I am horrible at keeping up with this blog, and I apologize.
A lot has happened in the last couple months, I don't even know where to start...
I'll start with the biggest news... I am PREGNANT! This shouldnt be a huge surprise to anyone by now, but still very exciting! I am now 29 weeks along and have started to really enjoy it :) The first 17 weeks were pretty bad, and I ended up in the hospital once with severe dehydration. The baby was definitely taking me for all I was worth. But I would rather it do that than face complications. So the baby is growing right on schedule and should not come any earlier than the 20th of May. The past few months have been especially exciting as now I can feel the baby moving on a regular basis.It definitely become real for Alex being able to see and feel the evidence that a little human is growing inside of me! And for those who noticed, I do not refer to the baby as he or she because we are not finding out the sex... for those of you who know me, that would seem way out of character for me, and it is. But Alex doesn't want to know. If I were to find out on my own, I would end up spilling the beans and I would hate to ruin it for him. I am getting used to not knowing and am liking the idea of it being a surprise, crazy!
The next biggest news is that we bought a house! We are now homeowners and are loving it! We bought a bungalow with a walkout basement in Logan, Utah just a couple blocks away from the university. It has hard wood flooring throughout the main level, updated white kitchen cabinets, wood burning fireplaces on both levels, and sits on a quarter acre with apple, apricot, plum and cherry trees. We are hoping to turn this house into an investment property and build a kitchen into the basement to rent out. The basement has a perfect layout with a separate entry and a big empty room which used to be his shop where the kitchen would fit nicely. It has been so fun to move out of our 300sq ft. apartment into our 3800sq ft. home haha We can finally have our friends over! This past weekend Alex's best friend Brayden Tye got married to Kristen Brunson and they are now living in our basement :) His family owns a plumbing company and will be helping us to get that addition all set up and ready to go for us to install a kitchen at the end of the summer! We are glad to be able to have someone living in our place for the summer and having a company we can trust working on the kitchen downstairs is a huge plus.
And as most of you know, we got a puppy! His name is Hugo and he is a Maltese-Poodle. He will be 4 months on the 21st and is about 5 pounds. He has been perfect for us! He is on a good schedule to where he goes to bed around 10:30-11 and wakes up at 7am to go to the bathroom, then just hangs out and sometimes sleeps along with us till we wake up for real haha He loves to cuddle and we have trained him to sit on command, to walk into his kennel on command (he loves his kennel), and is potty trained for the most part :) if he has an accident, its right at the back door haha
Another blessing has been that Alex's office has joined with the Edmonton South office and so instead of moving out to Victoria for the summer, we will be living in Edmonton!!! Now Alex will be able to be there for the birth of our kid for sure! I will have the constant support of my family and friends back home, and we get to be part of one of the strongest offices in Vivint. That means we will be more competitive and everyone who knows Alex knows that he lives for competition! We are both confident that this will be one of his best summers yet and of course I will be way happy and everyone knows that a happy wife = a happy life :)
Alex and I have been able to take a couple trips together, one in Vegas for our one year anniversary, Alex won a cruise to Jamaica with some guys in his sales office, and then we just recently returned from Surprise AZ where Alex and a couple recruits were able to work and us wives could just enjoy the nice weather and relax! Alex went with the crew last sunday and I flew in and met them there wednesday because I had the opportunity to take Paige to the MTC!! We were able to attend a session at the Salt Lake temple, go shopping, and just talk about where we are now and how crazy it is!! Paige going on a mission and me having a baby... Who would have thought?! I am so glad I had that time with her, she is honestly going to be such a great missionary and I could not be more proud of her and what she is doing! The East coast is blessed to have her serving their area.
Well I think that is all haha Its hard to cover so much time... My procrastination definitely got the best of me this time, sorry!
Because of the distance between my family and I, I figured that this would be a good way to keep them updated on how things are going. Hopefully I will be able to keep it up-to-date so that it serves it's purpose!
