS old Wet Suit from when he was my bro's age. Vintage.



Zach decided he'd give it a go, and chose NOT to part with his V-Neck. It was quite the process. One Wet Suit and one Dry Suit later, he was ready to board.

Overall, it was a great run. We had good company, good food, and the FUNNIEST family basketball game I've ever been involved in. Paulette was the MVP: 12 points!

Death By Cake Pops

Derek, I hope you read this...because this is ALL because of you.

One day, long ago, my Senior year at Utah State, my friend Derek took me to Costco for the first time. He was shocked I had never been, and when I told him I got a gift card from my wedding, he took me along.

Fast forward....

Costco is the devil.

No, not for families or businesses, but for Zach and I. You see, I don't have a Costco Membership Card, but my mother does. Since Zach was gone with his brothers, fixing up Classic Waterslides, I went with my Madre to Costco to prepare for my brother's graduation party. We went to get stuff for HER.

8 dozen Oreo Cookies, 3 jumbo tubs of Clorox Wipes, 6 meals worth of cheese ravioli, 50 mini bags of assorted flavored potato chips, 60 slices of pre-cooked bacon, 20 protein shakes, GALLONS OF WEED KILLER, and 20 Kirkland hamburger patties later....

I arrived home. Zach and I are still trying to use the cubes of butter I purchased with Derek, over a year ago. My point is, what the freak am I going to do with 8 dozen Oreo Cookies!? Most definitely not eat them...so I told my mom I would make a dessert tomorrow for the BBQ. When I got home I remembered that I had been wanting to make these...



CAKE POPS! Trust me, they are as delicious as they are beautiful. They are not difficult to make, and the main ingredient: OREOS!
So I made them, 3 dozen to be exact. The trouble is, not all 3 dozen made it to "pop" form. They only made it to ball-covered-in-chocolate form....and then were POPPED into my mouth. Usually I have a referee here to blow the whistle and help me out. Zach will say, "You're going to get sick, Kate." But this afternoon he was not here to make the call.

I have to tell you, these are delicious. I would recommend them to anyone for any occasion. I, however, can never consume one again. Does anyone want 2.5 dozen cake pops....chilling in my refrigerator?

Ugh.

Front Room: Check!

How pathetic is it that for your birthday you ask for these? :





My birthday gifts helped finish this:





Hallelujah!

Powder Room: Check!

One more room down! When Zach was out of town I took a little trip to Restoration and got a mirror, glass shelf, towel bar, towel hook, and tissue holder. We painted, mounted all the hardware & mirror, and hung one of our favorite photos of paris (shown below):



Paris Rooftops

After two days, it would have taken us one if we didn't have to paint the ceiling white, we are done!

Here's the pictures, it looks much better in person, I promise.



The teak stump is my favorite. When I bought it I had no idea how heavy it would be, 39 pounds of solid wood.





Here is a before & after pic:



Now...moving on to the upstairs!

All Grown Up

I can't believe it, but maybe it's because I don't want to. My little brother is 18 and about to graduate from HIGH SCHOOL! The little boy who used to shoot me and my friends with his air soft guns, duct tape every surface, and make magic potions. He's now a foot taller than both my husband and I, and more literally NOT my little brother anymore.

I don't know what the future hold for him, but I love him no matter where it takes him....

These pictures were taken by my long time friend Whitney Rushton, who did a fantastic job and is truly talented. She whipped these out so quick, and we are so pleased with them! She is wonderful.

Love you Whit, you are a rockstar!

Weekend in San Francisco

So, most of you know from my last couple of posts, and my desperate Facebook status updates, that Zach has been gone for an entire week. He's been in San Luis Obispo working at the hangar. I know, I sound pathetic, but it was really difficult to be away from him for that long. I realize I sound like a love-struck teenager, but this was LEGIT. He called me at the beginning of his little work trip down there and asked me if I wanted to meet him in San Francisco and I couldn't say no. That city has a special place in my heart, and probably always will. I did my Design internship with Mauk Design there, and fell in love with it. Zach drove all the way out there with me, helped me unload all my stuff, and then said goodbye to me for the summer. (Realistically, we met up almost every weekend in Monterey, CA and went to church together. He eventually proposed to me there as well.) We were lucky enough to go back to San Francisco when Zach graduated last spring, and we both love it even more.

