A New Addition

We're Expecting!

Due: June 13, 2011
Current Week: 16th
Gender: We'll find out Jan 8th

After trying for several months, Preston and I finally have our very own peanut on the way!
We're hoping for a boy but I think it's a girl which we are just as excited about.
Names have been picked but will not be divulged until baby's birth day.

(Picture taken by my sister-in-law, Annie)

It's been difficult for us to keep our big news on the down-low for so long but this Christmas we finally spread the word to our family and friends. We told my parents during our visit to Washington for Thanksgiving. Here are a couple of pictures of the announcement we gave them. My parents are thrilled and needless to say, we spent Black Friday at Carter's and Children's Place.

Prestons family found out on Christmas day when Preston's youngest brother broke the news during his phone call home from his mission in Argentina. We wanted Landon to be a part of that moment and Preston felt that because Landon is always the last to hear any sort of news, it would be wonderful for him to be the first to know our exciting news. The family was gathered around the phone on speaker and as the call came to an end, Landon said to his mom, "momma, you better go through my closet and pick out some hand-me-downs just in case Preston and Kara have a boy", and the news was broken. Christmas was extra special for us this year :)

As for my pregnancy, things have been going very well. I haven't been too sick which I am so grateful for. I was queasy from weeks 7 to 10 and only had my head in the toilet once. We've heard the heart beat which was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had and we're looking forward to the ultrasound on January 8th.

I'm not showing yet but I'm expecting to see some slight changes in my figure over the next couple of weeks. I can't wait for my baby bump!

Week: 16 and two days

Cravings of the Week: tangerines and garlic bread


Oh, and a Merry Christmas from Duke!

Military Man

My big brother, Evan, is home from Basic Training!!!
We love him and missed him SO stinking much!



My two big brothers are so handsome!






(please forgive me, I don't have any makeup on)




I forgot to get a picture of his dog tags. I'll be sure to do that the day he heads back out.

Nilsson Family Favorite

Egg Sandwiches!

Preston and I cannot get enough of our egg sandwiches. They are super quick and easy to make and most importantly, they are delicious! We have lived off of these for the past two years and we still love them! I'm sure most of you know how to make egg sandwiches but I'll toss out our recipes anyways. We have three different versions, one with just the egg mixture, one with avocado and one with relish. Sometimes we'll splurge and pop some sprouts in there. :)

Serves: 2-3 (makes two sandwiches)

5 boiled eggs
2 Tb mayonnaise
1 tsp. ground peppercorn
4 pieces bread

1/2 Avocado (optional)
1 Tb Relish (optional)


Peel shells from hard boiled eggs. In a small bowl crush up eggs with a fork into fine pieces. Add mayonnaise and mix well. Stir in peppercorn. Toast the bread. As the bread is toasting, cut up avocado into thin strips. Once the bread has finished toasting, layout avocado strips and spread a thick layer of egg mix in between two pieces of toast to make the perfect egg sandwich. Enjoy!

Home for the Holidays

Preston and went home to Seattle for Thanksgiving. It was our first time spending Thanksgiving with my parents and boy did we have a blast!

My parents had no idea we were coming up so when we walked into my Dad's office at 10am two days before Thanksgiving, you can only image how shocked he was to see us. We had traveled all night in a horrible snow and ice storm and with lots of prayers and blessing, arrived safely at our destination. It was a stressful and tiring drive but more than worth it when we saw the look on my parents faces. After surprising my Dad, we all headed over to my mom's office. Boy was she thrilled! I must tell you that surprising my mom is not an easy task. She always catches onto some little hint or clue (I guess she's where I get it from) but this time I totally threw her off. I had called her a couple days prior to hitting the road to get a hint for exactly what their plans were for Thanksgiving. I gave her in depth details of our Thanksgiving and Christmas plans leaving her to fully expect that we were spending Thanksgiving in Utah.

(I only took pictures of everyone in their PJs on Thanksgiving so I will only embarrass one of us on the blog although this is hard to do with Preston's massive muscles and striking good looks. I love his morning hair although I think he fixed it before this picture was taken.)

This was without a doubt the best Thanksgiving I have ever had. The only thing I would have changed if I could was how long we stayed. I wish we could have stayed through the weekend but instead we had to head back the day after Thanksgiving. It would have been a lot more fun to have Bret with his family and Evan there as well. Hopefully next year we will be able to get the whole family together on Christmas or Thanksgiving. It's been a few years since we have been lucky enough to do that :(

We're looking forward to spending Christmas with Preston's family this year and most of all, Landon's last phone call home before he returns in February! YAY!

