Our Neighborhood

The rain has returned. But, it's not necessarily a bad thing.

On my walk home from work today, I was noticing how the rain makes the colors so much more saturated. The sky may be grey and dreary, but the leaves are more vibrant reds, yellows, oranges, and greens. 

Since Bergen worked this evening and I needed something to occupy myself with, I decided I'd take a little photo walk around the neighborhood and appreciate all the beautiful fall color and rain.

September Shenanigans

Ok, so I have already failed at posting once a week. But at least it hasn't been 8 months since my last post.

Life for us has been pretty busy recently. I've started a new job working at a civil construction company here in Renton. I think one of my favorite things about it is the 5 minute commute! The people are really great and it's a good company. Right now I'm working as a temp but I'm praying that some contracts will go through and they'll be able to hire me permanently.

Other news on the job front, Bergen and I are giving our entrepreneurial skills a shot. No pun intended! We are working on drumming up a photography business. So far, we've gotten a few paying clients and are having a blast! Our spare time has been filled with designing business cards, reading whatever we can find about photography and Photoshop, pinning poses we like and having fun getting out with the camera. Check out our photography portfolio and if you or anyone you know in the Seattle area needs pictures done, be sure to let us know! Bergen has done a great job at editing and actually had his very own photo session this week that, might I add was a success! Photography been one of my "Life in the Middle" projects and I'm glad with lots of help and support from Bergen, family and friends it has been put into action.

My dad came to visit in September and we had a great time. We followed him around Seattle getting classic city landscape shots. As always with any Power get-together, we ate great food and got in a couple rounds of different games at Phyllis and Jeff's (my aunt and uncle). He was here for his birthday, so I made him strawberry shortcake and Bergen made white chicken chili for dinner.

There have been a few different things Bergen has talked about since we first started dating and I was able to experience one of them with him this past month: The Puyallup Fair. It didn't disappoint! We got fresh baked scones, saw the show animals, walked the exhibits and had fun with Karen, Stian and Kjellden. Being from Wisconsin, I've been to my fair share of fairs, but I'd never been to one like this! If any of you out-of-staters ever come to the area in September, you should definitely put this on your list.

Well, it is a rare occurrence for me to be up past 10:30 so I best be signing off to get some beauty sleep. Thanks for visiting!

Always in the Middle

I have really left this blog on the back burner and forgotten about it.

Reading my last post about New Year's resolutions makes me think, resolutions don't have to only be made at the beginning of a new year do they? My resolution as of September 9th is to write at least one blog post a week. I will be accountable to all of you on this.

A few weeks ago, I had some time to read a message from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf titled Always in the Middle. It got me thinking; over my short life of twenty-four years, I have spent so much time worrying about the future. And as a result of that, I have also wasted a lot of time beating myself up over things that I did not do in the past.

He says, “By many world calendars, July marks the middle of the year. While the beginnings and endings of things are celebrated and remembered, the middle of things often goes unnoticed…But with the proper outlook, considering ourselves as in the middle of things can help us not only to understand life a little better but also to live it a little more meaningfully.”

I've struggled with feelings of inadequacies, been disappointed when I compare my life to others’ lives, and felt frustrated with thoughts of not knowing what to do with my life. But, what do I do about it? I spend so much time worrying about the future, I forget to live in the present and am not sure how to go about doing it.

When I read this message, I found my answer. Changing my perception to seeing myself in the middle of things provides me with hope. I think it truly can help me to understand my life a little better and also live it a bit more meaningfully. It can teach me to enjoy my blessings, what I have here and now, rather than letting myself be consumed about what the future holds.

By always living in the middle, I can focus on and do things I want to be doing. I have learned from past experiences, when I keep myself busy and push those worries about the future aside for a time, God has a funny way of providing me with opportunities. In just about every instance, those opportunities were better than what I worried about figuring out how to get. It is a lesson that I have learned and relearned, and now have been reminded of through reading President Uchtdorf’s message.

I have set a goal for myself to be more conscious of directing my energies on things that I can be doing in the moment and keep the “Always in the Middle” perspective on track. I will keep you all up to date on my "Always in the Middle" activities. As President Uchtdorf said, “Forever is composed of nows…Being always in the middle means that the game is never over, hope is never lost, defeat is never final. For no matter where we are or what our circumstances, an eternity of beginnings and an eternity of endings stretch out before us. We are always in the middle.”

Ring in the New Year

A new year always feels like getting a fresh start at things. Just as many of you, I have my own list of resolutions and goals to make me a better person and get more out of life this upcoming year. But if you're anything like me, you can understand how I can already be struggling with keeping them even though it is only the 6th of January.

