Hair Show with Travis Parker

Travis Parker came to town with the company One to give a little hair demonstration at Bloom Studios in Gilbert! He is a celebrity hair stylist that has worked on Hillary Clinton, Blink-182, Katie Couric and many other celebs hair! He use to own a small salon with 8 chairs but has become quite high profile and is now in a private studio by himself in San Diego! He has mucho knowledge and has many tricks up his sleeve when it comes to styling! He gave us a few lessons on a couple models with different types of hair and was pretty entertaining to watch! Usually these shows are put on by companies to promote their product so there was much selling going on! 

I met Tammy and Lisa there...they stayed about an hour and a half then they left to party for Lisa's birthday! They served us Subway lunch then continued on with the show! I saw a girl there I went to beauty school with (she was in the class right behind mine) and we talked after the show! We used some of the same product line but she couldnt get it anymore so I helped her out with that! 

Afterwards they gave us all a free curling iron wand! It was the main reason we all went anyways! haha Then the building manager gave me and a few other people a tour of the building! She had transformed it from business offices to a salon, spa, doctors, gym, cafe, boutique with lots of little businesses! She was trying to fill spaces and her salon..I like it a lot but no foot traffic comes through there and it would be a hard place to attract clients!

I ran home to see Kirk and then back to work!

Sweet Little Love Notes

Sometimes not many words are necessary... :)

Cherri's New 'Do!

Cherri has been wanting a haircut for a while and we've both been putting it off! We must be busy...too many things in our way! We finally nailed down a time to book an appointment and I was excited! I think Cherri was too! I kinda talked her into getting some highlights (what kind of daughter-in-law would I be if I didnt :) The top half is highlighted and the underneath is her natural! The result was fabulous! She was so excited she went straight to show it off! I got a sweet call from Sam saying that he loved it and was happy she could finally get it done! Yay for making people feel awesome!

ASU's Movie on the Field

I got an invite from my friend Marcie to join her and some friends to see a movie at ASU! They were showing Pitch Perfect on the big screens at the football field! We met at Marcie's house and she drove us there! We picked a spot and layed out our blankets! A while after the movie had started these 2 boys showed up that Mandy had invited. Marcie and I werent too excited but we stayed on our side of the blankets! During the movie they gave out popcorn and boxes of candy!

Me, Laurel, Mandy and Marcie

When it ended we decided to go to Dairy Queen...it was closed so we went to Sonic! After we got there the boys showed up again! Mandy had called them and invited them to Sonic! We all sat around, hung out and ordered food! We had fun but Marcie and I felt a little uncomfortable hanging out without Kirk and Austin! Marcie even texted me and asked if I wanted to go home! A few of them convinced the waiter to bring out the skates that Sonic uses and let them ride around for a while! Then when one of the guys told us we should give the waiter our number as a tip I said "um, im married." and was ready to go! haha So we left and I drove home to Kirk! I was so excited to see him! I mean, it was fun to hang out with the girls for a while but I dont think i've ever hung out without Kirk and it was a little weird! Im definitly glad I get to be with Kirk everyday!

Lunch

My grandma Kelly, mom and I were busy getting things ready for Cristian's wedding reception and got hungry! So we decided to stop for lunch at Jimmy John's! Good food and good talks!

General Conference April 2013

I'm so glad conference comes every 6 months! It comes just in time to lift my spirits and remind myself to do better! We missed the first session on Saturday because we were both working but we caught up with the second session! As tradition, the boys (Kirk, his dad and brothers) went to Priesthood session and then dinner at Joe's BBQ afterwards!
Sunday morning we were invited to the Woodruff's house with Logan and Blair to watch the first session! Cherri had made french toast casserole and homemade syrup for breakfast!

Soon after we went to the Regnell's house for lunch! We had spicy fajitas, watermelon, rice and mac-n-cheese! We sat in the front living room and watched the talks on the projector screen which was pretty awesome! The dogs, Bif and Molly, hung out with us and my mom painted Alyn's toenails!

The lessons are always great! One that really stuck out to me was Saturday afternoon's session! Elder Bednar's talk called "We Believe in Being Chaste" was awesome! He talked about the standards the church upholds of chastity but also about the reason behind the principle. One quote that sums it up is, "Our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son are creators and have entrusted each of us with a portion of Their creative power." It especially hit me because of an experience I had about 2 weeks ago!

