For some reason, I was SO dang enthused to welcome in the New Year. I look like I’m about to pee my pants with how excited I was. I think I’ll let the video speak for itself. And I absolutely love the song ‘Auld Lang Syne’; it is so pretty. I find it a shame…
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At first, the news was devastating. Every time I heard “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” by Bing Crosby there was a pang of sadness and homesickness. I wasn’t going home for Christmas. Luckily, I married a creative, sentimental romantic and he vowed to make it a Christmas to remember. About 2 hours north of Star…
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Hey Baby!
What a great Christmas! We had so much fun. I just wanted to also point out that Luisa took ALL of the hawk pictures. She's a natural! Love you babe!
Your Hubby
Hey You two!
Awesome Christmas post. I have to say for braggin rights… do we not live in the COOLEST place ever! Your pictures are so beautiful….. Thanks for sharing!
Love Ya
Luisa: What a beautiful summary of your and Nate's special Christmas together in the mountains! Where there is love, there is joy! How blessed the two of you are to have found each other. You continue to delight us with your sense of adventure and romance.
HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! And may we be together next Christmas!
–Dad
Can I just tell you that I think you guys are the cutest happiest looking couple ever!
Thanks for visiting:
http://getoffyourbuttandbake.blogspot.com
The photography is just beautiful, and I also enjoyed sipping my Hot Chocolate to the pretty music. My daughter is also a photographer…we are lucky. I'm learning to use my new Nikon D-90 in Manual Mode….little by little.
I also live in Cold Idaho…Idaho Falls to be exact.
Thanks for visiting my baking blog.
Jonna
What an amazing Christmas getaway!! I'm sad we never made it to McCall while we lived out there! I guess we'll just have to come visit!! 
We miss you guys, hope you're doing well and best wishes for a happy new year! keep in touch!
Our First Christmas Tree!! . The finished product! It was the classic tree-decorating evening, like something from a movie. While we listened to Judy Garland Christmas, and had homemade white and milk chocolate chip cookies with Eggnog, we looked outside and it was WHITE everywhere. We enjoyed our first snowball fight of the season, and…
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LOL! You guys still crack me up. P.S. Your house is amazing, holy cow! So beautiful.
Muy chistosos los videos .. son una familia hermosa!!!
te amo amiga, y Feliz Navidad!!!! te deseo lo mejor del mundo!!.
Will you get 2000 lights on your tree like Papa Perkes tried to do this year? What fun memories you're creating.
LOVED the videos! So fun to see you with your first tree! GREAT tree; you chose well. And glad to see you are carrying on the crazy Dad decorating traditions!
Merry Christmas!!!
–Dad
This year, my experience of ‘the Holidays’ has been much like that of a 6 year old trying to ride every attraction in Disney World in a day and a half. I have learned valuable lessons about procrastinating, prioritizing, simplifying, and focusing on what really matters. Despite that into, Thanksgiving was so much fun! We…
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Love your cranberry candle holders…gonna steal that idea! Marvy photos here too!
I LOVE LAUGHTER… and though INCREDIBLY unflattering, these pictures show the unabashed guffaws with which we love life out loud. Life is so much more beautiful with laughter in it.
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Those pictures are absolutely adorable and are just a perfect show of how fun and full of life you guys are! Love it!! Hope things are great!!
I'm grateful for joyful memories . . . and so many of these photographs bring back some of those most cherished of times! And nobody laughs quite like you two!
Thanks for the giggles!
Love,
–Dad
Ok… so I got a little overwhelmed with the pre-Thanksgiving prep and lost track of my countdown. I was very disappointed that this happened, but at the same time I decided that I rule my own personal blogging universe and I’m using my ‘powers’ to post date these next couple of posts so that I…
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Luisa!! We miss you guys and our SUNNY days of summer in Boise!! So happy to hear that you both have GREAT jobs and that things are going well! Hope you don't get too busy to post, I love seeing what you guys are up to! Take care and drop a line sometime!!
cute posts Luisa. You guys are in Boise still right? or somewhere near? So where does Nate work?
I love that you did a thankful countdown. I am going to also, albeit not a count down but a post on what I am thankful for. Much love to you!!!!!
Great job, Luisa!!!
–Proud Papa
…Felicitaciones querida!.. muchas bendiciones.. entonces eso quiero decir que ustedes han sido muuuuy obedientes!!!.. aah estoy super feliz por ti y tu esposo tambien! .. espero que estes suuper bien!.. i miss you .. te amo amiga!
CONGRATS MY DEAR! I was so happy to see you read my blog.I know the grammar isnt all there. Somehow between the moves I missed that part of elementary school. I have to tell you that picture of the hummingbird made me think of that line "hummingbird heartbeat." I am so proud of you getting your license and all those triathalons. It inspired me to get into shape and try to do one of those myself.
