Swept Away

Oh, I'm so romanced. Joey surprised me with a weekend away at the Opryland hotel in Nashville for our 5th Anniversary. He arranged for Luke to stay overnight with the Cresaps (thanks guys) and drove east until we got to the Opryland hotel & resort. I had no idea what I was in for. This place was a conglomeration of atriums, gardens, fountains, waterfalls, rivers, balconies, walkways, gazebos, music, strings of lights, restaurants, riverboats, spas, pools, etc. etc. First we ate on a balcony above a river surrounded by green folliage & bright colored flowers next to a gushing waterfall. This was followed by a riverboat ride under twinkling lights, then a dip in the outdoor whirlpool, a massage, late night eighties dancing & and an enchanted walk along the river. Good job Joey huh? It was the perfect surprise getaway & truly magical. Honestly, I've been completely in love with Joey Hale for as long as I can remember and so it was lovely to take a moment to celebrate it, to relax and feel my heart swell with it.

A few snapshots:

boat ride on the river


key lime pie & chocolate mousse in the wee hours.


The delta atrium in day light.

Happy Anniversary my dear Joey. Thanks for marrying me. You make a fine husband indeed.

And then there's all the singing

Ladies & Gentlemen - We are proud to present Sing Star - our Christmas present that entertained the masses. Here are some top stars...

Coming in at #1 for the spiciest moves whilst singing ...

Jake Wood and Joey Hale. Nice work you guys.


Lissa & Megan (and seriously, they rocked the house)


Anika Fair and Rachel Kylee "because you had a bad day la la la"


Weaver and Michael Scott


Joey and Em's boyfriend Stephen
I'm pretty sure they are singing "girls just wanna have fun"

And, this may come to as a surprise to some of you but I am pretty darn hip when it comes to the late night bar scene. I totally sang at a bar on 25th street in Ogden at like 1:00 in the A.M. Ok, I'll come clean. I really was just there to watch my incredibly talented sister Sarah who sings and plays guitar - but I did end up singing "Angel" with her by Sarah McLauchlan.



and then some other random non singing photos:


dabois - concentrating very hard while their wives are off playing in the kitchen


and a luke in the box.

thus ends our report of our delightful trip to utah.

Winter Wonderland

I have about 50 road side pictures like this. You would think I didn't grow up in Utah or something - but I just couldn't get over how beautiful everything looked in a blanket of snow. Everywhere we went I was taking pictures out the car window.

I think I could describe our vacation to Utah with three S's. 1. SICK 2. SINGING and 3. SNOW.

I already wrote how Luke and I were sick - but that was just the beginning. Let me just tell you that at any given point on this vacation - you could hear the distant sound of a loved one somewhere throwing up. It was so sad. Every morning we'd wake up and get a report of the newest person who spent the night by the toilet. It was so contagious. I think by the time we left the count was in the 40s!! There was some sick going on before we got there but I'm pretty sure we got the majority of those people sick. But it was bonding and memorable - right guys? Right? And some nice weight loss for the holidays? Anyone? Uh... ok, ok. Consider this my public apology.

So that was the sick part. Pgluh! Stay tuned for more about the singing.

This post is dedicated to the winter wonderland that Utah provided us this year. It was truly magical. It has been three years since we enjoyed a Utah winter - so we soaked it all in during our short stay. I hope someday we can live in Huntsville and our kids can play in its bounteous snow.

snowmobiling (thanks wendy & chad!)


ice skating


snowboarding (thanks mom & dad hale!)



HappyNewYearing


hockeying (getting schooled by some fancy pants former ice cat)


BearLakeing (thanks mike & victoria!)


sledding (a first for our man luke)


Ah. We love you Huntsville.

A Rockin' Christmas indeed

Yeah y'all - you guessed it. We are now proud owners of ROCKBAND. I noticed a rather large box under the Christmas tree for me and couldn't imagine what it could possibly be. I opened the card and it said "To Katie" (quotations included) From Joey. I then unwrapped a package full of rockin' goodness and was happy - but not nearly as happy as my dear husband. His eyes lit up and he immediately pulled the box away and started hooking it all up. I guess what they say is true - it is better to give than recieve. :-)

Pictured above is the dear Wilson family. Joey's little sister Kate and her husband Caleb and their two girls Malan and Jane (I know cute names right?) came for a Christmas visit and stayed with us before we left for Utah. We had a blast with them and would love for them to come again please.



And this, my friends, is our Lukey Pukey on Christmas Eve. Yep, he finally lived up to his name. We were flying to Utah through Texas. The first flight was great - Luke seemed happy and fine. But as we boarded our second flight - out of no where he just started throwing up all over the aisle, the seats and me. We actually single handedly delayed our flight. Everyone behind us had to get off the plane so they could clean up and sanitize the plane and then re-board. And the rest of the flight he just layed on us and occasionally would quietly use the barf bag. Luke was such a trooper and took this thing with much much less complaining than me (he didn't ever even cry). The day before I had the same thing and whined all day to make sure I got plenty of attention. Luke is just cooler than me I guess.
So, that was our Christmas Eve this year. Not the best Christmas Eve - but definitely memorable.

The parTAY

December 20th










Guest included:
Clint, Sarah, Talmage, Cole, Jack & Trace Cresap
Josh, Amanda and Elle Beers
Aaron, Lezlie, Addie and Aiden Terry

Luke had a great time eating his overly healthy carrot cake, playing with his friends and opening all his presents. He was really happy the whole time but as soon as everyone left - he just fell apart and we put him straight to bed. I think he was exhausted from all the stimulation. But the next day he woke up and didn't even want breakfast - he just played and played with all his new toys.

We spent the holidays in Utah (pictures to come) and when we got back all his balloons were still floating (these balloons are champs - we might just be able to use them for Joey's birthday in February!) So, now he has added a new word to his vocabulary (of 6 words) - "BLOOON!" He really loves them. I think they might be the favorite of his birthday loot.

One Year