April and May..almost June.

I would like to be able to say "Hello, summer!". But unfortunately, though the time has been going by fast...its still COLD.

I really shouldn't complain though because the end of April Blake and I went on a cruise with his family to the Western Caribbean. In fact, it was the exact same cruise we did for our honeymoon. Almost three years later! It was so fun. We definitely got our fill of heat and sun. We had all been planning on this cruise for a LOOONG time so it was nice that we finally were able to make it happen. And boy oh boy can I just say traveling with 9 people is CRAZY?! But still very awesome.

I will write another post on the cruise later. But as you can see...well..sort of...Blake and I decided NOT to leave for the summer and tech. AHHH! It was a hard decision, and with the things we are having to figure out right now..we're kind of wondering if we made the right decision. The reason we decided to stay was so that we could have a summer to play! And make some more memories with our families. We have been doing the tech thing each summer since we have been married. So it was time to take a break from it. It's kind of made us nervous because the money is SOOO good, but things will work out. I'm still working and Blake is job hunting.

And now I actually get to go home for a week in summer which I'm SO excited about. Blake has never been to Utah in the summer, so I'm excited for him to experience seeing it at that time. Another exciting thing and determining factor..is one of my best friends is getting married in June! I could NOT miss another one! So we have that coming up in a couple of weeks.

The only downside to not going? Well, of course the money. But also the place that we are living it always worked out so well  because the landlords would always come home at the end of June until the beginning of September. It worked out SO perfectly because that is when we would get home. Well....they're still coming home at the end of June. And we have to find a place to live for two months. TWO months! It'll be a miracle if we can find a place that won't make us BROKE in the two months we need to stay there and that will allow pets. So for now that is our major focus.

We have 3 weeks to get things figured out, packed, and cleaned. Blake is also trying to find a job, and I am still working while we have to do all this. So our lives are preeeeeeeeeeetty exciting if you couldn't tell!

I'm so glad we decided to stay though. I've actually never been here for a summer either since being married. So the change is nice. 

Also, can I just brag about how good of a dog we have? Seriously. I recommend to anyone who wants a dog..to get a french bulldog. They are the best behaved, smartest, funniest little companion you could ever have. Not high maintenance at ALL. He is great and we sure love him lot's! It's crazy too look back at pictures and see how SMALL he was when we got him. He is going to be a year in July! Ah! My baby. You better believe I'm going to be having a little birthday party for him. So spoiled. I think we're going to be in trouble when we have kids. Luckily, that is in the very, very distant future. ;)

Since 2012 Began

Since January nothing too much has really happened! Just working and school. The usual. Training with Larz is going well. He's getting so big! And we still are very, very entertained by the little dude.

2012 is honestly flying by so fast! Oh, and I don't think I mentioned I know work over in Cosmetics in London Drugs, and do Cash as well. So it's very nice to have the change through out the week. Of course I love it way more over in cosmetics. I love being able to expand my knowledge on all the products and be able to talk to people about them, and just have a general conversation about things other then if they found everything okay and if their day is going well. I mean thats nice, but it's way easier to talk about make up with people, like it would be for any girl right?! Though I am working in two departments now, unfortunately since the holidays have passed I don't get as many hours! Especially because Blake's schedule changed this semester so I had to change my availability because we only have one car! But it's good. I love it! And come summer i'll be able to go full time!

I honestly love where I work, and especially the people I work with. They're all so laid back and kind, and my bosses are SO easy going. I'm very lucky to be where I am, and be getting the experience in retail which will give me more opportunities for work in the future!

Anyways, when february came I had asked for time off because the Schnoor family (yes the WHOLE schnoor family) were trying to plan a cruise but i wasnt sure I was going to be able to get it off, but I asked anyways, but it was too hard to try and book a cruise that far in advance and not know if I could go. So that week happened to be reading week. It's basically like a spring break for Canada. So I told Blake that I was still going to request it off, and even though we had made different arrangements for the cruise (6 WEEKS TILL THE CRUISE!!!) in April, that I would really, REALLY like it if we could go down and visit my family because it had been a very long time since we had spent more than 3 days there. Like, it had been over a year since we had! So sure enough the week came and we were able to go down!

