trip to colorado

i had an amazing opportunity to fly out to colorado and visit my family. well - most of my family. there were some members of my family that did not wish to see me and there were other members of my family that were not 'allowed' to see me.

it was the second time that i had taken my boyfriend home to see my family. my grandparents and my aunt & uncle have always been kind and sweet and willing to accept him. my parents ... well not so much. they didn't care to see me and they don't allow my other 3 siblings to see me as a 'punishment' to me.

just a forewarning - some of these pictures are not super glamourous. my grandpa is closing up his business of 30+ years. he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer a few months ago and was given 6 months. my aunt and uncle have been there for him the entire time. helping him clear out his business and figure things out. marcos and myself were in town friday august 26 - sunday august 29 helping clear out everything that we didn't need any longer for the business.

we are sweaty and hot in most of these pictures but i'm just glad that i was able to capture the family working together to help out my grandpa. i know that grandpa galen really appreciated all of the love, support and help that he got from the family.


[wilson, angie, grandpa galen, me, grandma helen]



[angie, marcos, grandpa & grandma]

although he may not admit it, marcos was so excited to get to try out the forklift. he loves machinery and mechanics and loves to mess around with things like this. he had a really good time working with wilson.


aunt angie & me - just being goofs



we also had the opportunity while we were there to take my grandpa and grandma to the animal shelter in commerce city. my grandparents had a little kitty, snow toes, that ran away about a month ago. my grandparents loved this kitty and me being an animal lover thought that it would be fun for them to go and see some animals and see if they could find the right kitty for their home.



there was one kitty in particular when we went into the sitting area that came up to my grandpa and just hopped up on him and sat on his lap. it was so cute. my grandpa just has a way with the cats... they have always loved him. whenever he comes to my house and sees my cats, they are always drawn to him. it's really cute.



i loved this picture. i thought it was the cutest thing. just my grandparents. talking about kitties.




my grandpa and marcos have always gotten along. whenever my grandpa was in town, and he would stop by to see marcos and myself we would all go out to lunch and they really hit it off. it was the cutest thing - the first time they met, my grandpa was here in utah and wanted to take us out to dinner after work. we all met up and were trying to decide where to eat.

i had previously told marcos that my grandpa LOVES sizzler. while we were brainstorming for places to eat, marcos brought up sizzler as an option. my grandpa's face lit up and said, 'marcos, do you like the sizzler? let's go there!' we just thought it was so cute. and since then, they have had many nights of chatting and getting to know each other.

this last time that we were in colorado, marcos decided to bring a book of pictures from when he was a child to show my family his family and where he came from. it was cute to see grandpa and marcos sitting together looking at the pictures and talking about family.






i am really glad that we were able to see my family and share some fun memories with them. we had a great weekend and captured some great moments that we will have forever.

i'm excellent, but i'll get better ♥

i just wanted to write my thoughts and feelings for a minute. i apologize for the lack of blogging lately but things have been really busy at work. things right now in my life are really good. i got moved to another department where i work which changed my schedule from 10am-7pm to 8am-5pm. i love it. it's such a good feeling to get home at 5:15 and eat dinner, watch some tv and have a few minutes extra before 7pm. i love it. it just gives me a lot of extra time in my day.

yesterday i got a text message from my aunt. we are having some major family drama right now. and not to go into detail, but pretty much my parents are a tad bit crazy and treating the rest of my family very poorly. my aunt was just telling me that she was sad about a few things including my grandpa's health. i had spoken with my grandma about a week ago and she told me that my grandpa had an appointment to meet with his doctor again. my aunt's text triggered my memory and i decided to call my grandma.

my grandpa had melanoma cancer and went through chemo a little while ago. he had a quadruple bypass just a few years ago. he is 73 years old. his name is galen e. williams. he went to the dr just a few months ago for a little check up, had an mri and everything was good. 

he just went again a few days ago and found out that his cancer was back. it had spread to both lungs, his liver, his thyroid and his bones. he is in stage 4. 

i found this out yesterday when i called my grandma to check up and see how his appointment went a few days before. i am so sad to hear that he is not doing well. my grandma was talking on the phone and is really accepting and just taking it all in. she was telling me about their week and things that they had done together. she then put grandpa on the phone.

he came on the phone and as he calls me said "hello paislea-poo. how are ya?"

i then told him that i was doing alright until i talked to grandma and she gave me the information. of course i then asked how he was feeling.

he responded saying, "i'm excellent, but i'll get better."

at that point i lost it. i started crying. i was just too sad and scared to keep in my tears. grandpa also started crying. i was trying to be brave like he was being brave, but it was really hard. i love love love my grandpa. he is just so sweet and so funny. always full of jokes and laughter. he is the most positive and kind loving person that i've ever met.

marcos was sitting with me and i could tell that he was very sad as well. my family are not fans of my relationship with marcos but my grandpa has always been accepting and kind and loving. he and marcos get along really well. they have similar interests and are really cute together. they seem to open up to each other and have a cute friendship.

as we ended the call, we told each other that we loved each other. and he told me that he might be in utah sometime in the next few weeks. i'm so glad i got to tell him that i loved him. the last time i spoke with him on the phone, he didn't have his hearing aids in, and when i told him that i loved him at the end of the call, he didn't hear me and just handed the phone back to my grandma. i was sad about that so i'm glad he heard me this time and knows how much he means to me and how much i love him.

i am just trying to be positive and of course, continue forward. i just needed to get a few things off my chest.