Monday, March 18, 2013
Monday, September 24, 2012
Bitter Sweet
I am having very mixed feelings as I start to write this blog... Alex and I have 11 more days of bliss here in Canada before we head back to Logan. I am excited to be going home to our normal routine where Alex doesnt have to work all the time and we can finally enjoy being together! But on the other hand, I am leaving my family again... at least its not a long time until we see eachother again since there are only a few more months until christmas! But I am very excited to get back to our american family ;) Alex is definitely home sick. He doesnt really say it out loud, I know he is when he starts calling his family EVERY day haha
So we are currently living at my parents house which has turned out to be alot more beneficial than we could have thought. They have been a great support, especially my mom who is constantly looking for gluten free diets and what not. Alot of good has happened lately which is amazing! Our luck has finally started turning around. Alex hit his goal this summer with 105 sales :) I was so proud of him, he toughed it out till the very last day of the season and worked so hard. Love being married to someone who knows the value of hard work and commitment. As soon as we were done summer sales, we house sat and dog sat for Crystal and Tanner when they were in Arizona. It definitely rid me of my puppy fever and no longer want one right now haha Alex is pretty happy about that.
So Since we have been back in Edmonton I have worked with a great doctor who has tried really hard to pull strings to have the operations done that I needed. Turns out I am gluten and lactose intolerant. So its not a big deal which is great! Just have to watch my diet, which has turned out to be harder that I would have thought haha but all is good! The last MIRACLE is that I have a great mother in law who stormed into the immigration office and developed a GREAT contact at the immigration office who has been an angel in this whole process. We have been calling back and forth about my advanced parole document, and she pulled some strings to have my document expedited so that I could come back home with Alex at the end of the month. With the help from Shaylee and of course Cindy, I got the document today!! Such a big relief. I felt so silly when Officer Howe called me to tell me that Cindy should be recieving the document because I bawled like a baby! I was so excited and way too relieved haha such a huge worry off my shoulders.Now I just get to relax and enjoy the time I have left with my family. So far Alex and I have been to two receptions together, we have gone to Elk Island Park with my parents and went canoeing and had a fire, were able to be at the little Pizzey family reunion, we have gone on bike rides, done gymnastics (so sore) haha, gone fishing, hungout with fun couples, have watched a few of Nicks football games, babysat Ella, and lots of Sunday dinners. We are trying to enjoy the time we have here which makes sales alot harder to focus on, but its been good. Main reason Alex stayed was because I wasnt allowed back into the states haha so silly. But some extra money in our savings account always helps!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
OH CANADA! Home sweet home and LOVING it :)
BANFF :)
Blake and Lindsay's Wedding <3
Now for my immigration update! It still sucks and
is as frustrating as ever. I really wish I had just paid a lawyer to do it,
looking back now I definitely should have. Firstly, our post office in Logan
decided the send the notices that immigration was sending back to them instead
of forward them to Cindy as I had requested… Immigration of course paused my
application without me knowing… So that was hold up #1. Secondly, I was told
before I came to Canada that I did not need my fingerprints done in order to
receive my Advanced Parole which allows me back into the United States. An
immigration officer recently informed me that I DO need the fingerprints done
in order for the document to be processed and completed and you can only get
them done in the United States. If he is correct, then that means I cannot get
my advanced parole document which means I cannot go back to the states without
immigration denying my request for permanent residency. So basically, I’m
screwed. I am waiting for the notice to be sent to Cindy that will notify me
whether or not I actually do need my fingerprints done, and if I do, then there
is a border patrol guy who is trying to help me get across. Because I still
have a valid student visa there is a possibility that I can get back across on
that without immigration throwing a fit. So right now I am just kind of
waiting… if I can’t get across then I will have to re file from Canada which would
keep me here an extra year. Alex and I are already planning on taking a
semester off and traveling Europe. Even if things go well, my travel document won’t
come till after the semester starts anyways, so while we have no children, no
mortgage, or real obligations we may as well take advantage of it! Taking a
semester off does not change when Alex graduates, it just makes what would have
been an easy semester a harder semester so it’s not a big deal school wise
either. We plan on selling post season, and then backpack Europe for the month
of October and then take a cruise from Spain on the 5th of November
for 13 days, ending in Florida. But we will know for sure what we are going to
do when Cindy receives the notice…scary.
So that’s the long/ short summary of the past few
months here in Calgary, and like I said there have been some great times, and
some not so great times haha but as Alex always says, “everything will be fine,
it will all work out.”
