Halloween 2011

Being broke on Halloween sucks but we're doing our best to make it fun. We're rich in love and creativity.

Hayden doesn't like getting his hands gooey with pumpkin guts but he did love picking out the design we would carve this year! He named him Skully Jack.

We found a Wolfman mask and red hood for $14 total and had a blast getting dressed up!

Overdue Post Vacation Post

These are from the Mount St Helen's Visitor Center which we visited on our last day in Washington. It was a beautiful week, this day in particular and seemed as though we had brought the Vegas sunshine with us.

Hayden had a blast catching his Aunt's chickens.

This is a garden spider Brian caught at his brother's house.

We went to dinner one evening in Portland. We had a hard time finding a place that was open but the buildings were beautiful during the chilly walking adventure.

This was an awesome Fox hat we found at the mall.

Hayden had a blast playing with his cousins and the cutest puppies in the world.

On Being Female...

Brian and I had a discussion about my femininity on the way to band practice last night. He mentioned one of the things he loved about me when we first started dating was that I was smart, beautiful and seemed comfortable with myself in any situation. The latter was far from the reality I carried around in my head. I was comfortable in jeans, tshirts and Converse, basically the tomboy me was comfortable. Throw me in a dress, heels and makeup and I was a mess. Sometime in the last 12 years I lost weight, changed my wardrobe and the feminine Charlie gained some confidence in being female.
Now that I am a mother I want to make sure I'm teaching my son how to be a man, and how to treat women equally. Especially after watching this trailer ....

Twelve

Today is our 12 year anniversary. 

This picture was taken on our 2nd date in 1999.

We played video games at the bowling alley arcade.

This was in Truckee in 2005. 

We took Barley to the snow for the first time.

This was taken on our couch in Sacramento in 2007.  

This was at my high school reunion in 2008. (I have no idea what's up with my half opened eyes)

This was our 9th anniversary in 2008.

We went to the movies then to the Double Down and drank a lot.

This is from my friend Julianne's wedding a few months ago. 

Twelve years is never what either one of us expected when we first started hanging out. Definitely not what we expected on our first date watching Fight Club on opening night.

We've been best friends and partners so long now neither one of us can imagine what our

lives would be like if we hadn't met. Even with a strong love for each other that might seem unshakeable we are people who both have emotions, expectations and insecurities. Every now and then bad days sneak their way into our bliss but we're working through them and for every tremor our foundation gets stronger. 

To this day we've never spent an entire 24 hour period away from each other. I don't think we can. 

Some force of magnetic energy just pulls us together, even when we can't stand one another. 

It's usually how we fix our issues and move on. 

We're taking a trip to the Pacific Northwest this weekend to visit Brian's family 

and cuddle up together in the rain.

I'm guilty...

Of not giving a f@%k right now.
It's getting cold and all I want to do is curl up with a blanket, watch TV and eat popcorn with my boys.
The weather in Las Vegas all of a sudden decided to catch up with the season. It's been cloudy, cold, and rainy with some awesome lightning and thunder shows.

img: Getty

This picture is from last Saturday the rain was coming from the right and the rainbow just ended right in the middle of the sky. Our friend Brice took this one.

During the week with the cloudy gray skies and the cold I don't want to get up out of bed at all. It's time to bust out the sweaters, sweat pants, warm blankets and snuggle.
We're planning a trip to visit Brian's family in Washington and the weather there is definitely going to call for some serious bundling. We're excited but have to pack some heavy jackets.

Fall Fashion Wishlist Additions

Now is the time that all the Fall Fashion lines come out and even though it's still 90+ here in Vegas I love to Wish List shop  (definition: add a multitude of items to my various internet wishlists that I would purchase if I had a multitude of cash) for the colder weather items.
 LIKE:

fall by vegascharlie featuring a stripe sweater

Hayden's Self Portrait age 5