So my mom dropped me off at the airport, and I boarded my flight to SFO. Zach drove up from San Luis (4 hours) and met me to pick me up. Here is when you know you're in San Fran: I run up to Zach when he pulled up to the curb, and gave him a HUGE hug and kiss. He helped me load my luggage into the back seat, and he turns to me and says, "Katie I HAVE to go to the bathroom." I tell him that there is one by the baggage claim, so he runs back inside the airport. I get in the car's passenger seat and wait for him to get out. After only waiting a minute and a half, a police officer blares his flashlight in my eyes, and swirls it around in my face.....like I didn't notice he was doing it. I rolled down my window and asked if he wanted me to move. He informs me this is a unloading and loading area, NOT A PARKING AREAAAA. He sound just like that too. I tell him my husband is just getting a Bart map from reception, and he'll be right out. He was NOT having it. He told me if I didn't move in 10 seconds, he would give me a really expensive citation. He wasn't lying either. When I lived in San Fran for the summer, my car got towed because I forgot to move it on a Tuesday for street cleaning. It cost me $465. So I ran out of the passenger seat and got to the driver's seat of the car. I started to move, and I see Zach running out of the baggage claim area. The car was moving when he opened the car door and hopped in. Thanks San Francisco, for making life with an automobile miserable. So we didn't have time to pull over and switch spots, so I drove from the airport and over Bay Bridge to the city. Driving in San Francisco is like a scene from Grand Theft Auto. Being as I don't have the best driving record, I thought Zach was going to have a seizure in the seat next to me. Luckily we made it there alive.



This is in the lobby of our hotel, waiting to check in.

The next morning we wake up, shower up, and get our shop on. What's funny, is Zach loves to shop even more than I do. We always walk up to the front of a large store and say, "Meet me here when you're done." We both go our separate ways, and even after hours when I go to our meeting spot, Zach is always STILL shopping...even after I have tried on all my selections. I usually have to go search for him. We shopped all morning and then ate lunch at the top of the Macy's building in Union Square and went through the outdoor art show.





Later that night we went to this Italian place called Piazza. It was down the street from our hotel, and was pretty authentic. Zach's version of dessert is Popcorn, so we decided to go to a late movie around the corner. When both Zach and I were here for internships, people laughed at us when we told them there was a "Dollar Theatre" in Utah. Movie tickets in Cali are $14 a pop. We saw Ironman 2, and both liked it.

The second morning we took the Muni to Fillmore Street. Zach and I have walked through streets in Paris alone in the middle of the night, and have never been as scared as we were walking through an area of San Fran called "The Tenderloin". We had to pass through this area to get to the bus, and instantly regretted it. NEVER walk through The Tenderloin for any reason. It wasn't the homeless people we were worried about, it was the junkies. It's a place like that where you could get jumped for money, and NOBODY around you would lift a finger to help. Once we got to the Muni stop we got over to Fillmore (much more picturesque) and walked all the way up and all the way down.





We ate at a great Thai food place, and Zach was patient enough to stop in EVERY design store along the way. DWR, The Shade Store, Jonathan Alder, Livingdesign, Orla Kiely, and everything else in between. Zach even got me my Orla Kiely bag that I've been wanting for months.



We topped off our spicy lunch with some ice cream....from Coldstone. Yes, we skipped out on Gelato for some Cake Batter flavored bliss. Then for dinner we went to our favorite spot: The Foreign Cinema, this awesome restaurant where you eat outdoors under a canopy of string lights and watch foreign films. We are sitting there, totally relaxed and enjoying the amazing food, when I look across the table and spot Molly Ringwold (for Sean: She's the main character of Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and the Breakfast Club.) She looked amazing, and to top it off she whips out her iPad and shows her friends at her table her adorable Son...Roman. I know...it's pathetic that I know that. I wasn't gawking, she was just really close. I was so jealous of her new toy. I kept taking pictures of Zach, telling him to smile, every time she would look in my direction. The pictures aren't great, but it was the best I could do considering I didn't have a more gutsy person to take a picture with me. She's on the left of Zach in the shadows.



We finished off the trip with a Giants baseball game. It was so much fun, and the weather was perfect. The stadium is awesome, right off the bay. People were even in their Kayaks in the water, catching balls from home-runs. We beat the Astros 5-4. Quickly after the golden pitch, we had to head off to the airport...in our Giants gear.





I will always love this city, and if you ever go, be sure to stop in the Mission at Foreign Cinema. The best meal you'll have in the City by the Bay.

Happy Mother's Day!

So this is my fourth day with Zach gone. He's going to be gone until this weekend, an entire week. I knew I would miss him, but never guessed THIS much. When you go from seeing your best friend every day, a whole week without him is horrible.

