Summer Update

The summer feels like it is flying by! In just a couple of days we'll hit July, the prime of Summer. I have been waiting for warmer weather for so long and now it's here.....Let's just say I am happy inside :).

Here's a quick update of our summer so far....

Rain, Rain, and more Rain (could not believe this, most of my June was spent with jackets and soggy pant legs).

Daurie bought a house! and look how cute it is!!! I am so excited for her.















Our anniversary was a couple of weeks ago. These last two years have flown by, and they have been great. I love my husband, I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to him as I never get tired of being with him and I have to find things for myself to do if he's not around. He's so good to me, seriously spoils me in every way, and I am grateful that I get to keep him. We didn't plan anything too spectacular this year. We thought it would be a fun reminder for us if we went up to the Salt Lake Temple where we were married and did a couple of sealings. Then afterward go to the roof to eat because we have never been there. After we made the appointments, but before we left, we realized that our recommends had expired just two weeks earlier....talk about a happiness burster, haha. We still went to the roof for dinner but we'll have to renew our recommends before we can head back to the temple. My boss also gave us a free weekend up at the Zermatt resort that I think we'll use as our late anniversary getaway in the next couple of weeks.















We are growing our very first garden! Watching those little plants grow bigger every day is the best. I'm not sure which of us is more excited to get home and spend some time in the backyard. Justin's got some big plans in place back there-- I'll keep you updated as they occur ;). He also finished our fence. Those dang puppies are officially locked in.















Last night we returned from a week in Lake Powell. Truly a magical place in my opinion. It's just beautiful there. Here are some pictures.



































































































































































































































The puppies were very excited for us to get home.

Set for Summer!

So We bought a boat last Saturday. We spent just under half of our tax refund-- yay for refunds! We probably should have put it all towards my car or towards Justin's student loans, but hey, we don't always have to be responsible adults right? Especially if it means spending all summer laying in the sun, fishing, and enjoying the warm weather (hopefully without too many sunburns ;). If anyone wants to join in the party we'll have plenty of room and plenty of fun :).

Handyman

We got a quote for finishing the fence around our house, but it was quite a bit more than we were thinking to just do one side and the two small front areas ($2,000!). So he's doing it himself for about 1/3 of the cost. I think it looks pretty good, what do you think?












Happy Easter! (My mom experimented with making homeade marshmallow this year & then covered it in chocolate, very yummy!)

Need a Break?

Over the past couple of months I've been getting to that crazy point where I was stressing over all the little things and work and school and life in general. The unending cold weather was not really helping either. I definetly had a major case of "Need a Vacation". So, we dropped the puppies off with my sister Kasi, and took off for the weekend. We made it as far as St. George. Let me tell you, it was beautiful! Averaging 70 degrees the whole time we were there. We stayed at a cute little bed and breakfast that made us feel like we were at home. They even included some of the prettiest breakfasts I have ever seen with our stay.

















On Saturday we shopped. It was totally Justin's idea. We found a couple of great stores at the outlet center. I bought my first pair of tennis shoes since 8th grade. They are made for hiking (picture below) and they are pink! yay!
After shopping, Justin had scheduled for me to have a massage back at our bed and breakfast. She was an odd lady, but my back did feel better, and it was very sweet of him to do that for me :).

That night we bought tickets for Boys Like Girls at the Tuachan Theatre. I only knew a few of their songs but my sisters all said they liked the band. I love that theatre! It's so fun to be outside in the middle of all the red rock, and they do a great job with their special effects. The band did a pretty good job too. We were some of the oldest people there, haha. At the end of the concert the lead singer climbed up to the highest point of the stage and threw his electric guitar off. It didn't do much to it so he had to run down and bang it on the stage a few times. My mouth was hanging open. Such a shame, it was a pretty guitar ;).




































The next morning we went to Zions. Such a beautiful day for hiking! We spent a few hours doing all of the emerald pool hikes. Everything was so pretty, and my new shoes did their job, I felt like I was hardly excercising at all. They just bounced me right up, I don't think I could've stop if I tried.

Afterwards we stopped downtown and had some traditional bumbleberry pie.

Too bad it was only 25 degrees when we got back, bah. But it was such a fun break!

Also too bad that my family did not enjoy their weekend with the puppies. I walked in the door to, "Take THEM away!" hmmm...

