Update

The routine of life has kept us busy and I didn't realize how long it has been since an update.  Jordan's parents came down from Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with us.  I was a little nervous about hosting Thanksgiving at our house for the first time but everything turned out perfect.  I decided to try brining the turkey and it turned out amazing.  Dinner was sooo good!!

We kept tradition alive and Jordan's Mom, Vanessa and I went shopping early Friday morning.  I didn't find anything on Friday but Jordan and I got up early on Saturday and we found all kinds of amazing deals.  We looked at a new computer for me since my completely died.  So it looks like that is what Jordan is going to be getting me for Christmas this year.  I bought Jordan some tools that he has wanted....well he picked them out himself and then that counted as his gift from me.  

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I always think of my grandparents at this time of year.  I miss them so much but was amazed when all my cousins aunts and uncles shared stories of their favorite memories of thanksgiving with them on facebook.  It was such a fun way to remember them and feel close to my extended family while we are spread across the country. 

With the holiday season in full swing work has been so busy.  Not only am I working the late shift at work but I signed on for overtime three days a week.  I feel like I work ALL the time.  Jordan has been working from home on Wednesday's so we can spend time together and then we try to do a late date night on Saturday nights which usually ends up being a movie.  With all the hours, its a good thing that I really like working in the fraud department and I have been doing so well in this new position that they have been taking me off the phones to work special projects which I love to do.  I am working on moving into more of a detection role which I should qualify for in about four months.

We have been busy at church as well.  We spoke last week in Sacrament.  I talked on having faith and hope while enduring trials and Jordan spoke on being a true disciple of Christ.  We also got callings!!  Jordan was called to be the second counselor in the Elders Quorum and I was called to serve in the young women's as a beehive advisor.  We love our new ward and are really excited about our callings. I told Jordan that I knew I would be serving in the young women's as soon as I got my schedule at work.  Wednesday's and Sunday's are my only days off.  I am able to go to mutual nights!  Its amazing to see how the Lord works in our lives.

We are looking forward to Christmas and have our tree up and the puppies surprisingly leave it alone most of the time.  Tonight I made tons of sugar cookies to take to friends and then Jordan and Vanessa helped decorate them.  Even with the warm weather it is starting to feel like Christmas!! 

 

Happy Halloween 2012

For Halloween this year we decided to go to Brad and Lindsey's house.  Halloween happened to fall on my day off of work so Jordan worked from home.  We went to see the surfer movie Chasing Mavericks in the afternoon and then after the movie we went on an unexpected adventure to pick up pumpkins to carve that night.  Apparently waiting until Halloween day to pick up pumpkins is not a good idea.  We had to go to three different grocery stores before we finally found somewhere that wasn't sold out!  

That night we drove up to Brad and Lindsey's and had pizza for dinner.

I made caramel apples that we had for dessert.

Then we carved pumpkins and handed out candy to trick or treaters while watching the Jazz game.

Brad's pumpkin...Utah Jazz of course.

 Lindsey's was a classic pumpkin.

 Jordan made a puppy paw print.

 And I made a butterfly which turned out to be a little more modern looking than I anticipated.

Afterward the game and the trick or treaters started to fade we decided to go to Lindsey's favorite place, Ritas.  Its an Italian Ice shop, kind of like a fancy snowcone.  Jordan and I shared a mango and which was delicious.  We sat outside talking for awhile until it got late and then we headed home.   

I was telling Jordan on the drive how Halloween is always cold in Idaho so I am used to it being a holiday where everyone is bundled up and you can kind of pick out a costume under layers of winter coats.  I had noticed that most of the families in our new neighborhood that were handing out candy set up chairs and decorations from their garage!  It was more of a block party for the kids.  I like that, especially since so many people from our ward live on our street. It will be so fun when we have kids.      

After Halloween ended it got me thinking about Thanksgiving.  We are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for Jordan's family this year in our home.  Gulp!!  I have never hosted a holiday before but we are excited to have them come in from Colorado. 

I wanted to make a fall wreath to add a little color to the front door to make them and anyone coming to our house feel welcome. 

Here is what I came up with and I love it!    

And of course I had to add a few pictures of Grizz and Fox.

Jordan and I have been working on training them and they have graduated to being in the house with us without a leash...sometimes.

This week they are really good at the sit command.  Stay is slowly getting better, especially if food is involved. And lay down is still like a foreign language to them but they will catch on.  I forget that they are still so little.  

They went to the city park for the first time and loved it!  We are very strict about not letting them jump up, dig, paw or bite.  We want them to be socalized and well trained for when any kids are around which I am noticing won't be a problem.  They have such laid back personalities and listen really well, especially for being only nine weeks old.  I think that we got very lucky and got some amazing dogs that fit into our family so well.      

