Our Birch Family

Happy 3 weeks Brevik Dean...

2011-08-05T21:15:00.003-07:00

The last 3 weeks have the most emotional, exhausting, challenging, loving, rewarding, blessed time of my life...all because this little boy came into our world. He is the slice of heaven that I have prayed for my whole life.

...LoVe...

2011-08-03T20:50:00.003-07:00

I am one LUCKY girl... I get them for eternity :)

The gift of Life...plus some :)

2011-08-03T20:03:00.006-07:00

"Push Gift" - I had never heard of such a thing...but I am sure glad I did :)
Defnition: a present a new parent gives a new mother when she gives birth to their child.
A client brought it up one day and asked me what I was wanting for my push present...ummmm, apparently this is a tradition that I almost let slip by the wayside...good thing I was informed :) I came home that night and told Nate, and I am pretty sure that he thought I was making it up. Now why in the world would I make something like that up.... :) weird... Good thing I have a super sweet husband who loves me and tries really hard to make me happy...by the way, he does an excellent job, and when it came to surprising me with a gift, he sure blew it out of the water!! I was expecting flowers and instead i got this...

And in return I got him this... (He's been dying for this watch)

AND the BeSt gift that we both could ever recieve...of course...

Brevik's BIRTHday!

2011-07-31T12:13:00.004-07:00

July 15th was the day that our little boy decided to join us! It all started the night before around 11:30pm, Nate and I were up late talking and hanging out, I had just hopped out of the bathtub and decided to run into the kitchen to eat some delicious chips and salsa. I went into the pantry to grab the bag of chips and before I had even put it into my mouth, my water broke all over the kitchen floor! Craziest feeling! At first I doubted it and tried to convince myself that I had just peed my pants (its not like that would've been far fetched), the longer I stood there thinking about it the more I knew that it was my water. I yelled for Nate to come, looking at me with confusion standing a puddle of water, he asked me what happened. I explained to him that I didnt pee my pants and that we needed to go to the hospital. He kinda looked at me, eyes glazed over, and said "I need to vacuum the house." What!?!? What a funny man..you could tell he was nervous and wanted everything to be perfect with the house. I just started to laugh, and told him that I would start the dishwasher and switch the clothes in the washer to the dryer, and load my bag in the car. I didn't have any contractions, so we were able to take a little bit of time to take a shower and tie up any loose ends before heading off to the hospital.

1:30 am - admitted into Banner Gateway Labor and Delivery. Still no contractions
4:00 am - started on pitocin
8:00 am - Dr. Layton came to check on me...3cm 70% effaced.
2:00 pm - Dr. came to check again. Still hadn't dilated. Told the nurses to up to 24, which was the most that he wanted to give me.
Started to feel pretty strong contractions.
2:30 pm - Epidural :) Dr. came to check again...still did not dilate!!! He pulled me off of all the medicine and ordered everyone out so that I could sleep and give my body a chance to dilate on its own.
3:30 pm - Nurse come in to check me...I went from a 3 to an 8 in about an hour!
3:35 pm - I am now 10cm and 100% effaced. The Dr. is called (he was at home preparing to go on his family vacation).
4:00 pm - started pushing, pushing every 4 contractions.
5:00 pm - DR. ARRIVES!
5:22 pm - Baby Brevik enters the world and we finally get to meet him! The spirit in the room has never been so strong.

I felt maybe a total of 15 minutes of pain!! I thought it was a great labor and delivery!
And ever since then...Nate and I have been madly in love with our son...all the crying,pooping, and peeing. We love being parents! Words cannot describe how blessed we feel to have him in our lives...this experience was truly magical!
Brevik Dean Birch
July 15,2011
6lbs 9oz, 20 inches long

Meeting dad for the first time!

Meeting mom for the first time!

Brevik Dean Birch

2011-07-28T23:40:00.000-07:00

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Brevik Dean Birch

2011-07-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

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Coming Soon...hopefully...

2011-07-13T18:42:00.004-07:00

I sure love this little man already! But I think I would love him EVEN MORE if he would make his GRAND entrance!

..A lot has changed..

2011-07-12T13:33:00.006-07:00

I am not the best blogger in the world, in fact, I am surprised that I even remembered my password to get into blogger! Considering everything that has happened this past year, i figured this would be prime time to start blogging again...so we will see how long this "urge" will last and run with it while it does!
I will try and turn a looooong potentially drawn out story to a sweet and shorten version...
After around 6 months of marriage Nate and I decided to start a family...after many surgeries, reflexologist, accupunturists, needles, ultrasounds, dr visits, several different doctors/specialist, prayers and finally IVF, we were blessed with the news last october that we would be welcoming a little bundle of joy into our world July '11. Without all the crazy pregnancy details that would probably just bore whoever still reads this blog...it has been an AMAZING pregnancy! Not one ounce of sickness, crazy cravings, heartburn, stretch marks, bloating, or other side effects that I read when aimlessly reading forum after forum. I feel truly blessed, he has been healthy, and not one scare or concern ever came across our Dr.'s desk. In fact I worked out as usual, running anywhere from 3-7 miles a day, without a bit of pain. Now with saying all of this, I will add that I am in my 39th week and I AM READY FOR IT TO BE OVER! Despite the fact that this pregnancy has been somewhat blissful, I am mentally and physically exhausted! I have pretty much done everything that I could to try and get this cute little Birch boy out and nothing...even an accupressurist tried today, still hoping that it works within the next couple of days, but I am not holding my breath. SO... I am going to relax, all the cleaning and bleaching of the house has been done for the past week, laundry, dishes, dusting are completely finished. Bags are packed and in the car, snacks for the hubs, movies downloaded on the iPad, as well as our new current favorite game, Tetris. Dinner and breakfast meals are frozen, and grocery shopping is done. Even though I am satisfied with everything being checked off my To Do List, I HATE the fact that I am bored out of my mind!! I even found myself staring at the ceiling fan yesterday...I think I am going crazy! In the meantime, I guess I will be blogging and giving updates, if not for anyone else, myself. I journal every night, but figured that this would be a good 2nd journal that I could print out that included pictures for documenting purposes. So on with the pictures...

39th week pregnant, this picture was taken before my run this morning!

The morning that we found out we were pregnant!

Waiting to put the little fertilized eggs in!

ARMS, about to go in to see Dr. Johnson, right outside of ARMS, this is where all the fun/miracles go down!

The start of the whole process! 5 shots a day for 3 weeks. I had to get over my fear of needles!

Nate's Triathlon in Tempe!

2010-11-05T18:45:00.004-07:00

Nate and Jared decided that they were going to do The Tempe sprint Triathlon at the beginning of the year! Everyday was mapped out with a workout whether swimming, running or biking, these boys never missed a day! I have never been on the other side of the finish line, it was a blast to cheer Nate on and watch him accomplish what he set out to do! Way to go honey! Cant wait until next year!

Pictures from our Maui trip that we took back in April :)

2010-11-05T18:44:00.001-07:00

A moment worth documenting...

2010-08-26T20:55:00.004-07:00

SOoooo instead of waiting to get a hold of Nates computer, which is nearly impossible these days with school, I am going to update without pics just so I can keep my goal of trying harder to be a better blogger!
Nate and I are staying busy, Nate working fulltime and going to school fulltime at ASU to finish his degree and Me working and trying to keep our home life in order and laundry from overtaking my sanity. It seems like day in and day out is pretty routine...except for this past month. Over the last couple of weeks my life has changed and I will forever be grateful to the "family down the street".
We first met the Cochran family 2 years ago, they are our neighbors, I ended up doing her hair on a regular basis and quickly became friends. Joe, her husband, has been a member of the church since he was younger but inactive since he was a teenager, Jenn, never a member nor interested at all...at ALL. Through alot of prayers, fasting, all nighters, and tears...Jenn and their 12 yr old son were baptized by her husband and words cannot describe the spirit that was in the room. I have such a love for this church and am so grateful for the oppurtunity to be a part of this missionary work. Jenn is what I call my Spirit sister, someone who has changed my life for the better, someone that I will always love dearly. The "family down the street", is now family...

