We were able to go to the temple and see one of my favorite people get sealed for time and all eternity!  Little Emma (she will always be little to me :) married Sweet Joshua last week.  The irony is that I first remember meeting Emma at my own reception 13 years ago!

As you can see, this is NOT the happy couple.  But it is a cute picture of my kid in front of the Orlando temple.

And here they are!  Joshua and Emma Gathrow.  They were absolutely beaming...doesn't she look beautiful?!

Michael always loves an opportunity to meet up with his cousins, Seth and Nathan :).  It was really good to see family, especially at the temple!

After the tiemplo, we decided to take a little detour to Downtown Disney.  We'd been there once before and there were like 5 people.  This time, not so much.  But it was fun and exciting, I'll say that much!

since we've been back....

A lot has happened since we've been back from Oregon.  We celebrated our anniversary (posted a little on that before) and Michael had a birthday!  Our family took a little day trip to St Augustine....it's been kind of busy.  So without further ado, may I present to you our pictures;

A plane went in to land right above us as we were coming into St. Augustine...it was pretty neat.

Our traditional carousel ride...

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this bride, thought it was sweet that they'd get their photos done here...

We stopped in at this fantastic pizza parlor for lunch.  Two giant slices and a drink for $5.  Not bad!  We were having such a good time that I said, "Even if it started raining right now, this trip will have been worth it.".  I kid you not, the heavens opened up and it started pouring!  Tried to stick it out but we eventually had to go home.  Carousel and some pizza...not too shabby.

So we went to Kan-Ki for Mike's birthday.  Quelle surprise... Here's a lovely picture of Blaine stuffing his face.

Our awesome chef...what a photo op, lol.

He lit a fire right in front of Michael's plate....it was a birthday candle!

Michael wanted a cheesecake for his birthday, so et voila!  

a merry time....

Blaine looooooooooooooooves horses!

Back in the saddle again!  I also loooooooooove horses.  We don't get to ride nearly enough for our liking :).

One of the old cabins at Cornucopia.  Not gonna lie, got pretty spooked this time.

Just some scope....

My dad got a 4-wheeler for the kids.  How lucky are these guys?!

My mom and sis-in-law Dee, two very lovely ladies...

Another lovely lady, my Gram!

Sis Becca and Lil Ida on the 4th, we had such a good time!

My big, bad bro lighting the sparklers (Lauren and Ryan hovering in anticipation!).

Ambo, Chris and Kendall....love them so much~

And last but not least, my very own flippin fish!!!!  He's 1 of 4 actually (I realize that sounds like bragging but I don't care).  I also thought he had the prettiest coloring.

happy 13th my love!!!!!

Dudes, get this!  Michael and I have been married for 13 years today.  13!  We have always considered this our lucky number.  We were hitched on Friday the Thirteenth, so there you go :).  I just wanted to shout out for everyone to hear, that I love this man so very much!  From the first time we saw each other, I just knew.   He's been my best friend, a wonderful father and the greatest husband.

Happy Anniversary, I love you!

a trip home...some of the first week

Oregon will always be home to me.  It's a kind of wonderful place!  My parents and grandmother are there and it's always great to see them, the town is quiet/peaceful (insert deep breath here).  We were kind of in a whirlwind preparing for the rest of the family to get there and still managed to have a good time!

clouds....

blaine and i sitting on the steps in front of the art museum in baker city.

halfway to halfway, my dad and blaine...

mom and i....

dad on his rebuilt bmw....born to ride!

an introduction to comics...

Blaine discovers Calvin and Hobbes.  Sometimes he laughed and laughed!  

And there were other times where I'm sure he wasn't comprehending but forged ahead anyway :).

blaine-ism....

Blaine said, "Mom, when you say that you're not pretty, that's like saying that you don't like the way Heavenly Father made you.  It's like someone saying that they don't like your art."

He can be deep sometimes.

a bit of catching up...

Alayna about to race the biggest 15k in the country!

Not even close to all of the people that were there, 20,000+.

Blaine being piraty.  hahaha

just one, for now....

I've been meaning to do a post on my sister's visit here, but have not gotten around to shifting the pictures from media (a) to media (b).  We'll get there!

