STRIVE 2013 Thanks

Just a few words and comments to thank each and every person for your love and support through STRIVE 2013!

Also, the my total amount raised is in...

Will Tony have to eat asparagus and take Bryce and I out for a fancy dinner? 

Check it out!

It's the little victories

It's the little victories that matter and are always fun to celebrate.

october challenges and accomplishments

Hello, 25!

Bryce picked me up and took me to the Cracked Egg, where we had their bomb coffee cake, then we came back and took a nap before heading off to our next adventure. After our nap he surprised me by taking to have a picnic in the park at one of our favorite spots, Floyd Lamb Park.

We walked around and explored the park.  We were greeted by a ton of peacocks, that didn't understand personal space and stocked us as we walked around the park.  We found a quiet little shaded area and ate our lunch while talking about this past year and our summer.  We cuddled in the park for a bit until we decided to explore the park some more.  We walked around the park for a bit, then we sat down near one of the ponds and played a few fun games of our favorite card game.  We started to head back to his car so we could head to dinner, where we then encountered a TON of geese.  One of the geese started running after us, which then caused the entire flock to start running at us and flying at us, so we ran. We literally were chased by geese, but thankfully we got away.
After being at Floyd Lamb we drove around and looked at these ranch estates that are over by there.  We talked about how we'd love to live over there.  We came across a 10 acre Equestrian Estate for sale.  As we were driving by we saw all of the horses that were there, we decided to stop so we could get a better look at them.  From there we headed to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Kobe! There we tried some new rolls we have never had before and ended it all with tempura ice cream. SO BOMB!
After dinner and a long wonderful day, he took me back to my house to open up my gifts.  Never have I been so blessed in my life.  God has blessed me with an incredibly thoughtful and handsome man.  I am so thankful for him and all of his love that he displays to me on a regular basis.  He completely spoiled me today.  I wouldn't have spent my birthday with any one else.

Here is to 25 years, and then some! :)

Moments I want to remember forever: Part 3

 Adventures with my handsome, exploring different parts of our city that neither of us have been to.

I like to call them the "Adventures of Bryali."

This past weekend we were finally able to check out this beautiful park in North Las Vegas that we have heard about and have wanted to go to for a while now...and let me tell you it was an adventure.

You can't tell in the photos but it was crazy windy and stormy, but even with mother nature acting cray cray it was simply stunning.

We got to witness a signature Las Vegas sunset that was absolutely breathe taking and we walked around the park a bit saying hello to some of the geese and admiring the fun little attributes of this cute park.

Earlier this month we took a tour of the Neon Museum and actually learned that this park use to be a 'Divorce Ranch.'

Here's the low down...3..2..1...go:

So back in the day in order to get a divorce you had to be a resident of the state you were in, most states you had to live there for a year to be considered a resident...but good ol' Nevada only required you to live here 6 to 7 days before you were considered a resident, so people would come to Nevada and stay at this ranch for 6 to 7 days so they could become a resident, and then bada-bing-bada-boom they could get their divorce.

Only in Vegas, right?

So it was interesting to walk around and look at the beauty of this park knowing that little fact.

Especially because a lot of people now have their weddings here.

 Which I don't blame them, it's a perfect location for an outside wedding, especially because it doesn't feel like you're in Vegas, and it's simply gorgeous.

It's little adventures like these that I treasure the most.

I love creating memories with him.

<3 

Happy Thursday! 

Life Update: Summer, School, & a Wedding

Hello...is this thing on...

I've decided that vlogs have become my new form of blogging.

I think sometimes it's easier for me to verbally dump out my thoughts than to write them out at times.

I am known to be looooong winded and hold a conversation...even if it's over nothing.

(My interview with my friend Shelly for me to become a Fuse leader was 4 hours long...)

Where there's a person, there is a conversation to be had...even if that person is a computer screen. :)

Any who, I figured since I haven't blogged/vlogged for a while and since SO much has been happening in this little life of mine, that I would update y'all (any one who can handle my long winded-ness) on what has happened, is happening, and is coming in the future.

Check it outtt.

Until next time. 

Adios
<3

Currently: Vlog Edition

My little brother

I never had a younger sibling growing up.

Then my dad met this sweet wonderful woman and they fell in love and got married 5 years ago.

That's when this little man entered into my life, and it alllll changed.

We joke with each other.

We vent to each other.

We sing ridiculous made up songs to each other.

We give each other advice.

We both love God, and serve at our church.

We are just plain goofy with each other. 

I am so thankful for my little brother and our unique relationship.

I wouldn't trade our relationship for anything in the world.

Here is just a little glimpse into our relationship.

Life update via a storage unit

Spent my morning at a storage unit watching movers move my grandma's final things into storage, which finalizes her move to Las Vegas.

::Whoop Whoop::

So I thought I would take the few hours I had sitting around and do a little life update via a storage unit.

Enjoy!