We are so blessed and grateful to have all of our friends and family in our lives. We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Picture Perfect

Preston and I had some Fall pictures taken in October. We love them! Our friend and photographer Whitney Lewis was able to get us a few of the pictures as a little preview to the shoot this morning. We're looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos next month.



I have a little project in mind that I want to do with these pictures but I'm afraid it won't be executed for a a couple of months. I'll be sure to post pictures when I get going on my project. :)

The Holidays are Upon us

We are very excited for the holidays at our home. Yes, the tree is not only going up this month but this week! Call me crazy but I love Christmas that much. I consider the tree to not only be Christmas decor but Thanksgiving as well. Absolutely essential. I love the feeling of giving and love the tree brings into our home. You can't argue with that!

There is no better time of the year that I love more then the holiday season.

Pup

Our pup isn't so pup like anymore but he always will be in my heart.

We don't feed him anymore so he eats grass now.
We figured it was a good strategy to keep the lawn mowed without having to do more yard work.
haha :) Just kidding.

New Office!

Preston and I have been working on the back room for the last month. We painted it (I'm in love with the color), put a new light fixture in, put baseboards in and curtains (yes, I made those curtains and I'm dang proud of them!). I am also very proud to say that I did all of the caulking :D and dang it looks good. Seamless. You can hardly tell it's there. While Preston was away in Chicago on business I decided to surprise him. He was planning on caulking when he got home and was thrilled to see that the job had already been done when he returned.

Last week I went home to Seattle to visit my parents and while I was gone, Preston decided to do a little surprising himself. He installed the carpet that I had picked out 2 months ago and built me a computer for my photography work.

Take a look at the almost finished product! We've added the keyboard and chair since these photos were taken.

(I know I havn't posted any pictures of Preston and I in awhile. I'll have to do that soon!)

The "Fruits" of Our Labor

We don't really have a garden this year but we have kept up on our apricot tree and white grapes. Yum! Can anyone say, "delicious apricot cobbler and grape juice"?

Strawberry Days!

We are officially members of Strawberry Days!! We have owned our home here in Pleasant Grove for a year now. We're having a blast and making the most of it :D

Last week we went to the Strawberry Days Rodeo with our really great friends, Cherylyn and Matt. We love hanging out with them!! We have some great activities planned for the summer that include camping, hiking, out door movies and more! We're excited for the summer!

TWO

I love you, Preston Nilsson!!

Life doesn't get better than you.

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

A New Direction

First off, I should have mentioned this a few weeks ago but Preston was accepted to the University of Utah and will be going back to school for his masters degree next fall. On top of that, he tried out and made the stunt team! He has already started practice and is loving it. Can't wait to get great seats at the games!

Also, I am no longer working with Muddy Boys!! Yesterday was my last day. I am happy to be done and excited for my own start....
I got my business license in the mail today!

Red Petal Photography, LLC
by Kara Nilsson

I consider myself an amateur but on my way to professional wedding and landscape photographer. I've got two weddings this month and starting in June, I will be selling prints to the government. My photos will be displayed as decoration in VA hospitals and adult family homes. As I get my name out there, I hope to expand and sell to more branches of the government.

As for this month I will be busy getting my website up and running, a logo created, and building my portfolio more.

Oh happy day!
I mean weekend... I mean month... no...
I mean year!

Welcome to my Home, Spring!

Vacation!

Preston and I were finally able to get a break from our busy life for a week. We headed down to Arizona for a few days to visit friends and then went on to California from there to visit Natalie and Tim (Preston's sister). It was very nice to get away for a little while. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.

From Kara Nilsson Photography

I think this picture is hilarious!! Little Alexa sat in the sand making it look like she had an accident. I didn't want to embarrass Natalie by posting it to my public photography blog but I did want to at least share it with the rest of the family and a few friends :D. Alexa is the most adorable innocent little girl. I would be lucky and honored to have a daughter like her one day. She is so very precious.

From Kara Nilsson Photography

On My Mind

There has been a lot on my mind lately...

things that I am looking forward to
things that I am bummed about

things that I can accomplish

and things that I wish would be over with.

But most of all, the things that I LOVE!


Spring Time
I am very much looking forward to the
flowers blooming
and the sun shining. I am ready for it to be
warm and green again

Japan
I miss Japan so much.
I mostly miss my friends.
They were and always will be my best friends.
I love them all so dearly.

Babies

Over the past 2 years I have fallen in love with
babies and children.
They are all so very precious.
Many of my friends have either recently
had a baby or are expecting.
It has been so much fun meeting these new
innocent souls that I will get to see grow
and become such amazing people just
as their parents are.

