Ava Nicole Iglesias

Nic and I have a new niece!!!

Congratulations to her amazing parents Jared and Nicole and her big sister Abby!

AVA NICOLE IGLESIAS
born at 12:29 am on March 22, 2011
6 lbs 9 oz


Me and Baby Ava

Ava with Gramma

Ava Gramma and Big Sister

Abby opening her present from Mom and Dad at the hospital.

Abby LOVES her new little sister. She calls her baby! Whenever someone else held Abby she would run around saying "I love baby" haha meaning I want the baby.

Twin brothers

Uncle Josh!

Her cute little old man feet!

The poop and feeding chart! ha thought it was funny so I took a picture.

Welcome to the family baby girl!

Meridian Bridal Shower

My Mom and Maid of Honor (Sara) hosted my bridal shower last weekend.
It was so much fun and very special, I'll always remember it!

Some of the cute decorations!

The first thing we did was a "break the ice" game which was a poem Sara wrote that made us pass a present to different people depending on who fit the lines she read. Whoever was the last one holding the present at the end of the poem got to keep it. The winner of this game was Ali! The present practically stayed in her lap the whole game thanks to her biggest shoes, biggest purse, and being the tallest! HA

Then we ate brunch and had an egg casserole, potato dish, banana/zucchini bread, and fruit salad! Yummmm

The next game Bara planned for us to play used 25 of these bags filled with common household items.

The game was called "touchy feely" haha
We had to reach inside the bag without looking and guess what was inside by only touching it. Miss competitive (Nicole) won this game ;) She got all but one right! I love every one's faces during this game haha

At the end of the game, I got to keep all of the items!

We were so spoiled with all of these amazing gifts!

Oh and see that pink striped box on top... yep it's from Victoria Secret.. and I WON'T be posting any pictures from that gift ha... but here are a few others we got! The theme of the shower was FIRST and FAVORITE!

First: CLEANING Favorite: A CLEAN HOUSE

Cleaning supplies from Bara, it was so sweet of her to get Nic a gift! haha

First: APRON Favorite: POLKA DOTS
CUTEST apron ever and a bunch of kitchen stuff with it from Edie, Nicole, and grandmas! and I'm wearing the apron in the rest of the pictures haha



First: KITCHEN Favorite: ITEMS TO COOK A MEAL
What everyone claims to be my favorite gift HA These storage containers have a button on top that unseals them and then you press the button on the lid to seal it back up. Thanks Beau and Mindy for the GREAT idea!



First: DESSERT Favorite: SMOOTHIES
Red blender from Janel... LOVE it!



First: DIGITAL FRAME Favorite: PICTURES TOGETHER
Digital Picture Frame from Anita and Alicia.. GREAT idea!



First: SPECIAL EVENT Favorite: WEDDING DAY
Gorgeous white china platter from Ali and Debbie!



First: MOVIE NIGHT IN Favorite: MOVIE ITEMS
from Kristi and Smash!



First: TRIP Favorite: SUNNY BEACH (St. Lucia)
and last but not least... probably my most favorite gift of the day.. ZEBRA PRINT LUGGAGE!! I'm in love




My Grandma Sue used the top of the Victoria Secret box and all of the ribbons from the gift to make me my bouquet to use at the rehearsal. She is so talented!



Ali modeling the mints! haha I picked out all of the yellow dinner mints out of the packages so that I could have only pink and green :)

We finished off the day with a group picture and some fruit pizza! A few people had left so not everyone who came is in the group pictures.

Thank you mom and Bara for such a special day and for everyone who came to share it with us!

First Wedding Gift

We registered at Bed Bath and Beyond and I guess we should have put my mom's address on the registry or something because we got a gift in the mail!
I definitely wasn't sad about this but it was hard to wait to open.
Especially when the receipt was right on the top of package telling me what was inside... oops.

Our first wedding gift... a RED HANDMIXER!!
Thanks Aunt Jo and Krissa!

its the little things..

Nic doesn't have to do any grand gesture to remind me of how much I love him.
Its the little things he does that show me I'm marrying the sweetest guy I've ever met!

The other night I was up studying for a big math test. I wasn't feeling very prepared and couldn't focus because I had a bad headache. So naturally, I broke down.

Nic told me he was going to run to the store to get me some medicine to make me feel better and then be back and this is what he brought home to me......

Advil as promised.

Pumpkin cookies... my favorite dessert in the whole world!

AND.. he pulled one beautiful long stem rose from behind his back.

See what I mean.... sweetest boy in the world.

Rain Rain Go Away....

There has been a constant rain in the good old town of Pocatello the last few days.