Kitchen :: Dining Room

my boyfriend and i are really wanting to buy a house. we have been looking at homes in our area just for fun. it's nothing that is going to be happening too soon, but we like to look at our options, see what we do like so when it comes time to purchase - we have something in mind.

marcos and i were talking about how we would want to have a kitchen that is very open and connects with the dining room, as this may be considered the center of any home. you cook your meals there. you gather friends and family there. so many memories are created in this area of your home.

also, i want to have more of a simple, chic look. i want a huge bulky wooden table. i want to have maybe some little stools or cute kitchen leather chairs to match. i want to decorate using glass bottles and wire fixtures. i want a rugged and chic kitchen.

so with a home in mind, i decided to try and search for a really nice kitchen and dining room area and i came across a few gorgeous pictures that i just had to share. enjoy!!

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Baby Henry

Baby Holden

We met little Holden this morning.  Congratulations Aidan and Sean!  He's a beaut!

The Most Magical Time of Year

Bonjour! I have not died! I am alive and well, though rather exhausted. The past few days have been non-stop go go go and while I've loved seeing everyone and exchanging gifts and eat way too much yummy food, I'm ready to take a break! How about you?

The short little break from the blog felt nice, I won't lie. And it might extend just a wee bit more [or at least be a little lighter] due to the fact I have to drop my trusty ol' MBP off at the Apple store tomorrow to have a new keyboard installed. The traffic will be a nightmare... I know. Hopefully it'll just take a few days though. Please let me have it by the new year! I'll be working anyhow, so it might not matter, but still. I'll have Mike's macbook but I can't do too much on it!

I have so many blogs to catch up on! I don't know when I'll ever find the time! Don't worry, I'll be dropping around you're little slice of the blogosphere soon! Hohenwald doesn't even have 3G phone service so I didn't read much Twitter or post anything via Instagram. Sheesh! I felt so disconnected!



Excuse the crazy lighting. Even Photoshop couldn't help the bright yellow cast lighting from my Nana's house! Haha I really love the Christmas season. I love the hustle and bustle, the endless pondering of thoughtful presents, the hot chocolate and full breakfasts, the family you can't really stand any other time of the year [kidding! Sort of!], etc. It's a great way to cap off the year. Then a week later you get to vow to never drink soda again or never run through the drive-thru, etc... Perfect timing!

I spent Friday baking and crafting, so when Mike got home from work around 5 we could load up the car and girls then head to my parents'. Of course we didn't leave until 6:30 but that was fine. We snuggled in, watched Love Actually, slept and woke up to presents. We had breakfast, opened our goodies, and then went back to sleep for two hours. Then we woke up, went to my Nana's, stayed for quite some time, ate a late lunch, opened presents, went home, Mom cooked, stepdad's family came over, ate again, exchanged presents! Phew! Oh did I mention we had a white Christmas for the first time in 17 years?! Yes! That never happens in Tennessee! Well it was great until Christmas night when we were supposed to drive the 2 hours north to pick up Toby. The interstate was shut down, parties being a little less than cooperative, etc. Luckily at 8:30pm we had the "OK" to go. The roads were okay until the Franklin area. Then they were awful. We managed to pick up Toby and head back south for the 2 hour drive [again] when we got stuck on an overpass while asking if a stuck car needed our help [but we worked our way out], then in front of our house in Spring Hill we hit ice on a bridge and went all over the road. Luckily Mike regained control and we managed home without incident. But it was scary!

We put Toby to bed and we slept. Then we woke up this morning, opened his presents with my parents, had breakfast and headed south to Mike's parents'. We opened presents there then ate a late lunch, rested around, and finally headed home. Here we are! I hate throwing so much into just one little post but honestly, I wouldn't have time otherwise to even update about it!

We're keeping Toby for a few days and I'm so excited! Lots of toys to play with! I love having him around!

Now a ton of photos! [I'll put most after the jump!]

Me & my little cousin Kaylie

Lacey Lou Anne

Toby and Grammy Terri

Pip and Baby G

My two favorite boys ever!

Tuckered out. Presents take a lot out of a kid!

We got Mike's dad an assortment of Bulldog presents this year

Terri and Mike's sister Laine

Miss Abby

Toby and Mike's dad

Overall, Christmas 2010 was a success! I'll definitely share more about what I snagged for Mike this year and what I got, too. But for now, we'll focus on what the holidays are all about: family! xo

How was your holiday?!