Where does the time go!

2010-07-28T07:29:00.003-07:00

We all know that I am not great with this blog thing...but really....time has just flown by!! I dont have all my pics on my laptop so I will be updating later with pictures! Events: Nate triathlon, Nates 28th Birthday, 4th of July and everything that has happened inbetween! I dont even know if people read this anymore so I guess I am mainly doing it for myself, its fun to look back and see how much has changed and evolved! So, I'll be back later to post a "true update"!

4 years, Time Flies when you are having fun!

2010-04-18T17:08:00.004-07:00

Nate and I recently celebrated our 4 year anniversary! Although it is not perfect, we seem to have a fun and easy going marriage! Lots of LOVE and Lots of LAUGHTER! I feel so blessed so have him as my best friend, I love it, I simply love it....everything about it!

Valentines Day!

2010-04-18T12:52:00.002-07:00

Since the girls planned the last Valentines Day the boys were incharge of making plans this year! They ended up decorating the Burtons Home and turned it into their very own restaurant! We were each greeted with a dozen red roses! They cooked up some delicious chicken, salad, bread, and dessert! Not to mention my favorite sparkling cider! After dinner we sat around a bonfire and told "ghost stories" (mostly Brian did!) And then had a huge slumber party in the living room! We mostly laughed throughout the ENTIRE night! All of us girls went to high school together and just got really really lucky that allllll of the husbands get along and have become best friends!

Girls Night Out with the BHUZZIES!

2010-04-18T12:42:00.002-07:00

Here are a few pics from a Girls Night Out that we had a little while ago!
Costa Vida+BHUZZIES+Jewelery=ALOT of fun!

Londons Run 2010

2010-04-18T12:24:00.003-07:00

Nate and I both Ran Londons Run this past January! Nate ran his annual 10k and I ran the Half marathon! It was alot of fun, especially seeing all the families from all over the valley get together for this great cause! Nate finished faster than he did the previous 2 years! woohoo, he has become a great runner! I finished faster than any other half I have ever done (47 min), 3rd place for my age group! saweet! It was the most painful run I have ever ran, I ran it 2 weeks after the Marathon and still had knots at the tops if my feet! I love this run and hope to do participate every year!

These are the girls that I run with in the morings! I love them!!

My 24th Birthday

2010-04-18T11:50:00.002-07:00

I am making a semi weak attempt to update our blog (mostly pics that I can just copy and paste), Nate is watching the NBA Playoff games and so He will be "gone" for the next few hours!
My birthday (jan. 29th) was a fun one. Nate had to work so my girlfriends took me out to brunch, including one of my closest friends that flew down from Utah that day! I truly am so grateful for the amazing friends that I have. We went shopping, and then headed home. Nate told me to get ready and quickly learned that alll of our close friends were at Olive Garden waiting for us! Since he knew that I was running in the Londons Run the next day he made sure that we went somewhere that had ALOT of pasta! WIthout going into too much detail, there was alot of laughing, dancing, singing and videorecording done in Olive Garden and also the parking lot! lol. Here are a few pics from that day!

THE PF CHANGS MARATHON!

2010-02-18T21:18:00.004-07:00

Are you kidding me! I ran a stinking marathon! It was nuts! Definitely something that I will never forget! it hurt but sooooooo worth it! The night before the race we went to the Runner Expo and I LOVED IT! Everything that had to do with running was there, my kind of heaven.
The morning of the race, nerves started getting to me , luckily my family was there at the start line to calm me down!
Standing in the middle of 6,000 people at the start, the gun fired and we were off! For the first 10 miles, I was averaging a 7:50 min/mile pace talking to the runners that were around me...seriously so much fun! I slowed down to 8:06 min mile and held that until mile 20 and WHAAAAM! I hit a BIG wall at mile 20! I saw Nate at the mile marker and just started to cry, I had been running for 3 hours and knew that I still had another hour to go! My feet were hurting because I had developed knots on the tops of my feet, and my hamstrings were cramping like crazy, but knowing that if I stopped my body would instantly cramp and I wouldnt be able to finish. I slowed waaaay down to 9 min mile. When I saw the finish line and all my wonderful friends and family cheering me on it was the most incredible feeling! I finished in 3 hrs and 52 min.
One thing that I didnt know about my body was that once it has been running for a long period of time, and then it comes racing to a dead stop, i get nausous and queezy and everything that I ate that day and the day before came spewing out! The entire rest of the day I felt MISERABLE! But I do have to say that it was well worth it. I cant wait until that next marathon!
Since my brother is still out on his mission, I made a video for him with all the pics that I took from the marathon and Nate surprised me and put it on youtube! SO enjoy. If you go to www.youtube.com and type in Tashina Birch it will pull up. Sorry these pics are out of order!

Run From The Sun Half Marathon!

2010-02-18T20:53:00.004-07:00

This race was a very special race, one that I will cherish for a long time. The entire Birch ran this run in memory of Nates father who passed away from skin cancer. It was great seeing all the family get together for a great cause.
I felt good during the run, I hit a wall around mile 10, it was hard but felt great when I was finished! It rained from mile 5 -13! I finished with my personal best 1hour and 45 min! I cant wait until next year!

Christmas 2009

2010-02-18T20:29:00.002-07:00

Alright here I go...
Well Christmas is a GREAT time of the year and this last christmas was no exception! We had the Famous Christmas Eve Santa gathering with the Birch family. Santa brought us our christmas PJ's...awesome!
Nate and I have the missionaries over atleast once a week, so we asked them to join us and luckily walmart was open to get them some of their very own ASU pajamas!
Christmas morning we got the oppurtunity to speak to my brother who has been out on his mission for the past year and it was so refreshing to actually talk to him! - one more year to go!
Few Pics of that night!

I'M ALIVE!

2010-02-02T14:55:00.001-07:00

So sorry that I havent updated in awhile....okay, a LOOOONG while! :) I will soon, with pics and all! Just wanted to let you guys (anyone that still might read my sorry excuse for blog!) know that I made it through the holidays, through the Multiple races, and EVERYTHING in general! ;)
Update is coming soon I promise!

Upcoming events...

2009-11-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

This time of year is always very busy...VERY BUSY! But a few things that our little Birch Family is looking forward to is...

* Run From the Sun, November 14,2009
This is a run that the entire extended Birch Family is participating in. The run is to promote the awareness of skin cancer. Unfortunately, Nate's father passed away 7years, due to Milignant Melanoma Skin Cancer. My mother in law made t-shirts for the entire family, in honor of L. Dean Birch. Its this saturday, in mesa. Most of the family is running the 1.5 mile, Nate is running the 5k (3miles) and I will be running the 1/2 marathon...everyone should come out and support this great cause!

* Thanksgiving...
Nate and I will be running the Turkey Trot 10k (6 miles) Cant wait to see all of our friends there! And of course, anticipating the yummy food. ;)
AND Nate and I get to have 6 days off together!

* Christmas...
We get to talk to my brother who is on his mission!! yippee!
All the fun Family Christmas festivities: caroling, gingerbread houses, decorating my house with lovely christmas decor etc...
and presents! :)

*PF Changs Marathon, January 17,2010
Wow...its coming up so fast!!!

*February 26th-27th, Del Sol Ragnar
We are hoping to come in 1st place this year! 2nd place is for losers!!

*April 23rd-24th Southern California Ragnar!

Ragnar Reunion 2!

2009-11-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

The group of girls that I ran the California Ragnar with, decided to have another reunion...dinner at Oreganos! Delicious! Seriously, words cannot express how much fun we all have when we get together! I cant wait until next years! Here we are sporting our medals that we got! I love you girls!