God bless you and god bless our friendship that will grow along with our waistbands.
Loves and hugs,
Nellie
Lately, reading has been a HUGE blessing to me. With an extremely mentally demanding job, I have been in dire need of an escape and a way to ‘wind’ down each day. On lunch breaks, I take a mental vacation and visit the distant lands of a wizarding world or the lands of the Greek…
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I’ve never really understood the ‘apple of my eye’ phrase, so I decided to throw a similar nonsensical one out there, hence, my title! I LOVE this time of year. The holidays make the bitter, cold winters bareable. My mind goes back to a childhood memory: My mom was passing around a small jar, and…
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What a great idea, Luisa: THE GRATEFUL COUNTDOWN!!! That is one of your many divine attributes–your gratitude . . . and love!
Let me just add that I am surely grateful to have such a wonderful daughter!
–Dad
P.S. Do we have any photos of Nate WITHOUT a camera in his hand? : – )
As winter comes upon us, I find myself longing for the hot sun, for dark tans, for the smell of sunscreen and barbecues… picnics on the lakeside; warm, glassy water and cool sunglasses… aka the summer. Nate hasn’t helped my nostalgia as he’s made this fun video as part of a bid he is preparing…
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Editing to the music, that's talent! Nice work!
Mom and I have watched this over and over again! And, of course, love it. Luisa: you do skip well! Was Nate having more fun than he should have putting that scene to music? My favorite photo of Nate is one in which he is airborne and touching his board [which goes from upper left to lower right--not the way we usually see him airborne]. He included it twice; once in black and white. AMAZING photo [which you must have taken!] and amazing wake boarding. You all make it looks so fun and so cool! Glad you posted this. We are super proud of you guys!
Good luck with the corporate bid!
–Dad
Luisa!!!! I'm sorry to say that I laughed really hard at you skipping across the water. That is exactly why I will NEVER tube again. What a fun video – it makes 6 months feel like FOREVER away.
Let me paint a picture. 11:38pm Sunday night. We get the biggest junk food craving EVER. We run to the kitchen. What do we find in the fridge… cookie dough? No. Minced garlic and baking soda. In the freezer… Ice Cream? No. Frozen beets. In the cupboard… chocolate? NO! Cornstarch. We start racking our brains….
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you guys are so cute!!! its easy to see you are best friends! i miss you.
so our new bishop…..is FORSURE Nat in 20 years!!! LOL! i wish you could meet him! its mind blowing how much he looks and acts like Nat. he is an awesome person!
tal vez la receta podria ser en español tambien ….
ja ja ja!.. buenas fotos
love you mi amiga!!!
Barbie Holden would be proud!
: – )
–Dad
ha ha very cute. those look SOO yummy! love you!!
Queenie
p.s. oh nice CHILE shirt by the way
My hubby knows that something BIG is going on when he hears me say: “Baby, I think that was the BEST book I’ve EVER read.” It would be a lie to say that I have never said that before, nor do I foolishly believe that I will never say it again. Having seen and loved…
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You and Mom impress me so much with your thirst for good books. I am also impressed with your ambition: not only do you not shy away from difficult classics, but you welcome them, devour them . . . and understand them! You are an enlightened mind. And as expressed so beautifully by Elder Uchtdorf, books are your current university!
You inspire me!
Love,
–Dad
I’ve always wanted to put a recipe on my blog, but at the same time I was waiting for something original that I’ve developed myself. This recipe is a hearty, manly ‘steak & potato meal’ meets ‘girly salad.’ Ingredients: 4 oz. ribeye steak / person 2 med. red potatoes / person 2 hearts of romaine…
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Yum!! I'll give a testimonial that this is delicious!!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!! I still need to get your ring of coconut cake and chicken milano recipes!! We should do an online recipe exchange or something!! Hope you guys are doing great! Sure miss hanging out!!
Hmmmm . . . that looks seriously good! . . . even to this RAW dieter.
Everything you do is cool; and even your recipes bring two uniquely great things together [just like you and Nate]!
HUGS and love!
–Dad
… as my big brother so affectionately calls me. The past 9 months have been the epitome of crazed reading for me. I have read 3 of the 9 books from the series The Chronicles of Narnia [having previously finished the first 7], 8 books for my Book Club, the trilogy The Uglies… and lately…
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bobyyyyy i love you sooo much you beautiful woman!!!! hey i discovered this awesome series written by steve berry, its the cotton malone series and it is awesome… i started sort of in the middle of the series but you can start wherever right now im reading the charlamagne pursuit .. well actually im listening to it on CD but i started with the venetian betrayal but they are such good books. the auther incorporates myth, real history, and all this cool stuff into these action thrillers…
Hey, don't forget Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas. It is a wonderful classic. Actually, I have a lot of suggestions. Call me and I can email you the list. I love a good book!!