Another reason that I love my husband!

I left for work on Saturday and this is how the house looked....

 We were trying out the colors together near the front doorway and thought they looked good.  I was a little worried about the brown being a lot darker than the paint sample we tested but the more it sat with me the more I liked it.

   

Saturday night I came home from work to find.......

Not only had Jordan started painting but he put up the board along the wall that I wanted!!!  I LOVE how it turned out.  We still need to paint another coat of paint and I will paint the boarders on my day off then we can finally put up pictures. 

Our house is starting to come together. 

Puppies and paint

Since training is over my new position at work has started and so has my new shift.  I am getting used to working later and adjusting to the new hours.  I think that the biggest change has been figuring out a food schedule.  I eat lunch at four and dinner around 8:30pm every night, which usually consists of something small if anything at all. I take a lot of snacks which seems to work better for me then a full meal.

It is a much more laid back department and I really like the people that I work with.  I have been learning so much about fraud prevention and it is rewarding knowing that I am helping people everyday to stop fraud and protect their personal information.  I think that this is going to be a great stepping stone for me.

With the extra hours at work Jordan and I have set up a routine with the pups.  I watch them in the mornings, he plays with them in the afternoons and then once I get home we let them play until we go to bed.  They are such good dogs.  We have been teaching them to sit and are still working with them on barking.  They are learning pretty quickly and seem to be happy.   

We gave them their first bath last week.  They weren't quite sure what to think about it and were all snugly afterwards.  It was pretty cute.  We have really liked having them around.  I never thought of myself as a pet person and they are a lot of work but they add so much personality and happiness to our home.  I love it!! 

The other big project we have been working on besides training the dogs is picking out paint colors to finish the hallways.  We originally picked out four colors and brought home samples to try.  None of them seemed to work right so I sat with them for a few days and then finally decided to keep looking. 

Then I found the perfect colors!! 

I am painting the back hallway leading to the bedrooms the light brown.  Then we are painting the front hallway two colors.  Brown on top and white on the bottom. We are adding a thick white chair rail along the middle of the wall.  Once paint is up I want to put up a gallery wall of photos along the top half of the hallway with white frames. 

And finally we are painting our front door the reddish/burnt orange color.

I think it will look so nice once done.

My goal is to have painting done and pictures hung up by Thanksgiving when Jordan's family comes to visit. It will take some teamwork to get it all done by then but I think we can do it. 

      

(I love having my own home!!)

What makes me happy.

I love conference weekends! 

It always makes me feel reinvigorated and rededicated.  

I especially enjoyed President Henry B Eyring's talk.

" In the depths of his anguish in Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith cried out: “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?” (D&C 121:1). Many of us, in moments of personal anguish, feel that God is far from us. The pavilion that seems to intercept divine aid does not cover God; it occasionally covers us. God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible. Our own desires, rather than a feeling of “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10), create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time.

Our feelings of separation from God will diminish as we become more childlike before Him. That is not easy in a world where the opinions of other human beings can have such an effect on our motives. But it will help us recognize this truth: God is close to us and aware of us and never hides from His faithful children."

Lately I have been feeling very happy.

Maybe it has to do with training for a new job that I find interesting and enjoy.

Or maybe it has to do with all the little moments I feel in my new home.  Washing clothes in MY new washer and dryer.  Sitting on MY patio while reading a book or picking paint colors to paint the house.

Or maybe it has to do with Jordan's sister Vanessa moving to Arizona and working at EBay with me!  I told her about a job opening, a few days later she was offered the job and moving.  We get along really well and will have the same days off!!  We will have so much fun together.  

Or maybe it has to do with getting the week of Christmas off of work and listening to my Mom giggle like a little kid when I told her that we were coming to spend Christmas with them. 

Or maybe it has to do with coming home everyday to see these sweet faces... 

They have been so easy to train. 

Not that I have much to go off of since I have never had a dog of my own before, but they have stopped whining unless they need to go outside to use the bathroom, they are being crate trained and went into the crate by themselves today!  (A big accomplishment for them) and they get love to play together.   

We have them on a routine where we get home and immediately take them to the park to run around, then feed them, play some more outside and then nap time.  Jordan has been so great about getting up at night to let them out to use the bathroom.  I am pretty spoiled!

We have learned they love balls and sticks. 

 They like to play with all the neighbor kids but love to be close by to either Jordan or I. 

Fox loves to snuggle and Grizzly loves to give kisses.

And they crack us up all the time!!

But most likely it was listening to conference and knowing that I am loved and watched over by the Lord.