BEWARE!! Stick people on the loose!

2009-11-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

Nate and I decided that we were going to dress up this Halloween! The costumes: Stick figures! lol I got this idea from a girl at the salon, this was her costume last year!(Thanks Alli!) Two words: SOOOOOO FUN! We had a block party, and boy did our neighbors really go all out! They are the best ever...they decorated their homes AMAZING! They also set up canopies and set out enough food and candy for the entire neighborhood! Nate and I spent the night chasing around little kids in our costumes...nothing scarier than having a stick person chasing you down the street! We even made a dance video! lol...We loved every minute of it!

Pumpkin Carving at the Gissel's.

2009-11-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

This year we went to Tessa and Jamie Gissel's house for some pumpkin carving...we had a blast! Nate and I didnt do too bad, Although nate did win this years worst pumpkin, ( he carved a giant star, we ran short on time ,hehehe.) We had fun and cant wait to do it again next year!

A reminder...

2009-10-05T16:29:00.000-07:00

It's always good to have these little reminders to brighten our day and remind us we are so loved. What an amazing quote:

"The answers to our prayers come in the Lord’s due time. Sometimes we may become frustrated that the Lord has delayed answering our prayers. In such times we need to understand that He knows what we do not know. He sees what we do not see. Trust in Him. He knows what is best for His child, and being a perfect God, He will answer our prayers perfectly and in the perfect time."

--President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

It's been a looooooong time.......Sorry!

2009-10-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

So we had a pretty mellow summer but we did manage to make it to good ol' Idaho Falls, ID! Steve and Danni were kind enough to let us stay at their home for the week. We had dinner with Trevor and Calyn and watched the fireworks with Ryan and Heather for a 2nd straight year! So fun! I was able to run in the Firecracker 5k and placed 15th of 300! This was a blast. I love to run. Like any vacation, it had to end too soon but we accomplished our #1 goal and that was to relax! Thanks Idaho, we'll see you next year! As soon as we got home, it was back to work. Oh yeah, did I mention that my brother Hunter returned from serving an honorable 2 year mission in Birmingham, AL! Welcome back Hunter! It is so nice to have him home.

RaGnAr REuNiOn!

2009-05-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

Talk about a PaRtY!! Last friday night, all the mommas that ran in ragnar (go motor mouth mamas!) got together! Of course, nothing but a good time! We re-created Costa Vida and it was amazing...and the dessert...heavenly! (thanks Hil!) Aubry made a movie from allllll the pics that we took and put them to some of our fav. running music! This girl is so talented! Thanks Aubry! The whole trip was an experience of a lifetime! Hopefully we do another run soon...I cant wait! Lova ya girls!

This one is loooong overdue!

2009-05-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

I just got these pics, so now I am able to post about it! This was from winter formal, my neice Lexee asked My other neice, Rachelle and I to help her with hair and makeup for her first DATE!!! yay..it was so fun, she is so BEAUTIFUL and growing up SO fast! It is always a blast when we have a chance to get together and have our girl moments! I am pretty sure she had to have been the most Gorgeous one there that night! Love ya Lex!

Wedding Fun/WORK!

2009-05-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a busy one for me..I was asked to do makeup for a wedding from one of my regulars that visits me in Scottsdale! 6 girls in 3 hours!! these girls were a blast...and the bride....Beautiful! Congrats Jill!

2009-05-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

2009-05-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

EAT...SLEEP...REPEAT!!

2009-05-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have had a hard time trying to figure out how in the WORLD I am going to try and even describe this trip! Nothing I say will even come cLoSe to giving it justice!

12 GIRLS, 2 VANS, NO SLEEP, 188 MILES, FROM SANTA BARBARA TO DANA POINT. 48 hours of nothing but RUNNING (and a whole bag of laughs along the way)!!!!!

**TOP 20 HIGHLIGHTS**
1. Meeting a whole bunch of girls that I believe were absolutely my sisters before this life!
2. Getting lost and driving in circles while trying to get to cali. with Kim driving...lol!
3. Learniing about breastmilk at 1am from Hillary, while lost somewhere in cali!
4. Meeting Evonne for the first time as she is running in, yelling to everyone how sweaty her girl parts were!
5. Rachel peeing in some random guys from yard, just in time for him to walk out and see her!
6. Meeting "kelly kapowski" !
7. watching Aryn sleep with her eyes half open! I had no idea that was even possible!
8. Not knowing what to answer to because everyone had modified my name to something waaaay different!
9. Having Stephanie and Kim run with us...you girls rock!
10. watching Evonne lay on the sidewalk in the middle of the day, in the middle of traffic, to take a picture of herself next to the ragnar sign!
11. getting lost because the bums were stealing our signs!
12. Laughing so hard with Brooke in the wee hours of the morning (3am), with nothing but an energy pill in our system...good times!
13. Truly believing that Rachel is a robot, she ran a marathon one week after ragnar! Shes my hero!
14. waking up next to Kim, with her hand on my face, and snuggling me! Sisterly love!
15. Running in the middle of the night...not as scary as I thought, maybe its because Im MEXICAN!
16. Trying to suck all the info out of Aubrys brain, she is a genius!
17. The Guacamole afterwards....divine ;)
18. Running BEHIND thong boy, up a hill, blazing hot heat! GROSS!
19. Watching Aubry drink her...well, I wont say, lets just call it....her super nutritous alllllll NATURAL protein drink!
20. Running with the BEST GROUP of Girls Ever!!!!

**LOVE YOU GUYS**

Brocks Blessing

2009-04-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

The Svancara Family
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All the Priesthood holders that helped give Brock his blessing!

This past Sunday we were able to attend a blessing for our friends baby! Mark gave such a beautiful blessing, picture perfect, word for word! Brock looked so handsome in his little white suite, and was a great baby the whole time! Congrats to Mark and Adria on the blessing of their little angel! Thank you for letting us share this special day with you and your family!

WooHoo!

2009-04-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

I finally graduated Cosmotology school! April 6th, almost 1 yr exactly! No more 14 hour days!!! Thanks to all the family and friends that supported me along the way!

From Wickenburg to Mesa!! 202 miles!

2009-04-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I havent had any time to update, due to my oh so hectic life! I have to go all the way back to feb...At the end of Feb. a group of friends and I attempted to run a relay called the ragnar relay race(Las Chicas Locas!)...from wickenburg to mesa in a matter of 2 days, this is definitely an experience that I will NeVeR forget! The way that it is ran is by getting together a team of 12 girls, splitting us up in 2 different vans (6 in each) the first van started the race early that friday morning, each person in that van ran their leg and once there last runner was done the second van (my van! woohoo!) came and picked up where they left off...which gave the other van time to go eat,shower and sleep about 2hours! we did this back and forth 3 times until we completed the 202 miles and ended up in Mesa! It was the cRaZiEsT thing ever! I had a leg at 4pm friday (7.5) and then 2:30am sat morning (7 miles) and then my last one was sat at noon (3.5 miles!) i didnt sleep the entire time, while we were running the surroundings were beautiful, running at dusk and then again at dawn was undescribable! I would do it again in a heartbeat! I had a blast with the girls that I ran with! I love all of them, they have been such an inspiration to me!! by the way we got 2nd in our division!! way to go girls!!! cant wait to do it again next year!

Happy Annniversary!!

2009-03-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

3 years down and Eternity to go...!!!

2009-03-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

February 3, 2006 Nate and I were married and sealed in the Arizona Temple! WOW I cant believe that it has already been three yrs!! I can still remember every detail of that day...from getting ready in the bridal room to knealing across the alter with my sweetie to our cake falling over during the reception!!! Everything was so perfect(lol) in its own little way!!