So this last Saturday, my grandmother for her Mother's Day gift wanted us to work in her yard and plant new flowers. It's so much fun to get our family together. We have so many people these days, it is very rare when the majority of us get together. We weeded, tilled, planted, watered....and the men used the chain saw. A LOT. The poor trees didn't stand a chance.

Later that Saturday I took my mom shoes shopping and met up with two of my aunts and two of my cousins for dinner at Applebees. I love them all, and love spending time with them.

Sunday morning I woke up to a flower delivery. I was actually really shocked, and thought it was a mistake. I opened the card, and read this:

"To a future mother. You are the best wife, and are going to make the best mother some day. I love you so much. - Zach"

After calling him, he told me he didn't want me to be left out on Mother's Day. He is seriously the best.

Happy Mother's Day to the best Mom in the world (who is SO thorough that she has to try on 3 different sizes of shoes in case of different thicknesses of socks) who I love more than the world. You guys are THE BEST!



Also to my wonderful Mother-in-law who is enjoying Tuscany right now as I write this. I am so grateful to her as well, along with my Grandmother, Aunts, and all the other mothers in my life.

Hardware....freaking HARD!

BEFORE



AFTER



28 knobs and 12 bar pulls later....we have hardware!



Measuring out 40 pieces of hardware was not the easiest job, but we accomplished it in a couple of hours....Zach even had enough time to watch the Hills. Yes....he loves it more than I do.

Bunk Room: Check!

The bunks are finally installed. Usually when a project like this gets installed, if there are any mistakes....I have to pay for them. Literally, like I would have to front the bills for the mistakes. SO, you can understand why I would be so anxious to see how they were going to turn out. This is a horrible photo, from my phone, but it proves that it actually worked! The walls aren't painted and the carpet hasn't been installed, but you can get the idea.



Where the fence looking posts are, that is where the beds will be. There is another bunk on the opposite wall (you can see it on the right side of the picture), where two more beds will be. There are drawers below each bed, and on the large top bunk you see in the picture....the right side is a play area and the left is the "secret storage".
Another answer to my prayers was that they are sturdy. Mark, my installer for this job, told me he is a solid 300 pounds. He said if he was up there playing around, it could support anyone. He did such a fantastic job on these bunks. Thanks Mark, you're a champ!

These are the days that make everything worth it. The builder absolutely loves them. In the words of Ice Cube, "Today was a good day."

Hospital Visit

So Zach finally convinced me to go to Instacare. Turns out I have stomach ulcers. It was actually a wonderful alternative to what I thought it was. Everyone was telling me it was probably my gall bladder or kidney stones/infection. I am actually really grateful, because the thought of getting my gall bladder taken out gives me the creeps. I did have my blood drawn for the first time though. The first phlebotomist came in and after four attempts and no luck, they sent in what Zach called "The Ringer". That's Zach, a sports metaphor for everything. In walks the next phlebotomist, who happens to have an Albert Einstein coif. Serious, his hair was crazy. He asked me NOT to move because I was a "hard stick". I took one look at Zach and we started to laugh. We couldn't stop. You know the kind of laugh when you are holding it in, but your body is still laughing...in motion. The phlebotomist was not so happy with me. He finally stabbed me in the hand and got his blood. Vampire. Then he went on his way.

P.S. I don't know how people inject themselves with drugs or even give themselves insulin shots. It didn't hurt (ok, the one in my hand hurt) but the thought of needles makes me queasy. Hopefully the next shot I get is an epidural when we have our first child. If I am lucky.

My Addiction.

When Zach and I met in Europe, and we went to breakfast....he asked for a Coke and I asked for a Diet Coke. It was like love at first sip. How often do you meet another person that drinks a soda at 8:30 am? Most people would be totally grossed out and say, "How can you DO that?" For Zach and I, it is our beverage of choice at breakfast.

Recently I have been having stomach issues. I have had issues my whole life being lactose intolerant, but in the last few months I have found myself having worse pain in my stomach than ever before. (Nope, not pregnant Mom, sorry.) My doctor recommended that I need to STOP drinking diet coke. STOP? I told him I could CUT DOWN, but not STOP. He thinks this whole Diet Coke thing is either causing me ulcers or aggravating an existing problem.

Yesterday was my FIRST full day in almost four years of not having one bitty sip of DC. I replaced 3 cans of diet coke with SEVEN glasses of water. And as I write this I am on my THIRD.

Hell has frozen over, pigs have flown, and I am officially killing my addiction to DC. Just for the record: if this doesn't help, I am going RIGHT back to my beloved beverage.