I hope it gets warmer soon. I bought some flowers for my flowerbed in the front, it's a pre-planned garden (below) and I'm so excited to plant them! Justin is also working on the vegetable garden in the back. I forbid it to snow any more this season! :)

25 Random things about Me:

1. I love to travel. I want to see as much of the world as I can. In China (I was there for 5 months) we got to travel on the trains, busses, and stay in the hostels with all the regular Chinese people. We saw much more of the real China that way. I don’t think I’ll ever turn down the opportunity to travel.

2. I just saw the movie Taken. Now I’m going to have to hold my husband’s hand during the entire duration of any international vacation we take. What a creepy movie.

3. I love to get lost in good books.

4. I’m going to steal this one from Whitney: I got to sing AND dance to the Backstreet Boys in front of hundreds of Chinese people with all the girls I went to China with, and we did indeed each have our own solo. It does not get more awesome than that. The Chinese people LOVED it.

5. I am slightly OCD. Towels, blankets, pillows, pictures, etc must be straightened and in their correct position or it bothers my mind until I get up and fix it. People have on occasion moved things around because they think it’s funny, but I always know.

6. I love to find a good deal. I could look at something I want to buy on the internet for days or weeks until I’m sure that I’ve got the cheapest and best quality of whatever it is I’m buying. It pays off too, I got all three of my bar stools for 25$, my rocking chair for 30$, 32 inch flat screen TV for $80, just to name a few. Yay for good deals!

7. I use to be an avid animal lover. No baby dolls for me, bring on the puppies! I say use to because now I own two adorable puppies and they drive me crazy. Oh, and I think I’m destined to work with kids, what a strange world.

8. I got to kneel by and pet a huge tiger, but I wouldn’t sit on it like the trainer was telling me. What am I?! Obviously not eaten.

9. I am the most stubborn person I know, especially according to my husband. I think it’s because I’m patiently stubborn. I can wait just about anything out. Hmm…guess I should work on that or something.

10. I hate the cold. I wish I could hibernate during the winter until it was over 60 degrees again. I’m basically a slug all winter, and a cold one at that. When the sun comes back out I could sing.

11. I absolutely love finding the perfect present for someone.

12. Chocolate is one of my passions. One day I told my husband, “I love you more than chocolate,” and he was seriously taken aback.

13. I have two titanium rods that run almost the entire length of my spine, but I usually forget they’re even there.

14. I hate cooking. I am not very good at it, and you spend a lot of time making something nice, and then everybody eats it and it's gone!

15. Love doing things outdoors ie camping, hiking, fishing, boating, and picnicking. Hate the dirt.

16. Spiders are one of my worst fears. Something about all those pointy legs really freaks me out. The best cure I’ve found is the bug jar we made in zoology, no squishing or touching and they die quickly and happily :)

17. When I was a kid I considered myself a professional tree-climber.

18. My puppy just ran by me with a pair of my underwear……dang.

19. I have climbed the Great Wall of China and stood by the Chichenitza ruins in Mexico. I’m hoping some day I’ll see a few more of the seven wonders.

20. I think people are fascinating. That’s probably why I got my bachelor’s in Psychology. People are always worried that I’m studying and categorizing them because of it….The thing is I actually am. ;)

21. I think it would be fun to own a ranch someday…..minus the dirt.

22. I love my family more than anything. If it were culturally appropriate I probably never would have moved out.

23. I also married the best guy I could for me. We are ying and yang so to speak. Haha. He keeps me in check and is the best, best friend. He also can fix almost anything which is a big plus. He does more for me than I’ll ever know.

24. Due to getting married I didn’t end up going on an LDS mission, so when I’m older I want to go on three of them to make up for it. Truly I do, and I’ll have a built in companion, awesome. :)

25. In a few months I’ll have my real estate license.

Little Projects

That is really all we've been up to. To pass the winter months (and avoid doing my independent study classes) I have been preoccupying myself with how to spruce the house up and get all of those little projects done ie: hole in the kitchen ceiling, broken doorbell (hearing that first ding dong made it all worth it), cleaning the dog surprises off of the carpets over and over and then some....etc. The main floor is just about done, next I'm moving upstairs :). Oh, and a big Thank You to my great husband who has put each of my purchases together without complaint and was even smart enough to fix my laptop when I thought she was dead. Love you!

Introducing...

Cute puppy number 2!

So I might be crazy for having 2....no wait make that 4 dogs, but Koda was spending so much time alone, so we got him a buddy!

Here's Summer:

They are cute and so excited when I come home. I love how they use each other's energy all up, and they'll be about the same size. The one bad thing? the carpet cleaning that will now frequently occur. Our goal is to be potty trained within the next month. I think the puppies just secretly laugh at me. We'll see.....

Oh and Happy New Year!