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! 

Our New House

Here are some pictures of our progress. I think it will probably take weeks to unpack everything. Who knew we had so much stuff?? The upstairs still mostly consists of boxes, but I've tried to get the downstairs put together so we can walk around without tripping on stuff. Koda is always sad to see a box of fun stuff to chew on put away where it belongs. haha.

Cats & Dogs

Animals are so entertaining. I've had to drop my puppy off at my family's house every morning before work so he doesn't make too much noise (or mess!) in our apartment. I've been stashing him and all his stuff in their laundry room....the current abode of my mom's calico kitty. 

I've never seen a cat look so put out. 

Here's something I found that I think this describes both cats and dogs perfectly:

EXCERPTS FROM A DOG'S DIARY

 Day number 181 
8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 
9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE! 
9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE! 
10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE! 
11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 
12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE! 
1:00 pm OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE! 
4:00 pm - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE! 
5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 
5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!  
 
 Day number 182 
8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 
9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE! 
9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE! 
10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE! 
11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 
12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE! 
1:00 pm OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE! 
1:30 pm - ooooooo. bath. bummer. 
4:00 pm - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE! 
5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 
5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!   
 
 
EXCERPTS FROM A CAT'S DIARY  
 
DAY 752 - My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape and the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the occasional piece of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant.  
DAY 761 - Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded, must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair...must try this on their bed.  
DAY 765 - Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body, in attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little cat I was...Hmmm. Not working according to plan.  
DAY 768 - I am finally aware of how sadistic they are. For no good reason I was chosen for the water torture. This time however it included a burning foamy chemical called "shampoo." What sick minds could invent such a liquid. My only consolation is the piece of thumb still stuck between my teeth.  
DAY 771 - There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary throughout the event. More importantly I overheard that my confinement was due to MY power of "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage.  
DAY 774 - I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously a half-wit. The bird on the other hand has got to be an informant, and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room his safety is assured. But I can wait, it is only a matter of time...

The Cutest Puppy!

Alright... so I kind of jumped the gun and bought a puppy before a house. I've been looking at puppies for months knowing that I couldn't have one....but with the acceptance of our offer and finding the exact mix of dog I wanted I called up my mom and begged her to "puppy sit" for a week or two until we could move in. She was not very excited, "If you must..." was her response. All of a minute later I decided "Yep... I think I must". But every one else (with the exception of my dad and my family's other pets) was very excited ;). I think the rest are warming up to him though, How can you not love that little face?

So, Here's Koda, my little pomeranian/maltese:

He's extremely soft and furry, but he only weighs two pounds and he's only supposed to be six pounds full grown! He is so cute (especially when he is sleeping and not trying to eat the wall, my shoe, the cords, my hand, the carpet, etc...). When he's excited he hops, not walks :).

We'll hopefully be closing on our home sometime next week. I'm so excited! It definetly feels like it's been a long time coming (Our first offer for a home was made in July!).

Here's also a quick ode to my mom: Who does her best to dutifully frighten the teenage trick-or-treaters each and every Halloween.

Ahhh fall....

It's going to end too soon. I've still got more Halloween stuff I want to do, but I guess I ought to be worrying about school as well (only 2 1/2 more classes!) or else I'm going to have to postpone my graduation again :s. We're still waiting to hear about the house, but here's what we've been up to recently:

 

(Justin was very proud of his (on the right) haha)

(Our dogs: Autumn & Ruger)

Fall Hike

P.S- I saw this in an email called "Halloween is going to stink for the kids this year..." I thought it was kind of funny :)