I know. I was so disappointed when I read Phantom and found out that the production was not even close to accurate. They each have their merit though. What did you end up picking for your choices for book club? You have an extensive list here, I keep one in my phone for when I'm at the library. haha. Love you
have i told you lately that you are my HERO!! seriously!! look at you you're beautiful! you're such an inspiration!! LOVE YOU FOREVER!! oh and I LOVE the main picture of you guys. you look SO happy and i love it! miss you:)
I absolutly LOVE the Langdon books! They are some of my favorites!! Im so glad that you found them…I still havent had time to read the Lost Symbol one but it is definitly my next book the read!
Luisa: Reading The Symbol with you at the cabin–stealing the book, back and forth–is definitely one of my fun memories from our trip. I still think about it and agree with you on its value: it is always fun to see our basic beliefs placed into a story as "mysterious and ancient truths that have been lost."
FOUND! RESTORED! Maybe we should start working on the sequel! : -)
HUGS!
–Dad
I LOVED My Sister's Keeper. Her books make you think afterwards. Quite a heart wrenching story though. You have a number of books on here that I might have to go look up. What is the trilogy The Uglies?? Love your blog! You look so happy!!
Often times I wonder if God has His work cut out for Himself, considering that roughly, Heaven will be three times as beautiful as the Earth we live on. Based on what I can see, He has pretty fantastic taste and personally, I think my heaven is going to look a little like McCall. In…
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That must have been so much fun. YAY for you guys.
Fun. Great photos. Love the expression on Papa Perkes on the ATV!
What a gorgeous area!! Looks like you guys had such a BLAST!!! We miss you guys and sure hope to keep in touch!!
Looks like you had a blast and it is beautiful!
Hey Lady! Its true… We should be more in touch! Shame on me, or you, or someone! Darling post… WHAT FUN!! SO, I've decided that Mom & Dad have quite the life! I wish I could travel around and see all of us all the time 
Your blog is always so cute. Love you & miss you guys lots. -jhp
Luisa, you sweetie, that was so kind . . . and wonderful! We did have a great time, didn't we?! The photos you posted and your skilled commentary brought it all back in such a beautiful way. What a treasure!
Much love,
–Dad
… I looked like Hugh Jackman?” -Nate Of course, my answer was: “There’s no way I could love you more than I do already.” *Note: When your husband comes to you impersonating your favorite actor, treat him like your favorite actor. -Dr. Laura
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You guys are too funny!!!
–Dad
As most of you know, Nate and I have known each other close to 9 years now. We are getting ready to move soon, so I have been dejunking and organizing to my hearts content. I found these pictures in an old shoe box. Our kids are going to get a kick out of these….
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Haha!! I LOVE these!! You guys (mostly Nate ) look like babies!! I just love that you guys were friends for so long and ended up together! How perfect! I think I said this last time, but I hope we get together soon!! Maybe we can plan something for this weekend??
How fun! You guys look like babies! So sweet!
Wowzers!!!
Talk about young love! How many people can go back that far? How fun you actually have pictures of you when you were teenagers together. Nate looks like such a kid! It is fun to be reminded that your lives have been drawing you to each other for quite some time.
HUGS!
–Dad
My luisa!! I've missed you too!! I consider myself exteamly blessed to have your friendshoip in my life!! I am also very lucky in that I had the oppertunity to see you after the mish and meet your wonderful husband. I love the last picture at the MTC! It was great having you there with me and hearing your guys great love story! Where are you guys moving to? No worries somehow we will see eachother again. I guess what you would say is that we have a TRUE friendship going back about 6 years and only have seen eachother a couple times!
TE QUIERO mi querida amiga!
While Nate was away enjoying the California beaches, I hit up the opposite coast. I got to go home to Boston to be in my best friends wedding. It was a FANTASTIC time! I got to see and spend a lot of time with my family, and I enjoyed every second of it! Here is…
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You are so amazing!!!!!!!!! I couldnt have made it through the day without you. Gosh I wish our childhood dream would come true so that we could live on the same corner sipping lemonade with and getting waffle bottoms from our lounge chairs as we sit on the stoop. I miss youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu gosh i wish god could make the world a pangea already with your house right next to mine.
Your photos are like a window to your soul, Luisa: dancing in the rain, loving grandparents and siblings. I hurts that you were so close and that I was in trial mode.
But in just a couple of weeks . . .
Can't wait to be with you, Nate, and the rest of the Boise Perkes clan!
Love,
–Dad
Looks like you had such a great time back home with your family! Love the pics of you dancing in the rain!! Hope we get together soon!!!
bobbie,
You look BEAUTIFUL and SOOO HAPPY!!! i LOVe how happy you are with your family. I MISS that SMILE like crazy!! i LOVE YA TONS !
te quiero amiga,
Queenie
p.s. i'm so glad you were able to go back home for Nelly's wedding. she looked so pretty!
