A Crook's Tale

Ocean Life Charcoal 12.75” x 19.75” 2014 Thanks to My Dad I decided to post this picture because of the following story, and because we are planning our annual trip to California, and I am so stoked I can't handle it! San Diego is one of our favorite places in the world, and I can't wait! This drawing was one of my first real experiences working with charcoal, and the first time I ever even found out that white charcoal existed! I thought it was all just black. I did this project in my senior year of high school, and it is one of my favorite drawings I have ever done. I put a lot of time and effort into this drawing, and it's one of the first drawings I ever remember being truly proud of.  I've had a lot of people say that they really like the birds in this drawing, but honestly, that is my least favorite part! I still to this day don't know why people pick that part out over the rest. Personally, my favorite part is the turtle, I remem...

My Brother Charcoal, 2015 My Missionary Brother My cute brother is currently serving his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Fukuoka, Japan mission, and he is of course loving it! I miss him a lot, but he is doing great work over there. He loves all the people he meets, and it's really great to hear how well he is doing each week. Good news is, he comes home this summer! I am so glad the First Presidency announced the change in how we can communicate to our missionaries each week. It's been so great to be able to video chat with him almost every week, to see his face and get to talk to him and hear from his own mouth how he is doing, rather than through an email. It has really helped me with how much I miss him. I remember back when we were little, and I still had some loose teeth, Ty accidentally punched me in the face (at least I hope it was an accident!) and knocked my loose tooth out! He also broke my pinky one time while wrest...

Coronado Beach Oils, January 2019 Our Favorite Place in the World This last summer, me and my sweet hubby took our first vacation together, and it was so fun! We spent a few days at the beach, we went to fruit stands, Disneyland, the San Diego Safari Park, and we went to some of the best restaurants I have ever been to! If you know my husband, you may have heard about the Mexican restaurant that sells carne asada burritos that are the size of your forearm, and he is not joking! And they are SO good! While we were in San Diego, we visited some of the people Nate had met while on his mission, and they are some of nicest people I have ever met! It was really cool to see just how much each and every member remembers and loves him, how they consider him to be a part of the family. And because I am his wife, they loved me just as much! They are such loving, caring people. It was really great to see everyone gush over my husband and to hear all sorts of stories about...

Earth's Mightiest Heroes August 2015 Excelsior! As many of you may know, I am a HUGE Marvel fan. I have seen every Avengers movie, and I get emotional every time I hear the Avengers theme come on at the start of a movie. My husband can attest to this, he often looks over at me to see if I'm crying yet whenever it comes on. In fact, I am so into the Marvel franchise that I based one of my high school English projects/presentations on how great Marvel is, and how it is better than any other superhero-based franchise out there (giving that presentation was one of my nerdier moments in life). I don't really know what it is about Marvel that I love. Maybe it's the way they tell a story, the way they show you a character's beginnings and where they came from, really letting you connect with the character. I know this sounds so cliche and probably fake, but the way that Marvel gives you the backstory of each character really lets you feel involved with that chara...

Creepy Doll charcoal, 2014 🕸🕷 It's Halloween Time! 🕷🕸 Happy October, everyone! I love October, from the changing leaves, to the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, to the cute decorations everywhere! I tell ya, there are so many cute ideas for Halloween and Fall decorations, and not enough time to make everything! This last little while, I made some cloth pumpkins. They didn't turn out quite as well as the ones on Pinterest, but I'm still pretty happy with them! I'm excited to see all the cute little kids dressed up! Sadly, we live in a place that doesn't get a lot of trick-or-treaters, so maybe we'll watch a scary movie that night (PS if you have any suggestions for a good scary movie for future years, please let me know in the comments). Because there won't be many (if any) trick-or-treaters, I might just have to eat all the candy myself! And that is just fine with me! I remember the first scary movie I ever watched was The Sixth Sense . I...

Contour of a Hand , February 2016 Purpose Our hands serve many purposes. They hold, they lift, they feel. They express, they create. Hands are used for so many things, I don't think we realize just how much we use our hands. They make dinner, they type on a keyboard, or play an instrument. They can be used to speak a language all of their own. They are used to wipe the tears off a loved one's face, they are used to serve. I think of my husband's hands, how I love holding them, how well they fit in my hands, and how soft and comforting they are. I love holding hands with my hubby, he makes me feel so safe and loved through this simple act.  Through recent experience, I think of the hands of surgeons and doctors, and all the good they do for others. I get emotional thinking of all the hands that have helped me and my family as loved ones recover from injury and illness. Many meals provided, and much assistance as I prepared to marry my sweet husband, and ...