Exciting News!

Well. I have two things I want to tell you all. It's very exciting for our little family.

1. I am now a new employee at London Drugs! I am a Cashier! I had the interview friday, got hired that day, and had training on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. It all went fairly well! I was a little overwhelmed at first, but I am SUPER excited to be working, especially for a company where everyone is super nice and fun to be around! My first shift is on Wednesday!

2. Meet the Newest member of our family. Lars. The french bulldog. Yes. A dream come true!!

So. Let me tell you how this all went down. Blake and I have been wanting to get a puppy since we've been married. We threw around the idea all the time, and we desperately wanted a French Bulldog. I have written a blog post about them before. I am in love with them. If you want to be entertained for a good couple of hours go to Youtube and type in french bull dog anything. They are ADORABLE. and SO playful. Their breed is known to be the "clown" breed. They are so goofy! And they have the best personalities. Blake and I have researched them, and we just knew they were the right dog for us. No only do they have the cutest ears and face and stoutest little body you've ever seen, they are not high maintenance and just love to goof around and will love you with all their heart.

So anyways. I was always on kijiji, hoping to see puppies available. I've only seen french bulldog puppies about once, and they are a VERY pricey dog. about 2,000 to 2,400. So.. yes, this was to remain a dream for us. With a big sigh, I look at their pictures, adore them, and then move on. We also would search shelters to see if there was ever any there but there was never any.

Well. Friday, after my interview we decided to go to the pet store that was right next to London Drugs. I go to a pet store whenever we can. We have a routine we do whenever we go to a pet store. Fish, creepy crawlies, reptiles and THEN rodents, birds, and puppies. So we made the rounds. I turn the corner, and this glass case is exactly my height, and all i see...are these HUGE bat ears... I just stared..and then i focussed...and my jaw dropped and I squealed and covered my mouth with my hand. Yes, there they were right in front of me. Two ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. French Bulldogs. Blake was also in Aw. And we thought they were cute in pictures and youtube videos...in person...its not even comparable.

So, there was a male and female. We begin to play with one of them, the other one was sleeping. And it took us a few minutes to figure out which one was playing with us and it happened to be the female. Blake and I have always wanted a male dog, just because of their demeanor and what not. Don't get me wrong a female would be great, but we just had hope for a male. So after a while the female just starts jumping all over her brother and he wakes up. He looked TERRIFIED. And we absolutely loved the females personality. A worker came up to us and asked if we would like to get one out and hold them. ABSOLUTELY we did!!! I was beyond giddy. THERE I WAS ...a french bulldog puppy in my arms, kisses galore, seriously, cloude nine. She was adorable!! The work then asked us if we'd like to go with her to the play pen ( a little area in the back where you can go and play with the pup with toys and what not. So we did, she was running all ove rthe place grabbing every toy she could, chewing on my boots, blakes sweater. SOO hyperactive and adorable. Sliding all over the place. French Bulldogs are top heavy so they dont have the best balance at this age, so she was tripping over herself quite a bit. We were in love.

Well, we couldn't leave her brother out now could we?! So the worker went and got him as well and he was still terrfied, very concerned about everything and shy. Cute, but we wanted more playful. We continued to play and he started to get more active, running around bitting toys being adorable. Okay..Blake and I were sooo torn. How could we pass them up?? Not only just one..but how could we not take the OTHER?! That wasn't even a question, we couldn't take both. Also, I have to mention their coloring was everything we had wanted. Brindle. We love brindle coloring, for those of you that dont know what that is , its kind of a tigerish stripey look with dark brown and a lighter brown. Not only that though, they both had this adorable white strip down their chest! ahhh!!

Blake and I sat in that pin for probably an hour, back and forth, back and forth. We can, we can't , we SHOULD, we shouldn't... WE HAVE TO!!!! But how could we pick which one?! The females coloring was more vibrant, but she began to get a little too agressive with biting and what not. And she was quite a bit skinnier then the male. His body structure was MUCH more sturdy which is something i really really wanted in a french bulldog if we were to ever get one. Well, he warmed up to us and we fell in LOVE. We couldn't leave him. We had to have him. He. was. OURS.

But before we could decide anything we asked about the process of buying him etc, would we have to put all the money down or could it be at a later date. We found out we could put a deposit on him if we wanted, for half the price. So earlier I mentioned French Bulldogs are VERY expensive for a dog. Well, this price for PURE BRED french bulldogs... was AMAZING. It was quite a bit lower then what they usually go for. So how could we pass this up? How could we NOT get him...without regretting our decision. It was a lot of money. Neither Blake and I had been working for a while..but I got a job, with decent pay and decent hours. We could do this. We did it. We put a deposit down, and planned to pick him up monday.