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Our Crazy Couple of Months!
I haven’t written in
a couple months because our life insists on being crazy busy. We have not been
home for a weekend in what feels like forever! This will probably turn into a
novel so I apologize, but this is our life!!
The first trip we went on was a cruise that we spontaneously
decided to go on with Brandon and Brooke Major and Jenna and Addison Gines. We
honestly decided to go and book the trip all in one night a week before we were
to leave! Craziness. It was a Mexican cruise that left from LA with Carnival
Cruise lines. We drove in two vehicles down and stayed at Jenna’s family’s
condo in St. George. Her brother lives there and is hilarious. The boys had a
good time beating the last level in the Mario brother’s game on WII. So
ridiculous. We then drove straight through to LA and got on the boat!! It was
honestly so fun. We ate a TON (Alex gained 18 pounds!!) and enjoyed playing
cards and doing as many activities as we could. We met two really fun young couples who were at our dinner table with us, and a funny tongan. So funny story; we were having lunch at the buffet area and i fell asleep... so natually everyone thought it would be funny to leave me. Well this big tongan guy saw what was going on and decided to come cuddle up to me!! i woke up thinking it was Alex and was very suprised when it wasnt haha good joke guys...
Anyways, our first stop was at Catalina Island
where we walked around and saw the shops and walked up to this old temple? I
think it was a temple, but anyways, it was surrounded by a beautiful walk
through a garden full of every possible plant that grew on the island. It was
really pretty. Weather was a bit chilly and overcast majority of the time, but
comfortable. I was silly and laid out on the deck with my leggings folded half
way up my calf. I found out later that it had made a perfect tan line across
the middle of my calf! Looked great when I wore shorts, or when in my skirt the
following Sunday. Embarrassing. The next
stop was at Ensenada. This was probably our favourite stop. We first walked
around the flea market and Alex bought himself a hammock (he’s very proud of
it) and I loved bartering and got the best deal of the day! One man told me I
was a very tough girl ;) Alex loved that haha for the afternoon we rented a
golf cart and got all six of us on it and just cruised around! We didn’t read
the rule book and decided it would be a good idea to go up a way steep hill to
the top of the island. Well it stopped half way and the boys had to push it up
the hill while I drove haha the way down was just as adventurous as we feared
the brakes would go out and had to zig zag across the road the entire way down
hahaha it was great. We then broke the rules again and drove it down on the
beach where we ran into this ten year old boy who
was offering rides along the beach on his horses. Alex and I took him up on his
offer and rode along the beach. It was so fun! He had a full sized horse and
then a smaller mule and at one point he made Alex and I ride together on the
small little mule haha it was honestly so funny. We loved it. By the way, for
anyone who doesn’t know, Alex is absolutely in love with horses! So I was really
happy he got the chance to do that J
we then had a day at sea and it was done, time to go home.
But we first stopped
at the pier, walked down to the beach and ate some real seafood in LA. We left
that afternoon and stopped in Vegas and walked along the strip. Brandon had
never been so it was fun to see him all excited about everything. We were then
supposed to drive to St. George and spend the night but Alex was driving and
decided that it would be better if he just drove the entire way home!!! I was
so mad. The rest of us didn’t want to sleep in the car all the way home but he
just figured he was doing us all a favour by getting us home earlier haha what
a boy… So that was our cruise in a nut shell! Such a good spring break J
The next weekend we went to Arizona and met up with my
parents, Emily and her friend Carly. It was so nice to be in some hot weather
for a while! My parents have a home in a retirement community just outside of
surprise. We went to three of the March Madness games, so fun! First two games
were the sweet sixteen rounds and the last was an elite eight game. We loved it
so much, it was so nice to spend time with my family, and Alex and I both love
basketball so it was beyond fun J
The rest of the time we lounged in the pool and hot tub, went to a spring
training baseball game! I found out that Alex knows a ton about baseball so he
could tell me exactly what was going on and why they were doing such things, it
was cool to see him like that. We went to the hunger games haha just a good
time all around. I love my family; they are so fun to be around! Even though it
was only a couple day trip I had been excited for literally months.
