just too cute for words

Oh my goodness, people. I was going through my camera to delete unwanted pictures and I found some gems...

These pictures are from Christmas and I can't believe I forgot to put them up!

Look at the awesome presents I purchased for my mother's dogs...I am so thoughtful!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Aren't those the GREATEST?! Oh man I just die laughing every time I look at these...priceless.

Hope you got a chuckle out of our fashionable pups...now join the club and get one for your dog!

xo

lauren

some weekend fun.

So this weekend the fam decided to take a little boating trip!

The weather was beautiful, the water was cool, and the company was hilarious as always.

Even big daddy took good old "Moby Dick" out for a spin!

The second day of boating was filled even more awesomeness...I apologize that I did not bring my camera that day. But, Monday was when the boys decided to whip out all of their tricks on the wakeboard...even some tantrums (apparently some sort of backflip) were attempted and ALMOST landed! Next time it will happen for sure!

Gotta love the fam...they are pretty great!

xo

lauren

day 29

In this past month, what have you learned...

Hmmm...what have I learned...

1. planning a wedding is quite the process
2. when I am crazy stressed out my face tends to take its revenge on me by breaking out uncontrollably
3. I realize everyday how lucky I am to be surrounded by my family, friends, and wonderful fiance who all love me and wish the best for me! I am so grateful!

xo
lauren

day 24

A letter to your parents...

Dear Mom and Dad,

Where do I even begin? You two have been and still are such a staple in my life. Words cannot express my gratitude for the way you raised me and the life you created for our family. You taught me how to work hard (even though we still like to be lazy). You taught me to set my standards high because I was capable of accomplishing my goals. You taught me obedience, humility, responsiblity, and so much more. I am grateful that you made it a priority for the family to spend time together whether it be a vacation, dinner in the canyon, or game night because those memories are some of my most cherished. I realize again each day how important you are to me and am grateful that you are always there for me. I cannot thank you enough for the continuous support and love you have for me and I hope that one day I can be the same solid foundation for my own children.

Love,
Your only and most favorite daughter

xo
lauren

it's your birthday!!

I just want to give a shoutout to my awesome mama....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

My mom is pretty much the greatest thing that has ever lived. She is so selfless and caring and will drop everything in her life to help her family! She is beautiful and kind and is the greatest mom anyone could ever ask for! I want to grow up and be like her.

I love you mom!

xo

lauren

ps. exactly four months until the big day!! :)

a little funny for you

This is awesome...just sayin'.

Starring my dad, brothers, and Christopher.

Please enjoy...

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/bipmulxIzKh7chyY

xo

lauren

a day at the zoo

My mother, Grant, Christopher, and I all went to the zoo yesterday.
...the occasion?
1. it was Zuri's first birthday (the baby elephant)
2. my awesome friend Caitlin is the train driver...(super legit, I know)

Because of my glorious connections, we got into the zoo FO FREE! But, pretty sure the zoo was HOT yesterday...I was dying! The animals and the new additions were fun to see though and the monkeys are always the favorite! After a couple of hours of walking around, we decided to end the day riding the train!

Caitlin in her snazzy conductor overalls

I've got the hook-ups...no worries.

Later in the evening, Chris and I went on a double date with two of his friends...we started the night out at the DoDo (delicious BTW), played a little Bocce Ball, and (because Chris and I lost...) Chris had to buy dessert for everyone at Yogurt Stop.

ps. get peach yogurt topped with strawberries, raspberries, and mango...TO DIE FOR!

xo

lauren

just a little funny

When I posted about the family reunion I hadn't loaded any pictures onto my computer, but I thought this one was pretty awesome and deserved to be put up anyway...

Here is Uncle Doug on a horse on a business call in the middle of nowhere on a mountain.

The Modern Cowboy.

xo

lauren

happy fourth!

So to catch us all up on the past little while....

I went to the Bees game with the Chris, the fam, and the g-parents which was a total blast! It was absolutely beautiful outside!

For the weekend of the fourth, we all went down to cedar to spend some quality time with the cousins! We hung out, played cards, roasted mallows, went to the movies, did fireworks, and rode horses!

(...yes, I did get on a horse even after last years little mishap and there was no falling off this time around)

Luke and his muscles

Chris and Noah

At the parade

Handsome fellas

Aww...naptime with Noah

Pretty sure this vacation was much needed and I had an absolute blast hanging out with the family! Love every one of them! Such an awesome weekend!

I hope you all had a wonderful fourth of July holiday!

xo

lauren

the weekend.

This weekend I spent some quality time with the fam...Christopher came with us to see Iron Man 2 (which was totally bomb btw)! Sooooo awesome! One of the very few sequels that is actually worth seeing!

LOVE him.

We also went golfing as a fam this weekend!

I never golf, yet I love it...

can't you tell?

Handsome fellas

He takes after his sister...

We then went to the park for a nice lunch with the extended fam and ended the lunch with a pretty awesome game of baseball...yes, I actually did hit the ball. I was very proud.

Fun weekend with the fam!

xo

lauren

twenty ten.

