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.

21st Birthday ya'll.

So! This past week I had my 21st birthday!! Wahoo!! I am now legal in the states...but that doesn't really matter, but it's still fun to THINK that I could go to clubs and all that stuff that 21 yr olds can do , right? Anyways! So the weekend before my birthday I was able to go
down to Blake's sisters graduation/grad (prom)! It was sooo exciting! It was so different from what we do in the states. We have prom a month ish before graduation, and then the actual graduation we go to a college and sit, have a program, graduate. The end! Here, they graduated the day before "grad", so they did all that, and then the NEXT day they go and have their "grad" dance!! But!! It's not just a dance..the whole family goes if they want to, because there is a banquet. We were lucky, everyone was there except Blake, (so sad he had to work! boo :( ). But they have a little program while we eat, and then they have what they call...the march (i think). It's something march..march of the grads? Either way, what happens is all the graduates, march around the gym around all the tables, family, and friends. It was really cool! What a way to be celebrated and recognized for graduation! Afterwards, everyone goes outside and gets pictures, and then after that it's off to the dance! And then...after THAT..there is an all night party! We too have an all night party after graduation day..but I thought it was crazy because ours is strictly only for the seniors, but here the whole school can go, till about 3 in the morning!

So it was really fun to take part in that experience! So graduation wasn't the only exciting event to take place that weekend. Blake's mom, brother, and I are all 3 days apart with birthdays! So this was first time actually celebrating all our birthdays together! It was really fun!! We all got really amazing gifts. Another thing I also got to do that I have never done before was go to Waterton National Park, in the Spring/Summer ish. I had been there before but in the winter..that is actually where Blake proposed to me. :) But it was sooo beautiful!! I was so sad Blake couldn't be there with me, but oh well. He's amazing for working so hard, and I am so lucky to have him as my husband. Oh! Also, it's a tradition for Blake's family to go to Calgary zoo for his brother's and mom's birthdays, and now also mine. But because Blake couldn't be with us, we're going to wait to do that a weekend in September. I'm super excited for that..because guess what?? Yep, never been! hahaha. I need to get out more.

But anyways, that's what I did this past weekend. For my actual birthday on Monday, I woke up to the most beautiful and sweet note from the hubsy. He had to work all day unfortunately, but I know he was thinking about me every minute, at least he better have been!! Just kidding. But later that night around 9:30 we went to Moxies. It was delicious, and it was very nice to get out on date with him! I love any time I can spend with that guy. He's the best.

21 has now come, and I'm so excited for this next year in my life! I'm so grateful for the families that I have, the health I have, and the wonderful life I am living. It can only keep getting better!

Enjoy some pictures of the events!

Also, it's happening. I think I'm becoming Canadian...I...like...hockey. The stanley cup has opened my eyes. Boston vs Canucks... I honestly don't know who to root for. The American in me is still bitter about the Olympics... so bitterly I secretly want the Bruins to win..but then the growing Canadian in me wants to take pride in the Nucks. I have just decided that either win will be amazing, and I'm gonna choose my own hockey team to root for with this next season! Go....TEAM!! :)Waterton. Beautiful.


Birthday dessert at Moxies!

This was mentioned in my last post, but this was my birthday in Utah! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of my birthday in Canada.

The girls at Grad. :)

Spring..fever? Nah.

So I guess it's been a while since I have updated this, due to the fact that we haven't had internet until this week! So yay! I'm back.

Updates...well let's see here. Blake and I are now officially moved up to Edmonton for the summer. I LOVE it up here. It's absolutely beautiful. And..there just recently hasn't been any wind. Southern Alberta is known for the wind, so supposedly when we moved up here there wasn't supposed to be ANY wind...yeah. Lies. It was windy every single day until this week. And the wind was worse than Southern Alberta!! But luckily it has ceased, and now we can more fully enjoy what this city has to offer! It's finally sooo green!! I think this step was supposed to happen let's see..two months ago?? And now we're supposed to be seeing flowers everywhere!! But no, slow start. But it's okay. As long as summer comes I'm okay with that. Another AWESOME update... MY WORK PERMIT FINALLY CAME! WAHOOOO!!! I've already been applying to places, but unfortunately I'm limited in where I can work, because of the limits on my work permit, and because I am not always going to have a car, thus limiting me with my location. So..who knows. Also, so many people aren't looking for just summer work they want permanent, which isn't gonna work for us. So too bad! But I'm so happy the process is finally really starting with my Permanent Residency! WAHOOO!!