The following weekend was General Conference and so we went
down to Salt Lake and watched it at Alex’s mom’s house. Blake and Lindsay who
had just gotten engaged came down and so we got to hang out with them a little
bit. Alex got priesthood session tickets for him and his Dad to go which was
way fun for Alex, and so Blake went with them and Lindsay and I just hung out
around temple square. It was really fun to catch up. Alex also had a mission
reunion that weekend where we went to a temple session and then had dinner at
the church. The Lindleys are part of our family, and so it is always nice to
visit with them.
After that weekend we went up to Alex’s families cabin for
Easter with his Mom, Richard and Shaylee and Jeff. Alex sold in Pocatello
Saturday while I hung out with the family and we decorated Easter eggs with his
nephew Carter. Jeff tried to one up my eggs but failed… Shaylee, Jeff and Carter
ended up coming with me to pick up Alex later that night and we went to Lava
Hot Springs, one of our favourite activities! When we got home Cindy and
Richard had deep fried a turkey and it was delicious! Next morning we hunted
for eggs with Carter and went to the small ward there in chesterfield. It was a
great weekend; I really enjoyed spending time with his family J
The next weekend we packed up on Thursday and went to Zion’s
National Park with our group! The Gines, Rio and David Grange, Nick and Lauren
Hancey, Hayley and Jerry Axtell and Amanda and Trent Hagman. We all headed out
at different times and we went with the Hagman’s late Thursday night and stayed
in Provo and left early Friday morning. When we got there we met up with the Gines
and Granges and went on a small hike and then explored around! It is so pretty
there, I couldn’t handle it! I love camping so much. But unfortunately it
rained that night and so us girls just stayed in our tent and put hair wraps in
each other’s hair while the boys explored alternate hikes in the rain. We slept
in the same tent as the Hagmans and it sucked! It rained and stormed all night
and the tent ended up flooding and Trent kicked a hole in the tent haha funny,
but brutal. And to top everything off,
we woke up the next morning to snow!! In April!! Killer. But we made the most
of it and were joined by the others who came in the middle of the night. We
went on a couple different hikes which were really super pretty. The red rock
looked really cool with the white snow sprinkled on it. A very unique experience
we are told. But when we were done hiking we decided it would be smart to go
into St. George to hangout for the night. Half of us packed our stuff and
decided to stay the night at Jenna’s condo because of the tent situation. Such
a good idea haha so we went to St. George and Rio called up her grandparents
who lived close by and we got access to a heated pool and hot tub. SO nice haha
then just played cards and watched star wars. I was so confused the entire time
though. I had never seen star wars before, and we didn’t watch the first one
and so I just thought it was stupid. Jenna’s brother didn’t like me saying that
haha oops! Oh and Hayley is a chef so she made us ribs and peach cobbler, soo
good. We were spoiled. So we slept well and went back to Zion’s on Sunday and
went and climbed Angels Landing. That was a really fun hike, but I am a FREAK!
At one point it gets pretty steep and so they have a chain that is bolted and
goes all the way to the top. And so it was pretty slippery because of all the snow
that was up there, and anyways I was SO nervous that everyone else around me
was going to slip and fall to their death! I wasn’t nervous for myself, I was
completely fine doing it, but at one point, this old man was climbing back down
and slipped a little, well, I started hyperventilating…I couldn’t have anyone
in front of me because if they slipped, even the slightest, I would freak out!
It was horrible. But overall, the hike was gorgeous and so fun, I loved it! It
was really neat because we were able to go on hikes where there aren’t normally
waterfalls and on some, there were five or six just streaming down a huge
mountain. So cool! So I definitely recommend to anyone who likes hiking to go
to Zion’s Park. It is well worth the trip J
So that is our CRAZY life! Not one weekend where we have
been at home… horrible I know. The rest of the week is still full with school
as we only have two and a half weeks left till we come back to Canada! Alex’s
mom is coming up this weekend to help me deep clean while Alex goes up and
helps Rich fix up the cabin. Then Cindy and I will join them up there for the
rest of the weekend. Another weekend gone!