I work with a lady named Lisa who has a 20 year old daughter, Deja. Deja goes to the University of Arizona and was visiting for spring break! Lisa was cutting her hair when I walked by. Lisa said "Whitney when you get a few minutes do you mind talking with Deja about how you saved yourself?"....I paused for a second, not knowing what she was talking about, and said, "sure." Then she asked if we could go in a back room to speak in private. I was a little confused since I dont know Deja very well and wasn't sure what she mean by "being saved".

We went into the back room , shut the door and Deja pulled up 2 chairs. We sat down and she said, "my mom told me that you saved yourself for marriage and your husband. I want to also but want to know how and I dont know anyone that has done that." I was little taken back since A) She was asking me about a semi private topic...my chastity and B) that she didnt know anyone who had lived that way. I took a second to gather my thoughts and started telling her about things that were important to me like looking for a worthy man, dating only those who had the same standards as me, the reason why we have these guidelines and things to be aware of. She asked if after we were married things were weird and I told her no, they are even more special because you have a bond with your husband that youve never had before, you can give him 100% of yourself and you get 100% of him also. She said in college everyone is her age but no one lives this principle, that she appreciated the talk and that her boyfriend also wanted to wait for marriage. I told her he was a respectful man and one to hold on to!

When I heard Elder Bednar's talk I immediatly thought of Deja and made a plan to share his message with her!

I love this gospel with all my heart and know our leader's are inspired of God and know what we need to hear! These principles keep us safe and bring joy into our lives!

Only 6 more months til the next conference! Let the countdown begin!

Lauren and Cristian April 2013

Cristian has been home from his for a whole year now and when he got home he met a good girl, Lauren Tenney! They got hooked up and have been together since! Her family is from Snowflake so they had were married in the Snowflake temple! Kirk and I woke up early Saturday morning at 7 and took the 3 hour drive up north! We made it at 10, just in time for the sealing at 1030! It was awesome and after we waited a while for them to come out and take pics!

 Then we went to a nearby church to have lunch that my uncle Jerry made! After the luncheon we had some time to spare so we drove around the small town to take a look around! We ended up taking a little nap in the car! haha
Then my grandparents showed up and we took a walk around the church building! It was an old building, we dont see ones like that in the valley! They had a statue and plaque with old members on it.
At 5pm we got to go inside and check out the reception! Lauren's family had a friend decorate for them and it looked awesome...cute shabby chic! Family members came and we took pictures and hung out before it began! At about 630 people started coming in! We saw a few old family friends of ours like Sam and Joanne Warren! Theyre dad use to live at my parent's assisted living care facility!
Then we left and made the 3 hour journey back and reached home at about 10pm!

Some Epps family

Uncle Brian, Aunt April, Uncle Jerry, Lauren, Cristian, Aunt Marca, Aunt Stacy & her husband, Aunt Nanette and James!

The next week Cristian and Lauren went on their honeymoon to Disneyland!

During that time my mom, grandma and I planned their valley reception! They made cake, cupcakes, decorations (some were borrowed from the first reception) and I made props for the photo booth, borrowed shepards hooks and jars from Cherri from my reception and a few other little things!

They got home Saturday afternoon from California and my family went over to the Perry's house to set up! I joined them in the afternoon and we ran around getting things ready! About 630 people started showing up! It turned out really good and lots of people came! Alyn was the camera (wo)man and took pics for the photo booth! She also borrowed the sound system from Desert Ridge High School so there some great music!nEveryone seemed to have a good time and the photo booth was a hit! Cristian and Lauren were grateful for our help! We cleaned up and left....it was a success! We joked that we should just start a family wedding business...Dad can cook, mom can decorate, Alyn can take pics, Kirk can get them in shape, I can do hair and make up and Bishop can be the entertainment! haha

Groupon

There is a website that gives good deals on many many different things and advertises for these businesses! I thought it would be a great idea to join and get some attention for my work! I applied online but didnt get accepted. So a few months later i reapplied and they finally accepted me! We got a few deals made up, spoke on the phone a few times and signed an online contract! Finally April 6th my deal went live and people started calling! Its pretty awesome! Im excited to expand my business! Ive been busy, met some fun people and am gaining new clients! Its lookin' up!

I even got a good review!! A few days later more people recommended me!