How 'bout them apples?

JULIAN!

Back in October (yes, I'm doing some major blog catch-up) we went to Julian with our buddies, the Woolstons, to go apple picking.

It is the CUTEST little town you've ever seen. We're talking - the town plays, quaint bed-and-breakfast, built in the 1800s, antique shops, markets, apple orchards everywhere - kind of town. Check out the link. If you are ever near San Diego, go CHECK IT OUT! We even waited in line for 30ish minutes for a piece of their famous apple pie. The line went out the front door and clear down the sidewalk.

Can't wait to go back!

P.S. The Woolstons are new 2010 friends :) Ha. We love them.

Handsome

I look like barf in this picture. But I am 7 months pregnant and had rolled out of bed to go to a photoshoot with Kris at a fun place in San Juan Capistrano so I had "yesterday's" make-up....you know what? Who cares...blablabla

The point is, Tofer looks so grown up to me in this picture! He's a little boy now! Ugh. When did that happen? I keep telling myself he's not even two yet but he sure doesn't look like a baby anymore does he?

Not only that, he's just such a good looking kid! I love that little face. Perfection.

Who knew it could come out of such an opposite blend of parents!

P.S. Go ahead, click click, get a closer look. So cute, huh?

California Dreamin'?

I am DYING to get someone in my family to move to California. What I would GIVE to have family close by. Ugh. My sister, Jen, has six kids and lives in Texas. My brother, Jeremy, has six kids and one on the way. They live in Arizona. My other sister, Liz, has three kids and lives in Illinois and my parents are in Texas. Considering all this, my best bet for success would be uprooting my parents or Liz.

In an effort to "woo" Liz, we had them come stay with us for a little California visit last fall with their two kids Sam and Josh (she just had her third, a little girl). Anyway, they got the works! Disneyland, a cottage a few blocks from the beach, Halloween in downtown Huntington Beach, the list goes on... We thought for sure we could win them over.



As luck would have it...when they went to pick up their Disneyland tickets they got for a "deal" on ebay, the cops were investigating the place for fraud and they almost lost their tickets. Halloween consisted of skanky moms dressed in bunny ears and lingerie, dragging their kids from store to store along Main street. The short walk to the beach, turned into a few hours as we gave bad directions and they got lost...To top it off, when we got home one evening our street was lined with forensic police vans and red tape. Turns out our next door neighbor had a meth lab going on in the garage.

Dang you, California.

Needless to say, they still live in the midwest. Maybe we'll try again in a few years...

P.S. I was driving along the freeway today when that memory came flashing back and I had to laugh and knew it needed to be blogged for memory :)

Happy Choices are....

1. Refinancing a rental property from a 6% interest rate and 30 years down to a 4.25% interest rate and 15 years WITH the mortgage only going up $150 a month. Love that we can now plan on rental payoffs when Kris is only 45.
   
2. Getting epoxy garage floors so I can move all the boxes out of every room of our house and back into the garage in an organized fashion
3. Baby sign language videos and watching Tofer SIGN in his sleep. Not kidding. So cute.
4. New windows and doors to replace the circa 82 windows
5. Making homemade pizza for FHE and watching Tofer roll the dough with a pin and sprinkle with cheese (the chunks he doesn't eat first)
6. Watching General Conference - having a living Prophet on the earth
   
7. Paying for things with cash when you can so you don't let the temptation of "EVERYTHING NOW" spiral you into debt (minus house/car etc - i wish)
   
8. Hugs
9. Saying prayers as a family and watching your 1.5 year old bow his head and fold his arms.
   
10. Making cupcakes for the neighbors kids
    

Wife of the Year

Surprisingly, I have never mentioned on the blog that we have been a ONE CAR FAMILY since we bought our house - almost a year.

When we sold my car I told Kris the one car thing would last a month.... So, we made a deal. We would save up and the longer I waited, the better car I would get. This was GREAT motivation for me. There were STARS in my eyes - a Lexus RX350, fully loaded. Let the saving begin!!