My life doesn’t seem to relax for even a moment. It has been
very eventful and fun J
I honestly wouldn’t change a thing, except that maybe my immigration papers
would have NO MORE PROBLEMS and that they would go through smoothly and
quickly! But I am so grateful for the friends that I have made and for a
husband that I absolutely adore! We have so much fun together, every day he
makes me laugh and I can’t handle it haha we definitely fight and pick at each
other but that’s what we do! Whenever I am grouchy he will start grunting and
saying how he is just so mad, and repeats it over and over till I start
laughing. What a terd! He has established a very good means of diffusing my
anger haha
So I am sorry for the late post and that it is soooo long!
But Alex is at soccer and I just got back from a relief society party with
nothing else to do for the first time in months!! Which I am very grateful for.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Gotta Love the Married Life!
But besides a great valentines, we have been integrated into a game night group with friends from our young student married ward! It has been really fun to have people to hangout with who are in the same stage of life and don't have kids yet so they are available to go out and play haha Last week we hiked up to a cave in Green Canyon and had a winter campfire. We roasted starbursts which is something that I have never heard of and was a delightful surprise! They are so good! But we loved being in the cave as Alex and I have never been up there, we're still rookies when it comes to Logan's outdoor wonders.
Utah is great as there is so much to do! A couple weekends ago we had the privilege to go to The Utah Jazz game!! That was pretty fun and we both enjoyed that. Vivint paid for us to go and for Alex's recruits as well, so he was a bit stressed about keeping them entertained and kinda left me to do my own thing but I was at a Jazz game and enjoyed it none the less :)
But other than that, school has still been keeping us crazy busy. Alex has started going to lectures from big time business men and women and so I started going with him to occupy my time as well and they have turned out to be really interesting. And then after the lectures we go to the gym together. Alex says that he will teach me how to play soccer and we will just kick the ball around, but what he really means is that we can go and play in a GAME with all his soccer friends!! what a trickster! But there is no way! I don't know the rules and I haven't developed a good touch yet. So if he wants the ball shooting around all over the place then ya sure, I'm the girl for that. So I just end up playing basketball while he goes and plays his game haha
But anyways, life continues to become more and more busy, but it has been way fun, and married life just keeps getting better. But I still don't really feel like I'm married, I feel exactly the same as when we were dating but just better haha But I figure thats probably a good way to feel :)
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
I Love You More Than Yesterday But Less Than Tomorrow.
So everyday just keeps getting better and I now feel like we have settled into a pretty good routine. Mondays we have our own FHE with specific jobs in which we rotate every week. One person prepares the message and the other makes desert! This past monday was Alex's turn and I thought it was pretty cute/funny so I had to share. He made this wonderful pudding pie with an oreo crust, and in case you cant make out what the little oreos say ( because I couldnt either), it says A <3 K haha What a romantic ;)
So lately Alex and I have been driving up the canyon and exploring the river and mountains which is always fun, and just focusing hard on school! I just got through my first round of exams and Alex is just going through them now, so goodluck to him!
The rest of the week is pretty mundane, except that the basketball team I play on is very entertaining. I am probably the top player on my team which shows how much we suck! So that's not as fun but its good excersize and its still basketball so its good. I'm more aggresive than ever which is a scary thought for anyone who has ever played with or against me haha Oh and Alex went and bought a desk that mounts to the wall, a lounging chair which he is in 24/7 now, and a DVD rack. All very exciting things which contribute to turning our little apartment into a home :)
So just a little emabarrasing story to end this post. Alex's sister, cousin, two aunts and uncle are doing a challenge to go to every temple in Utah in a certain amount of months ( I cant remember how many) and so this past week was the Logan temple. So we decided we were going to join them, but that morning I could not find my reccomend and being as emotional as I have been lately, started balling and decided there was nothing that could be done and I just couldnt go. But Alex being the determined and caring guy he is, decided that we would go to the temple anyways to see if there was anything they could do. So we went and told the front worker the deal, and he went looking for the Temple President. Well it was already ten minutes till the session was to start, and then five minutes till the session rolled around and the Temple President had just come to address my issue. By this time I had just told Alex to go in and if I made it then that would be awesome but if not then I would see them after. Well the President looks me up and says im good to go, but there is only 3 minutes till the session starts. I tell him my family is in that session and so he runs me to the change room, gets a lady to help me get dressed, it takes 1 minute to get me out of the change room and he escorts me to the ordinance room, litterally speed walking/jogging through the temple!! He opens the door, stops the session just to let me in!!! I was two minutes late and oh my heck was it ever embarrassing. The entire session I was balling, not only because I was embarrased but because I couldnt beleive how amazing the Temple President was in helping me out. I was so overwhelmed with the love of my Heavenly Father and of the temple workers. So this is a love/hate experience. But made me realize how important the temple is and how much it meant to me that I be there. I loved it because of course the entire time I am saying sorry to all these people helping me out and every one of them just keeps telling me how happy they are that I am there. LOVE IT!