For our anniversary, I woke up to beautiful roses and my sweet husband. We unfortunately both had to go to work and school so the celebration came later that night with our favorite sushi restaurant, and a movie!! Our 2 fav. things to do. It was so fun to hang out with my best friend. Later that night, we were laying down in bed, and talked about the last 3 yrs and reminisced for a coupe of hours, its so amazing to think that I have lived part of my life without him, I feel like we have been together since day 1, I guess its the sacred bond that a marriage is blessed with. Needless to say, we had an awesome anniversary!

Thank you Nate for being such an amazing husband!

I got tagged!!!

2009-02-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

For all you married people out there! Tag your married friends that you want to know about!
1. When is your "engagement" anniversary: August 31, 2005
2. When is your "marriage" anniversary: February 3, 2006
3. How long have you known your spouse: 3 years and 7 months
4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged: 5 weeks!
Altogether? we knew each other 5 weeks, and then 6 months later we were married:)
5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time: YSA party, I fell in love!
6. What is your spouse's full name: Nathan Paul Birch
7. Do you have any children yet: Not yet! Except for Charlie our puppy! :)
8. How many:0
9. Do you have any house pets: Yes...Charlie!
10. Do you own a house or rent: Own
11. Do you live in the country or town/city: City
12. What is one of your favorite activities together: Watch movies, hot tubbing, shopping and working out!
13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot: Dominican Republic
14. How many siblings (including in-laws): 10 on his side (including the spouses) 5 girls and 5 boys, and then 3 on my side 1 girl and 2 boys!
15. What church do you attend: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
16. Is this the church you were married in: Well, technically we were married in the temple...
17. What town is your current address: Queen Creek
18. Do you work or stay at home: Work
19. Where did you honeymoon: Snowboarding at Grand Targhee
20: Leave a piece of marriage advice: Pick and choose your battles, get on your knees every night together.
NOW I tag:
Adria
Connie
Cindy
Dara
Amanda
and anyone else that wants to do it!!

Birthday, Londons Run, and Valentines day!

2009-02-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

I turned 23 January 29th! Woohoo! Since we were driving down from Utah the entire day before, by the time we got home it was 2 am, we were both drained so we slept for a couple of hours and then started celebrating! The first that I wanted to do was to take a nice long run...(im pathetic, i know) after my mother in law treated me to a good homemade breakfast, Nate left early while I was running and got my car detailed, and surprised me with a special shopping trip and a romantic dinner to our favorite sushi restaurant, and a movie!! Nate surprised me with the best bday present ever...a garmin forerunner 405 watch! yeah I love it!! Now I cant imagine not having it when I go running! Thanks, sweetie for a great day!

Londons run was a blast! I ran my first half marathon and loved every minute of it! I love this run, it has hit close to home several times, last year with Tucker and this year with Lorin! Running for a good cause is the best kind of running! Along the course, they always post pictures of the children and the families that they are sponsoring and between that and thinking of dallas being gone made me cry, and running and crying dont go hand in hand!I finished it at 2 hours and 2 min. my goal was to hold a 9:30 mile and I managed to stay around 9:21!! Thanks for all the support from my family and hubby! Nate also ran in the Londons Run, he hadnt planned on it but last minute I convinced him that it would be "fun" and he ended up doing the 10k...he finished it at exactly 1 hour! way to go babe!! you did great! I am still trying to convince him to do the St. Geaorge marathon with me in October!!

Valentines Day was very eventful! I woke up to roses from Nate, and really was wanting to spend the day with him but I ended up having to work in Scottsdale for our big Hello Kitty lanch, and for all star weekend. I have never seen the mall so busy in my life! Celebrities everywhere! I had appointments alllllll day long so the day just flew by! One thing that I will never forget is, towards the end of the day
I was wrapping up with a customer and as I turned around to walk back I look up and there is MAGIC JOHNSON standing 2 feet away from me!! crazy...i think so!! He was being escorted to his car, apparently he had done an interview there...CRAZY! I called Nate up so fast, he couldnt believe it! Some other basketball fans that were there were, allen iverson, lebron james, barbosa, dwayne wade and some other ones that I didnt recognize but that nate was super excited about! Definitely something you never forget! MAGIC JOHNSON was all smiles (you can only imagine!!)
The MAC launch for Hello Kitty was a HUGE success and was also ALOT of fun! Later that night Nate and I and the Lawlors ( friends from the ward) went to sushi for a valentines dinner and then from there to a chic flick! I hope everyone had a special day that they got to spend with someone that they love!

Saying goodbye..

2009-02-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

So my little brother, Dallas left on a mission, he reported to the MTC January 28th! Its bittersweet!! But I couldnt be anymore proud! We were able to go to Utah and take him to the MTC...i thought it was going to be easier with the second brother..but it wasnt. It was like a ball-fest...crying for 3 straight days. Utah is beautiful, the spirit was so strong, there is nothing better than being together with the whole family and sharing these type of experiences together! He has been out for 3 wks and tomorrow he leaves and reports to Tallahassee Florida...let the games begin! He calls tomorrow morning at 5am when he gets to the airport and our family is soooo excited, we are not going to be able to sleep im sure. It has been such a blessing to have 2 brothers out serving the Lord...I look up to them alot. I cant believe that Hunter gets home in 6 months...time flies! I'll keep an update to let you know how he's doing! I have a huge soft spot in my heart for missionaries, support them and keep them in your prayers!

Last Offical Hooraaa!

2009-02-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

The day before Dallas got set apart as an Elder, My dad, Dallas, Nate and I went shooting out in the desert for Dallas's LAST time for the next two years! I forgot my ear plugs and so I ripped my wrapper from my fruit snacks and shoved them in my ears! It worked....dont laugh.

Special Events...

2009-02-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Tradition, some are good, some are bad and some are just plain FUN! It has become a tradition in my family that right before a boy leaves for his mission, all the friends and family members (females not required!) get together and eat a little pepper we like to call a habanero! Kinda like a jalapeno on steriods! Hilarious! Its their way of proving to each other that they are MEN and not BOYS! lol...funny stuff! 3 out of the 7 guys had projectile vomit and the rest just jumped up and down, cried and I think one even yelled for his mom! What a night!

The following day my youngest brother, Dallas, had his farewell...sniff sniff. He has been called to serve in the Tallahassee Florida mission. My other brother Hunter, is serving in the Birmingham Alabama mission and has been out for 18 months! Their missions border each other and so hopefully they will be able to have some type of reunion before Hunter comes home! The day of Dallas's farewell was the same day that the Cardinals won the NFC championship game! (woohoo) Talk about a room full of guys! Everybody was glued to the TV, definitely a memorable get together!

7 INCHES!

2009-02-01T10:01:00.001-07:00

I finally did it!! I cut 7 INCHES off my hair!! I am taking these Toni and Guy cutting classes and was thinking that it would fun to experiment...wrong. I will NEVER get my hair cut by Toni and Guy ever ever again...he texturized the crap out of it! I went and got it re-cut by my cousin, one side was longer than the other by an inch (not suppose to be a-symetrical!) I like it waaaaaay better now, but I miss my long hair! Its something new and fun!

Some Sweet Christmas Gifts!

2009-02-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

For christmas this year, Nate and I decided together that we didnt want to spend tons of money on gifts for each other, well that all went out the window when I stepped into my car the day before Christmas and saw a brand new IPHONE sitting in my car!! Yep, only the best phone that one can own!! Nate has had one for a couple of months while I was using and hating the new G1 google phone...it was seriously the best gift that I couldve recieved! Good thing I was already prepared for him to do something like this, and had bought him a PS3 a couple of days before! Needless to say, he was pleasantly surprised, as you can only imagine! :)

baby shower & arrival of baby Brock!

