A Life Worth Living

NEW BLOG SITE!!!

2008-11-21T22:59:00.000-08:00

Brian and I are combining forces. From now on, check us out at http://thebabcocksworld.blogspot.com.

Link to Wedding Photos

2008-07-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE our wedding photographer. She did such a great job. and I also want to give a shout out to photoshop, who keeps my skin looking amazingly porcelain. Check out the photos on Kate Benson's blog: http://kmbfoto.blogspot.com/ As of now, we're the first ones that pop up but in case that changes soon, you can just scroll down to us. love you all!!!

MARRIED!!!

2008-07-01T16:30:00.001-07:00

Mission President: Santiago, Chile!!!

2008-02-25T09:30:00.000-08:00

Could this February be more eventful??? I think not. My parents have officially received their call to serve as Mission President in the Santiago North mission. Wooo Hoooo! "Living the Dream!" Can't wait to go visit.

I'm an AUNT!!!

2008-02-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

This February keeps getting better and better!!! Collin & Linds welcomed Sean "The Beefcake" Timothy Swenson into the world last night (on his daddy's birthday) at a whopping 9lbs 6oz. Check out those newborn cheeks!!! He's a lucky son of a gun to come to such amazing parents. Can't wait to meet the little(/kinda huge) guy!!!

Made of Stone?

2008-02-20T14:35:00.000-08:00

So apparently I'm made of stone. At least that's what I've been told when people hear I didn't cry when Brian proposed. I was so excited it didn't even cross my mind to cry! But the "made of stone" comment has prompted me to post this picture which was taken in December at Gladstone's, my favorite restaurant, where Brian broached the topic of marriage for the first time, asked for my ring size, and I cried some very happy tears... or at least I let them float around in my eyes for a while before blinking them away... Enjoy. =)

Boring January makes for the Best February EVER

2008-02-13T11:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Engagement to Me!!! Brian proposed in the most surprising and romantic way. He continues to amaze me and I'm still trying to figure out how I snagged him. Cannot WAIT to marry this guy.
The Story:
For 2 years now I've been trying to plan a trip to New York to visit my BFF Ashley Burnett. Her 25th birthday was coming up and it's always a big event and I hate not spending it with her so I booked my flight and took a couple days off work to go celebrate. Brian was invited but with the recent switch from taxes to valuations, he didn't think it was a good idea to take time off. New York was AMAZING. Ashley had us on a schedule - literally she sent out a 4 page itinerary detailing every aspect of the weekend. There were 3 friends flying in for the party, one that had never been to NYC before so we wanted to make sure we got everything in. I went to Madison Ave and visited Ash at Polo Ralph Lauren where she works, we ate at delicious restaurants, played pool, went dancing, went shopping on 5th Ave & in China Town, got manicures, played the huge piano at FAO Schwartz, ran around the city in the rain & went to a poetry slam. So much fun.

Saturday morning we woke up early and got dressed up to go to the Phantom of the Opera. We put in our names at a cute brunch place called SaraBeth's and then during the hour wait, we walked over to Central Park for Ash to show us her favorite spots. We had our camera's out taking pictures as we walked up the stairs to Belvedere's Castle - this beautiful spot that overlooks the park & the city. I came up the stairs and turned to see Brian in a black pea coat (not a necessary detail but he just looked so cute) with a bouquet of gorgeous red roses. I just stood there and stared. It took so long for it to compute what was going on. Here's the inner dialog... "He looks like Brian... he IS Brian... why is Brian in New York?? Why does he have those roses??? Is he doing what I think he's doing?!?!?!" I looked at Ash for some answers and she motioned for me to go over to him - finally he'd had enough of my standing there and he goes "Get Over Here!" so I ran to him. Yes, ran. Pictures and video will prove it might not have been the best option since it doesn't make for the most flattering shots, but I didn't even think about it and bolted to him. After a hug, I went to kiss him and he gave me a quick one and pushed me away so he could drop to a knee. (Literally pushed. Pretty funny.) After a number of very sweet words, he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. We called our parents and squealed the good news and then joined the group for brunch, went to Phantom as planned, hit up Times Square, more good food, shopped at Century 21, saw the Statue of Liberty and went to Wall Street before crashing at Ashley's. A perfect weekend.
The thing that still surprises me is how in the world did this all work out so perfectly? How did they arrange it so I'd be showered and dressed nice, nails freshly manicured??? Anyone who knows me knows the likelihood of any of those things happening on a weekend that I'm on vacation without my boyfriend are slim to none. And how did he get there looking so nice?? His amazing friend, Christine, drove down from Connecticut, picked him up from the airport, took him to a friend of Ashley's to shower up, and drove him to the park in time to meet me. It was brilliant. The perfect surprise.