Yes, we brought Larz. And yes, he was the BEST dog ever. Seriously, he slept almost all 12 hours. There was about 6 hours though that we had to put him in his kennel in the back, because we were driving in a blizzard from about just past Butte to Utah, so we were very anxious and on edge and just wanted to be able to focus on the roads. The vision really was so bad, we were lucky we were behind this semi truck, because literally the only thing we could see was the top edge of the trailer. We felt most comfortable just staying behind him, though he was going much slower then we would've liked, better to be safe, then fast. So when vision cleared we were able to pass him and we found another car going a more preferable speed that we followed the rest of the way. The roads in northern Utah are the worst I've ever seen when it comes to be being wet. The paint on the road doesn't reflect light at all, and it didn't help we had one head light out!

But we made me safe, and we were very blessed! It always helps to say a prayer...or..two or three before you travel! Especially when you read the weather is going to be great all the way down, and it turns out not to be!

It was so nice to have a week to spend down there! I got to spend some time with some friends I hadn't seen in a very long time, and just to spend more time in general with my family, just relaxing, laughing, and hanging out without having to pick right up and leave once we got there. That's not literally what happens but it sure feels that way!

Though Blake and I were trying (still trying) to get in shape for the cruise we couldn't WAIT to spoil ourselves with food in Utah. We had big plans to go to Cafe Rio and Culvers. The usual. And boy, it did not disappoint! Cafe Rio is an amazing Mexican Food Restaurant found in Utah, and I believe Idaho. And Culver's is actually brought from out East and are known for their famous Butterburgers, deep fried WISCONSIN cheese curds, and frozen custard. It's amazing. You will never eat a better burger.

Some activities that we did is we went to a shooting range with my dad, Bro-in-Law, Sister, and little brother! It was so fun! I have shot a rifle before but never a pistol and shot gun. I was very, very nervous at first. Gun's scare me. I'm scared I would cause some sort of freak accident, or that a freak accident would happen to me! But luckily, I got over that and felt better because my Bro in Law is very, very smart when it comes to guns, and knows his guns. And let me tell you...I love, love, love shooting a shot gun. If there was ever a zombie apocolypse, I would dominate with a shot gun. It was very cold that day though, so once it got to the point where we couldn't feel our fingers, we thought maybe it was a safe idea to go back home and get some hot chocolate!

The next day I had a big quadruple date planned with my besties! One is married now, and the other is freshly engaged! So that was fun. We went to another mexican food place called the Red Iguana. It was pretty good! I would go back. Quite pricey though. We then went to the Gateway Mall and just looked around while waiting for the other couples to come join us. We had planned to go to the Cheesecake Factory but that ended up being PACKED. I was excited because I had never been before, but we didn't have time for a 2 hour wait! So we went to the Macoroni grill, which I had also never been too. It was pretty good! I still think Olive Garden is my favorite Italian Restaurant though! Next time we go down we'll have to hit that one up for sure.

Another fun thing that Blake and I did, is we went to the new Natural History Museum that had just recently opened. We just went with my parents, and it was SO fun. It was so cool! And believe it or not Blake had NEVER been to a museum before! As if. We really enjoyed it and I would love to go back. They had MANY dinosaurs, and a bunch of indian history stuff, and just stuff about the earth. It was really cool! I'll post some pictures. There was this sloth...a giant sloth. Like a 3,000 pound sloth. Scary..and yet adorable. I'll post a picture of it.

