Thanksloving

I don't have any pictures but Myles and I had the most wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

There is nothing like spending 4 days straight with your best friend.

We went to my parents house for Thanksgiving day and enjoyed lots of yummy food and great company.

We are really blessed to have such a wonderful family. All of our siblings truly love each other, not to mention B &T are the bomb. We are so lucky to be in the best family ever.

Thursday night B&T took Myles and I to Wreck It Ralph. HAHA.

Let's just say that T summed it up the best. When the movie ended she said, "Did we really just see Wreck it Ralph...?....." Haha I died. My mom, I tell you she is the best.

We shoulda seen Lincoln, which Myles and I saw on Wednesday, VERY well done.

Anyway besides having a blissful Thursday with my family, the best part of Thanksgiving was that the next day was FRIDAY.

And the best part of Friday was that the next day was Saturday. HAha I am for real.

Again I am so grateful for all that I have. My life is so good. I am truly blessed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the joy it brings to my heart. I am humbled by the love of our Savior and our Heavenly Father. They have given us everything. I also have a testimony that Joseph Smith restored this Gospel to the Earth. I am amazed by his bravery and diligence. PRAISE TO THE MAN! I am so excited for this Christmas season to celebrate the birth of our Redeemer!!!
Remember we have more than enough to be grateful for in this world.

Count your blessings, name them one by one.. count your many blessings see what God has done.

Myles is THE BEST

Myles really is the best.

I love him so much.

Why? Because he works soooo hard.

As his wife I am pleased to annouce

about 3 weeks late...

That he passed part 1 of 4 of his CPA Exam!!

He took the hardest portion first and knocked it out of the park.

All you accountants out there know how grueling these exams are.

Now Myles is just one step closer to auditing all your behinds!

Give him a hollar for this, he'll appreciate it!!!

*Movie Night*

Last summer Myles and I were playing paddle ball out in our front yard.
 

Yeah this is usually an activity you would play on a nice breezy beach,..

NOT in the scorching AZ Summer sun.

We were at the beach the week before and were loving on our skills..

Well it turned out that I hit the ball on our roof. Bummer.

Myles called Paul to get a ladder.

Myles climbed up to the roof....

Got the ball..

EUREKA!

Myles came down and exclaimed, "WE SHOULD WATCH A MOVIE UP THERE!"

But alas,... it was summer and it's still 100000 degrees even at night...

Well in the beginning of November it finally cooled off!

We lugged a tarp, all of our blankets, pillows, Cheetos*Flamin' Hot*, QT hot cocoa, an extension cord and finally the computer. Yes, we would've blown up an air mattress but no one has one... The Francis/Turk clans are real avid campers.. NOT.

We had quite the set-up and enjoyed watching The X-Files movie. It's an awesome show, what do you want from me?

I would complain about the photo...because my camera died and I had to use Myles's's and couldn't edit it on my computer because that died too.... buuuuut It's embarrassing complaining about a 1st world problem like that.

Birthday Fun!

My dear Myles turned 26 on October 13th
...

However he did not have much of a birthday because he was studying all day for his CPA exam which he took the following Monday.

When i say we didn't do anything, that means he studied while I watched Gossip Girl.

What an awful birthday.

I think I felt worse than he did about the whole deal.

Monday came and went
 

His CPA exam is over *sigh of relief*

I am so proud of Myles and all of his hard work.

Especially for studying on his birthday. Who does that? Not I, said the Kat.

I decided that Myles needed a major break so we went up to Pinetop this passed weekend and stayed at "Grandma Bill's" cabin.*

We drove up Friday night, had a great little road trip jammin to tunes and laughing.

When we got there Grandma and Bill gave Myles his birthday present which was a brand new BB Gun. Myles was like a kid opening that thing.

 The next morning we woke up and wanted to test it out! We also brought up my air pistols and Bill is the proud owner of a glock and a few other real firearms.

Grandma is a great little target setter upper.

After that, we drove up to our favorite restaurant in all of Arizona.

Java Blues, Eager, Arizona.

It takes about an hour to get there from the cabin and it is always more than worth the trip. We've been there 4 times now and it gets better every time! Some times Myles and I seriously consider driving 4 hours just to eat there. That's the fattest thing i've ever admitted, but they really have the best bbq pulled pork sandwich in the Southwest.

EVERYONE GO THERE NOW.

