A Sigh of Relief

Once upon a time, James and I were hired as apartment managers. I was super excited for 2 main reasons: 1. Free rent, and 2. I could quit my job. I justified the latter with the idea that I needed to figure out how this managing job was going to work out and I would be too busy to work at that greasy restaurant anymore. This was in February. Well, May rolled around, school was over, and I was living a pretty cushy life. James was working full-time, so I didn't think anything needed to change. And then I looked at our bank account. We weren't broke, but it just wasn't what we wanted. I needed to find a job.

I checked the LDS jobs website, The Department of Workforce Services, and the USU job board on an almost daily basis. I was applying for jobs right and left. I applied for so many that I would get an email saying I didn't get the position, but I didn't even remember applying. I had a few interviews and all seemed very promising. Every single one said that I would for sure hear back from them. I didn't.

Well, 4 months later, I GOT A JOB!!! And one that I will really like. Starting Monday, I will be a runner for Bearnson & Peck, a law firm here in Logan. I will work from 12:00 to 5:30 which will work perfectly with my school schedule as well as my family time. We celebrated by rearranging our furniture.

Did I mention that I'm not going to Utah State anymore? It wasn't working out for me. I have a really hard time learning without doing something to reinforce it in my mind. So, I transferred to Bridgerland Applied Technology College. When I first considered going, I felt like maybe I was cheating myself out and settling for something less and I was a little embarrassed about it. However, now that I'm in school, it is so perfect for me. I get to work at my own pace, and everything is hands-on. I'm in the Business Technology program, so we learn all the computer programs that would be used in an office setting as well as a 10-key calculator, and some good skills for finding a job and being a good employee.

So, finding a job was a really huge stress for a while, but looking back, I have seen so many blessings come from it. Home teachers and visiting teachers were praying for me, people were letting me know of job openings, etc. It was so great! I'm so grateful to be surrounded by so many wonderful people who will be there to help when I need it.
Anyway, I'm super excited! The only sad part is that this little girl will be home alone a little bit longer.

She needs a friend. James told me that if I could find a free Boston Terrier, we could get another one. If anyone knows of any... let me know. :)

Summertime

Holy smokes! I'm behind! We're still alive if anyone was wondering. This summer has been quite the whirlwind! And it's already over halfway over. Can you believe it?

June:

We went for a visit to James’ parents’ in Preston to (do laundry) spend some quality time with our dear family. Vickie was on the computer looking for airplane tickets for Bethann (James’s sister who was working in Alabama, but was ready to come home.) Long story short, we volunteered to fly to Nashville, TN, meet Bethann, and drive home via St. Louis, MO, Carthage, IL, and Nauvoo, IL. We had a blast! Here are a few pictures from that excursion:

Favorites:

· Doing a session in the Nauvoo temple
· Going on a river boat ride on the M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i
· Swimming in hotel pools
· Playing the “Animal Game” (there was a point system for different animals we saw. Antelope were degraded to 1 point in Wyoming because we saw so many)
· Eating lunch on the Winter Quarters Visitor’s Center grounds because that is the only place we felt safe in Omaha.
· Getting a steal-of-a-deal on some shoes at the Sierra Trading Post store in Cheyenne, WY.

Unfavorites:

· Changing Bethann’s car battery in a Nashville Walmart parking lot
· Running to the riverboat ride (we got stuck in construction on the way). Good thing James had the tickets… it was like breathing in water. I started walking halfway.
· No leg room
· Humidity (I love UTAH!)

July:

James and I are apartment mangers, and I tell you what, filling an apartment in July is tough stuff! HOPEFULLY, we have them all filled though. I’m also sick of painting.