One thing I've found to help me with sticking to my resolutions is not only writing them down but also writing down a plan on how to achieve them. Making a plan to achieve a goal may seem like common sense, but the idea dawned on me about a year and a half ago as I was reading "Basic Black" by Cathie Black. If any of you are interested in the media world, or just want a good career advice book, I'd recommend reading this one. It was given to me by my mom and it has been my go-to book whenever I get frustrated with what I am doing career wise.

Maybe this afternoon, I'll sit down and write out my plans to get me on track before the year gets away from me...

Bergen and I are looking forward to this new year. We have some things we'd like to do and ideas of other things that haven't fully come together as what we should do. But we'll be sure to keep you posted.

I hope you all had a good holiday season. Ours was filled with family time, good surprises and a little too much good food. That is what I believe the holidays are for. Here are some pictures from our Christmas celebrations. Wishing you all the best in this new year!

Our First Tree

Christmas Morning

Opening Stockings

Bergen in the Aftermath

Birthday Celebrations

Bergen and I both have birthdays that fall in December. That makes it quite a busy month once you add our birthdays to the holiday celebrations.

I had Bergen's birthday off so while he was at work, I was able to make his birthday preparations. His two birthday requests were a night in and that I make him my version of Noodles and Company's Wisconsin Mac and Cheese. I made him mac and cheese (as the side dish) and also made pork chops suffed with spinach, gouda cheese, and bacon. I found the recipe in Costco's cookbook they give away on Black Friday and it's definitely a new favorite.

Bergen, well both of us actually, loves going to the market so the next morning we got up and drove into downtown Seattle to visit Pike Place. We had a great time looking at all it had to offer and getting into the Christmas spirit with all its decorations.

Sunday we went over to Bergen's parents for dinner. Karen had made pork tenderloin (one of Bergen's favorites) and then he opened presents and sliced up one of Costco's famous chocolate cakes.

My birthday was this past weekend and boy did I feel spoiled! Friday night I got a message from my mom that Pier One was holding a present for me to go pick up the following morning. My parents had gotten me the cutest measuring cups and spoons. They're so cute I can't bear to put them away in a drawer. Later that afternoon Bergen and I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. We hadn't been to a movie in a while so that was a nice treat. Afterwards we got a Chicago style pizza for dinner.

All Saturday Bergen kept asking me when I wanted to open his present to me. I told him I could wait till my birthday but I caved and opened it Saturday night. His gifts were sweet. He got me a colorful scarf, a charm necklace and a bottle of bubble bath that smells like warm vanilla.

Sunday we went over to his parents house for dinner. Karen had made beef stroganoff for me. I've had that for my birthday for as long as I can remember! The presents Bergen's family gave me made me feel so spoiled and I love everyone of them! I feel very blessed to have married into such a great family.

One of my favorite things about my birthday was spending time with family-- whether it was in person or on the phone. It's a rare occurrence that I get to hear everyone's voice all in the same day.

WIth both of us turning another year older, I've got a feeling that this upcoming year has a lot of good things in store.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

I have always loved the month of December. In my opinion, it is the best month out of the year. Once you take a step back from all of stress and chaos of holiday preparations you can find that this time of year has a very different feeling about it. Maybe it is just what people call the "Christmas Spirit". Maybe it's all of the excitement in the air. Maybe it's people going out of their way to be kind to others. Maybe it is all the bright and cheery decor. But whatever it is, I like to stop and recognize it when I feel it. Today, I had one of those Christmas moments.

Today Bergen and I went down to Pike Place Market to do a little Christmas shopping. We thought it would be a fun to start the tradition of getting each other a gift from the market each year. Pike Place is one of our top favorite places to visit in Seattle. There are so many unique things to look at and you always learn something new when talking with the artists and vendors.

Before meeting Bergen, I had only ever visited Seattle during the summertime so I had never seen the market all decked out for Christmas. As we pulled up we could see Christmas trees for sale, lights strung, pigs on the roof dressed as reindeer, and even the Pike Place signage looked as if it was part of the Christmas decor. Outside farmers and vendors were selling fresh wreaths and people were bustling in and out of shops to and from the market with all of their gifts in tow.

We split up and once we found what we wanted met back up. Bergen met me with a colorful bouquet of flowers which have now found a home in a vase in our kitchen. I bought a bouquet of flowers with sprigs of evergreen tree and red berries which I thought looked very Christmasy to surprise my grandma with.