<3

Moments I want to remember forever: Part 2

Los Angeles trip with my love.

Uneven sidewalks, donuts for lunch, flamingos, freezing while waiting to see Ellie Goulding, walking literally every where, running to catch our bus, literally hiking to The Griffith Observatory, holding my hand every where we went.

I've never been so swept off my feet.

53 in Heaven

 Happy Birthday to the sweetest angel I could ask for.

Today my sweet momma would have been 53.

Even though she isn't here for us to sing to and smother in kisses and sweet hugs, my sisters and I still lit a candle in her honor and sang her happy birthday.

I'm still always caught off guard when my eyes well up with tears. 

It's not that I never feel sad, and I that I don't cry, but it is always when I least expect it.

I didn't expect to start crying while singing Happy Birthday with my sisters, but listening to both of my sisters sing and thinking about how my mom isn't here to see us grow up and experience our lives with us was overwhelming for me.

Just another reminder to myself and for others around me to be thankful for the time you do have with people, especially your loved ones. Be patient with them, love them, respect them, and show them grace even when it's difficult...because you never know when they will no longer be there for you to call or to hug and say I love you to.

So, Happy 53rd Birthday my sweet Neitha Rose.

You will forever be my angel.

<3

A rose is a rose is a Neitha Rose

Moments I want to remember forever

 

   

 

Day trip adventures, new friendships being built, fun date nights that include photo booths (one of my favorite things to do), nights with friends laughing and goofing off, and special moments with my handsome (like the one captured above).

These are the moments I want to remember forever.

<3 

hello 2013

Happy New Year!

::insert loud party favor noise makers and confetti::

Oh me oh my! 2012 is over and 2013 is just beginning.

This new year has already been off to a wonderful start.

The first week of the New Year consisted of Bryce and I enjoying our last few days off before we got back to our normal routine of working/ministry/small group/fuse group/events/etc.

I wanted to recap our last couple of days off and they go a little something like this:

- We rang in the New Year down on the Strip. There were SO many people, and we walked around people watching, wishing people a Happy New Year, and of course watching the beautiful firework show that popped off at midnight. We screamed and hollered with every one else, and sealed the New Year with a kiss. 

::blush::

It was such a fun night and one of the best New Years I have experienced in my adult life, mainly because I got to spend it with him and it was just very chill and free spirited in a way because we just walked around and didn't have dead set plans that we had to stick by.

 

- Another adventure we went on to start the New Year off right was we finally went to the Hoover Dam. 

 Now I have lived in Las Vegas ALL my life, all 24 years...and I have never seen the Hoover Dam before...ever!

So Bryce and I took our last day off and went and played tourists for the afternoon.

It was quite fun.  I brought my camera and Bryce was the photographer for the day.  He has such a good eye for landscape photography and structural things that I don't feel like I really have the passion for, or the eye for.  So it was really fun to sit back as we walked around and watch him photograph everything.  We would be walking and he would stop and go to take a picture and while he was doing that I would try and figure out what exactly he was seeing and how he was lining up his shot.  Some times I would see the angle he was going from and the image would click and make sense to me before he would show me what he captured, and other times I wouldn't be able to see what he was seeing until he showed me the image.

It was just a very fun experience to be able to teach him about lighting and how to know when he needs to change different settings on the camera.  He is definitely a natural.

After we ventured around the Hoover Dam for 3 hours we drove back to town, had a dinner date at Cafe Rio and then headed back to my house to go through his photographs that he took earlier and then we watched FernGully and Rock-A-Doodle. 

(We are little kids at heart.)

It was the perfect ending to a wonderful, much needed few weeks off.

Now we are back at it, and oh is it going to be busy.

Thankfully I am refreshed and excited for all that we have coming up these next few months.

I'm ready to grow and be stretched with our ministry and our team.

I'm excited to see what God has in store for each of us, our team, and for myself.

I couldn't be more blessed with a better team to be a part of, and I am thankful to be a part of such an awesome church that is doing BIG things by changing people's lives with the word of God and His radical grace.

I am looking forward to seeing how God moves in my Fuse Group girls lives and our relationships. I'm excited to continue to see them grow with their relationship with God,their families, and their friends. I am thrilled to be able to pour into them and connect with them.

I'm so thankful and blessed for the man that God has blessed me with in my life.

I couldn't be more lucky than I am right now with the man that Bryce is and for the way he treats me and cares for me.  I'm excited to see what challenging and fun adventures this year has for us and our relationship.

I am so glad that we both know to keep God first and to honor Him with our relationship. 

It's a blessing to have a man that is on the same page with me, and that wants to honor God with everything that he does as well as what we do as a couple.

Oh I am beyond lucky and thankful for him. 

<3 

 

2013 is going to be a crazybusyfunfilledchallengingfullofgrowthadventurefilledhappyfantasticstretchingimsurefrustratingattimesgreat year!

And that's because, 

God is so so good.