The Gospel
Because of the gospel I have been blessed beyond
imagine. I am thankful to have
the guidance and support of our Heavenly Father
through the Holy Ghost.
I love the Temple and the feeling I receive
when I am inside.

Photography
I love Photography because the learning is endless
Everyday I learn something new and exciting to
improve my own photography.
I crave it just as a "phat" kid craves cake.


Bike Trips
I can't stop thinking about our annual
Nilsson Family Bike Trip!
I am so pumped for our June trip this year.
We're headed to CANADA to visit family!

I'm Going to Shoot a Bride

No silly, with my camera! hehe. In fact not just one bride but two! Yep, I will be shooting my first two weddings this coming May and the first one is on my Anniversary! Cool, eh? I am very excited, anxious and a little nervous but I know my friend and mentor, ScottJarvie, will have me prepared and feeling more confidant by the time May rolls around. Until then I have engagement and formal shoots booked to help me prepare more although, I can't compare them to a wedding day shoot! Woof! Big responsibility!

I know I haven't updated my blog in a few weeks (again) so I thought I'd share with you some February accomplishments and updates.

1) Mentioned above!
2) Preston got a wicked awesome yearly review with his boss. I am so proud of him!
3) Preston and I will be in Switzerland exactly one month from yesterday :D
4) We have trained Duke to roll over and shake
5) We have been successful in fighting our urge to buy movies. (believe me, if you know us, this is a huge accomplishment!)
6) I have made some awesome, stylish (if I do say so myself) curtains for the back room in our house. Pictures to come.
7) And last but not least, we have begun the process of moving our stairs by tearing down the ceiling in the basement.

Hurray!

Kara's March goals:

1) STICK to my workout plan (it's been difficult with my busy photography nights and weekends).
2) Spend as little money as possible in Europe.
3) Save, save, save!
4) Cook dinner at least 5 nights a week.
5) Kick butt on my photography shoots!
6) Update my blog more often and with interesting posts.
7) Go to the Temple twice!


That's it for now, friends. Sorry this post was so boring. I will post again soon. xxx

P.S. Check out my updated photography blog if you haven't already. I'm pretty excited about the engagement shoot I took the other day! I love being able to see improvement in my own work and finally being some what satisfied with it :D

Only Fitting

There is so much love to be shared this month, this new background is only fitting.

February 4th:
- Landon's Hump Day

February 6th:
- Coby's Birthday

February 11th:
- Kayo's Birthday

February 13th:
- Baline's Birthday

February 14th:
- Mom and Dad Palsson's Anniversary
- Valentines Day

February 24th:
- Big B and Manda's Anniversary
- Gavin's Birthday

Busy Bee!

Hi Friends,

I'm sorry I haven't posted much. I have been meaning to tell you all about our winter vacation but so many exciting things have come up these past two weeks. All my time has been stolen.

Two weeks ago I applied for an internship with an incredible photographer, Scott Jarvie. He accepted me!! My nights have been dedicated to photography for the last week and will continue to be for the next 4 months. I have learned SO much! I feel confident that my own work will improve quickly and my own business will be established within the next six weeks. My first big shoot will be this wedensday morning. Scott and I will be shooting the Utah Symphony, Utah Opera and their CEO. How exciting!! And plenty more exciting shoots to come! I am honored to be working with Scott and very excited to learn from him!

I will try to post a little more but if I don't, you know why!

Happy New Year!

The first post of 2010! How exciting!

2009 was a fun year for us. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary; bought our first home; we did our first remodel in our home by fixing the upstairs bathroom; we welcomed our first puppy to the family, purchased a few fancy gadgets such as my first professional camera and a flat screen TV; Preston now works for Adobe who bought out Omniture and to end the year we were delighted to find out that we are expecting a new member of the family! ... no... not me, everyone knows that I wish it were me but I'm still ecstatic for my brother and sister in-law who are expecting their second baby boy! Hip Hip Hurray! I'm so excited to meet my new nephew in April :D

We really have been spoiled this last year. We have such a wonderful family who are so giving and selfless. We are eternally grateful for each and every one of them and love them all so much. Preston and I really have been blessed this last year and are very much in debt to our family and Heavenly Father.

Although 2009 was full of so many fun memories, experiences and stepping stones we are very anxious for the new and upcoming year. We have many things planned which we are looking forward to.

To start it off, I have planned to organize our blog a little more. We are splitting it into two separate blogs. One for our personal progress, events and achievements and another for my photography.

My new photography blog site is, http://karanilssonphotography.blogspot.com/

I'm still working on my new blog. There are a few things that need to be adjusted but hopefully I will be able to work out the kinks quickly.

I want all of you to know how much fun I have reading your blogs and I'm looking forward to reading everyone's new post's as 2010 progresses.