2009-01-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

Our good friends Mark and Adria were just blessed with another angel! Baby Brock Alan Svancara, was born Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 2:30am!! He weighed 7 pounds 5 oz and was 20 inches long! When it comes to the "perfect parents" they take the cake...without a doubt! A couple weeks before that, Adria had her baby shower, it was so fun to get together with all the girls (minus a few!)! Congrats guys, we love you and are so excited for your new family of four!!

Fun, Family, and Catching up on the holidays...

2009-01-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

Okay so I have decided to update my blog! These past couple of months have just flown by...Seriously! Lets start with Christmas, We have a blast with all of the fam of course...we love it when family is in town. I think we pretty much did everything that a family could possibly do to fully enjoy the Holiday Season...caorling at a retirement home, Nativity, Secret Santa gift exchange, FHE with Santa and Mrs Claus, watched the Lakers beat the celtics Christmas day (yay), temple lights (beautiful, as always)Ugly sweater party, and of course Shopping! not to mention that we were able to talk to my brother from the mission (my personal fav.)! Here are a few pics...

Makenna's Blessing Day!

2008-12-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

SO our favorite little girl got blessed last sunday! She is such a sweet little girl, we are so blessed to have her in our lives! Uncle Nate cant seem to be in the same room and not hold her! Congrats to Connie and Keith also, they are such great parents!

These are all the priesthood holders that got to participate! hooray for the preisthood!

Six Flags..

2008-11-27T23:10:00.001-07:00

My brother! What a stud!

Sooo....its has become tradition in our family to celebrate a mission call with a trip to six flags! So 2 weeks ago (sorry I am a little late!) our family drove all the way to cali to make it a weekend of fun! Well when we got there, apparently that part of california is burning! (who has time to watch the news!) We were so worried that they were going to close down six flags since you could see really heavy smoke coming from the other side of the mountain. We counted ourselves lucky when we got there and the park was in full swing! We were going about our business, excitingly mapping out our upcoming afternoon, choosing which rides we should go on first and which one we were going to save for last, when we all of a sudden caught news the park was closing down in an hour and they were kicking everybody out! BUMMER DEAL! That news ruined our entire weekend...12 hours in the car (there and back)for nothing! The excuse one man gave us was the fires and then another told us that there wasnt enough people in the park to keep it open! Oh man...that made us a little upset, so we finally got our money back and left! I guess we can just count it as one of our useless road trips! All in all we had fun and the memories we made were unforgetable!!

Jessica's Wedding

2008-11-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

So yesterday Jessica got sealed to her sweetheart for time and all eternity! She was such a beautiful bride! It was such a experience to witness them taking that big step in life! Afterwards, we all got ready for the ring ceremony and reception afterwards! It such a beautiful day (minus the rain part!) and the venue was gorgeous! Not to mention that we had a very special guest...Tiffany! She came and saw all of us before the ceremony started! We love her and miss her! Wish she was closer! The night was full of fun activities and of course dancing! We are so proud of Jessica and Kevin and wish them a funfilled successful future together!

A Night Out With The Girls!

2008-11-27T22:35:00.000-07:00

The other night all of us girls took one of our fellow bhuzzie sista's out for her last night on the town before she got hitched!! We ended going to BJ's for dinner...(bad idea) we waited for like 2 hours before we even got seated, we didnt even start eating until like 9PM! oh well, we always find a way to keep ourselves entertained! Needless to say we all had a good time and were able to celebrate the upcoming wedding!!!

and the training begins...

2008-11-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

I had an epiphany! Not really but I was approached by someone who is a close friend of mine and she asked me how I stay motivated to work out...its accountablity!! Well, I have been slacking off alot lately and decided that what would be a better way to get back on track then to start a support team! From now until Londons Run (doing the half marathon this yr! ) everyday that I workout I am going to post it along the side and that way if I dont workout everybody knows and hopefully that will keep me going strong! So if you would like to do the same that would just add to the fire! Starting today!

In loving Memory...

2008-11-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

For those of you who havent already heard, a good friend of ours passed away last week. He was diagnosed with cancer in Sept. and passed away shortly after. The same day that his funeral was held, my youngest brother Dallas got the chance to go through the temple for the first time! He is preparing to leavein Jan and serve in the Tallahassee Florida mission. Its incredible to think that Lorin and Dallas will be serving a mission at the same time but just in different places. That is something that Lorin always wanted to do and I have no doubt that he will do an amazing job. Londons Run is coming up in Feb. and some of the proceeds are going to the Merkley family. I think it would be great to see all those that could, come out and show their support. Make sure to keep the Merkley family in your prayers! If any of you guys would like to take a look at his blog its www.lorinmerkley.blogspot.com

New Favorite Hair Product...

2008-11-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to Aulenz hair product a couple of weeks back by Rick Erickson. I sat in on one of his classes and absolutely love this product! Its a thermal protector, leave in conditioner, pomade/gloss, and very hydrating for the hair! I would definitely recommend this product to anyone!

I love my job!

2008-11-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

So while I am in school I am currently working in Scottsdale as a makeup artist for MAC and I Love it! It is a blast! Its like a party every weekend! I will post pics of our last couple of events soon...in the meantime we have some killer deals on the new holiday collection sets! For anyone that has already purchased these sets knows why I am so amped up about them...!!!!

I Love Edward!

2008-11-24T13:31:00.001-07:00

Ummmm yeah....AMAZING thats really all I have to say! And I have an awesome hubby for taking me to the midnight showing and for waiting in the lines for HOURS while listening to me lust after Edward! what more could a girl ask for! :)

Update!

2008-11-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

K so again sorry for being a slacker! Lets see theres really nothing new going on...Omg I almost forgot that our favorite little person entered into the world on Oct 5th Makena Ryen Burton! We cant seem to get enough of this little girl! And I swear she has said i love you back...nate says it is just my imagination but I beg to differ! I do have to admit that uncle nate is her favorite, and vice versa! Its so fun to see nate with the little ones! He is going to be such a good dad one day! I am so grateful for that!

90 Day Challenge!

2008-09-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

I just recently borrowed these videos from a friend! She absolutely loves them and swears that nothing will get you in better shape. THe other day I finally popped one in, didnt think anything of it, after all, Taebo isnt insanely hard and I thought this was going to be a replica of that!! OH NO, it is the most extreme workout that I have ever done in my life! For any of you who have witnessed this madness can relate! I ended up getting through the ab ripper x (the name is very fitting!) and Plyometrics (leg and booty workout!) and lets just say I couldnt hardly walk for a couple of days! Well Nate and I have decided that we are going to do the 90 day challenge! One video a day plus cardio every other day afterwards! I am actually looking forward to this challenge, its good to break up the cardio! I'll update and let you know how it is going over the next 90 days! Anyone that is interested, feel free to join in!! It'll be fun!

Update on our lives!

2008-09-12T01:13:00.001-07:00

Nate and I are doing great! We have definitely been keeping busy this year! Nate is doing wonderful at his new job so far, he has signed on Large Corporations and has really made his mark in his new position! Way to go sweetie, I am so proud of you and all of your hard work! :) He has also been keeping busy with the different softball teams that he is on and is loving every minute of it! As for me, my days are long and the weeks are even longer! Just the way I like it! I have been going to school 45 hours a week at Earls Academy and am expected to graduate in 6 months! woohoo I really cant wait until I can have my life back! When I am not at school I have been working over at Tantrum Hair Salon 3 days a week. and also working for MAC cosmetics in Scottsdale 3 days a week, we just had our newest launch "Cult of Cherry" (I adore this new line! check it out!)I have just had a blast over the past few months, doing what I love everyday.. hair and makeup! I love fashion and everything that goes with it! Thanks to everyone that has been a support to our little family while we are patiently getting me through school! Our family and friends are truly irreplacable!

A new addition!

2008-09-12T01:04:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my sister and brother in law, Sarah and Shawn Birch who just welcomed their third baby to their family, Landon Daniel Birch! We are so excited for you guys! You have such amazing kids, we cant wait to meet the new little Birch!

