{vegas catch-up}

So I thought that since I didn't do a post when we went down to Vegas for Pierce's Lacrosse Tournament(mainly because it was super busy and I didn't have my camera), I would share some pictures that I stole from the internet that shows how sweet our hotel was:

The Red Rock Hotel and Casino....

Some smaller pictures of the bathroom...

They had a TV in front of the bathtub (Pierce's dream! That boy likes bath time!!)

This is the bedroom...it was decorated so cool! Except I got up in the night to go potty and ran into that bench lol...wasn't my finest moment!

Although this is a professional picture, it was basically our view at night! So sweet!

THE ACTUAL TOURNAMENT:

Pierce's team did pretty well! They won 2 and lost 2 and since they have been home starting their actual games, they have been winning like none other!! They had another tournament here in Utah that Pierce was asked to be the Co-Director of it and he put a lot of hard work into it and it was a huge success! His team lost in semi-finals in a tie (I know I am learning LAX too) but I am proud of my hubby the coach and hope that his team kicks butt this year!

{Congrats to Chase and Helen}

So yesterday I had the awesome opportunity to go with my SIL and BIL to see the results of their ultrasound to find out the gender. I originally thought it was going to be a boy and then I switched a few days later to a girl- mainly for my own selfish reasons (shopping for a niece is a little more fun than a boy- although boy stuff sure is cute too!). Chase and Helen were pretty sure it was a boy; Helen even said 5 minutes before they found out, that she would be shocked if it was a girl.

Their OBGYN cancelled on them yesterday ( I would have been furious!) so they went to Fetal Studios, I had heard that it is really reliable and I know that Chase and Helen couldn't wait!

They had an awesome tech help them and he shocked us all when he said it's a girl!! Granny Liz even kept calling 'it' a 'he' before the Dr confirmed it! We are all sooo happy for them and I am so excited to be an Aunt again! I love coming into Pierce's family and having older siblings who have kids! It's something that I will have to wait a long time on my side to become but that's ok! My other SIL is pregnant too and we get to find out in just a few short weeks (I am voting a little boy for them but we will see)!

Congrats Chase and Helen- we love you guys and that little girl!

{Awkward & Awesome}

Awkward and Awesome Weekend

Ok so I stole this idea from the blog The Daybook. You should check it out- Syd is the funniest and most awesome blogger. She has great ideas, giveaways and constantly makes me laugh!

Awkward:

- When you offer to hold someone's coat (someone you've known for about 5 years) while they take a picture and they just stare at you.................for about 30 seconds. Awk.

- You invite a friend to a wedding of a girl that you went to high school with. You say ok, but then think it's NORMAL to invite your girlfriend and roommate that don't know either the bride or groom. And then get mad (no correction FREAK out like a 2 yr old) when the person who invited you says they probably shouldn't just come. Ya- I didn't know people did this until Saturday.

- That during my best friend's first dance-- my husband and friend decide to say an inappropriate word pretty loudly....faces reddens.

- That I have the most massive zit on my nose today and actually thought "I want to put a diamond sticker on it- so it just looks like I pierced my nose for the day". I know I have zit issues.

- That when I leave one or two dirty clothes on the floor, my dogs insist on laying on them like a bed. "I get it! I need to pick up my clothes!" Dogs really have a way of getting me to clean.

- That while decorating the car for the Newlyweds, we put condoms on the stick shift.

Awesome:

- That when above-mentioned freaks out, you reply HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....You'll always get the last laugh. Yes!

- That funny awkward moments like talking really loud during a romantic first dance, become memories that you will think of as awesome!

- That my dogs have power over that I am so easily willing to laugh at/admit.

- That my best friend Marie got married!!

- That I have some of the greatest people ever as friends!

-That we put a condom on the stick shift while decorating the car for the newlyweds (although it was awk for them ha!)

{flower power}

So for my best friend Marie's bridal shower next week, I have been busily planning and scheming away to make it a great party!! I want to go into event planning but obviously I am on a tight budget, Pierce's mom was even so great to lend me her house and help out with some things!! Anyway I have these silver candlesticks (not pictured) BUT I saw this great flower/pom pom idea from here. I knew I wanted to try it but I was nervous that it wouldn't work out the same for me but I think it was a success! I used just 4 sheets of tissue paper and cut similar size squares as the tutorial; the tissue paper was $0.99 from Target. Sorry the pictures are horrible, the dogs got to the SD card and I took these with my phone! I can't wait to display them at the shower!