We went to Alturas (near Red Fish Lake), ID for a camping trip with James’s family. It was a blast and a half! Except for the occasional rain storm. Here are some snapshots:

Favorites:

· Roasting kabobs over the fire. I think James and I had at least 4 or 5 each. · Building the coolest sand castle of all time. I was the landscaper. · Watching the “men” spend most of their down time working on their baseball bats to hit rocks with. They even took them home! · Eating so much good food. · Playing with the babies. · Kayaking on Red Fish Lake. · Sitting around a campfire. · Fluffing up the dirt under our tent. So worth it. · Flush toilets. · Lumber Jack Jim cutting a slit in his shoe with an axe.

Unfavorites:

· Getting sunburned. Somehow I got burned on the back of my knees. James has a hand mark where I stopped applying sunscreen. (He told me to stop, it’s his own fault)
· Some little kid smashing our sweet sand castle while we were roasting hot dogs.
· Mosquitoes (they weren’t that bad, but were still present)
· Aaron slicing his knuckle with a saw. The Dryden family has some great doctors.
· Cleaning up.

And now we’re home. James and I were talking the other day about how our apartment now feels like home I just love it. Even though neither of us want to stay in Logan, our little one bedroom apartment is perfect because it’s ours. That doesn’t stop us from dreaming about owning our own house someday, however.

We have gone on a couple camping trips on James’s days off. It’s just fun to get away for a night and roast some hot dogs.

Speaking of dogs, our little Sophie is 6 months old. She is fully potty trained, and is much more obedient than she used to be. That doesn’t mean we don’t find one of these occasionally:

But, we still like her. How could you not, look at that face!

Other than that, we’re just living life. James still works at Lee’s in the middle of the night, and I am still looking for a job. (Anyone know of a good job for me?) I have been sewing lately, and I’m slightly addicted to a bunch of craft blogs. I have a crazy idea that I’d like to start my own. Maybe I’ll put some tutorials up on here to give it a whirl.

Most of all, I’m just crazy about this guy. We’ve been married for 7 months and going strong!

Whew! Put that in the record books of longest post known to man.

Next up: River rafting on the Snake River, the Eddington Family Reunion (hopefully) and St. George! Then on to school…

Agility Schmgility

We designed an agility course for Sophie out of household items after watching some of these. It's grainy and hard to see, so I'll lay it out:

1- Jump over broom wedged between wall and laundry basket

2- Up one couch cushion, across the coffee table, then down the other couch cushion

3- Through the piano bench draped with a blanket

4- Through a cube wall hanging

5- Weave through the dry ingredient canisters

6- Back over the broom

She loves Cheerios!

A Sunday With Sophie

Once upon a time, when I was but a wee one, I asked my pappy for a puppy. He said "no". As I grew in years, I continued to prod my parents for a dear puppy to call me own. The answer stayed constant, a solid "no". I threatened my dad that one day when I was married I'd have three really BIG dogs, and I'd make him babysit them. He told me that he'd just open the door and let them run away. (true story)

Well, luckily for me, my husband gave in to my unrelenting pleadings for a puppy. Here she is! Our new Sophie!

She decided that this was "her" chair and she took her first nap of the day.

Five seconds later she rolled over and looked like this:

Right as she wakes up, she is ready to play. She loves her rope.

This is my first ever video on the blog. Sorry it's poor quality.

Sophie is so much fun! She is such a cuddler and I love it! She slept all cuddled up next to me for over an hour today. James was sleeping on the floor by us and all of a sudden, Sophie jumped up and started barking at him. I guess she was protecting me from the "stranger".

And we've only had to clean up a few "accidents" she is learning quickly though!

Here

So, I've had these pictures for quite a while, but I've been selfish and haven't shared. If you'd like to see our wedding pictures, look here. And while you're at it, check out our amazing photographers' work here, and here. We're SO happy with how they turned out, the day was PERFECT! Thanks Gayle and Brooke!

WHEW!!!

It's January already! Wow, time has sure flown by. I should probably make each of these sections into a post of their own, but I figure if I don't blog before school starts, it will never get done. Quite a bit has happened since I last posted, but I'll try to condense it as much as I can.