It is amazing to me how even the chilly, gray days we have had here can be warmed and brightened with a bit of Christmas cheer. I hope you all are enjoying this Christmas season. Wishing you a merry Christmas.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Also, happy 6 month anniversary to Caitlyn and I.  I have to say sorry for all those that may still be waiting on our thank you cards to be sent out. We have them all made, addressed and waiting to be sent but they are sitting in a box stored away until Caitlyn and I get settled in. I feel bad that we don't have those out yet. So don't worry they are on their way.

Caitlyn and I had a great Halloween and 6 month anniversary. It is a tradition in the Knutzen family to have dinner at my grandparents, take pictures, go trick or treating and come back to have dessert. This year we were lucky to have two parties to go to. Caitlyn's Aunt and Uncle go all out in passing out candy to kids and having family over for mexican food. Yes, we did eat twice and paid dearly for it later.

A couple of days before Halloween we participated in my parents ward's trunk or treat. We decked out our trunk with spooky decorations and some classic halloween music. It was fun because my parents, sister and her husband lined up their cars next to us. It has been so much fun to participate in the holidays with family again. We are eating it up (sometimes literally with all the food we get fed). At the trunk or treat, Caitlyn dressed up as static cling, as you can see in the picture, and I wore a sign that read "nudist on strike". Next year we are planning on being more prepared and coming as some cliche couples costume. We have talked about mario and princess peaches. We will see.

I have recently discovered Printerest. I am addicted. I love arts and craft ideas so I have had a blast going through all the decorating ideas. I am researching the best ways to refinish or paint old thrift store furniture. I love that stuff. I am getting a lot of ideas. Caitlyn and I have been getting ready to move into our new apartment and we have had to think about how to decorate. It is fun to be able to do it all over again. We bought some nice couches yesterday and we still need a table, chairs and a most importantly a bed. I am sure the perfect ones will come up soon, it always seems to happen like it.

Caitlyn had her first day of work today. I am excited for her as she starts this new job. It is always exciting to learn new things, meet new people and just experience a new routine. I think she is going to like it there. I will have to have her write up a post about her new job and what she is doing. Anyway, thanks to whoever reads our blog. I know we are not perfect at it but it is fun. If you do read make a comment and say hi.

A fun little project

I made this picture today. I want to make one for all of Gordon B Hinckley's "6 B's" I made the "Be Grateful" poster. I think they would look good in different colors and in a cool frame. I guess I needed to do something to remind me of all things I have to be grateful for. It was fun to find little quotes or come up with them on my own. Caitlyn and I do have a lot of be thankful for. After moving to Seattle from Utah our family has been such a big help. My wonderful aunt and uncle have allowed us to stay in an extra room in their home. It has been very comfortable and we have had all the comforts we needed. Our family has also fed us great food and made sure we were well taken care of.

It has been a lot of fun to be home. I have not lived at home for years and I was really missing out on those Sunday dinners my mom makes. I love the weather in Seattle and all the trees that turn colors. There is something very special about fall here. The air is crisp and cool and there always seems have have a slight smell of burning wood. The fall colors are everywhere and when it rains it just brightens the greens, reds, yellows and oranges.

Caitlyn and I wanted to do something different with our pumpkins this year so we made these cute owls we found in a Martha Stewart magazine.

Last year at this time Caitlyn and I just started dating. It is fun to think back on that time when we were still getting to know each other. I am very bless to have married such a wonderful girl. We do so many fun things. I am glad she likes arts and crafts like I do.

Caitlyn found a job! I am going to let her write a post and tell about it.

Hello Seattle!

If you haven't heard already, Bergen and I have moved to the Seattle area. It was a bit of an unexpected and quick move but we are sure glad to be here.

Between looking for and applying to jobs, we've enjoyed spending time with family and with each other. It's been great to be around and be part of family events. Since we've been here we spent time with Bergen's aunts who visited from Norway, been with Kjaersti and Tyler when they found out they're having a boy, watched Kjellden's flag football game, took pictures of Stian before homecoming, and visited with my grandma and aunt. And of course, we've made sure to get our Spuds fill in as well!

Bergen is at a second interview as I write this and I have two interviews tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for their support and prayers. We feel very blessed and are happy to be here!

It's been a while...

First, I am sorry that Caitlyn and I have not written a post for a while. I guess we just got caught up in married life and was having so much fun that we just kind of forgot about this blog. Well, we are back so don't worry. Wow, So much has been going on. Caitlyn and I have kept pretty busy with work. We have been savoring our weekend time with one another.