Baby Makenna!

2008-09-12T00:42:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, we threw a baby shower over my house for Connie and her soon to be newborn baby Makenna! It was so fun getting all the girls together! Kellee and Kara were able to make the trip down! Bhuzzies mini reunion! I love these girls they are so special to me, and I am so happy to have them as best friends! Connie has been such a great friend, no matter what life throws at me, I know that she will always be on the sidelines ready and willing to help with anything and everything! Thank you for everything that you have done for Nate and I! You are going to make a wonderful mommy, Makenna is blessed to have such a special women in her life to love and raise her! And not to mention a great dad! (Keithy keith!)woohoo, cant wait until she comes!

I made my very first diaper cake!!

Las Vegas baby!

2008-09-12T00:13:00.001-07:00

Over the Labor day weekend, we went to Vegas for a couple of days with our friends, Connie and Keith and we had so much fun! We did ALOT of walking, (i have to give kuddos to connie she is 8 months preggers and never once complained while walking the entire trip! holla at your girl :) lol! ) We enjoyed ourselves and loved that we got to break away from our everyday schedules!

For some reeason, my husband is obsessed with globes! :)

Camping with the Crew!

2008-09-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

Another small getaway that were able to have was a fun filled camping trip with the bhuzzie girls and the husbands! I have to admit that we are not avid campers but it was so fun to take a time out and relax with our friends!

I know I know I know...i'm a slacker!

2008-09-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

So as you all know I stink at this posting stuff! I make goals to try and post things and never seem to do it religiously! Patience is a virtue people! Just love me!! :) So let me kind of recap on our summer! We have been super super busy with school and work, that we havent really had time to take tooo much of a vacation! However we were able to get away for the 4th of July weekend and play up in Idaho Falls! It was a blast I love it there! That is where I eventually want to retire and hang out with my sweetheart everyday! Life seems like it is in slowmotion up there and things are a bit more relaxed! Small town life!

I have been up to Idaho a number of times since we have been married but this time I was super anxious! It was 4th of July and I have heard nothing but amazing things about the fireworks show that Melaluca puts on every year! Let me tell you that it was definitely legendary! Unbelievable! As many of you know, I grew up in good ole Mesa AZ! And the fireworks and activities for the 4th arent anything super extraordinary so being able to sit and watch a real live parade where the whole town gets together followed by a carnival and all that fun stuff was so entertaining to me! Needless to say! I loved it! Nate and I have decided that we wanted to make this a tradition in our family and to try and go up to Idaho every year for the firework show! We loved hanging out with the family! I guess I just got lucky and ended up with the best inlaws ever! We didnt geta whole bunch of pictures of the trip because silly me forgot the camera but luckily I was able to steal one from my sister inlaws blog! (thanks sarah!) Its not the most flattering pic, but you get the point!

Loving every minute of it!

A New Chapter!

2008-07-14T08:47:00.001-07:00

I am proud to announce that Nathan Birch is no longer working for the Berge dealership! It is a bitter sweet combo. Nate has worked for the dealership since the time he got home from his mission, he has accomplished so much there, breaking records, being labeled as the best manager that Berge has ever seen, and making life long friends! Switching careers wasnt an easy thing, but considering that he was working 70-80hrs a week (no exaggeration!!!) we knew that it was time for a change in order for us to take the next step in life! Fortunately, after many prayers, Nate got offered a great job oppurtunity! He is now employed with Thomson Reuters! He will be negotiating real estate property taxes for large corprate businesses (walmarts, targets, kohls, exxon, etc) that have many locations around the US. He just started July 7th and at that time they informed him that they are wanting him to open a brand new division in the west part of the US! Only 2 other people in the US are doing what they are setting Nate up to do. This past week was his 1st week and so far so good, he loves it! He has his office (a window office that overlooks Scottsdale!)all set up to feel at home! And the best part about all of this...Nate is only working 40hrs a week! A regular 8-5pm job!no weekends! I get my husband back :) Im so grateful for Nate and everything that he does for our family! I dont know if there is anyone that is more derserving of this than Nate, for the sacrifices that he has made for our family and for work over the past 4 yrs. Thank you sweetheart for all that you do!

Roller Derby!

2008-07-11T22:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is a little overdue but I just found this picture in my files! This is when I went to the rollerderby for the 1st time with Kara and Connie....man oh man it was crazy! never in my life have I ever seen anything like that! We had a blast, and I cant wait to go back!

The Birch Theatre....

2008-07-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

We have finally finished the bulk majority of the theatre room! Ever since we have moved into this house Nate has been trying to get everything in order, so that we can finish this room! Here are some pictures of the almost finished masterpiece, everything except black chair rail to seperate the colors on the wall, one more row of theatre seating, black crown molding, coffered (sp?) ceilings, 2 more posters, and few more odds and ends to finish the look! Way to go babe, thanks for all your hard work that you put into this...it looks great!

Saying Goodbye...

2008-07-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

So this is long overdue, but this is the day that we had our one last pedicure before Kara drove off and moved to Utah! There is nothing better than spending time with the fellow bhuzzies!! Love you Kara...!!

Graduation '08 GO BULLDOGS!

2008-07-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

This past May my youngest brother graduated! We so proud of him and the accomplishments that he has made! Dallas will be preparing and turning in his papers to serve a mission in a little under 3 months! Congrats Dallas, we love you and we are so proud of you!

The BIG 2-6!!

2008-07-07T23:34:00.001-07:00

So obviously I am way behind on posting...sorry again! Lets start with Nates Bday that we celebrated on June 2nd. Unfortunately, he had to work 75% of the day and didnt get home until later, bummer deal. The neighbor kids came over and decided to throw a bday party, and yes there was a sponge bob pinata! It was a cute idea and the kids had a blast with the water fight that we had! I had thought over and over again about to get Nate this year for his birthday...what do you get a person who pretty much has everything he wants! When we went to Walmart the week before, I finally got a break! He went into the Outdoor section just looking around like we always do, and when we passed by the BBQ grills, he fell in love and knew that he had to have one. Just so that he wouldnt buy it right then, I came up with some good reasons for us not to buy one yet! So, we left with no grill! When he got home from work on his bday...the grill was sitting on the back porch with a big ribbon and for the 1st time ever, he was speechless! I handed him a plate full of meat and let him do his thing! It was so great, he loves it, its now his new favorite thing to do!

This Post is for Brandon Hendricks...

2008-07-07T23:21:00.001-07:00

Okay so I know that it has been awhile since I last posted, but thats what happens when life gets busy!! These last couple of months have just flown by, I cant believe that summer is almost over! We spent this last week in Idaho Falls, ID and got the chance to hang out with one of Nates close friend...Brandon Hendricks! The first thing that he says to me is..."you need to update your blog!" So this post is a promise to everyone that enjoys reading the Birch Blog, that I will try to make it way more informative by updating atleast weekly! Thanks Brandon for bringing my laziness to my attention! Your are such a great friend! :)

Early Bird Special!

2008-05-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday all of us girls got up super eatlry and went to breakfast, and then to a movie!!(Made of Honor = great great movie!) We had a blast as usual! This is the only picture that I have of the entire day! I left my camera in my other purse and forgot to switch it over! Unfortunately those of you at the breakfast who were suppose to email me the pics (you know who you are :) never did! So, I guess one is better than none! Enjoy! I love my girlies aka bhuzzies!! ;)

Called to Serve!

2008-05-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

Well, another missionary out! Between Nate and I, we have 3 missionaries that we are related to, out in the mission field! Elder Hunter Louden (brother) Birmingham, Alabama mission; Elder Justin Traasdahl, Ukraine mission;and a nephew who just recently went out as well, Elder Jeremy Traasdahl serving in the Moscow, Russia mission! Crazy stuff!Not to mention my baby brother is putting his papers in, in about 4 months! And that doesnt even include close family friends that have just left as well! This picture is of Logan Gillespie (close family friend aka my 3rd brother) the night before he left to the MTC! What a stud! He has been called to serve in the Minnepolis, Minnesota Mission! I will post pictures of all these amazing missionaries soon!