I also went on a sister date with my older and younger sister. Sadly enough, we had NEVER done that before! We have all always differed from each other so much growing up, many disagreements, different lives etc. But I think since we're getting older we're getting more mature and so we're making up for some lost time here! I'm actually really happy we were able to do that and we'll definately have to make it a tradition! We went out to eat at this place called Pat's BBQ! (danae you'll have to correct me on that, because I'm not sure I remember!!!haha!) It was SOOO good! If any of you have ever seen the show Drive-In's , Diners, and Dives. Guy went there and approved it! And it did not dissappoint. I was actually sad I didn't have time to take Blake there because I know he would've loved it! We'll have to go next time! After that we went to Ulta and looked around. That was super fun! Ulta is like a super big make up store with really good brands and skincare, and beauty products! It was very hard not to shop when I went in there, so I'm planning a special budget for shopping for next time we go down! We then went to the New Harmons there in my hometown to get some dessert! Nicole got some gelato, and i got some fresh baked cookies and doughnuts. I am a sucker for baked goods!

We were also able to visit with my grandparents for a few hours while we were down, so it was very special to be able to spend that time with them and just talk. Each time I go down there, they're getting older and older! So I make sure to spend some quality time with them when I go because it's hard to be so far away!

We left that following weekend and the weather was good the whole way back so we were very grateful! Oh, I forgot to mention. So Rusty, my first child, whom I got back in the 6th grade, he is an old dog now. I still love him just as much! But I think he really kind of resented me for bringing a little pup down to bug him all week! hahah! He liked Larz, but when Larz gets hyper he starts breathing really heavy and it sounds like he is growling, so rusty would growl back, and Boy oh boy. It was very entertaining. Rusty was a very patient, good boy with him. Another weird thing though is Larz would NOT eat his food down there! He only wanted rusty's! I think the traveling did it, but I also think he was in an inbetween stage of growth spurts because he didn't eat the week before, like he had been eating, or the week after! But he's back on his regular schedule now so thats good!

My nephew robert also adored larz, he was very unsure at times, but they both had the same energy level so that was nice that they could wear eachother out by chasing one another! so cute! I wish I would've gotten some video but oh well!!! :) anyways, I'll post pictures a different time. This blog post is long enough!

Christmas

I know I'm a little behind, but hey, better late than never right? Above is a picture of our FIRST christmas tree since being married! Yay!

This year we had Christmas with Blake's family! With me now having the restrictions of a new job, it was very different! Usually when Blake gets out of school around the 17th of december, we have about 3 weeks just to stay out there until the first week of January. So after 2 years of Freedom it was very different! But we're both so grateful for this job, and I couldn't work at a better place, with better people.

So because my last day of work was the 23rd of December, we didn't leave until Christmas eve day. We ended up celebrating Christmas that night because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year and with church, even though it was only an hour, it made us really crunched for time especially considering that we had to leave Christmas day night because I had to work Boxing day morning! So I was very happy we ended up doing it that night because we were able to enjoy it without getting up SUPER early, or being rushed!

Before opening presents we had a little program where everyone shared a thought about Christmas. This was a change from the normal Schnoor tradition of reinacting the Nativity story, but I really liked it, and hope we make it a permanent tradition. After that program I would've been completely content with no presents at all. The room was just filled with love for one another, and especially for our Savior. And that's what really matters.

Blake and I didn't really get eachother gifts this year, because our main gift for eachother was little ol' Larz. (But if any of you know me you know I can't pass up an opportunity to buy gifts for people.) So of course when it came to the stockings, I made sure to get a couple "bigger" gifts in there. Now that we're married we've decided it's easier if all the married couples do their own stockings, but his mom couldn't resist and added a "few" items. (Let's just say our stockings were bulging ). I got Blake a nose/ear trimmer. If you read my post about summer, his other one was in the bathroom bag that got lost in Saskatoon. So we were both pretty happy about that one. I also got him some David Beckham cologne...and I'm still VERY much enjoying that! So those were the main ones in there. He got me some yummy cupcake lotion and showergel. I'm obsessed with it. It smells EXACTLY like cupcakes..and the scent lasts all day. And some nail polish that I've really been wanting!