EEEEEE!!!! We left, and we couldn't believe we were doing this. We are going to have a puppy. The whole drive home I was on top of the world. We both were. We couldn't wait to see him again!!! Well.. I got a phonecall shortly after asking if I could do my work training for hte next three days! I quickly agreed. And then I remembered...Monday we're supposed to pick up Lars!! Also..you better believe Blake and I have had that named picked out since we ever even thought of getting a french bulldog. It's just so perfect. So anyways... Blake had school and I had training all day.. So blake would be picking him up by himself!


What were we to do?! I would NOT allow him to be picking up Lars by himself, and shopping for all the necessities by himself. No. Way. Ahhh!! So... Saturday? No. Training. Sunday. Nope. Can't pay for him then. We then both knew what we had to do...we had to go back..and get him THAT day.

So we did. Probably only an hour after, we were back. And the worker said she knew we would be back. (Was it that obvious how in love with him we were??) So we went shopping, we got an awesome discount on everything we needed, food, bed, toys etc. And then as we were ready to leave, we finally got our puppy. He was TERRFIED. I can only imagine what it must've been like for him, leaving his sister, coming out of a quiet glass case, into the real NOISY world. With many scary big objects. His claws were digging into us. The whole ride home, he was shaking. I felt so guilty.

Anyways, he is WELL adjusted, he is still pretty shy with certain things but we couldn't be happier with our decision. We love him so much, and he is our precious larsy boy. He is sooo smart. He is picking up on potty training so quickly, and he has already found his voice, he wouldnt make a squeak when we first got him. But now, after a few days, he is not afraid to use his little squeaker! Its soo cute!

Anyways. That's our big news, and I will continue to update on everything! I hope he doesn't grow up too fast! :)

Falltober..yes, we had a fall.

Hello!

Yes, it has been a while. I haven't really done a blog, well, simply because nothing exciting has happened in the past couple of months. But I will update you anyways.

Blake has been going to school, he is taking 4 classes and is now starting his generals for pre dental. YAY! It's been a long road to get here, but he is finally here and is MOSTLY enjoying it. He is super happy that he was able to pick classes that he wants, and that will actually count towards something, instead of the horror of upgrading. But he is doing great! He is taking Bio, Psychology, a SUPER easy computer class, and Art. (He HATES art, but he is a trooper for sticking with it.) He also is actually a really good artist, so I'm glad he is tolerating that class, and all the people in it. Things were off to a slow start until just recently. He wasn't getting really any homework, and had hardly any tests but I think because its getting closer to the end of the semester teachers are throwing everything they can at them to keep them busy until its over!

I'm still on the hunt for a job! I've applied at multiple places, but I guess the rumors are true that lethbridge is a hard place to get a job in! But I am determined to get one by the end of the week. So we'll see how that goes. I haven't been TOOO agressive with finding a job, up until this point. Reason being is I was very much dreading being tied down and not being able to get time off to visit my family before winter. Supposedly it's supposed to be a really bad winter too. So the thought of not being able to visit my family before the roads were bad..well...that means it'd probably be a YEAR since I had seen them before we could get down! It's already been 7 months.

But that's not an issue anymore, because Blake and I went to Utah this weekend and had an early Thanksgiving with my family! We left Thursday Morning, and Came home Sunday. So it was only for a few days but it was SO worth it!

We got there Thursday night, and it was so fun to see the house all decorated with Halloween stuff! I had forgotten how full out my mom goes! I absolutely love it! And I had also forgotten what my house smelled like. But as soon as I walked through that door it just overwhelmed me! I was back. I was home. And it felt good. We left around 7:00 that morning, and got there that evening around 5:45 pm. Blake was able to take his psychology test that was supposed to be thursday morning, the day before. And I'm so grateful for that because it gave us an extra evening with my family!

The drive to Utah is about 12 hours, but with good roads and a consistent speed, we usually manage to shave off an hour or so, which helps! This trip actually went by a lot faster for the both of us. It probably had somethign to do with the fact that the weather was AMAZING and we weren't having to slow down because of roads etc. We just relaxed when we got there that night. We had amazing Cafe Rio pork burritos when we got there. That's another thing I had forgotten about home, the amazing food! Okay, actually I never forgot about it, I have always remembered and missed home cooking, so it was just finally able to have some of it.