SanTan Moutain...

2008-05-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

So over the last couple of weeks, Erin and I have been venturing the hiking trails up the SanTan Mountain, and its been not only a great workout, but such a beautiful way to workout. Here are a few pictures of her daughter (Gracen), Erin and I right before we went up one morning! Usually the husbands go with but since they bombed out we turned it into a girls day!

By the time we got back to the car Gracen was out like a light!

Busy Busy Busy!

2008-05-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

So over the last month, my life has been nothing but hectic! Going into my 3rd month of school, getting ready to test out onto the floor, work (real estate AND health insurance sales), husband, neighbors, and not to mention, trying to get SOME excerise in...I really havent had much time to update the ol' blog! But the two people that have helped us through these last couple of month and putting up with our overactive schedules, is none other than our WONDERFUL neighbors aka. best friends and the best darn neighbors a person could ask for...Brandon and Erin, they are such great people, I seriously question and think "how did we get so lucky!" Here are a few pics over the last couple of months that I havent had time to post!The first two pictures we took right after I cut and colored Erin's hair! She's a hot mama! :)

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-03-28T14:42:00.001-07:00

FuN iN tHe SuN!

2008-03-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Rocky Point, Mexico last night! We went with our friends Adria and Mark! It was an awesome trip! We arrived late monday night and got home late last night! Our friend that I do alot of real estate transactions with, cut us a sweet deal so that we can go and stay there for the week! The condo is absolutely amazing! The weather was great, definitely some good tanning! We are hoping that we can go back soon!

Family Pics!

2008-03-28T14:01:00.001-07:00

These are the only two pics that Ive gotten so far of Nate and I from family pics! And its because his brother took them with our camera! Once I get pics in, i will post asap!

Best Prank Ever

2008-03-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

We had a bunch of families stay with us for the week of our mini family reunion, so you can only imagine the fun we had! Throughout the whole week we never went to bed before 3am and lived it up while we were all together! One night 6 of us got together and pulled one the funniest pranks ever! Nate was tired and so he went to bed early (like 1am early!) We grabbed the saran wrap and saran wrapped nate to the bed! It was Hilarious! Then we took whipped cream and chocolate syrup and put it in his ears! haha! These pictures dont give it justice!! Nate had the funniest face on, and acted like a champ!

2008-03-28T13:36:00.001-07:00

This past week the Birch family had the oppurtunity to hang out ALL together! That hasnt happened in quite some time! It was so fun! We had families down from all over the us! UTAH, IDAHO, and ever MAUI! Thanks so much guys for the great week! We love hanging out with family and cant wait to have another reunion soon! I posted some pics of the fun things that we did! Unfortunately I didnt get pics of the AMAZING RACE that my very talented sister in law put together for us at Freestone park! It was an awesome experience! Thanks again guys!

March Madness!

2008-03-28T13:35:00.001-07:00

COED Slumber Party!!

2008-03-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, we had 4 couples come over for a huge co-ed slumber party! We had a blast! Everyone got there around 7:00pm and we never went to sleep until 4am! It was mostly because of rock band that was being played up in the theater room (i hope our neighbors dont hate us now! opps!)All of that combined with youtube videos that we couldnt get enough of! When we woke up the next morning we had waffles and then headed out to Adria's to go swimming and to catch up on our tans! Nothing is better than spending time with the ones closest to your heart! I love these girls and somehow we always find a way to have so much fun! Cant wait for next month!

Batter Up!

2008-03-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

So, I am going to be one of those proud wives...and show off my hubbys mad skills! This is a video of Nate playing softball and totally knocking it out of the park on his 1st swing of the night! It looks like swinging a broom stick at bottle caps in the D.R. on his mission paid off...He had missed playing ball so when he found out that his work had a league he jumped on the opportunity... it was like a little boy on christmas morning when he walked out onto that field! Nate was born to play ball! A wife couldnt be anymore proud!:)The picture below is Nate playing bitilla(broomstick and bottle cap baseball)on his mission. In the video you cant really see where the ball went because the field lights were blinding me, but it went waaay past the fence and he sent everyone on base home! His first night of ball he hit 2 homeruns!!! Way to go sweetheart! Cant wait 'til next wednesday!

Mama's boy

2008-03-03T21:41:00.001-07:00

This is the other love of my life, Charlie! He is a toy/teacup size maltese, he now weighs just barely 6lbs. I thought I would post a couple of pics of him because he is just so dang cute! He's got something going on with my purse, everytime I turn around he finds it, brings it to his little spot and sleeps on it! He use to do this with my shoes, but i think he got tired of that fast because they were super heavy! We have had him now for a year, and it has been quite an adventure! He is the most loyal little dog that I have ever seen, and I wouldnt trade him for the world!

This can't be healthy!

2008-03-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

Nate and I have a new obsession! 24...we cant stop! My parents got us the first 5seasons for christmas, we started watching them last week, and now we are staying up every night until 2 and 3am! We just completed season 2 last night...i cant believe how amazing this show is! Tonight we start season 3...I cant wait! Anybody that has watched this show knows exactly what I mean!

Snip, Snip!

2008-03-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

As of March 31st I will officially be in Cosmetology School! And I am so excited! I was going to attend school when I first got married and didnt because of the hours that I was committed to for work, so now that I work out of our home and my schedule is little more relaxed, I enrolled a couple weeks ago! I'll update you on how it goes when I start!

Picnic for Two!

2008-03-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

For Christmas last year my mother in law got us a really nice picnic set up, so we decided to take it out last sunday for a family picnic! It was fun to get out and change the scenery up a little bit...we also bought kites but since there was no wind, we couldnt fly them! Hopefully, for our next picnic we'll have a little breeze come our way!

Game of Darts Anyone??

2008-03-02T22:49:00.000-07:00

Jake Sestero, one of Nates old high school friends came to town, and so we took a bunch of people to Fox and Hound to have dinner and play a game of darts! I personally have never played darts before, so Jake took the time to show me different techniques and by the end of the night I was a pro!

vAlEnTiNeS dAy!

2008-03-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

For valentines day, Adria and I wanted to surprise the hubbys with something low key and fun! So we made plans to go to the local (ghetto) Dennys and decorate a booth with balloons, streamers, sparkling cider, confetti, etc! Believe it or not it turned out great! and the boys loved that it was inexpensive and casual! Afterwards, Adria and I ran over to the HOT TUB and surrounded it with candles and brought the boys out for a late night swim! I do have to say that it was one of the best v-days that Ive had! Next year its the boys' turn, cant wait to see what they come up with!

Rocky Point!!

2008-03-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

For our 2 year anniversary we took a couple of days and went to Rocky Point! After telling my sad story, of sharing my anniversary with the NFL, with a friend that I've done alot of Real Estate business with, he threw me the keys to his $600,000 beachfront condo and told me to surprise Nate and steal him away for a couple of days! So thats what I did...I called Nates boss and explained to him the situation so that he could let Nate get off of work a couple hours early, that way we wouldnt have to drive all night! And off we went! We were so excited about our getaway that we got lost and almost ended up in Tiawana! We left Mesa at 8pm and didnt get to the condo until 3:30am the next morning! We just laughed it off, it was an adventure that we will never forget! We loved it there and cant wait to go back soon! There is nothing that I love more than just hanging out with my best friend! Sorry there is no pics..i didnt want to bring my nice camera, because its mexico and so i bought a throwaway one and I misplaced the pics after I got them developed! oops! (by the way, Nate was at work so I never got to hold his hand through the commercial breaks! bummer deal!)