Well, I picked the car out and was going to buy it last week (AMAZING CAR, a few years old and really not much more expensive than any other mid-sized suv when it comes down to it - but felt like driving in a cloud...amamamamazing).

Turns out, I couldn't sleep the night before. I didn't need that kind of car. I was being impractical."Why on earth am I buying this car when we are trying to renovate a house?" So, I told Kris to get a sedan since they are so much cheaper, and I would use the money we saved to fix up the house as much as possible. In the meantime, we can keep our old beat up suv a while longer until we really need a new one.

I've had contractors here all week. I am very excited. It is a good decision. But a hard one since I'd been waiting so long and was so excited to buy the darn thing. And Kris was so cute to be excited for me to get it too. I just couldn't pull the trigger. I even cried, dangit. But it felt good to make the right decision.

Well, Kris has been haggling all night at a dealership. Looks like he finally won. This is the car he is currently buying at 11 pm tonight.





It is a Nissan Altima Hybrid. It is a 2007 with ONLY 10k miles on it. Crazy. Anyway, he negotiated with them to put in navigation and blue tooth AND take off about $3k more from their best price. Then somehow he get's them to finance it for 0.9% for the life of the loan. He's been there sine 8:00! He must get his negotiation skills from me ;). We finally have another car. And no worries. My day will come. I'll probably end up in a mini-van and that's ok with me :)

The end.

And the Sundberg name carries on...

That's right...this morning we found out that baby number 2 is a BOY!

Looks like my due date is January 21st :) Yay for Tofer having a best friend! Yay for a sweet boy to adore. And yay for another good man to add to the gene pool :) Haha.

We are excited!

True Blue

Kris and I have no BYU memories together :(

Funny enough, he actually moved into - not just the same ward, or complex, or building, or floor, or even apartment...but the SAME ROOM as one of my old boyfriends, when he moved out. Small world, even with over 30,000 students. Ha. But even with that, we never crossed paths (granted, I was also doing an internship in NYC when all that happened but anyway....)

We decided to make some memories. Thursday we are hitting the road for a long weekend to check out the old stomping grounds, visit some friends, and see his sister's new baby. The crazy thing is, I haven't been back for so long I'm more excited to hit up Provo than just about anywhere right now. Ha. Especially now that Fall is starting.

I can STILL feel that old rush of excitement I felt every year with the new school year and the weather cooling, the leaves changing colors, the smell in the air, the mountains, the football games. Ah, I can feel it NOW. Man, I loved BYU.

Can't wait to make some memories with Kris there.

Go cougars.

Tofer Through the Ages - Photo Timeline

A few days ago Tofer turned 1.5 years old! I can't believe it. He's grown up so much! We love him more and more every day - if that's even possible!

Here is the "Tofer Timeline" from tummy on. Enjoy.


Getting ready for earth!



One Day Old -Eyes Closed


One Day Old- Eyes Open (his big blue eyes took my breath away)


One Month Old (Don't you just want to squeeze him???)


One and a Half Months Old (Learning how to smile)


Two Months Old (Beyond cute)


Three Months Old (Photoshoot for ToyBoxTees.com)


Six Months Old (That face kills me- first photoshoot in grass)


Eight Months Old (Arizona trip with college buddies)


First Birthday (A little overwhelming for him but ended in fine form :)


Fifteen Months (Beautiful trail in Irvine)


A Year and a Half (Taking over the Alaska frontier)


1.5 down and a lifetime of adventures to come. We love you, Tofer!

High School Sweethearts

Today is my parent's 40th wedding anniversary and that is just plain awesome! My mom was the new girl in dad's history class in high school...and the rest really is history. Har har har.

I am constantly humbled by their awesome relationship. Individually, they are two of my greatest heros and together they are such a powerhouse - everything I hope Kris and I will be and then just so in love to boot. Such best friends. So happy. Such a great relationship. They just belong together.