{happy LOVE day}

So as everyone knows, yesterday was Valentine's Day! Last year, Pierce and I can't recall what we did to save our lives lol- so this year we decided we would make the most of being each other's Valentine! We planned a fun dinner and movie after I got off work. So after work, I stopped by the grocery store to get some cough drops and a V-day card....Ok I know I probably get worst wife award for this holiday because I bought 15-20 mins before dinner BUT I was planning on making a card and it didn't work out as well as I had hoped! Plus I really did need the cough drops! So we met at Mt. Fuji on 13th and 86th South...we had a coupon there and we love the one by our house (it's actually Pierce's favorite place) so it was an easy decision. But when we got there, we quickly learned that it is NOT the same place. They don't even have similar menus....we were a little sad. I gave Pierce his card and he said that he didn't get me one....I wasn't mad, just a little sad that he forgot. He said that he thought we weren't doing gifts or anything....I said even if we don't say we are going to do cards, you should always get one. And he acted a little sad and so I said it wasn't a big deal!! So we ate quickly (and I mean like 5 minutes that's how caca it was) and decided we had some time to kill and went to drop off one of the cars at our apartment. Pierce said that he needed to go and get a jacket so I said ok but we needed to hurry to the movie....when we walked in, our apartment was cleaned beautifully and I saw this on the table!

Some flowers, cupcakes, a card and some bubbly! Man o Man did I feel stooped by my hubby-- I shouldn't have ever doubted that he wouldn't do something super special for me! He got cupcakes from The Sweet Tooth Fairy- one of my favs! A card (man did I feel like a brat lol) and sparkling cider with some cute little glasses! The flowers were beautiful but Pierce did credit his brother Chase to helping arrange them!

Here are the flowers close up! Beautiful and flowers ALWAYS make a girl feel loved!

Happy Valentine's Day babe! I love you and am so glad that we will get to be sweethearts/Valentines forever! I've really married my best friend!

{coming soon}

That's right, I am starting ANOTHER blog....and hopefully my blogging skills won't lack as much on that one as it does on the others. But it will feature some of this:

And some of this:

That's right. A blog of all things crafty! We will be posting things you can buy personalized or DIY kits. Sharing some freebies and giveaways and of course sharing crafty ideas that we can't get enough of! And when I say we- I am talking for my mother and I. She is a little computer handi though so I will be the official blogger!

{happy birthday grandma rueckert}

Yesterday was my Grandma Rueckert's 80th Birthday! We got to celebrate with cousins, aunts, uncles and of course the grandparents!! Grandma fell last week and broke a rib, but we are glad that she is feeling better and could come party with us last night! I stole a few of the pictures from my cousin Ashlee and the family picture, Pierce wanted to take it so that's why he isn't in it!

{thankful thursday}

I thought that “thankful Thursdays” are a great way to update people with what’s going on with our lives but also have some meaning. The problem is that I always forget to do these posts until after Thursdays…while I am always thankful; I just like the sound of Thankful Thursdays. Anyway, I am here on a Thursday writing something that I am truly thankful for: my fantastic husband!

Pierce is the most amazing person I’ve ever met. He really is a ball of wacky and fun with some weird mixed in but I love every minute of it! I truly am thankful that I laugh everyday because of him and that he is always making others laugh. It is a great quality to have, it makes people feel at ease and want to know him more. I love that he can also lay in bed with me and we can chitchat about our days and our future and when I get sad/frustrated with life, he is always—ALWAYS my rock!

He can calm me down which I appreciate. I also love that he is caring and careful. I think these are the same but also different. I think he is caring for me by surprising me and doing things that he knows I would love- like cleaning if I am sick or putting some gas in my car! I also think he is careful because he never says anything to hurt my feelings and if we get a fight or I get mad/upset he comes to apologize for anything that he did. I really admire that quality—I am pretty stubborn about saying sorry but I am learning from his great example.