So before we moved here we went down to Utah Easter week. It was very, VERY much needed for me! And I'm so glad that we went down before this summer in which we won't be able to go down at all. It was so, so good to see all my family, and how much my cute little nephew has grown!! I didn't even know he was really talking, yet alone him being able to say my name and know who I am! First thing I heard when I walked through the door "Sissa! Sisissa!!" ahh! Love him so much! He also is finally getting to know who Blake is uncle "bakey". Which just made my heart so happy! We basically just hung out with the Fam while we were down there. I honestly just love to be at home when we go down, and just soak it up. I was suprised when my family celebrated my birthday (2 months early) with everyone! It made me sooo happy! I always hate being away from my family on my birthday so it was such a good suprise. For my Birthday my parents got me a sewing machine! AHHH!! I was sooo excited!! So this summer I'm going to do my best to learn how to sew! I already have a pattern and projects that I'm trying to work on! So we'll see how that goes. :) My sister also got me 2 of Lauren Conrad Books, both of which I finished in 2 days because we had no internet or tv the first couple weeks we were living here! Oh how i've read so many books! I also got to go to my cousins wedding while we were down there, even though it had us driving back until 1 in the morning, I was so happy I was able to experience that and have Blake there with me to meet soo much of my family, because they really don't know him that well!
So after Utah, we headed out to Blake's family's house to have a little easter with them as well! Mind you we got in at 1 AM, and then at 8 the next morning we had to start packing the car up, because we would be driving to Edmonton (6 hours away) that day! It was sooo packed! Luckily Blake's dad is a master packer and we were even able to fit Blakes sister in the car with us, to drive back up there.

So yeah! That's what we've been up to the past couple months! Blake is gone from about Noon to 10:30 at night! So at least we get to spend the mornings together, as well as all of Sunday. Oh how I look forward to Sundays! We've met sooo many great people up here, and I know that we are making many friendships too, and I couldn't be happier about that. This job is very, very hard, and I'm so grateful for a husband who has committed and works so hard everyday to this job. It's been a rough first month, but I know this summer is going to be SO worth it.

So that's what's been up with us lately! I hope that life is going well for everyone else, and I can't wait for the sun to start shining every single day!! ..Blake is already so tan... I need something to get me outside...this town kind of freaks me out. hahaha :).