Recently, my Mom and I had the opportunity to attend a workshop by Mike Colon, a high end photographer in California. But it wasn’t only the workshop that was amazing, although that was definitely the highlight of the trip. The entire trip was one amazing adventure after another. Mom and I had a blast and…
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Okay, so Nate – you don't know me, but I know your darling Luisa and i think she's amazing. I just have to tell you, I know a lot of people that call themselves photographers because they have a fancy camera and they take pretty cool pictures sometimes. I was kind of over the whole, "I'm a photographer" thing a while back, but every time I look at your web-site I am amazed at your talent. It's more than just saying, "I'm a photographer." You really have an incredible talent and it shows. Thanks so much for sharing your art and gift. I look forward to more pictures!
Gorgeous pics Nate!! Glad the workshop was so great!!
HEY! Isn't that my swimsuit you're wearing?!!
I hope it looks half as cool on me!
–Dad
I’ve never been one for fast paced adventure or dangerous athletics like Nate. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the thrill, it’s just that HE was entirely built for it. Knowing this about him before we were married, I shouldn’t be surprised as he surpasses me at every physical challenge we face. This summer has…
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Love the pictures and commentary, you are so cute Luisa! Glad you guys have had SO much fun boating this summer, we've sure had fun tagging a long a few times!
Wow! I'm impressed you can ski in those ear rings!
Hey babe…it's me! Nate, I know, weird commenting on our own blog…but this is really YOUR blog. So here I go. First off…if anyone didnt finish the movie…watch till the end as she skips across the water. Poor girl, but there I am in the background laughing. Love you! And second of all, I have to tip my hat, because her SECOND time on the wakeboard, as she's getting tired she decided she's just going to go dynamite on a jump and let go of the rope. That takes a lot of guts on just your second time up. Baby…you're amazing!
Love,
Nate
Luisa: Those pictures are GREAT! All of them. I love the look of surprise on your face in the first picture . . . and your pre-wipeout picture is pretty fun too. But, honestly, you look great on the board!
And Nate . . . my word!!! I can't believe his air pictures! There is one I really love [the second one]. Great shot!
Also, the one of Jake and Gracie is really cool!
But, being a grandpa, perhaps my favorite is you and the kiddies! Very sweet.
Most of all, it is just fun to see you all having fun! Thanks for sharing!
–Dad
These past few months there have been SO many things going on that I haven’t been able to keep up. I thought that I’d make a giant effort on just one big post to catch up on everything I’ve missed! The craziness all started on June 29th… Kate’s Birthday! Here’s to our lovely Kate who…
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Your post is a timely cobitrnution to the debate
Luisa, I hope you don't mind but I found your blog and just had to peek at it. I'm THRILLED that you have become the woman you are today. It looks like you've got a great guy and a good life. Good for you. Love you, Jen Lambert
WOW! What a fun and fulfilling summer you guys have had! Way to go on the veggies! You are amazing Luisa!!
Sounds like a great summer, and I'm glad Kaia was one of the good things about your summer! Very impressed with the garden. I have my worse garden in years, and am sad I don't have more produce! Maybe next year! I love reading your blog because you make everything seem like a party! It jsut makes me happy to read it!
Holy cow–what a FUN month! I'm glad we got to have a little part in some of it! You two are such a fun couple!! I love all the pictures!! Oh, and HELLO—your veggies are awesome!! You've gotten me excited for our garden next summer!!
What a fun whirlwind of a month or two. Wow! And that didn't include your triathlon adventures. What great photos and sweet words to express your months.
I LOVE the picture of Katie,….my goodness she looks happy and content — you'd never guess that she was a mother of 4 rambunctious kids (not to mention a rather rowdy Jake)!
The cake looks amazing!!! Definately a contest winner.
Thanks so much for sharing. Can't wait until next month to get to see you and get in on some of that play action.
Love! Mom
I can't imagine why you haven't had more time for blogging this summer! Ha!
Anyway, I loved the summer update. Great photo of Kate and "Baby" Nate. As always, your blog is a delight to see and read!
I think I will copy you and do a one-post catchup of our summer fun on our blog . . . I am SO behind!
Love,
–Dad
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Bree - How fun!! Happy New Year!
Ken and Jen Perkes - Confetti in Martinelli's . . . it doesn't get better than that, does it? It was so fun to watch you guys celebrating. It was honestly our intention to stay up and call you after YOUR new years, but we just couldn't stay up until 2am. So this is the next best thing!
HAPPY NEW YEARS, my sweet kids [and grandkids] in Star! Love you so much!!!
–Dad