We always play the card game "Golf" great game, super fun. Myles, Grandma, Bill and I are very competitive so we have lots of funny moments. I don't think we've ever played a game without cracking up for some reason. You know, a full on gut laugh with tears streamin down your face? I always look forward to that moment and now we have great inside jokes like
"The Dog" and "The last cigarette"

Grandma and I teamed up against Myles and Bill. I think overall the girls took the cake. The boys like to talk a little smack but Grandma and I keep quiet, that's how Lady Luck stays on our side. I, Kat Turk was the reigning champ of the individual games we played... not to brag or anything....

We love Grandma and Bill. We are so grateful to have such fun and loving grandparents. I've said this a million times but when we hang out with them it's like hanging out with another couple our age. How many people can say that about their grandparents?? I hope more than I think

Sew Bored

My dearest Myles has been studying his brains out for school and his CPA exam.
Myles is the type of student who will study all day because he is so dedicated and motivated! Which I completely appreciate.

 

This means that I have a lot of time to myself. Time that needs to be filled or else I'll go crazy.

I got a really nice sewing machine for graduation (thanks B&T) and I've used it twice... and both times were gifts for friends or family. I am excited to start using it more since I have the time. I was thinking, man, the only way I am going to be that cool mom/grandma that can sew stuff is if I start learning NOW.

 

 

I went and got some cute fabric as you can see beneath all my sewing accesories. I went to Sas Fabric in Tempe, they have great deals if you can find what you're looking for. I bought 4 yards of jersey cotton fabric for $7.00. Hello?

I decided to make a maxi skirt and thanks to Tatum because she told me about this great tutorial. Elleapparel.blogspot.com
Trust me I am no pro, so if I can sew this skirt ANYONE can sew it!

Excuse the bad lighting in the photo and the unfinished hem. This skirt is so easy. Only 4 pieces and it folds over like a yoga pant.

I love it and I am sad that I didn't make it sooner!
This skirt only cost about $3.50. A way better deal than buying the same thing for $20+.

Thanks to my Joanns Labor Day Weekend coupon I got some really cute fat quarters and Sas fabric has faux minky for really cheap. I am thinking I will start another quilt.
Yay! 

 



DBacks Game and Cookies

Last Friday we were able to go to a Diamondbacks game in behalf of a co-worker. We went on a tour of all the private clubs before the game. Then we had some pretty nice seats behind first base.

We were able to see Gold Medalist Breeja Larson. It was really cool to be that close to a gold medal!!!!
Not only was an Olympic athlete there,....
All of the MRS. America contestants were there to grace us with their cougarlicious presence. We immediately spotted Mrs. Utah with her knee length shorts and high wedge sandals.

COOKIES
Recently I've been making these really yummy lemon cookies[7 dozen for a bridal shower]. Every time I make them people go crazy. Let me say, it's not me, it's the recipe. So without further ado....
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2012/01/lemon-crinkles.html
She says it best in her blog so I will let her convince you of their yumminess.
The only thing I change is the amount of lemon zest...I triple it.
I swear by this recipe and this food blog. I consult Mel for all my food needs.

Family Fun

Friday night after work Myles told me that he wanted to go to "that Indian food place that your brother and his wife like so much." Then I was like "what? you mean Thai food? Thai Basil?" Then he said "yeah, that place"
It was Myles' first time eating thai food and he lllooovveeddd it.
Then we went on some errands, which somehow included us going to Fry's and buying a ton of pool noodles. We walked out with 10 of them haha. They were on sale! (No i am not a hoarder/impulsive buyer)
The condo complex we live in is mostly inhabited by older people, so NO one uses our pool, unless there is a water aerobics class at 5:00 am that I am unaware of.
Anyway swimming is so much more enjoyable when the sun isn't involved (Myles and I may as well be albino).

Saturday we woke up and went to the Temple and had a wonderful time. Saturday at the temple is bumpin because there are 5000 weddings happening. It was fun seeing all of the excited couples. It reminded us of our special day.
Then we ran into Tatum and Collin. Yay! We love running into people we know at the temple. The temple is like Costa Vida, you always see someone you know. Does anyone else feel that way?

After that we spent the day at home. I made some "Better than hoohaw cake" for a birthday party we went to. I love baking but I hate it because you have to be patient! What other thing could I do besides clean my house while waiting?? That's how you know you're an adult when in your spare time you get excited to spray down your tub with Kaboom, and your house with 409.

That night we spent some time with Myles' cousins and grandpa. We love seeing our family especially the little ones. We also went to my parents house and hung out with B & T. Love those guys. I am not sure how many people can say they prefer to hang out with their parents. Myles and my dad are twins, and I am my mom.

Now we get to go to church and teach our primary class. We team teach, yes I know it's probably the most conveted calling in our ward. We love our primary class, they are so smart and know the stories in the Book of Mormon better than we do it feels like. At least they are smarter than we were when we were young.