Congrats, Mom and Dad. You are the BEST!

Favorite Thing

Right now, my favorite thing on earth is watching Tofer get super excited to play with his Dad. When Kris gets home from work every day, he changes his clothes and then has Dad time with Tofer. You should see how impatient Tofer gets sometimes for him to get changed. It's so cute.

Then when I say, "Wanna go on a bike ride with Dad?" or "Wanna go build blocks with Dad?" or anything "with Dad" you should see how fast those little baby legs go racing to wherever Kris is.

It is the sweetest thing I have ever seen. Sometimes I even get choked up. Boys love their Dads. There's just something different between them and I like it.

Here are a few Alaska pics of Tof and his favorite buddy.







And one of me and Tof, just for good measure. We all know how much boys love their moms :)



P.S. Kris posted about 150 Alaska pics on facebook, Kris Sundberg "Tofer Goes Into the Wild" in case you want to see! It was a blast. I'll get to that later.

Raw and Wild

A native Alaskan once described the state to me as "raw and wild" :)

I can't imagine a more awesome place to go tomorrow.

See you in ten days. So excited.

Land that I Love

So many fun things today....

But my favorite part was riding our tandem beach cruiser bike to church because there was no parking anywhere in Huntington Beach and then being able to just SOAK IN what this day is all about, instead of getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the activities.

And to think, we were running so late this morning we almost didn't go. Doesn't it always seem like the days where it is the hardest to get out the door to church, end up being the most meaningful?

Marital Business Negotiations

Kris wasn't guilty of anything heinous yesterday, just a culmination of annoying events that led to me wanting to commit violent acts against him. Let's call it pregnancy-induced hormonal rage.

Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood to go to his little work client bbq last night. The solution? A business negotiation. I told him I would go for $50. He thought that was outrageous but seriously, I reminded him of my HP salary and how for a full night of exchanging pleasantries with random people he was actually getting a STEAL.

I am now $50 richer.

The end.

P.S. Turns out that we had some of the most amazing food I have ever tasted in my life. The family is from Afghanistan and it was unbelievably good. I'll probably reimburse him a little just for that. :) Business is business.

Isabella Oliver 51% off sale TODAY! (Maternity)

Ok, it's a designer maternity label so her stuff is expensive BUT I've NEVER seen or worn such cute maternity clothes...EVER.

Seriously. Even if you just want ONE nice maternity dress for your life :), you will be glad you got it here and today it is half off! Even if you aren't pregnant, I would get something to hold onto.

P.S. This stuff sells for more USED on ebay than she is selling it for today. Hurry, sizes are running out.

Check it out.

www.isabellaoliver.com

Makeup Boycott

The other day I finally used the spa giftcard Kris gave me for Christmas. Ha. I went to the spa and got the longest facial they had time for. Heavenly.

You know how when your face feels so clean and awesome, the last thing on earth you want to do is put on makeup? So I decided to boycott it. I have been SO SICK of getting ready these days.

My whole routine consisted of concealer under the eyes, tinted moisturizer/foundation, powder, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, blush, sometimes bronzer. Ugh, I've been so over it. And while I never wore a lot of it, it took a long time and I hate feeling like I'm caking crap on my face.

Now my routine consists of eye shadow (a neutral color just to take out the shine), eye liner and mascara. Maybe a tiny bit of powder if my nose is shiny. Takes like 3 minutes and I'm done. I prob looked better before but I'm really loving this.

While on this new kick, I bought a Clarisonic Mia - I'm lazy and this makes washing your face so easy. I use it at night and then put on moisturizer and my face just feels and looks so much better (another reason I can cut back on the makeup).



It's liberating. Give it a try.

P.S. Disclaimer: I do still "get ready" for evenings out and special occasions etc and even better, now it's actually kind of fun because it's not a chore.

Secret stash....don't tell Kris

Would any of you ladies dated your husbands in high school if you knew them?