The next day I made sure to get up earlier so that I had more time in the day to do things, and spend time with people! My older sister had stayed over night thursday night, and her, my mom and I all spent the day in the kitchen preparing food for the Thanksgiving dinner the next day. It was so fun! I was getting so excited making all the food, because I haven't had a thanksgiving with my family since I've been married! That's over 2 yrs! We always planned on it each year but the weather always turned out to be bad when it came around, plus Blake doesnt get a break then because it's American thanksgiving, so who knows what tests he would have around then so finally my family decided we HAD to be there. And I was so happy we did this!

Later that night we went to my brothers highschool football game. Might I add it was the first state qualifier game! My brother is now a Junior in highschool. I can't believe it. He was heading into highschool when I got married. I haven't seen ANY of his games, and it kills me. I was the one always at his games or other sports he did, I never missed it. I loved going and watching him kick butt. I have to say he is a very talented athlete, so it's very exciting to watch him. It gives me adrenalin! Anyways, so missing his highschool experiences has been really hard on me, and I just can't believe how fast time is going and that he will be a senior next year, so seeing this game was something I really, really needed. Just to let you know how much it meant to me, and how HAPPY I was to be there... I got choked up when they ran onto the field, and I was fighting back tears during the National Anthem. I know, pathetic. But you don't realize all the stuff you miss until you're missing it. It turned out to be a REALLY good game, we all thought we would lose, but we WON! 21-0! Go Vikes!

So Saturday came along, and we had the Thanksgiving dinner. All of my family was there, including my Grandparents and my Uncle I haven't seen for YEARS! It was so much fun, and the food was so so good! And I was so happy that Blake could finally be there with me, and experience it with all of us for the first time! We had the tradiational candied yams, german noodles and an AMAZING turkey. (For those of you that don't know what german noodles are, the correct name is Spetzle and its AMAZING. We have them in place of potatoes. Google it.) I ate as much as I could but I am sad I couldn't eat more, especially knowing we had to leave the next morning and wouldn't be able to take any of it with us! I'm especially mad I didn't have another piece(s) of pumpkin pie. I'm thinking I will just have to make one for myself around the real American Thanksgiving. But anyways, we ate, we laughed, we loved. And it was wonderful, and exactly what I needed.

My nephew has gotten so big, he is POTTY trained now! And talking. I just can't believe it, the next time we get down there he will probably be dating! Jk! But that's how fast I feel time is going. My dog is getting older, but still the same silly doggy. I got many many snuggles and kisses out of him before I left. Same with my brother... jk. No kisses. Just lots of hugs. Against his will. It's just so fun to hug him now though, he's so big!! The little big brother I never had.

Saturday went by even faster the the other days, and it was time to go to bed and get our rest before we knew it. We woke up early Sunday morning, and were out of there by 7 as well. The drive home is always the hardest for me. Because I don't feel like I'm going "Home" , it feels like I'm leaving home. But it's getting better. I actually do miss Lethbridge when I leave it. Just a little though. We made good time, and had NO problems at the border. In fact, the guy was so super nice! He told us to have a good day and drive safe! What a difference compared to going through the border TO the states. He asked us the usual questions, and handed us our passports backed and said GET GOING!! And it wasn't in a nice way. It was like we were burdening him. Anyways. The border is always a fun place. I'm sure everyone thinks that!

So now we are back, October is gone, and there is STILL no snow. That's supposed to end this week. But I'm just amazed at how beautiful this fall has been. We were able to see the leaves change, the leaves fall, and slowly were able to bring out the sweaters and mittens. Instead of the huge coats and big boots because of the crazy snow that all of the sudden appeared! We're going to miss not having to scrape our car windows off every morning.

I think November is going to be a good month. And who knows, maybe it won't be such a bad winter and we will be able to visit my family again. And maybe it could be a long enough trip that I could actually visit some friends!!! That would be nice. I haven't seen any of my friends for a long, LONG time.

So Fall of 2011. You have rocked. For the most part. Thank you for being warm enough to allow me to go to Utah. And thank you for letting me see all the beautiful trees as we drive through the neighborhoods here. Winter 2011, please be nice to us. We are welcoming you with open arms, I promise. But please, be gentle.

Oh!!! I remembered another thing that IS new. But this blog post is long enough. So I will write about it another time.

P.S. There were NO trick or treaters last night. But oh well. I enjoyed my traditional watching of Nightmare Before Christmas, without any interruptions. :)