This is a picture of Blaine and his first school project.  Each student had to pick an insect to talk about.  Blaine wanted to do his on dragonflies but another classmate got to it first....he panicked and picked the first one that came to mind.....the lady bug.  No worries, we both got into finding out more about them!  For instance, did you know that lady bugs can eat up to 60 aphids a day?  Dudes, that's nuts!

some goings on and on and on and on and on.....

And on, I tell you!  I swear, if we ever get done with this wallpaper and bathroom fiasco I will never complain again.  Oh look, now I've lied as well.

Here it is, Satan's toilet.  Plaster patches, wallpaper stuck in crevices....ick!  We removed the mirror so we can paint behind and I'll remove the light fixture within the next couple of days.  We're going to paint it satin brushed nickle just to update it a bit.  On Saturday we plan on painting the walls a nice blue/grey and then it will be over.  Over!

A random picture of Blaine in Grandpa's tree.  He has to climb it every time we go over there.

And look, the devil's kitchen.  Actually, not near as horrifying as the bathroom (to me at least).  This one will probably be in process for a while.  We've got beadboard planned and some new molding.  I eventually want to paint the cabinets and get new hardware, but not as in a rush as we were with the a fore-mentioned Satan's toilet.

My 2 tomato and pepper plants.  Aren't they awesome?  Can't wait until they produce!  I call them my ladies and talk to them as dear old friends every time we're outside.  Live.  Please live, my dear little ladies!

So it has come to this?  Face masks were necessary, I'm tellin' ya.

the birthday boy turns 7!

A lot of our pictures did not turn out very well...sorry!  I let Blaine open one present before school (no picture) and he chose the one from Oma and Papa Dennis.  They got him the greatest book called "The Dangerous Book for Boys".  He loved it so much and kept browsing through the pages to see what he was going to make/do first!

We went out to Kan-Ki for his birthay dinner (which is free).  It's his and our favorite place to go, for sure and Chef Johnny was very entertaining!  You can see Blaine's Aunt Satha in the background :).  Everything was so, so tasty!

Happy Birthday my little dude, so glad to have you in my life....I love you so much!

it's been pretty uneventful really....

DIY wallpaper removal, not for the faint of heart.  I guess we'll just have to keep plugging away at it...pray for us!

Our new clock...a gift from Michael because I've been under the weather, I love it so much!

And this is Blaine, our super-carnivore.  He ate a quarter pound of pork tonight....Is that sick or what?

new adventures....

Christmas was a delight....picture the following day for me though, if you will.  I hear coughing from both boys and Michael's got this weird look on his face.  Two Dr visits and two pharmacies later, we're pretty grumpy.  Me especially...for which I feel terrible (maybe because I'm well and there's guilt to be felt haha).  So the last two days had been an indoor carnival.  We wanted to get out of the house but still couldn't be around people without risking contagion.  What to do.....what to do.  Well, what about a Sunday drive?  We always used to do that as kids...it's kind of a nice lil break.  And since we live in a new part of town, we thought we'd do some exploring.  It was not a disappointment, let me tell you!  Actually, it was absolute nature heaven.  Heaven!  Here's a picture of Blaine and I by the water.  It felt so good just to be alive, you know what I mean?  Do a little exploring of your own, you just might be surprised at what you find!!

P.S.  Sorry for the whining......I won't do it again!

Merry Christmas!

Our first Christmas tree in the new house - all decorated and purty.

Blaine and his gift from Gram, Rudolph!  I'm dreading the year he no longer wants to go to Build-A-Bear.  Hopefully, that's light years away~

I wish you all such a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic new year!

Love from,

The Vorwallers

Here it is....our new home!

Our very first addition, a Christmas tree!  We didn't let Blaine know that we were closing.  So we picked him up from school, bought our tree and surprised him by taking it to the new house.

Our lanai...it will be a nice place for the dude to play when it's rainy out :).

The yard needs a lot of work, but certainly has potential.  I was charmed by the trellis and white picket fence but the "grass" leaves a lot to be desired.  We'll get there in the end, though :).

Hope you enjoyed a peek into the newest chapter of our lives!