So, a few months ago I had a post about Kris in high school and how this guy paid for him to get pics taken and sent him to New York to meet with producers bla bla bla. WELL, for Christmas at his parent's house I CAME ACROSS THE PICS!

He wanted to trash them (because he looks like a total poser, let's be honest). HOWEVER, I snuck them in my suitcase and have been WAITING to post them FOR MONTHS. Hahaha. He is going to kill me. We finally got a scanner that works with our Mac so here are two of them. I would have posted a few more that were so hilarious but he may have never forgiven me ;) These just look like glorified senior pics, but still make me smile.

Enjoy! Ha.




P.S. And to answer my own question....YES, I would have...I think he was adorable. Look at that face. HOT! Love it.

What's Cookin?

February 2011 :)

Doorless

This is how our front door looks.



Right, there isn't one. Dear Kris decided to refinish the front door and promised it would be all done in a day (since I'm a little on the paranoid side and like to lock my doors at night). Don't most people??

Well, it's been like this for three days now. Shocker.

Good thing Mission Viejo was rated "safest city in the country" by Newsweek in 2007. But wait...what happened in 2008 and 2009 to LOSE the title??!

Yea, maybe I need a dog.

The latest!

EXCITING NEWS:

Since we've been on the topic and I haven't done a photog update in ages, I thought I'd record the latest and greatest. Here are some of the more exciting things going on:

• Kris recently signed a contract to allow his pier shot below to be used in the following book, “Beneath Blossom Rain – Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World” by Kevin Grange about a 24 day, 216 mile trek he did in the Himalayas. His journey ends at the HB pier. Kris will be featured alongside Peter McBride—a photographer who shoots for National Geographic, Newsweek and Outside Magazine. Sweet!

• A few weeks ago Kris shot the front and back cover of the book below. And apparently, in an online pre-sales screening they already sold $400K worth. Awesome!
  

Back cover (yea, that's my chair - craigslist :) West Elm)

• Kris is now booking destination weddings. We have done shoots all over the west coast but now we have one booked in Atlantic City at the end of the pier in November and a few more on the east coast next year.

• Ok, this isn't news, just shameless bragging, but that's what wives are for. Recently Kris was shooting a reception in Del Mar (fun swanky beach town by San Diego) and the woman at the reception center said she's been working there for 14 years and has seen hundreds of weddings and he is the best photog she's ever seen. I was so proud.

Kris, it's safe to say, you're rockin' it. Good job honey, and congrats!

The Hubby's response

Well, I have to say that is super sweet of you, hon. It was a challenge to not just collapse in overwhelming disbelief and then continue through the cycles of remorse until i raged out at the bride and groom... throwing a chair or something would have felt good for sure. But really, I just found a happy thought. Sounds gay i know, but i looked over at my gorgeous wife, with her cute hair cut and delicious style... She had the most apologetic face I've ever seen and she whispers, "it's OK if you use the money I've been saving up for my car" in my ear. All I could think about was how lucky i was to be married to such a sweet and loving wife...

What is money when i have the world?

I held onto that thought... and periodically glanced over at her during the night to try and meet her gaze in the crowd. Knowing I'm "stuck" with her for the rest of my life is what helped me keep my cool and enjoy the rest of the evening. I don't know what i would have done if she hadn't been there with me. Now i just need to learn to hold that thought when she leaves the wet sponge in the sink ;) Thanks for all your love and support babe. I love you to pieces.

Kris

Accolades

One of the reasons I really liked Kris when we were dating was because he is so even tempered. He just never gets riled up and mean....EVER.

While Kris and I were moving out of our rental back in December - we were already late getting everything out of the house, I was prego (and had a miscarriage), we just bought a house that was a foreclosure mess and were going out of town for two weeks while it was closing so we had to move everything into a storage unit. It was horribly stressful.

To top it off, Kris lost his ID and we had to get on a plane so he was climbing around in the dark, cold storage unit, ON his birthday, and sick as a dog, looking for his passport. One of our friends went out to help him. When he got back he mentioned to his wife that it was the first time he had ever seen Kris a "little stressed".