Eternal Marriage

2008-03-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

"An eternal marriage is eternal. Eternal implies continuing growth and improvement. It means that man and wife will honestly try to perfect themselves. It means that the marriage relationship is not to be frivolously discarded at the first sign of disagreement or when times get hard. It signifies that love will grow stronger with time and that it extends beyond the grave. It means that each partner will be blessed with the company of the other partner forever and that problems and differences might as well be resolved because they are not going to go away. Eternal signifies repentance, forgiveness, long-suffering, patience, hope, charity, love, and humility. All of these things are involved in anything that is eternal, and surely we must learn and practice them if we intend to claim an eternal marriage."

Happy Anniversary!

2008-03-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

Londons Run!

2008-03-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

February 2nd was the Londons Run! I ran the 10k (6miles) with my friend Jessica Bowman! My brothers friend, Tucker was diagnosed about 6months ago with Lymph node (sp?), so thats who I ran for. He has been such an inspiration in my life! Londons Run was put together to benefit the children in Queen Creek who have been diagnosed with cancer. I cant tell you how emotional this run was for me. Im so glad that I decided to run last minute and plan on doing it again next year! Hopefully, i'll improve my time. This year it was 1hour and 6min...not too bad for my first 10k!

One Year Older!

2008-03-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

So its been little while since I last updated! Im trying to get better, but its just so hard to find the time! Well January 29th was my 22nd birthday! And thanks to my wonderful husband and the best "bhuzzies" in the world, it was a great birthday!Nate took me out to dinner the night before because unfortunately he had to work ALL day long so we didnt get to spend too much time together, but he made up for it! When i was walking him out the door and off to work early that morning, he surprised me with a table full of gifts...roses, a massager, bubble bath, perfume, bathing suit, goggles ( i took up swimming!) and a water proof watch that I have been wanting for awhile! He definitely is the biggest blessing in my life and I couldnt ask for a sweeter hubby! Later on that night, all the girls took me to Texas Roadhouse for dinner! We had a blast! Yes, I had to ride the mechanical bull! Embarassing! But fun! These girls are such great friends! I love them so much and dont know what I would do without them in my life!

Giants vs Patriots

2008-01-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

Well here we go, Super Bowl 2008! Eli Manning vs Tom Brady in another intense football game, where the only thing that I really see is the back of my husabnds head! Im sure that all the wives out there can relate...but I guess we've got to give them the one true thing that really really makes them happy (besides us of course!) An unforgetable season ending game! The only thing that is bumming me out this year is the fact that while Nate is heavily involved with who is making the next big play or the craziest tackle I get to think back 2 yrs ago and relive our wedding day! Thats right...our 2yr anniversary is on super bowl sunday! what the heck were we thinking when we set the wedding date! I shouldve known better! :) Hopefully I can bribe him to hold my hand during the commercial breaks! lol. I'll let you know how successful I am after the game!

Spin Class!

2008-01-24T00:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are interested in working out super early in the morning..I take a spin/cycling class that starts at 5:45am mon, wed, and fri. at LA Fitness (power/rittenhouse location) !!! Feel free to join in on the "fun"! Its a great class, and a good way to start your morning!

Talk about CrAzY!

2008-01-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

It's official! Im losing my mind! My sista' in laws and I, along with some close friends, are participating in a triathlon! Not just any triathlon, but the Las Vegas SPRINT traithlon that will take place in Nevada April 12th! It consists of 1mile swim,10mile bike, and then a 4mile sprint! Training is brutal, but i know that in the end it will pay off! But wait, theres more! I have a friend that is unfortunately not going to be able to go with us on our long journey to Vegas, so she asked me if I would want to sign up for a triathlon here in AZ march 22nd which is the Lake Havasu Sprint Triathlon, and of course I said yes! So I am now currently training 3-31/2 hours in the gym every morning (both with and w/out a personal trainer) trying to imagine myself getting through these next couple of months! Wish me luck! I'll keep ya posted! If anyone thinks that they are crazy enough to join, please do! its going to be a great adventure, the more...the merrier!

2008-01-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our Christmas Pics that we never got to send out due to our Crazy lives! So, sorry for not sending you guys christmas cards...consider this "The Birch Family" christmas card for 2008!

2008-01-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

Okay...so we didnt exactly party hardy on new years! We were both helplessly tied down to the couch due to the FLU! We didnt even make it to 10:30pm before we passed out! I think I may have woken up for a few seconds around 12:15am and thought to my self "happy new years!" thats was probably the most exciting part of the whole night, besides the theraflu drinking! I wouldnt have rather spent it with anyone else! Sick or not, my husband's a blast!

2008-01-23T23:02:00.000-07:00

Christmas! We had a great christmas this year! Alot of our presents came early this year like the house we bought and the new car that Nate got me! However, we did save some things for christmas morning. Nate and I got each other an ipod (the new nano!), He also got me a Navigation system for my car! If you have driven in the car with me, you would definitely understand the importance of this gift! I got some other fun stuff as well...like clothes, shoes, pj's etc. Nate got 2 new pairs of really nice dress shoes, clothes, a new suit, a new desk etc. Needless to say, we each made out like a bandit, and couldnt be more appreciative for being blessed this year! I posted some pics of us over at Nates sisters house! Every year on christmas eve, "santa" comes to visit all the little nieces and nephews, to drop off everyones favorite gift...PJ'S! I love this tradition...and im so thankful for our families for keeping it alive after so many years!

PS. This is the day that we both woke up with the flu!!! Fun Fun!

Our Birch Family

Happy 3 weeks Brevik Dean...

...LoVe...

The gift of Life...plus some :)

Brevik's BIRTHday!

Brevik Dean Birch

Brevik Dean Birch

Coming Soon...hopefully...

..A lot has changed..

Nate's Triathlon in Tempe!

Pictures from our Maui trip that we took back in April :)

A moment worth documenting...

Where does the time go!

4 years, Time Flies when you are having fun!

Valentines Day!

Girls Night Out with the BHUZZIES!

Londons Run 2010

My 24th Birthday

THE PF CHANGS MARATHON!

Run From The Sun Half Marathon!

Christmas 2009

I'M ALIVE!

Upcoming events...

Ragnar Reunion 2!

BEWARE!! Stick people on the loose!

Pumpkin Carving at the Gissel's.

A reminder...

It's been a looooooong time.......Sorry!

RaGnAr REuNiOn!

This one is loooong overdue!

Wedding Fun/WORK!

EAT...SLEEP...REPEAT!!

Brocks Blessing

WooHoo!

From Wickenburg to Mesa!! 202 miles!

Happy Annniversary!!

3 years down and Eternity to go...!!!

I got tagged!!!

Birthday, Londons Run, and Valentines day!

Saying goodbye..

Last Offical Hooraaa!

Special Events...

7 INCHES!

Some Sweet Christmas Gifts!

baby shower & arrival of baby Brock!

Fun, Family, and Catching up on the holidays...

Makenna's Blessing Day!

Six Flags..

**Jessica's Wedding**

A Night Out With The Girls!

and the training begins...

In loving Memory...

New Favorite Hair Product...

I love my job!

I Love Edward!

Update!

90 Day Challenge!

Update on our lives!

A new addition!

Baby Makenna!

Las Vegas baby!

Camping with the Crew!

I know I know I know...i'm a slacker!

A New Chapter!

Roller Derby!

The Birch Theatre....

Saying Goodbye...

Graduation '08 GO BULLDOGS!

The BIG 2-6!!

This Post is for Brandon Hendricks...

Early Bird Special!

Called to Serve!

SanTan Moutain...

Busy Busy Busy!

Check out my Slide Show!

FuN iN tHe SuN!

Family Pics!

**Best Prank Ever**

March Madness!

COED Slumber Party!!

Jessica's Wedding

Best Prank Ever

Mama's boy

Eternal Marriage