Some of the fun things we have done together this summer has been decorating our apartment. We have bought all of our furniture from a lady who runs a blog called Shabby2chicdesign. He stuff is awesome and comes at a very affordable price tag. We have had fun putting our home together. Last weekend we went tubing down the Provo River. Caitlyn got a couple nasty buises from falling off her tube and letting the river drag her along the bottom. We also got pretty burnt in the 90 degree weather that day. It was a lot of fun.

I have a new hobby that has been keeping me entertained. Last weekend I bought a beautiful fish tank. It is a 12 gallon tank and it is one of the best tanks on the market. I built a great little fresh water habitat with live plants and plenty of fish. The filter on this tank allows me to do a lot with such a small area. It actually filters 160 gallons of water per hour. That is filtering all the water in the tank 13.33333 times every hour. It's fun and I am learning a lot about fish and plants. Right now I have five very small fish and 4 medium to small fish and 4 or 5 little shrimps. We named the school of 5 the jackson 5 and the other's marco and polo, houdini, and molly. Houdini likes to hide. In a couple weeks I will be able to add another school of five and a bit after that I can add even more.

What is really cool about this tank is when I get tired of doing fresh water the tank will handle salt water perfectly. I am really looking forward to having a small salt water reef some day. I am first concentrating on my fresh water. On a side note we still have our two gold fish (nelly and moe) in a bowl. We have had them since about october. They are going strong.

Now that I have told you a bit about what I have been up to. I need to have caitlyn get on and tell you all about what she has been doing.

Watch this video of my fish in action!

The Whirlwind that was April

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's what we were up to in April

Graduation

Easter with the family

Getting our marriage license!

Trip to the Weyerhaeuser Bonsai Gardens

Bergen's night out with the guys

Thursday afternoon after the temple.

With Grandma at the family dinner.

Bergen's going to the temple and going to get married!!

Tied the knot!!

The Reception

The Getaway Car

Our View

So, there you have it...through April. More details about specific activities to come!!

It's Finally April!

It's finally April the month we've been counting down to! We're only five days in but I can already tell its going to be a busy month.The month is pretty full but that's good because time always seems to go by more quickly when you're busy.

Bergen officially started work (aka getting paid) on Friday and has been running around between work projects and school projects. I keep telling him the end of school is insight. Graduation is the 22nd and Bergen's parents are coming in town for it. We're excited to spend some time with them and show them around good ol' Provo.

Our apartment opens up this weekend and Bergen is going to start moving stuff in. I'll be sure to take some pictures of the place so you all can see it. My friend Hannah is also throwing me my bridal shower this weekend as well. My sister, brother in law, and niece are coming down from Idaho for it so it'll be fun to see and spend some family time with them.

We'll be leaving to go up to Washington on the 23rd. Road trips with Bergen are always fun. I'll have to get a good book for him to read me. Over our trip for Thanksgiving he read me Roald Dahl's "The Witches". He does a great job with all the voices and is pretty entertaining to listen to. Currently he is reading me "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Maybe I'll just have him continue on with that.

The clock's a ticking and we're eagerly counting down the days! The wedding will be here sooner than we think! Happy April everyone!

Spotlighted!

I was spotlighted on Lime Marketings blog. If you are interested READ HERE.

I got a job!

I (Bergen) got a job at the place I have been an intern for all winter. I will be starting officially on April 1st. The company is Lime Marketing. They are a full service Marketing agency. We do everything from building websites to making iphone/ipad apps for a range of clients. It has been an awesome experience to work there. I have learned so much from everyone. They are growing fast and I feel lucky to be on the ground floor because we are working with some amazing clients. I will be primarily working with new clients and finding new leads for the company, so if anyone knows anyone who needs a website, amazing business cards, graphic design work, branding or an iphone app just come to me. I am very excited for the future with lime and I am even more excited to get my company issued iphone. There are a lot of things I can appreciate about Lime but one think I love is that they are pretty much completely paperless and we all work off Apple products. My bosses, Wes and Shawn, spare no expense at making Lime a great place to work. Every friday we have a Lime Lunch. All 30 employees go out to eat together. It feels like Lime takes me on a date every friday. I feel so blessed that Caitlyn and I both have great jobs within the Advertising industry. I feel confident that Lime will take good care of us.

Time for Cake!!

For quite some time, we've been trying to figure out what to do for our cake. At one point while Bergen and I were at Cost Co, we were walking past those chocolate cakes (you know the ones I'm talking about) and out of exasperation I said we should just get some of those and be done with it! Luckily for us, Bergen's sister Kjaersti sent me some information a few days later from a bakery in Kent called Something Delicious.  My mouth started to water as I read over the cake flavors and fillings and they were pretty reasonably priced for what we were wanting. 