My whole life I have always hated the rain. Go figure... I used to live in Seattle haha.

I don't think it is fun to dance in the rain or cute to be kissed in the rain.

I hate being wet when I don't have to be.

Rain Rain Go Away...

and DON'T Come Back Another Day!

On a happier note: (March) and April showers, bring May flowers!!! Couldn't be happier or more excited for a month in my life!!! Bring on May, and please bring beautiful sunshine with it!

HABIT

We all know everyone has habits but mine as seriously GOT TO GO!!!

I bite my nails.

The worst part about it, I totally do it unconsciously, so trying to stop is extremely difficult.
I have done it my whole life so for me it is a total addiction.
It's so bad that when my sweet friends or family tell me to stop or pull it out of my mouth.. I get frustrated with them :/

I have quit a few times now and they have mostly been in the last year or so. I find these events that get me super motivated (the proposal, the engagement photo shoot) and then I quit :) and I love how they look. But as soon as the event is over and something stressful happens in my life... out the window it goes.

So THIS TIME.... I am quiting for good.
BUT... it does have an event attached to it.. so I'm hoping that I don't jump off the bandwagon again when the event is over.

This event is my wedding day. I want them to look beautiful. I have never been one for liking fake nails on my own hands. They look gorgeous on other people but I guess I'm too "plain jane" for them to look natural on me.

Between now and the wedding there is this dreadful week that I get SUPER stressed and will be the most tempted... FINALS. OH school... you are the source of all my bad habits HA just kidding. Tests really do stress me out though but I know with the wedding two weeks after it that I can have the motivation!

By the wedding day... they will look just like this again :) and I can't wait!!!

"Self-mastery, self-control, and self-discipline are required strengths that enable us to set aside temptations to do wrong. It is a wonderful feeling to conquer wrong practices and to be free and unencumbered from their detrimental effects, both physically and spiritually. When we have conquered our bad habits and replaced them with good ones, living as we should, obedient and faithful, then we are on our way to the presence of God. It all starts with a single step—we decide that we can do it." -Delbert L. Stapley

I CAN DO IT!!!

Brendan

For those of you who don't know him... this is my "little brother" Brendan!

And by little I mean 17 months younger than me.

WHAT A STUD!

His Accomplishments speak for themselves when I say.. he is the most incredible person I know.

1. Graduated with a 4.6 as Valedictorian of Meridian High School

2. Was offered a spot at both the Naval and Air Force Academies which are one of the hardest schools in the country to get into

3. Football STAR!! and if you don't believe me... just look at the newspaper from 2007-2010

Not only has he accomplished so much but there are so many other things I love about him.. when he was little he used to check every window and door at night to make sure that it was locked so that my mom and I would be safe, he sat through hours of dance competitions and piano recitals just to be there for me, we grew really close when our parents got divorced and because of this we would sit in each other's rooms at night and talk about anything and everything, he always protected his big sister from any boy that didn't treat me well, he is a friend to everyone.....

When I moved away to college and he was still in high school we both got busy. We didn't talk very often but when I would come home on breaks it was like no time had passed at all. Last year when he graduated from high school he decided to go to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.. all the way across the United States. I know that this decision was the right one but has also been the most challenging thing he has ever done. Sports are his LIFE... and he played football for them. He recently tore his ACL and won't get to play next year. Because of this, I know he is crushed and I would give anything to change that for him and to help it heal faster.

I am lucky girl to have such an amazing brother like BRENDAN WEST!!!

The List

One of the good things about having an 11 month long engagement is having lots of time to plan. And pretty much the ONLY good thing about an 11 month long engagement haha

It is hard to plan a wedding in Boise while living in Pocatello.

I get these lists going of things I need to get done for the wedding but then can't do anything on it because I'm not in the right town.

So basically I feel like I have "the list that keeps on growing" haha

I'm definitely one of those people that creates lists of things to get done and feels so great each time I get to cross something off.

So here's to Spring Break in a couple weeks when I hope to have every item on that list with a line through it!!!

P.S. Please pray for NO RAIN in May :)

Hardcore

I am definitely one of those people who hates working out in a gym. I would much rather be outside running a long distance or hiking a hill than running in place on a treadmill.
Pretty much the whole winter this is what it has looked like outside...

At 5:00 when Nic and I both get off work we go running,
IN THIS!

Can you believe us?? I know we are NUTS!
But we get all bundled up and stay warm, especially by the end of the run.

If you have never tried running in deep snow, it adds a whole new level to things. It's like running in sand a.k.a. great workout!!
HARDCORE if you ask me...