Ali Babcock... not bad right?

DECEMBER!!!

2008-01-09T16:54:00.000-08:00

(Krista Davis & I at the ward Christmas party. Don't you love the couple in the background? Does that scream awkward stake dance to anyone else?)

I do love a good December - jam-packed with holiday spirit, Christmas music, hot chocolate, sitting by the fire, pajamas all day long and guilt-free gluttonous eating. This year I also added 3 formal Christmas dances (aka 3 excuses to borrow Kate's prom dresses), a golf tournament, 2 trips to Newport Beach, Christmas in Pittsburgh & New Years in Denver. (Ignore how ridiculous I look... don't you love our matching outfits! It looks like we're going to Prom.)

There may be some of you that are still hung up on the golf tournament thing... so for those of you thinking... "Ali doesn't play golf!" You would be correct. And that's exactly what I said when I was asked to play. Not only do I not play but I've only been to the driving range once. But I was repeatedly told that it didn't matter and, in a moment of weakness, gave in to the idea. I was feeling so inadequate that I bought an argyle shirt in hopes that it would magically transform me into Annika Sorenstam. Shockingly that didn't do that trick. However despite my complete lack of skill, I managed to par one hole and hit the green on 2. I was pretty proud.

Christmas was better than ever this year and I'm having the hardest time verbalizing why. The whole family spent the entire time together - playing games and hanging out. We did everything as a group. I almost wish I were kidding when I say "we" (read "I") spent the entire vacation in pajamas. We played speed scrabble until I was permanently formed to the chair. We watched countless hours of old Friends episodes. We settled Catan to our little hearts' content. We all got to feel baby Sean kicking and stretching like crazy in adorable Lindsay's tummy. The poor kid doesn't have much room in there these days. And best of all, we talked to E. He's such a stud.

(How happy is my cute mother!!! Another round of scrabble?!?!?!?!? YES PLEASE!!!)

(I told you she was adorable! 5 weeks and counting!!!)

(Those would be my pajamas. And those would be scrabble tiles. Any my dad would be...ducking to make sure he's in the timer picture?? I think you made it pops.) =)

For New Years, it was off to Littleton to meet the rest of the Babcock crew. Lucky, lucky me. Jan cooked up a storm and let me tell you - she's a force to be reckoned with. From midnight until 1am, Tom showed us a sweet documentary on Zions National Park that I have to admit I was into. (Don't worry, we balanced it out with a lot of football bowl games.) Mike & Kelly and the sweetest, most adorable, and energetic 3 kids I've ever met had me laughing like crazy. Madison loved speed scrabble, as long as her team was winning, Carter showed us his video gamer moves, as long as Brian was there to cheer him on, and Brookie the Wookie just wanted a blue tongue.

Still craving my time there and wish we all could have stayed for just a little longer, For Pete Sakes!

(Happy New Year!! Kissy kissy!)(How pretty is Colorado?? Not bad. As you've probably guessed - we took a jumping picture here but I'll spare you this time.)

A Year in Review: November

2007-12-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

Sweeeeeet November.

Karin (my boss) came back from maternity leave and the craziness died down, I survived my first ward service auction as service committee co-chair and we raised over $10,000 to help provide Christmas for families in our stake, and Brian took me to Wicked for my birthday. (that's right - I milked my birthday into November.)