This New Years Eve/New Years day was filled with activities! My wonderful cousin Marlee was in town from Idaho so the Harris/Francom trinity (consisting of me, Marlee, and Bethany) just HAD to get together for a delicious dinner at Citris Grill! This is what resulted...

Later in the evening Marlee and I got together with some friends and had an epic Rock Band 2 showdown...I must say we sounded pretty dang awesome! Then we all went over to our friend David's house to sit in his hot tub while waiting to bring in the new year! We watched the ball drop, exchanged New Years wishes, and finished the evening with one of my all time favorite movies...A Knight's Tale! Love, love, LOVE that movie! Marlee and I then had a much needed sleepover before she departed back to her home in Idaho the next day!

New Years day hosted an awesome sledding adventure with some of Chris's good friends! I couldn't remember the last time I had been sledding so this activity was especially fun for me!

I wish you all a Happy New Year and hope this year brings you nothing but joy!

xo

lauren

sugar fiends

In the Harris household, we have a taste for cookies, cakes, candy...pretty much any sugary substance. When such things are present, they have a tendency to disappear quite rapidly. One moment they are arriving from the store or appearing out of the oven and the next they have vanished! It is actually quite frustrating when one has a reeses she's been saving for later and cannot wait until the moment she arrives home to quickly devour such a delicacy just to walk/run to her room to eat it to find it has mysteriously gone missing!

Because of this fascination with sugar the Harris clan has acquired, special measures must be taken to ensure that our sweets are not swiped from right under our noses...

Thank you mom for protecting my cookies...they were delicious!

xo

lauren

another celebration...

Yesterday was Spencer's 16th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY STRETCH! So I would like to take a little time to once again celebrate a birthday and tell you 16 little tidbits and reasons why I love Spencey...

1) He loves to sing...whether in the shower, doing chores, or just walking around
2) He has a great sense of humor and constantly surprises me with his clever comments
3) He has such a passion for music...especially the piano
4) He makes awesome chocolate shakes
5) He loves basketball and is a really talented player
6) He dominates at pretty much every video game
7) He is a good student...although sometimes a procrastinator
8) He is the social butterfly of the family and has a plethora of friends
9) He is an awesome wakeboarder and is always willing to push himself to try new things behind the boat
10) He loves lake powell and the beach and would spend every waking moment in those places if he could
11) He can put away food like it's nobody's business...I like to call him the human garbage disposal or vacuum cleaner
12) His height comes to be of great benefit when I cannot reach the top shelf
13) He comes and kills spiders for me in the middle of the night
14) He can quote movies better than anyone else and loves to throw those quotations into everyday conversation providing much comic relief on a daily basis
15) He doesn't mind my silly singing or dancing around the house
16) He is lots of fun to be around and is always concerned for those around him

I love you so much Spencey! You are great and you will always be my little brother no matter how many more inches you grow! Happy Birthday! ...yesterday

xo
lauren

halloween fun

Halloween was awesome last week! I would like to brag a little bit and tell you that I got to dress up 4 TIMES! Awesome right? You jealous? I thought so!

Anyway...The reason why is because last week was halloween week at the dance studio so for every class that I teach or TA for, I got to dress up and have a halloween party! I took some pictures of the classes I teach for you all to see...

Tumbling

Tumbling

Jazz

Hip Hop 1

Hip Hop 2

These classes were so much fun and I absolutely LOVED seeing their cute costumes! We had awesome parties filled with spooky music, candy, games, and the oh so loveable THRILLER dancing! I left with quite the stash of goodies...all the benefits of trick-or-treating without walking in the cold and totally unpredictable Utah weather! BONUS!

Then came the actual Halloween night and as a tradition, the Sherwood cousins all go to Grandma and Papa's house to show off our costumes...yes I am a college student, but I still love this tradition! I couldn't miss it! The costume that pretty much trumped all costumes I have seen in my lifetime would have to be that of my little cousin Jack...

Jack aka Gene Simmons

Is that not just about the best thing you have ever seen in your life? He is the only 5 year old kid I know with the spunk to pull that off! Look, he's even got the tongue down! Ha!

Later in the evening, Chris and I got together with my old friend Jamie Harrison and her boyfriend Jake for a couples costume competition! We dressed up and went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner...but before dinner we had to ask people walking around Gateway whose costume was better and the winning couple received free dessert paid for by the losers! We were totally stoked and couldn't wait for the results...here is the picture...

Jamie and Jake aka WWE Wrestlers...Me and Chris aka Old Couple

Needless to say...we won. Victory has never tasted so sweet!

xo

lauren

a little taste of paradise

Recently over fall break, my family and I went on a little trip down to one of my all time favorite places...lake powell! My cousins Mark and Nicole Lyman also came with us and we all had such a great time! The weather was wonderful (a little colder than I would prefer, but still great), the water was awesome (also a little cold for my liking, but still fabulous), and the scenery was as beautiful as ever! Here are some pictures for you all to enjoy...

The beautiful rocks of powell

Wakeboarding

Tubing

Awesome biffs

Breathtaking sunsets

Great company, great food, great location, great time! Gotta love lake powell!

xo

lauren