We got really spoiled this year with gifts. When we went down to Utah in October to do an early thanksgiving, we came back with Christmas gifts from my parents! We ended up opening them the Monday before Christmas. We got an xbox kinect, a couple movies, and an amazing book by President Thomas S. Monson. I will write more about that in another post. I also got the cutest pair of heels I have ever owned.

From Blakes parents and from our Grandpa Don, Blake got a new drill, and I got a kitchen aid (spoiled). We also got a cuisinart popcorn maker. If you are a popcorn finatic you NEED this popcorn maker. It's amazing. So those were the bigger gifts. We got the essentials like new garments, socks, band aid kits, and more.

It was also Larz's first time at a new place! Accidents were very minimal! We were very proud of him. He also had his first interaction with a dog, P.j. He loved it, P.J... not so much. A pup is too much energy for him. But hopefully as Larz gets older they can become best buds!

Getting back to blogging!

Well Hello 2012! I'm a little late in welcoming the new year in the blogging world, but hey! Better late than never right!? So here I am. Blogging. There is much to catch you up on!

Since the end of October.. when I last blogged/caught up/wrote/whatever you want to call it, life has been non stop busy! But for the most part we have been enjoying it. Life with a job, new puppy, and school is definately a BIG change from going from 2 years of just being at home..doing nothing, to work, work, WORK! I am so, so grateful for it though. It's helping me become a stronger and more well rounded person. I'm almost kind of relearning/remembering that I CAN do more things then cook and clean. I can socialize..and I can count money. The reason I mention those things, is because I was terrified when I got my new job and got trained. I didn't think I could do it, I almost felt like I had become to dumb and useless to do anything anymore. But 3 months and I'm still going strong! YAY!

Work for me is going so well! The rush at Christmas wasn't as overwhelming as I thought it would be, in fact after the new year came in I was a little disappointed in how SLOW things were, the days lasted F0R-EV-ER. But things are picking back up again. Hours also got cut back just a little bit, but not by too much. I also now work in the cosmetics department of the store, I got trained in there so now I switch between doing cash, and cosmetics. And I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I had my first full 8 hour shifts by myself on Friday and Saturday, and not to sound conceited but I was quite pleased with myself and how much I was able to actually do! There are always sooo many tasks that need to be completed over there, as well as helping the customers that have any questions for you. And honestly I was quite overwhelmed and nervous for it all, but it went so well and I am very excited to continue working there!

Blake's school is going well! His schedule is a lot busier it seems like this semester, just because of the times that they're out, but its still only about 4 classes. School is still school, and it's still early on in the semester, but so far so good! It is a little challenging having schedules that don't really work with eachother, but we're making it work as best we can. (Even if it means me going to work about 2 hours early. HA!)

Larz! Oh my sweet larzy boy! Larz bar, larzy pars. Larz. He is getting sooo big! I can't believe how fast he went from small puppy, to almost dog like. He's still small, but his features are no longer puppy. But we still love him, and are very, very entertained by this little ball of energy. Potty training is actually going much better than I had orginally anticipated after reading that it usually takes 6 months or more, especially for male dogs. He caught on really quickly! We never had to wait super long for him to do his thing and then come in, he knows exactly why he goes outside and gets it done! We still play with him outside, and he likes to explore, but in these frigid Candian tempertatures we don't have much patience for that. So needless to say, we are veyr excited for spring and summer to come. Accidents are minimal to none now. Even when we have gone out to blake's parents house there were only POOP accidents, and even then, minimal! He doesn't really know how to tell us when he gets the urge yet, we more so just know the look he gets when he needs to , so hopefully he will figure that out soon!

Anyways, before this post gets to long thats just a brief update. I will be doing a couple more blog posts to catch you up on Christmas, New Years, and anything else I can think of that has happened. So until then enjoy some candids of our little guy.

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. :)

End of Summer

Well, it has been a while! Oops! I can't believe the last thing I blogged about was my birthday...that was literally months ago!