It's that time of year again

Yep. That's what I did today! First mow of the season! I actually really enjoy mowing the lawn. It's almost theraputic to me. I just love the feeling I get after it's all mowed, the feeling of making something look nice! We are still only renting a place, but I really have enjoyed having a front and back yard, and doing all the yard work. Makes it feel more like the home really is mine! I grew up mowing the lawn. It was one of my favorite ways to get a tan, go out in the middle of the afternoon on a Utah summer day. Yeah, sometimes I would come back in and be like "why the heck do I mow at the hottest time of day!! GAH!!" But it was all about the sun baby. Anyways. This is kind of a random post, but as Blake and I are getting all packed up to move up north for the summer, I found pictures of the last place we were in, and Blake and mines first place together! Well, they're kind of "pictures". I accidentally deleted the original ones I took on my camera, off my camera, and off the computer. Luckily, I had printed them out on paper! I believe I was going to send them to someone so they could see but I never got around to it. So the quality is very pixelated, and not very clear, but still. At least I have the memories captured of that basement suite. I honestly can't believe that we're already at that point in our lives again, starting to pack and leaving to work for the summer! It came back SOOO FAST!! I can not even begin to tell you how happy I am that we aren't going to New Brunswick again, or ever again for that matter. It's funny to think how fun we thought it was going to be, being clear across the country on the East coast....yeah, definately didn't expect what we found. Such as rain almost every day, and living in hotels..the WHOLE summer. Horrid. I mean, it's fun to think about now, but during that specific time, it honestly was miserable!! But I guess it makes fun memories! So yes, there is lot's to do by the end of this week. We don't actually have to be up in Edmonton until the 25th, but I really wanted to go down to Utah with Blake and see my family before summer, or else they wouldn't even see eachother again until next fall! Not okay! Plus I haven't had easter with my family for 2 years! So we're making it happen. I'm very excited. So we will be down there for about 6 days, and then drive all the way back up, have a little easter with Blake's family and then be on our way!! What I want to happen is for us to have everything we need to take with us up north all packed and ready to be loaded for when we get back before we leave to Utah this weekend. So hopefully that is possible!! It's kind of hard, because we don't really know the place that we're staying at and everything that we would need to bring such as cooking supplies, towels and other random things that you wouldn't think you would need to bring. Last summer, we took WAAAY too much. Like way. to. much. But it was our first summer doing it, and we were freakin stuck in hotels (which by the way shouldn't have been the case) so how were we supposed to know?! So I guess we will see!! Oh, some good news!!! They are FINALLY processing my paperwork!!! YAY!!! Except only kind of...right now my paperwork is on hold because they need my marriage license to be approved and notarized by a provincial authority. It makes me laugh, because that would've been SO, so very easy to do before I even sent my paperwork, copy of license included, if they would've specified it needed to be approved by the province. Like seriously, in the paperwork it just says this "include a copy of your marriage license". That's it. But oh well! We're getting that done tomorrow and then sending the copy in and then it will continue to be processed!!!!!! I can't even tell you how happy that makes me. It will seriously be a year at the end of next month since I had sent it in! Wowzers. Anyways, that's what we are up to this week! I'm excited to see what this next adventure this summer has in store for us! Now for some pictures of our cute basement suite we had last year! :) Oh, and it was a basement suite that brought all the joys of living in a basement suite.. such as: not having any hot water when the upstairs tenants would run ANY water at all, shared laundry (upstairs tenants always leaving their laundry there), you could hear every footstep, every dog bark, little girl whine, any argument, and any baby cry (a baby in which we didn't know would be born a couple months after we moved in). Over all, I kind of miss it, only because we had all our own furniture and wall decor and such. Makes it feel more like it's my own home. Where as we are living in a place now that is already all furnitured. I mean nothing is wrong with that! I just kind of miss all my stuff! And our landlords couldn't have been better! In fact they would bring us free loaves of bread every monday! I don't think we bought bread that whole year :). So here it is!

So you walk in the door and it's the kitchen and to the left is what you see here.

So, to the right of when you walk in, this is what you would see! Sorry, I took this picture when we were starting to pack up that place around this time last year!

So looking at the last picture, to the right where you can see a room, this is the room you would see! Our little living room :). Sorry there is a fold in this one, like i said these are on paper. So on the right down the hallway is the bathroom. So walk down the hallway a little more and on the left is the office! It was sooo nice having this extra bedroom to put the desk in. Blake would study in here a lot. And at the very end of the hall, is our bedroom! I took the picture like this to show the dresser. I absolutely love this dresser. It was my great grandmothers. With this we got the headboard which you can kind of see in this picture, another tall dresser, a coffee table, two end tables, and night stands. We also have my great grandmothers couches. Also, just a random fact...Blake and I slept on a queen size airmatress our first year of marriage, and we started off this year sleeping on it too, but apparently it didn't storage very well because it kept going flat every night. Seriously, it was SUCH good airmatress! It was big, and it BARELY would go flat after a few months! I was soo mad it started going flat everynight. I'm determined to fix it, because I'm just so mad it is doing that after just being stored. So there you have it! That was our first little place, our first year of marriage! Now on to the next! Yip, yip!