Brian & I had an amazing weekend getaway to Utah for his birthday. We got to spend time with Granny & Grandpa and explored Sundance. It was so nice to get away from work and LA for a couple days. Some idiot (me) forgot to put candles in his guac at chipotle as he requested. The same idiot (still me unfortunately) forgot to take pictures as he blew out the candles of the beautiful baseball cake I made him. So here I am forcing him to blow out candles in cantaloupe. Apparently he just turned 4.
The entire Swenson clan got together in St. George for Thanksgiving! I paraded Brian through Mom, Dad, Kate, Collin & Linds, both sets of grandparents, 2 aunts, 2 uncles, 6 cousins, 4 kids of cousins, 9 Ellis', 6 Ferrells, and 4 Carters. That's what we like to call "the ringer." He took it like a champ and we had a great time. We apparently like things in sets of two... we played tennis twice, played the name game twice, ate at Cafe Rio twice, biking twice (Brian, not me), and watched 2 1/2 BYU sporting events. And then there was Nertz. I estimated 47 rounds of Nertz in a 5-day period. It's no longer something we play because we want to - it's something we NEED. And as much as we say it's for the love of the game... we all want to win and being paired with a weak link hurts more than we ever want to admit. Lucky for me, Brian's a Nertz up and comer and held his own. Watch out Crawford's, we're coming for ya.

A Year in Review: October

2007-12-18T12:19:00.000-08:00

The month without Babcock!!! Ok fine, so I'm an over-exaggerator... Babcock went on a 2 week roadtrip with his youngest brothers Justin & Andrew. While he was away, I had another mudrun - much more intense this time, and our ward had our homecoming football game. This game puts high school football to shame. I'm surprised we didn't have a parade! The 2 big singles wards in LA put together legit football teams with practices every week and plays to memorize. We had a cheer squad, a pep rally, 2 fully suited mascots, and we won 77-28. Tons of fun.
Brian made it back in time for all the college girls to come in town for Chelsea's wedding, his birthday celebration (29!!!) at Chipotle & the batting cages, and a superhero Halloween.

A Year in Review: September

2007-12-18T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wait... what??? How are we in September already?? What happened to August?? Funny you should ask... because my real August came and went about that fast. August was when work started going crazy and it didn't stop until mid-November. Luckily, by September, I realized that I needed to force some balance in my life and found some time to play. Plus it was my birthday and Brian decided to spoil the crap out of me. Who could resist that???

Birthday recap: Brian took me sailing for my birthday (one week early), and while the other couples stayed where it was safe, Brian & I braved the open waters on the front of the sailboat. I was getting splashed like crazy, holding on for dear life as the wind picked up, and almost fell through an open hatch. Once safe in the harbor, we floated as we ate dinner and a beautiful chocolate cake. On my actual day, he had surprise after surprise waiting for me including breakfast in bed and tickets to Wicked. It was the perfect birthday.

Other fun-ness: Labor day at the beach with friends, my first fancy steak dinner @ Ruth's Chris, BYU vs UCLA football game, and a weekend trip to St. George.

Before getting on the sailboat, our friend told us it was customary for sailors to do a jig before they're allowed to get on the boat. Yeah, he's a liar. But we jigged it up anyway. If you listen carefully at the very beginning, you can hear me ask Brian, "What kind of a jig?" Does it matter??? How many jigs do I know???

A Year in Review: July

2007-12-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

For the rest of my life I think July 2007 will be the month to beat.

Brian & I took the most spontaneous vacation of my life to Jackson Hole to see my best friend Ashley Burnett. I'm talking... Ash invited us at noon, booked our flights at 4pm, left at 7pm. We went white water rafting, on a lazy river float (laziest river of my life - we floated for 4 hours), to the demolition derby, and I got to meet Brian's brother and sister-in-law, Mark & Jenny!

Every year our ward puts on a film festival. My favorite friend Krista (middle) puts it on (along with every other ward activity) and she always does AMAZING. Red carpet event and a great excuse to put on a fancy dress. (Thank you Kate/Mom for sending prom dresses!)