Last you knew we were in Edmonton. Well, a couple weeks after that we took an opportunity to go to Saskatoon and switch back to installing the security systems instead of selling them. I also got my FIRST JOB EVER since being in Canada. It was completely official and everything..because I have my work permit..and now a SIN! (Social Insurance Number). Everything worked out exactly how it was supposed to I think. I got to be the Office Assistant for the Vivint. Saskatoon office. It was actually really laid back for the most part.

Blake and I really enjoyed Saskatoon! Saskatoon is in the province Saskatchewan, which is stereotyped to be very grassy, spacious, and ..boring. I'm most of it is, but Saskatoon is absolutely beautiful. Very, very green and there is a whole river that goes through the city. We loved it. The apartments weren't half bad, although when we got there it was COMPLETELY disgusting..like the DIRTIEST thing I had ever seen. Just garbage and old food everything, toilet paper (used) all over the bathroom! Soooo gross! We were like REEEALLY? But after we cleaned it all up and unpacked our stuff it was quite enjoyable. Unfortunately, I didn't take ANY pictures of the Apartment we stayed at..or of Saskatoon at all. I completely slacked this summer. I guess that's what happens when you are working.

Another awesome part about going to Saskatoon is Blake's cousin was his "Head Tech" basically the manager of the techs. It was so fun! There was also another guy there that was with us last year in New Brunswick, so it was like having the gang back together again. In fact, we all became even closer this summer, while adding even more friendships onto it! I was really happy. I had a lot of fun. I hung out with the boys because more often than not Blake would ALWAYS get the late install, and I HATED being alone all evening.

Unlike last summer, it was sooo warm! I'm sad because I honestly didn't take advantage of that at all. I was outside way more than last summer though. I was also able to make more friendships with the other wives! Last year I only had one other wife to keep me sane (You know who you are! Love you!) but this year there was a whole group, and I know I have made some lasting friendships. So I was getting out sooo much more, going shopping, going to spray parks, bbqs, and just having work to go to each day really helped me look forward to what this fall is going to be like.

So Blake and I got home a few weeks ago. The end of the Summer season ended Aug 27th, but we had to leave the Monday before that so Blake could take a test for school! School..I can't believe it's already here..and this year Blake does not have to work AT ALL. So he can focus completely on his studies. I'm so so happy about that. You really don't realize how much of a load it is to work and go to school, so I'm grateful I can now help lighten his load by being able to work.

4 hours into the drive home we realized we had forgotten a suitecase..all of Blakes clothing was in it! The funny thing about this is we had BOTH checked the room it was in and had both said "Yep! We got everything!" And on the way home I was just like "Wow Blake! We can actually see out the back window this time! You did a really good job packing. I really can't believe how much less it seems like we have packed." That was like right when we left. Then later Blake was like "Did you happen to see me pack in the Black suitcase?" .....Uh oh... I frantically looked through everything in the back...yep. We had definitely forgotten it. I was so stressed! I really tried to get Blake to turn around but he wouldn't, but at this point..we both wish we would have. Wanna know why? Well, we didn't realize we had forgotten the bathroom bag until few days later when we were unloading the car. The bathroom bag contained: All my make-up, hair products, shampoo, blake's razor charger, BOTH my pairs of glasses, and my retainer. All that is quite expensive. We asked our buddies that were still there to search for it but it was gone. What we wanna know is who takes personal stuff like that, and doesn't think to give it to someone who can find it's owner..or put it in an area where maybe the person that was looking for it could find it??

So we get the joy of replacing all of that stuff! Wahoo! Good thing we made some decent money this Summer! We had another week before school started that we were planning on going to Utah, but turns out Blake's passport had expired earlier that month. It was so disappointing! I couldn't believe I had forgotten about that. So that is also another thing we need to get taken care of so we can get down there ASAP before the winter starts up here.

Anyways, that's pretty much an update! We are back in the same house we were in last year! Yes, a whole house to ourselves for an amazing price. Blake is going to school full time, and is starting his pre-dental. And this week I will be on the hunt! For a job. So we have lot's to do! We are both really looking forward to this fall and everything that is in store for us for the rest of the year 2011.