Pre-Christmas Eve with the Bills

Well... Jason and Jessica just left from our early Christmas Eve celebration. We had a lot of fun. One of the things we did is do a pinata, which is a family tradition of Lyle's. This is Jason taking his first swing in pinata baseball:
Lyle broke it open after Jason and Lyle decided to play baseball with the pinata (this photo rocks! I caught the actual explosion... candy is flying everywhere):
I filled it with lots of fun stuff... Dove chocolates, Moose Munch Bars, and chapstick:
Here are the Bills while we are playing our white elephant bingo game (one of my family's traditions)... Jason is the bingo champion, by the way:
Here is Lyle with his gift he got at the end of the game. He was excited because he really likes this movie, The Cutting Edge:
Here is the Bills leaving at the end of the night... sad:
Lyle and I really love spending time with Jason and Jessica, and we are going to miss them this Christmas.

Two of Everything, Please!

This past Saturday (Dec. 22) Lyle and I had our own "Christmas Day" before leaving for New York to spend Christmas with my family. We got up in the morning and opening presents from Lyle's parents and eachother, then we ate omelets for breakfast. We hung out all day and played with our gifts, and then in the evening we went and watched National Treasure and got Jambas. It was a really fun day. Tonight Jess and Jason are coming over for a Bush traditional Christmas Eve, since they aren't going to make it to New York this year to do it with everyone. I am way excited to get to see Jess this holiday season. We are really going to miss them in New York!

This is a picture of Lyle with several of his gifts. He is a nut!


These are the VERY large pearl earrings Lyle gave me for Christmas. I LOVE THEM!

Water isn't a very good Decoration

We had our first flood tonight. One of our food storage water bottles leaked and soaked our cupboard and kitchen floor.

After cleaning up the water mess, we decorated our first Christmas tree as a family. It is a small tree, but we like it.
I have TONS of Christmas decorations!
We already have tons of presents under our tree (all from John and Sandy, Lyle's parents). It is fun to have all the gift under there. Lyle thinks it is funny I put my tree skirt under such a little tree, but I spent so long making it, I have to use it.

To make it like being home, I put welcome lamps in our window.

Our First Pumpkin

On Halloween this year I made chili, which is a Bush family tradition, and then we carved our first pumpkin. We made our pumpkin into a Hun :) The ghost candle Lyle's mom gave to us for Halloween in a package she sent filled with candy and other fun things.

Until UnDead We Never Part

Each year at Melaleuca Halloween is a HUGE event. Every department goes all out with decorations and costumes. This year our department did a Zombie Vampire Wedding. I was apart of the Zombie side of the family (the groom's side). I came up with this years theme, which is pretty exciting. My job in helping with the decorations was to make the wedding cake:


This is a picture of my co-worker Linsey and me in our zombie costumes:

This is the bride and groom cutting the cake I made:
It was tons of fun... one of the funnest Halloween things I have done in a long time.

Bigger is ALWAYS Better

http://makemylogobiggercream.com/

I think everyone who looks at my blog should go to this website and watch the video on it. It will give you a good in site into the challenges I deal with everyday being a designer that has to accommodate clients... plus it is hillarious!!!

Mile High Inspiration

This past week I spent in Denver at an AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) conference. It was really fun! I went with my friend Linsey, and my work paid for the whole trip. We went shopping, ate out at nice restaurants, went to exciting classes taught by graphic designers we admire, and got completely inspired. I love being a graphic designer!

A right of passage

As most young newly wed girls do... I cut off my hair. Lyle really likes it.

Scarier than Halloween!

I took my very first pregnancy test today. I have been not feeling well the past few weeks and I started showing some of the signs Jessica told me to look for. I pretty much freaked out last night when it hit me that I might be pregnant. Thank goodness the test came up negative. Ly and I have only been married a month! I want to have a baby, just not quite yet.

Autumn Snowstorms

Today we had the first real snow storm of the winter season. I say "real" because it snowed/rained last weekend, but it was more like slush falling from the heavens. Ly and I are pretty astonished it is snowing the first weekend in October. It is way too early for autumn to be over, but the snow is beautiful and it was bound to come eventually anyways. It definitely has put me in the holiday mood. I can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!!!

Clay Heaven

So... lately I have become obsessed with pottery. I can't get enough of it. I found this pottery artist, Jonathan Adler, that does some pretty amazing things. I am thinking about buying this ornament to represent Ly and my marriage. I think the bird is fun because of the birds on the invitation. I might even get two birds. I don't know. What do y'all think about it? Do you like it or should I keep looking?



These are some other designs by Jonathan Adler. I think the whale water pitcher is especially cool:



These are some other pottery dinnerware sets I would LOVE to have (Heath Ceramics):

At The Temple

So, I got my proofs back from my amazing photographer, Sandy Landon. If you are in Salt Lake and you need a photographer, definitely look into using her. She is great to work with and takes gorgeous pictures. I an going to post a few of the proofs for y'all to see. I am excited to choose the ones I am going to get from her.

The wedding day was perfect! The weather was incredible, everyone I love was there, and it really was my dream wedding... everything I've wanted since I was a young child. I loved it so much, that everyday since I've been wishing I could live the day over again.

Marriage rocks and things are going really well so far.

Everyone who came to the temple:

Ly and I outside the temple:

Our good friends, Jon and Becca:

My sisters:

My nieces, Kenzie and Lily:

I got hitched!!!

I will post more later from the temple and reception, but here are a few pictures from our honeymoon in the San Juan Islands and reception in Portland.

Lyle waiting for the ferry going out to Orcas Island:

Our hotel (Inn at Ships Bay) on Orcas Island. We had the upstairs room... it was a HUGE suite. This hotel has an amazing 5 star restaurant we ate at:

Looking into the bedroom from the front sitting room:

The view from our deck overlooking the bay:

Ly and I on top on Mt. Constitution, the highest point on the islands:

The view of the other islands and Mt Baker from the top of Mt Constitution:

Of course we went golfing! This is the first time we have rented a cart, though. I beat Ly by 2 strokes!

This is us on a boat doing an island tour looking for Orca Whales. Unfortunately we didn't see any, but it was still fun:

To entertain ourselves on the ferry ride home, we took tons of pictures of ourselves. We are cool!

Here we are on the Oregon coast. We went with our families after the reception:

Ly left me a love note in the sand at our hotel at Newport Beach. Did you notice the wedding rings?

The Bills (Jess and Jason) at the Portland reception:

Me and my new sister, Ruth. Isn't she so cute!

Me and my daddy:

Ly couldn't stop kissing me since the day we got married. I love him so much!

I love being married! I am so sad my honeymoon is over and I am having to go back to real life, but at least I get to come home to Ly now. I am excited to post the pictures for the actual wedding day!