Kate came to visit!!! We went to the beach, surfing (my first time), to the circus (also my first time), played Guitar Hero until our fingers bled, and to the batting cages. Check out Kate's sweet hand print tanlines. I did that on accident and laughed until I cried when I saw it. She was the focal point of every guy in the ward, and the envy of every girl. Man alive is she beautiful and fun. Just love this girl.

Mark & Jenny came to visit! Guess they didn't get enough Ali & Brian time when we went to see them. The 4 of us went to Sequoia National Park for a long weekend to camp and were joined by their friends Erin & Ben. It was so good to spend time with them... so good in fact that it was hard when they left. Move to LA!!! I'm actually in the process of convincing everyone I love to move out here. So far I've successfully coerced Katie Rockwood & Leanne Burnett... Not bad right? You next?

Mission President???

2007-12-07T11:45:00.000-08:00

Lucky for missionaries somewhere... my wonderful, inspiring and always dedicated parents get to be their fake parents for the next 3 years. And as excited as I am for them (the missionaries) and them (my parents), I have to admit I was initially more conflicted than I would like to admit. Selfish, I know. So despite that first hour of incessant crying, I'd like to use this as a platform to trumpet my enthusiasm for them.

When is it that children begin to be just as proud of their parents as parents are of their kids? Sometime before 25, that's for sure. I know that they will be incredible, and my temporary loss will certainly be the gain of many. And with any luck... our family will have the reunion of a lifetime somewhere new and exciting. Stay tuned to find out where.

A Year in Review: June

2007-12-05T13:34:00.000-08:00

Busy month! Weekend trip to San Diego, my first business trip to Cincinnati (going back to my mid-west roots!), Kenny G/Chris Botti concert (jealous much?), trip to Mexico with 20 friends from the ward, The Format concert, my first mud run, & a trip to Lake Powell with BFF Krista Davis.

Wow! Is this guy into me or WHAT?!?! =) Lucky me. This is from our trip to Mexico.
Just to make the trip more exciting, I got pulled over for some bogus reason and had to pay the cop off. That's what we call the full Mexico experience.

Totally blog worthy... Krista (2nd from the left) was signed up for a mudrun down in San Diego so I went to spectate since we were making the trek out to Lake Powell that same day - it made sense. A mudrun is a 10K run on a marine course complete with muddy obstacles that you do in teams of 5. They spray you down with fire hoses, make you jump over walls, crawl through tunnels and under flags - all doused in what can only be sewage water/mud/portapotty overspill. I showed up day of in pjs on zero hours of sleep (don't ask), but when group member #5 failed to show up... guess who got to participate. I scrounged a fairly pathetic outfit from our Lake Powell bags including all cotton clothes and Krista's old soccer cleats - a size and a half too big with huge holes in the toes. People were looking at me like I was crazy. And as I passed the first aid stand... the sports medicine doctor there asked me my size, and GAVE me her shoes. Not to borrow - to keep. That's right - the ones she was wearing. I couldn't believe it. If that doesn't give you faith in the goodness of people I don't know what will. And not that winning's all that matters, but we rocked the thing and ended up taking 9th place.

A Year in Review: May 2007

2007-12-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

Apparently April wasn't too interesting. Or maybe it was soooo interesting that I forgot to take pictures... either way - on to May.
Another camping trip with great LA friends.

Ran my first mini with Kate, Collin, the Big Dog & Brooke Ellis. Apparently Collin's faster than we are... shocking, I know.

A Year in Review: March 2007

2007-12-05T13:09:00.001-08:00

Camping at pismo beach with 40 friends. I'm on the left, that's Chelsea on the right. 10 cars circled up and we had one massive fire in the middle of all the tents. Great trip.

First for Everything

2007-11-29T10:04:00.000-08:00

Figured it was about time I jumped on the blogging bandwagon. Welcome to the world of Ali. LA Style.

Definitely a Life Worth Living.