Welp, happy Sabbath!

UNA VEZ FUIMOS A PERU

Last Month Myles and I were incredibly blessed to go visit his aunt and uncle in Trujillo, Peru! They are serving as mission presidents and have one year to go! It was a once in a lifetime trip and we are so happy we were able to spend time with the big Turks and the Turkitos(Myles' cousin Parker and Hali and their two kids) They left on their mission a month before we got engaged. Since there are so many wonderful memories from this trip I will post a few/ probably a lot of picture to sum it all up! I apologize that they are out of order! We started in Trujillo as mentioned and then spent time in Cuzco/Machu Piccu.

We spent time with the missionaries playing sand volleyball, soccer and we also visited some ruins depicted above. Yes, that is a child up front, Myles' little cousin Tillman who insisted on wearing a missionary tag. He would always ask, "When er we gonna see the mishineries again?" He will make a fine elder some day. The Spirit of all these elders combined into one megazord it was unlike anything I've experienced!

A little out of order but once we left Trujillo we went to Cuzco, the city you leave from to get to Machu Piccu. It's right in the center of the Andes. It's actually winter down there right now which we were aware of but scoffed that it could actually be cold. IT WAS FREEZING, like 30 degrees FREEZING. Also I kept zooming to take cool pictures of ruins and then taking pictures of Myles and I still zoomed in on accident. I did that probably 10 times.

 This is in Chinchero where we were able to watch native woman naturally dye alpaca wool using plants, roots and rocks. Fascinating, really the chemistry behind it all was beyond me.

This is us on the bus to Machu Piccu after a 3.5 hour train ride.

 Back to Trujillo, this is Myles in front of the largest mosaic in the world! It tells the history of Peru.

 We went to watch the Peruvian/Spanish horses. They are trained in a special way so they walk differently than regular horses. It was fun! I especially admired this horse because he was the only other blonde in Peru.

 This is in the Sacred Valley. We were able to do some shopping. 

 I bought one of these wraps, and Myles bought a pancho.

 We looooved seeing the ladies dress in the traditional native clothing. I don't think they would be as impressed with US native clothing..? I don't even know what would be traditional. A colonial woman churning butter? Levis and a t-shirt?

 After the 3.5 hour train ride, the 30 minute bus ride up switch backs, and then a hot hike, we *cue angels singing* finally made it to Machu Piccu!! Breath taking really. Those who know me won't be surprised when I say I teared up a little bit.

 The pictures don't do justice but they speak for themselves.

 These are our super cool friends from Brazil, Cristian and Rosaria. They were coincidentally on all of our same tours. Automatic picture buddies.

 Como se llama? Señora Llama?-that's the Tamara(Mama) coming out in me.

This is the catedral in Cuzco and some guys dancing. We kept laughing about the lady on the left who looks GIGANTIC. Never mind the beautiful Spanish architecture. 

We have a million other pictures but these were the high lights. The first day in Cuzco we went on some amazing tours of ancient Quechuan ruins. We took the coolest pictures ever but........ they were accidentally deleted. To be honest the only pictures we were sad about were some pictures we took with a family of Alpaca. They were like Rastafa alpaca with dread locks.

Again we had THE BEST time and it wouldn't have been worth it if we didn't get to see Terry and Janet. They are the best. A million thanks for everything!!!

I'm Giving In.

I am finally starting a blog. For real. I read a lot of blogs and I finally realized how important it is to record our history! A few individuals keep telling me that I need to start a blog and every time I make the same excuses. "I'm boring, I do the same thing everyday." and "I don't have babies..?" Then I think about all the great things that happen to me on a daily basis. Big and small. I have the best husband, family and friends. They make my life so great. I couldn't ask for a better life, and I feel undeserving of all the wonderful blessings that come knocking on my door every day!

Quick History: We're the Turks. I am Kat(KATHLEEN). I am more than happily married to Myles. We met briefly at a party one night in March 2010 and I don't think we took our eyes off each other, you know playing that 7th grade starring game, when you act like you weren't looking at each other. Then I finally got the courage to ask who in the world is this guy was. He was Myles Turk, there was what you would call a spark. Everyone says that. The next few days went by and then Myles gave me his phone number via a funny website called facebook. I immediately sent him a text message. We dated and then I left for Spain with my brother for a summer abroad. During that time we decided that we wanted to be with each other forever. I got home that July and on August 14th he asked me to marry him. Then on December 17th 2010 we literally sealed the deal. Each day has been a dream come true.

This photo is so dramatic but it sums up my life pretty well.

This is just the start but there will be more to come soon! Hopefully I can figure out to make this thing cute.