This past week, Kjaersti took in the cake stand and got the final details and I ordered it yesterday. It'll have three tiers: one moist vanilla with creamy lemon filling, one rich dark chocolate with a caramel fluff filling, and one marble swirl with soft fudge filling. YUM!!

Thanks again Kjaersti and Karen for all your help with this!

Nelly & Moe

When Caitlyn and I first started dating, we went to the pet store (Jay's Jungle) where I was working at the time and bought two 15 cent goldfish. We gave them the names Nelly and Moe. Honestly I didn't think they would last more than a week. Caitlyn had more faith they would. Well, Caitlyn was right. It has now been five months and those little guys are still going strong. Caitlyn and everyone else who comes to my apartment feeds them so they are fat and happy. They are pretty important to Caitlyn and she gets mad at me every time I talk about flushing them. Now we just need to find someone to watch and feed them while we are in Seattle getting married.

Time seems to be flying by. As of today there is only a month left of classes for me. I am so excited to graduate and be done with homework and classes and even more excited for getting married. My parents are going to be coming to Utah for my graduation and I am really looking forward to that. They have never come to Utah while I have been in school and it will be fun showing them around all my favorite places in Provo. Caitlyn and I also found a great condo to live in. I can't wait to be able to live with her and get ready in the mornings with her and just spend all my free time with her. We will have to make a separate post just about the new place. We will do that when we can take some pictures. Just fair warning it's a nice place but we won't have furniture yet. Today is a such as beautiful day Caitlyn and I are about to take off for a walk. Thanks for following us on our blog. Adios.

P.S. If you look really hard through the glass in the fishbowl you can see a blown up monster version of Caitlyn's face. LOL

A Couple Pictures

Our photographer Nataly posted a couple of our photos on her blog. I thought I would post them on our blog for our friends to see. I like them and I can't wait to see more. She did a great job and we would recommend her for sure!

Tulips and Callas: It's Beginning to Feel Like Spring

I finally got everything squared away with the florist and put in the order for the wedding. It felt so good to put a check next to that on my list!

My favorite flower is a tulip and since it's a spring wedding I really wanted to incorporate them. My bouquet will be a mix of purple tulips and hot chocolate calla lilies. The bridesmaids' bouquets will be the same just a smaller version. For Bergen and the groomsmen, their boutonnieres will have a single calla lily and some accents.

The wedding is quickly approaching! Somedays it seems farther away than others but it'll be here before I know it!

Engagements

Yesterday morning we braved the snowy weather and headed up to Salt Lake to get our engagement pictures taken. Our photographer, Nataly Harris, did a great job and was a lot of fun to work with. We started out at a used bookstore where Bergen and I had gone on a date once. Nataly got some shots of us between the shelves and books and then we took some pictures in the ally behind the bookstore. Once we were thoroughly frozen from the cold and falling snow, we headed over to Anthony's Antiques. This is by far, the coolest antique store I have ever been in. The pieces they have are from all over the world and  look like they should be in a museum. Bergen is working on a project at his internship for the owner and his son so he was able to get us in. We changed into something a bit more dressy and got some really creative and classy pictures there.

It was a lot of fun to be a model for a morning and I can't wait to see the pictures (I'll just have to put it at the back of my mind for 2-3 weeks till we get the pictures or I'll drive myself crazy!). Nataly had a lot of creative ideas and I'm sure they'll be beautiful photographs. We'll keep you posted.

Wedding Invitations!

Caitlyn and I designed our own wedding invitations and I we will be getting them letter-pressed (click to see what that is) by Bjorn Letterpress Studio in Provo. We thought the guy who owns it did really good work for a great price. We wanted to make an invitation that fit the vintage antique style of our wedding. We are really happy with what we came up with. We are going to include a photo of us as well.

We want everyone who wants an invitation to have one. We are hoping to get our address lists completed soon. We made a website were you can enter your name and address to receive an invitation. So if you have not already done that make sure you click here and enter your address.

Its been really fun seeing how our styles have been able to fit into our wedding designs. Caitlyn has a good eye for design and her suggestions are always good ones.

I am glad she has had time to work on wedding stuff because I have been so busy with homework and tests. Being engaged has been a distraction and its been hard to get motivated when it comes to writing papers and take tests. I think I have managed fairly well so far. It's going to be exciting when I graduate in April. Going to college has been a great experience for me and it has effected my life for good in so many ways. Had I not gone to college and joined the advertising program I would have never met Caitlyn . It feels good to know I made the right choice.