1. We're married! James and I were sealed for time and eternity in the Log

an Temple on the 16th of December. Everything went according to plan. We took some pictures before the ceremony with my cousin Gayle. It wasn't that cold... until it started snowing. But it was worth it for sure! From what I have seen, the pictures turned out great! We can't wait to see more.

2. Honeymoon in Jackson Hole, WY. We spent our first night at the Anniversary Inn in Logan, and then headed for Jackson the next morning. We had a blast! Snowmobiling was the highlight:

One of the colorful men we met at the gas station/RV park offered to take

this gem for us before we embarked. Notice our stylish snow suits.

We both had our own machine, which made it lots more fun for the entire time.

At the end of the afternoon, we decided to start back up the trail we started on, and we came upon a HUGE herd of elk. It was the highlight of the trip.

We waited for a random stranger to cross the street so he could take this picture.

3. Christmas came, and left. We spent Christmas Eve with the Dryden's, spent the night, and had Christmas morning there. Then, we spent the duration of Christmas Day with the Eddington's. It was so much fun to see everyone. This is our only Christmas picture we took:

The decorations were collected from: our wedding car, wedding gifts, Christmas gifts, and the one ornament we bought on our honeymoon (Eli the Elk).

4. New Year's Eve and Day. I worked until 8:00 on New Year's Eve, and then James and I had our at-home celebration. We made pizza:

And Root Beer Floats:

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's!

Thankful

Well, I'M BACK!

It's been a while since I've visited the blogging world. But I have a good reason--life is BUSY! We just passed our one month mark until the wedding yesterday. (YAY!) Time has been moving so quickly, but yet so slowly at the same time. It's getting to be crunch time! However, James is currently asleep on my couch after only getting one hour of sleep last night (I'll explain later), so I figure I have some time to post, and I'm also sick of working on my English presentation.

If my readers haven't noticed yet, I really like lists. I write multiple to-do lists daily, and I have a folder on my computer called "Lists" it contains more lists such as: "Life List", "Books to Read", "Places to Hike", and "My List of Favorites" among others. So, in honor of Thanksgiving which is coming up QUICK, I thought I'd write a list of things that I have been thankful for in the past few months, and there are SO many wonderful things that have just "worked out". I'm so thankful!

• We found an apartment. And a CHEAP one at that. Perfect for our tight college student budget. It's a tiny little ghetto basement apartment right below campus. It will be perfect for us, and we are allowed to do pretty much whatever we'd like to it. (paint, new cabinets, etc.) It definitely needs some TLC.
• James got a job. One thing that James was most worried about during our initial talks about marriage was the fact that he hadn't found a job and that he wouldn't be able to support us. He was recently hired at the Smithfield Lee's Marketplace as a baker. His shifts begin at either 1:00am, or 3:00am which is why he fell asleep sitting up at my kitchen table tonight as I talked with a roommate. This job has turned out to be perfect though, his boss Floyd has really been looking out for us and even offered James full-time so that we could have benefits and insurance.
• Things are pretty much planned. I have my dress, engagement pictures, invitations (they will be sent out here in the next week, so if you are reading this, and you aren't family, I suggest you get your addresses to me ASAP if you haven't already), a reception site, the temple is reserved and also my endowment session, centerpieces, a decorator, food, colors, we're all set except for flowers and tuxes pretty much.
• I have been preparing to enter into the Lord's house. I can hardly wait until the day arrives that I can enter into the temple! As I have been studying and praying about it, my testimony and my excitement have only grown. What a blessing it is to have so many temples here on this earth!
• I sold my apartment contract. After having my ad buried under a million other ads on the student center's board, I finally found someone to buy my apartment contract. And this all happened after the conversation with my dad where we discussed drastically lowering the price just to get rid of it. She even came to me, and I will be receiving my original asking price.
• James was offered another grant.

There are so many other blessings that have come into our lives in the time of our engagement, and also before. I definitely feel like the Lord had a HUGE part in bringing James and I together. I love him more than anything, and I can't wait to be together forever!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is a sneak-peek at our engagement pictures: