My 5th Grade Dreams Realized

Posted in Liz's Life, Wedding Planning by

When I was younger, I used to dream that one day I could put my tallness to use as a model. Poor 11 year old me was so tall and awkwardly skinny (5’9 and 105 lbs  in 5th grade!) and the only hope I thought I had at feeling pretty one day came when nice adults would say “you should be a model, you’re so tall!”

Eventually I grew into my height (thank goodness!) and started to love the view I got from above.

Well, last week I got a chance to live my 5th grade fantasy when Luke and I acted as “models” for a photo shoot to promote weddings at Heavenly (where I work).

While getting his photo taken is right up there with getting a tooth yanked, Luke indulged my excitement about getting some new photos of us in our wedding attire and agreed to be the handsome groom. What a guy. :)

Our foray into modeling wasn’t quite as glamorous as what you see on America’s Next Top Model (I did my hair and makeup with a work friend in the bathroom of a Seattle’s Best Coffee at 7:00 am), but I have to admit it was fun to have another day where I felt beautiful in my wedding dress with my guy by my side.

Here are some of my favorite shots taken by the incredibly talented Kurt Larsen Photography and his skilled assistant, Britta, who I work with at Heavenly.

Heavenly is a truly amazing place to hold a fake wedding, so I can’t even imagine how wonderful it would be on your real wedding day! Riding the Gondola, taking photos 10,000 ft high overlooking Lake Tahoe and then having a reception in a building as rustic and gorgeous as Tamarack Lodge would make for a seriously memorable wedding.

To learn more about booking a wedding at Heavenly, click here. And to book Kurt for your wedding, engagement or any other photo opportunity, click here.

Disclosure: I work at Heavenly and was compensated for my time during the photo shoot.

Ladies First…

Posted in Liz's Life by

This weekend my friends Molly and Molly came in town (Molly sandwich!) from the Bay Area. We had a great time in Tahoe exploring some hidden beaches, hiking, rafting and attending the Reno Rodeo.

We were having fun taking in all the action – cowboys lassoing cows, carnival rides, tons of fried foods, rodeo clowns….it was quite a scene!

About mid-way through the night, Molly #2 left us to go to the rest room. When she returned, she had the cutest story to tell.

Molly was standing in line for the bathrooms when she noticed a small boy (about five or six) standing with his mom, behind her. The boy was jumping up and down like he was trying REALLY hard to hold it.

When they got toward the front, Molly turned around and asked him “Do you want to go ahead of me?”

The boy’s mom looked at him and said, “Honey, is it an emergency?” The little boy shook his head and said “No, I’ll be okay. Thanks.”

Molly smiled and turned back around.

Then she heard the boy say, “Mom, it really is an emergency, but, you know…ladies first!!”

Molly about melted where she stood from the cuteness. When she told us the story, we couldn’t get over how adorable this little guy’s display of good manners was. Especially since we have seen many grown men who don’t think twice about cutting in the bathroom line in front of a woman.

Major kudos to that kiddo’s parents. I hope that little boy manages to keep his manners intact as he gets older, because I think most women agree – a man with manners is a BIG plus and hard to find these days!

Have you witnessed a display of good manners lately?

It’s My Birthday!

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Today I turn the big 27!

I woke up feeling very blessed to have live 27 years of sweet, precious life. Honestly, every days feels like a wonderful gift – especially this past year. I’m living in the most gorgeous place I’ve ever been, working in a job I love, meeting all sorts of new people, trying new things and best of all, doing it all with this man by my side.

I don’t need my birthday to come around to feel special. He makes me feel that way every day!

Today will be a fairly low-key birthday, which is fine with me. I’ll work, take a lunchtime walk in the sun, talk to my friends and family on the phone and enjoy a special sunset dinner overlooking Lake Tahoe with my love.

A perfect day in my book.

Thank you in advance for the birthday wishes! All of you are special to me. :)

Dear Daddy

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Dear Daddy,

Yesterday, I started thinking about Father’s Day this weekend and how sad I was that I wasn’t going to get to spend it with you. I felt down for a little bit until I switched on an oldies radio channel and “Under the Boardwalk” was playing.

That song always makes me think of you for some reason. It makes me remember of all those long road trips we took to get to whatever gym my next volleyball tournament was in. We logged a lot of time listening to oldies on those trips!

This got me thinking about how lucky I am to have you for my dad. There are so many things to thank you for. Here are just a few:

– Thank you for holding my hand all the way, every day on the drive to pre-school. Those pre-school days were pretty overwhelming with all those colors I had to remember and forced naps on hard floor mats. Having your big paw wrapped around my little hand each morning was just what I needed to give me the courage to face the day.

– Thanks for making bedtime fun by carrying me over your shoulder singing “Yaw Hee Haw!” like you were a big giant. From the stories I hear about me screaming “I HATE my bed!!” when I was little, I’m sure it took some imagination and patience to get me to sleep.

– I appreciate all those hours you spent coaching, practicing with me and cheering me on in my athletic pursuits. You were always the “nice coach” and that was a big relief for me in jr. high when nothing was worse than having your dad be the mean coach.

– Thank you for giving up all those weeknights, weekends and money to let me pursue my dreams of playing volleyball. I learned a lot about myself through that sport, but more importantly, I got to spent lots of quality time with you.

– Although it bothered me when you didn’t always agree with my decisions – like when I quit volleyball my sophomore year of college instead of accepting that scholarship – I am happy I had you there to challenge me. It made me even more motivated to prove to you that I had made a good choice and ultimately helped me succeed in many ways.

– Thank you for sympathizing with me when I got my heart broken by a boy. Remember that one time when I called you upset because a guy I liked a whole bunch was clearly playing games and stringing me along? I told you I felt so stupid and you said “Liz, guys like that are the real losers. The ones who never let anyone really in and play with girl’s heads for fun…they are the ones who will always end up losing in life. You’re already ahead of him because you opened yourself up.” That was great advice.

– I’m so grateful for so many of your qualities. Your kindness, thoughtfulness, loyalty, drive to succeed and even your cheesy sense of humor. You’ve shown me what a real man should be like. Luke is so like you it’s almost weird. They say girls look for guys like their fathers, and in my case that is definitely true.

I know this is just the tip of the iceberg for things I want to thank you for. You’re a great father and I hope you’re proud of how I’ve turned out. So much of who I am is because of you.

Have a great day today. Play lots of golf, eat a steak and miss me just a little.

Love your youngest child,

Diz