TBT: Happy Birthday to Sydney!

Hello bloggies! <3

I apologize for my absence over the last few weeks, I was rehearsing for a new show and it pretty much consumed my life. I will be posting photos and a video soon so you can see what I've been up to. 

Now for today's exciting event: it's my puppy's birthday! Well she's not exactly a puppy any more, because she's turning 5 today! Happy birthday Sydney!

Five years ago I had just finished my first year of college, and over the summer I auditioned for season 8 of American Idol. It was before I had started my formal training, and I was nervous and inexperienced in auditioning and choosing appropriate repertoire. All the same, my 10 second audition didn't land me a spot on the show, and I was pretty devastated. Some backstory: after getting rejected by the ASU music school a couple times and now by AI, I was pretty shaken up and doubted my musical ability. I had changed my major from music to biology, and was pursuing a career working with animals. I had a dream of taking a semester off and going abroad to Australia to work with wildlife there.

After the brutal AI audition (it really is a twisted and excruciating "audition", I don't recommend it), I was pretty beat up over it, so my mom took me to the humane society to play with puppies. You know, just to cheer me up! Long story short, I came home with a little bundle of joy, locked up my dream to go to Australia, named her Sydney (since she became my new journey. Oh, and she's a dingo), got my dog training certification, and have loved every minute since! She really is the best dog ever, and I wouldn't trade her for the world. She is an American Dingo (also known as a carolina dog), which is a breed that isn't fully domesticated yet, so she has some "wild dog" tendencies, which makes training her a real challenge. She's extremely smart though, so its a fun challenge. She's sassy, talks a lot, and never lets a moment pass without telling me exactly how she feels about something. She's a great model too, when she's in the mood for it. Thanks for five GREAT years pup, here's to a bunch more. Happy birthday, Squid!

<3 Laurynn Elise

TBT: Snow Trip

Two winters ago, we decided to take the pups up north to see snow for the first time. They're complete desert dwelling dogs who won't go past the first step of the pool, so we had no idea how they would react to wet, freezing snow. As any good dog mamma would, my parents, Andy and I packed the pooches up in the back of the car and set off to explore. Apparently, my dog LOVES snow. She loves running through it, playing in it, eating it, and burrowing tunnels while pulling me at 20mph through it. Here are some pictures of our day!

<3 Laurynn Elise

TBT: Trip up the mountain :)

Back when I first got my new camera, Andy and I decided to take a little trip up a "mountain" (people from outside Arizona tend to call them hills. Not sure why.) ;) We caught a sunset and took some tripod-less selfies and had a fun time! Here's pictures from that day:

<3 Laurynn Elise

TBT: 24th Birthday Party

So a recent phenomenon has been sweeping the internet called Throw-Back Thursday. The idea is to post a picture of a memory in the past, so we can relive cool things we've done. Or whatever. So I'm jumping on the bandwagon and posting a bit of a throwback for you all. Not going too far into the past (embarrassing pictures of my childhood will come later. I promise.), I decided to post some pictures of my 24th birthday party. It was my Golden Birthday (24 on the 24th), so I threw a fancy little shin-dig, dubbing it a masquerade cocktail party. Complete with fun masks, yummy food from my wonderful mamma, and the best photo-booth photographer ever, it was a wonderful party! Thanks to my pal Ashley for taking amazing photos so I could be free to dance and socialize. :)

Mini Bunt Cakes <3

Ellie @ Designers Mark did a great job arranging those flowers!

Yummm :)

Nice face ;)

:)

Saving his damsel in distress ;)

<3 Laurynn Elise