And all Alex could say about it was how weird he felt being in there alone and how happy he was when I came running in there haha I love him so much, whenever im upset he'll tell me that he loves me more than yesterday but less than tomorrow. That everyday he seems to love me more.
So lately Alex and I have been driving up the canyon and exploring the river and mountains which is always fun, and just focusing hard on school! I just got through my first round of exams and Alex is just going through them now, so goodluck to him!
The rest of the week is pretty mundane, except that the basketball team I play on is very entertaining. I am probably the top player on my team which shows how much we suck! So that's not as fun but its good excersize and its still basketball so its good. I'm more aggresive than ever which is a scary thought for anyone who has ever played with or against me haha Oh and Alex went and bought a desk that mounts to the wall, a lounging chair which he is in 24/7 now, and a DVD rack. All very exciting things which contribute to turning our little apartment into a home :)
So just a little emabarrasing story to end this post. Alex's sister, cousin, two aunts and uncle are doing a challenge to go to every temple in Utah in a certain amount of months ( I cant remember how many) and so this past week was the Logan temple. So we decided we were going to join them, but that morning I could not find my reccomend and being as emotional as I have been lately, started balling and decided there was nothing that could be done and I just couldnt go. But Alex being the determined and caring guy he is, decided that we would go to the temple anyways to see if there was anything they could do. So we went and told the front worker the deal, and he went looking for the Temple President. Well it was already ten minutes till the session was to start, and then five minutes till the session rolled around and the Temple President had just come to address my issue. By this time I had just told Alex to go in and if I made it then that would be awesome but if not then I would see them after. Well the President looks me up and says im good to go, but there is only 3 minutes till the session starts. I tell him my family is in that session and so he runs me to the change room, gets a lady to help me get dressed, it takes 1 minute to get me out of the change room and he escorts me to the ordinance room, litterally speed walking/jogging through the temple!! He opens the door, stops the session just to let me in!!! I was two minutes late and oh my heck was it ever embarrassing. The entire session I was balling, not only because I was embarrased but because I couldnt beleive how amazing the Temple President was in helping me out. I was so overwhelmed with the love of my Heavenly Father and of the temple workers. So this is a love/hate experience. But made me realize how important the temple is and how much it meant to me that I be there. I loved it because of course the entire time I am saying sorry to all these people helping me out and every one of them just keeps telling me how happy they are that I am there. LOVE IT!
And all Alex could say about it was how weird he felt being in there alone and how happy he was when I came running in there haha I love him so much, whenever im upset he'll tell me that he loves me more than yesterday but less than tomorrow. That everyday he seems to love me more.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
A little tour of where we live :) Ive tried to show most people through skype but I think this makes it a little easier to see!
| This is the Logan Valley!! |
This is our cute little house! We are the little entrance off to the left of the front entrance. and I thought this was pretty funny... we have to use old skeleton keys!!
| Our bedroom... |
This is our little bathroom, I tried to get a picture of the shower which is off to the right behind the door, but it didnt work haha its too small in there!
This is our kitchen, the second and only other room in our home :) But it has been a perfect size for Alex and I and I love it. It also serves as the homework table until we buy a desk for the living room haha we have been looking at one that mounts on the wall and folds back up against it when we arent using it! Super nice for that room becasuse there isnt much room as it is.
This is a picture taken from one end of the apartment to the other. Just to show you exactly how small it really is haha
The right corner (with our backpacks and HUGE printer), is where we will put up a desk :)
| And this is our view from our front door :) Alex and I have made a goal to try and go 3 times a month. shouldnt be too hard since it takes 40 seconds to get there!! |
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