He is really strong in his beliefs and values, besides the gospel, Pierce believes in family, loyalty, staying active and working hard. I think he is a truly passionate person and I often tease him that he only talks to me about Lacrosse when I don’t know really anything about it; but I know that he cares a lot about the team because his high schools teams provided a lot of friendship and support in his life. He loves his family, the family that we have created in our little apartment and our immediate family and extended family. I always say that my family loves Pierce more than me but I sort of/kind of think it’s true! My aunts and cousins are always wanting to hang out with him and never say anything to me haha! My siblings love having a “big brother” and I also know his family loves having him as the “younger brother”. He is very supportive of all that his family members do and is always encouraging me to be the best I can and encouraging me to pursue dance again. I could probably could go on and on about him but I will leave it with this:

Hubby:

Hey Best Friend,

Our life is great! Thanks for the laughs and good times.

YOU are one of the most hard working and talented people I know.

And I'm so proud of you. Your genuine goodness and leadership qualities make me love you more everyday.

Thanks for being such a wonderful husband and my biggest support. You're my sunshine.

So smile bright.

love always

Your Wife- Karissa

{so I do think I am crafty}

So it's been awhile since I've posted anything but it's mainly because I am really good at stalking other's blogs but not really thinking my life is interesting. I am trying to take more and more pictures as Pierce and I do things, because in the end, I will want to remember this time in our lives as newlyweds!

Anyway, I have always loved crafting and making things and decorating....Since we've been married I have done a few crafts here and there, but it's hard with going to school full time and working 24 hours a week! Anyway, I finally made some cute crafts that I thought I would share...(I am not even sure who checks this thing anyway anymore).

So I thought of this "home" craft and got wood for every month of the year as the "o" that I will decorate and display....I've got a snowflake for January but a piece broke off so I just changed it to Feb. already! Anyway, I will now without fail have something to post once a month! I just sanded and painted the wood and then painted them-- the red sparkly is some paint I found at Robert's crafts for about $2.00! I think it was worth it!

Next craft is this cute funky heart that I've hung outside our front door. Again, I purchased the wood from a lady who my mom bunco's with! They sell it at whole sale and some of the crafts are to freaking die for! I sanded these and painted them some fun pink, then I added some black wire to hang it and some black and white polka-dot-ribbon! It's pretty cute in my opinion- I hope the pictures do it justice!

Sorry it wouldn't rotate for me for some odd reason.... (guess I need to figure out how to rotate on blogger-- please let me know if you know how!)

I am also going to be selling some signs and different craft projects- that's in the works, hopefully to have up by beginning of March! So you can place orders then!

Have a great weekend!

{2010 rEcAp}

Well this year has been a roller coaster of emotions!! We've had the best year of our lives and cannot wait for what 2011 holds for us! I thought I would do a recap of the last year and some fun memories we made!

Dec. 31st 2009- The plan was for Pierce to propose at midnight on New Years 2010....but my cute hubby couldn't stand that the ring was in his pocket while we were going on rides at Disneyland....so at 10-ish in the morning, Pierce walked me over by my favorite ride "Pirates of the Caribbean" and popped the question!! I was so surprised and overwhelmed but I have to say it was one of the best engagements I've ever heard if I do say so myself!

January--

Here we are ringing in the New Year as the newly engaged!

(We realize that this isn't the best picture of us, but we had been at Disneyland ALL day!)

We celebrated Kayla and Trent getting married in Vegas!

We attended the Jazz/Miami game! (Pierce's 2 favorite teams!)

And of course I started planning the wedding of my dreams!

Other things that happened in Jan:

- I had double knee surgery (boo)

- Pierce was the best nurse during the recovery process (still owe him big time for it!)

February--

We were in lots of love! Continuing to plan the wedding!

Love this picture below!

March--

We both continued to work. Pierce was attending school, while Karissa was not and Pierce was getting all A's (he's a smart cookie).

Pierce was helping his sister Chelsea "coach" Jordan Lacrosse-- all the while this is how practices were! Just Kidding!

April--

We took all our engagement pictures (thanks to Chase) and sent out the wedding invites! Everything was coming together great!

Pierce's parents also gave us the great opportunity to go to a dinner where were met President Packer and this guy below who gave us some marital advice that I won't forget!