 

Knowing that He is aware of me and my struggles and mistakes and inspite of all my weakness that He still loves me unconditionally.   

Of course that is what makes me happy!

Introducing Grizzly and Fox!!

Saturday morning Jordan and I drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet his Dad for the Boise State vs New Mexico game.

Not only did he come down for the game but he brought us our puppies!! 

Jordan has wanted to get a dog since we were married but we just didn't feel like it was fair to a dog while we lived in an apartment to have them living in a crate all day. 

It just so happened that right around the time we bought our house one of Jordan's family friends who sales Labrador puppies had some that were about to be born.  We told them that we wanted a brown one if it was available.

They called us once the pup was born and asked if we wanted a second dog.  We told them we wanted to think about it and had a lot of long talks about how much work a second dog would be and the benefits of our dog having a friend to grow up with.  We decided it would be worth the extra work and got a second lab,a red, this one was a girl.   

 Introducing...Fox

 Grizzly (A little sleepy from the car ride from Colorado)

 After we played with the dogs we headed to the game.  Our seats were incredible!  Right on the center 50 yard line about ten rows up.

 The Broncos coming onto the field

 We were expecting 70 degree weather. 

 It was SO hot sitting in the sun.  Luckily it cooled off pretty quickly during the second half of the game. 

 One of the things that made the game so fun was how many Boise State fans showed up and how nice the New Mexico Lobos were.  We weren't taunted or yelled at.  They were actually really accommodating and let us cheer for our team and they cheered just as loud for theirs.  It was really fun.  

 We Won!

 32-29

 In the morning we woke up to hot air balloons everywhere.

So pretty!

 I was a little worried about how they would do sitting on the floor for seven hours during the car ride home but they were awesome. 

 They snuggled up with each other and slept most of the way.  We made sure to stop every few hours to let them get out to use the bathroom and run around.  They tired out pretty quick. 

We are excited about having dogs, they are a lot of work but seriously so cute.

I started a new position today with Pay Pal.  I was promoted to their fraud department!  It is such an interesting job and a little scary at how much information is out there on everyone.  At the same time it is equally as interesting at how seriously companies take fraudsters and how hard they work at preventing and stopping them.  I decided to go back to full time and my hours will be a little crazy but I was really ready to expand and learn something new. Plus extra money in your paycheck is always nice.  

I called Jordan on my lunch break to tell him how training was going and he told me that our new washer and dryer had arrived.  We laughed at how old we seem getting excited over a washer and dryer!  We looked at a lot of different stores and read reviews to find the best deal.  We ended up going back to the first store we visited, go figure, and the salesman we worked with gave us an AWESOME deal.  We ended up getting Frigidaire affinity's with the pedestals. It is so much easier switching laundry and the extra storage is very nice.  (See we sound old!)   

In addition to a new house, starting a new job and buying a washer and dryer we have decided to add to our family and have been preparing for them to join our family this weekend!!

A sneak peak........

We can't wait to meet them!!

Labor Day Weekend

I told Jordan that I really wanted to do anything other than cleaning the new house for Labor Day.  It is one of the few holidays I actually get off of work and I wanted to do something fun so I suggested camping.  

We talked to Brad and Lindsey and they wanted to come.  We also invited some new friends of theirs, Brian and Lanie.  Lindsey has been talking about hiking to Tonto Natural bridge near Payson for months so that's where we decided to go.  We were going up Sunday evening after church and then on Monday we would hike and drive home. 

Lanie said that her Grandparents had a cabin in the area and would we rather stay there for the night instead of in tents. Ummm....YES!!  The cabin was gorgeous!! We felt like we were staying in a 5 star hotel.  It was so nice.  They were so nice to let us stay there. 

Lindsey brought us a pot roast, potatoes and carrots for dinner. I brought a salad and cupcakes for dessert.  It was delicious.    

That night we played catch phrase and a card game called scum until 3am!!  We had no idea how late it was we were having such a fun time. Needless to say we all slept in on Monday.

Lanie and Brian brought us breakfast and made us lunches to take hiking. We felt really spoiled.

 Lanie and Brian

 Brad and Lindsey

 Hiking to the "waterfall".

It was rather disappointing, especially after the last waterfall we hiked to was havasupi. 

 Lanie, Lindsey and I exploring the caves in the area.

 Jordan hiking in flip flops!! 

 Tonto Natural Bridge

It was a short but beautiful hike.

After hiking we stopped by a local pizzeria and had pizza, bread sticks and salad for dinner.  Soooo good.  We then came back to the cabin, showered and played more games while we waited for traffic to die down. 

It was the perfect trip.