Well, this weekend when he had all that camera stuff stolen at the wedding ($4,500), I was so humbled I just can't stop thinking about it. He just calmly asked me to call around and try to find another 5D Mark II battery in case his ran out and he kept on shooting. The bride and groom had no clue anything had happened. Kris was smiling and laughing and dancing around all night having a blast. Who does that? I'd venture to say, not 1 in 1,000 men could be so calm and collected in a situation like that. Reminds me a lot of my Dad, who has been a lifelong hero of mine.

I'm just humbled and feel really lucky that my kids get such a kindhearted dad and I have such a nice husband. And I wanted to record that for posterity in our little blog book.

Love and respect you dearly, Kris.

Just Finished

After three of my friends declared this book a "must read" (starting a few years ago) I finally bought it and read it this past week.

Very good book. I recommend it. Very sad. Be prepared to cry a lot. I think I was already crying by page ten. But it isn't one of those sad stories that makes you super ticked off (like movies with bad endings). It's just plain TRAGIC and sad.

It's also moving, warm, funny, thought provoking, and interesting. I was surprised sometimes how the author managed to keep it a page-turner for me, even though the story spanned 20 years. Anyway, it also makes you very grateful for your life and your blessings and is a really cute love story.

Read it.

BEYOND LAME

Getting $4,500 worth of camera equipment STOLEN right from under your nose while shooting a wedding tonight.

The end.

PLUG

1) Latest find. I love country kitchens and "Farmhouse" sinks seem to be the thing lately. I love them but even the cheapest ones out there are at least $400. I found the sink below on craigslist. A plumber had one that had a small scratch so they couldn't use it. He had to point it out to me because I COULD NOT even find it. Anyway, point is, check the link. This sink is OVER $2,000. Yes, you read that right. We bought it this week for $300. STILL IN THE BOX.

http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?item=332902&section=1&category=5&subcategory=36


2) Another good one. I was cautious about getting a used couch. Kinda grosses me out so it took me three MONTHS to find this one from a couple in Irvine that just bought a $1.5 million dollar house and didn't have use for it anymore. No pets, one baby. Since Tofer is going to ransack the furniture anyway I was OK getting this $2,800 down-filled sectional from them for $700.



http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19230&catalog=filter&menuCatalog=room&menuSubcategory=201195

3)Last one "for today" We were not going to buy a new toilet for the downstairs, even though it's kinda old. But then we saw this Duravit on craigslist. This toilet is $579 dollars. We got it for $80. Why? Girl's Dad is a contractor and it needed extra caulking because of a small drip. Rather than caulk it, they got a brand new one. Now it's ours.



http://www.irawoods.com/Duravit-D16530-Starck-2-Series-One-Piece-Elongated-Toilet-Kit-White

So, here's the deal. It requires patience, some practical sense (because yes, there are scammers on there and maybe even total weirdos, but I look for specific things from specific people so I've never had trouble YET) and then it also takes some more...patience.

Just something to think about next time you want to buy a new couch that your kids are just going to wipe their dirty hands on. Take a look at craigslist, trust me, you'll be glad you did...

P.S. Oh and the list goes on if you are interested....crate and barrel table and chairs, pottery barn crib, pottery barn train table with rolling shelves, Z-Gallerie leather recliner, West Elm arm chair, Rock Star Baby stroller....I could keep going. The best part is, I spent what you may have spent at Target and if I get sick of this stuff, since most are "brands"people like, I could probably sell it all again!

Goodnight!

Truly beautiful

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

~Audrey Hepburn


*I've always thought she looks like my Mother, another truly beautiful person

Priceless

Who needs to buy pics to decorate the bathroom when you have this model!?

K, seriously, he just cracks me up. Love him. These were the three we picked.





P.S. Click on the first one to get a better look at his expression. Priceless. HA!