May--

We both celebrated birthdays in May! (No pictures for some reason)

Pierce moved into our apartment at the end of May!!

And we watched Ben (Pierce's best friend/mission companion) marry the perfect girl for him, Alex!

I also got my bridal pictures taken in May by Chase. His website is amazing if anyone wants to check it out click here.

June---

Our wedding day! The best day of our lives, being sealed for time and all eternity to each other! We were so grateful to all the planning and work that went into it! We were blessed to have family come from all over to celebrate with us as well!

As you can see, June 5th was a beautiful day and we were so lucky to have everything be perfect!

I am so grateful that I have married my best friend!

We also went on our honeymoon that was such a blast!

We went to Mexico and had so much fun! It was a fairy tale wedding and honeymoon for sure! But we were just as excited to actually start our lives as the new Mr. and Mrs. Walker

July--

Pierce held his first ever Lacrosse camp for the girls team and it went great!

We also welcomed this little guy into our world!

Dogs truly are man's best friend and he quickly became a huge part of our worlds. He is our cuddle buddy and best friend and always makes us laugh. Jack loves Pierce and Pierce loves Jack. I love their relationship.

August & Sept.--

Pierce was working, Karissa trying to find a job and finally did through her good friends the McPartlands! So grateful for work and being able to live on our own and pay bills and struggle through the newlywed phase of life!

Towards the end of August, I found out that I was pregnant. We were a little stressed and excited and surprised!! Sadly, by the time September rolled around, I had miscarried. It was a really hard time for me, but I am so thankful that I had Pierce there by my side. He was my rock and strength, even though I knew he was hurting too.

We started school! Both of us were up at the U and we were so excited to have some classes together!

I don't really have any pictures of Aug- Sept (haha taking more photos a new year's resolution?? Think so.)

So here are just a few random pictures...

October--

October was filled of school, work, and date nights on the weekend. We house sat for Pierce's parents while they went on a trip for his dad's 50th birthday! We also threw a surprise party for Jeff and below is Pierce being the MC for the event. He did a great job and is always a great public speaker!

We also were struggling with leaving Jack at home so much by himself, even when he was going to my mom's while I was at work to play with her puppies. When we learned that Jack's sister was never bought, we jumped on it and brought Izzy into our world. It's crazy that we have had her since the end of October, because I don't remember Jack without her anymore! She is such a fun personality to have in our house, so girly and innocent (or she likes you to think she is haha). But either way we love this little ball of sunshine!

PS- excuse the demon eyes in this pic!

Also in October, Pierce held Lacrosse Try-outs and had so much fun! He is looking forward to starting the season as the Head Coach!

November--

At the beginning of Nov. I ran a 3K with Helen! It was really fun, cold and made me tired! It was the first time I had actually ran since my knee surgery-- yes I am kind of a baby haha! Anyway, Helen and I loved it and were pretty proud of ourselves!

We also didn't mind getting treated to flowers, cards and breakfast from our hubbies and MIL!

Christmas is also Pierce's favorite holiday and the only one he says that we can actually decorate our house for.... SO at the beginning of Novemeber, we bought a tree! Then it snowballed into buying all of our Christmas stuff and setting it up way before Thanksgiving! But I didn't mind :)

We celebrated Turkey Day with Pierce's parents and grandparents and neighbor! I don't have any pictures but the food was to die for!!

Dec--

December we celebrated being married for 6 months! Wow, how time flies when you are enjoying life! We just wrapped up the holidays with my family and Pierce's family and I stole some pictures from people to show some fun activities we did!

Gingerbread contest--- so I had this idea for about a year that I wanted to do the house from "UP"....the rules were that we had to all use the same supplies... well that created a challenge for us to do the balloon part of the house...

Let's just say it didn't pan out as well as we had hoped and we got last place. Dead last. Crap.

Next year, Pierce picks the theme.

Here we are with Santa! He came to the Walkers for a visit to Locke and Ava (our niece and nephew) but we were lucky to snap a photo with him!

Lastly, we rang in the New Year at the Walker's (a little early tho because we all were tired/sick/had to wake up in the morning).

Happy New Year's! (Yes Jack is drinking from Pierce's glass).

We cannot wait for what 2011 holds! May it be better than the last!