Thanksgiving 2013

This year has been a year of full of wonderful and some not-so wonderful times.

Thinking back to when I first started dating Jeff ... almost 9 years ago. 

I remember thinking about life after high school and being an adult and dreaming about how I thought it would be to be married and an adult. 

No one told me life as an adult can really bite you in the behind. 

Okay... maybe they did, but I wasn't listening or didn't believe them. 

Anyways, when we were engaged everyone warned us that the first year of marriage was the hardest.

They all lied. not on purpose I'm sure.

Maybe we were just lucky or maybe all those years of dating made helped; but no matter the reason, our first year of marriage was bliss. 

I think that has made this last year more difficult. 

We had so many challenges arise this past year, we just seemed to be hit from all directions.

However, I can honestly say it strengthened our marriage and we have grown closer as a couple. 

That is why this Thanksgiving I am most thankful for our struggles

I am a firm believer that without the lows of life we cannot fully appreciate the highs.

The ugly moments make the beautiful ones more special.

I have learned so much this past year about myself, our marriage, my family, and about the important things in life.

I have the tendency to get wrapped up in the little things that don't matter in the grand scheme of things. 

I fight the perfectionist inside me and often feel like I have failed if something is not perfect. 

I need to be proud of my imperfections, because they are what make me unique.

Thanksgiving is a time when people express what they are thankful for.

However, it shouldn't be something that happens once a year or when something bad happens.

I want to make it a goal to wake up every morning and find something new to be thankful for.

It doesn't have to always be something big or life changing. We should be thankful for the small things.

Seeing as it is Thanksgiving I'm going to list the things I am most thankful for. 

That way if I'm having a difficult moment or day I can look back and remember.

I am thankful for my incredible, kind, caring, passionate, loving, and {of course} handsome husband. 

He works so hard at everything that he does. 

He works graves so he can focus on school during the day.

Everyone at work loves him and he really excels in his field.

I know its because he cares about people and genuinely wants to help and be their friends.

He is friends with the patients at the hospital and not just there to work. 

When we moved after we got married when we came back to the area, he would always try to drop by for a visit. 

He works so hard in school and is 2 weeks away from getting a 4.0 in college. 

Someone who really hates school and often works over 40 hours a week. That's pretty impressive.

He amazes me every day.

He makes me laugh constantly.

He took care of me and helped me soooo much when I was injured and couldn't do basic things for myself.
Not to mention he would work 60-70 hour weeks to help pick up the slack from me not being able to work.

There is no way I could have made it through those 3 months without him.
I hope you realize how much you mean to me.
You are my world.

I truly am the luckiest girl in the world to have such an unbelievable husband for all eternity.

They are best friends

Next, I am thankful for my darling, energetic, fur babies.

I always dreamed of having a dog and now that I have two I couldn't be happier.

I know I'm one of those crazy ladies who think of their dogs, like their children. Deal with it. I AM.

I love coming home and opening the door to two wet noses.

They are so excited to see us, even if we've only been gone for 15 minutes.

I will take them with me whenever I can, even just for a drive to the bank. They LOVE car rides.

"Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day."- John Grogan, Marley and Me

I know my dogs might not be the best behaved dogs and get excited when you come to visit.

I wouldn't trade them for anything.

They have such different personalities and are constantly making us smile and laugh.

Bailee is so extremely sweet and loves nothing more than to give kisses.

She will play for hours and hours and never get tired, especially if a stick is involved.

Oakley is the calmer of the two and spends most of his days trying to find someone to rub his belly.

He has the funniest facial expressions and you can always tell what he wants.

They both love treats, especially if it involves peanut butter, pumpkin, or cheese.

They are so extremely smart and amaze me constantly with what they understand. 

I love them like they are my children and I don't think that'll ever change even when we have a child of our own. 

I am so thankful to have such an amazing mother.

As cheesy as it sounds, she really is my best friend and I don't know what I would do without her.

I am thankful for everything she has sacrificed and that she still does for me each and every day.

She is the strongest, most kind hearted, and hardest working person I know. 

She puts the needs of others way before those of her own, especially when it has come to me.

She is just beautiful on the inside and out.

I would not be the person I am today without her teachings, her spirit, her support, or her encouragement.

I hope that I can be an ounce of the mother that she has been to me to my children someday.

They will be the luckiest to have her as a grandmother.

After All, my dogs already love her more than they love me.

I love you, Mom! Thanks for being the greatest mom!

I am so blessed to have married into such a wonderful family.
I have always wanted siblings I could be close to and since I don't. I love that I feel so close to Jeff's.
I really wish that they could be near this holiday and not on the other side of the planet.
I hope they know, even with the distance, how much we love them and appreciate all the support and love they have given us.
PLEASE COME BACK!!! QUICK!!!
My in-laws are such a great example and support to us.
They always are their to lend some helpful advice, support, comfort, or just to listen when we have concerns.
I can't thank them enough for all that they have done for us and that it has meant the world to us.
Thank you for making me part of your family and I truly love each and one of you as if we were blood.

Of course I haven't forgotten the rest of my giant extended family! I love you all!!
These past couple years have been filled with sorrow and lost, but I feel like our family has grown so much closer.
I think its rare for such a large family to be so close to one another and even through different generation lines.
I know that I can always count on my family and can lean on them in times of need and in times of joy.
Though we have had to say goodbye to loved ones, I know they are watching over each and every one of us.
They will forever be in our hearts and in our thoughts.
I have the greatest family. NO arguments.

As part of my family are our friends.
We love you like family and are an irreplaceable part of our lives.
Even though we don't get to see you as much as we would like you are never far from our thoughts.
Thank you for being such a great support system and for all the love that you give us.
We love you all!

We really have so much to be thankful for; here are a few more thing we are grateful of and are worth mention.
We both have jobs that we both love and that more than help provide for our needs.
Thankful for the abilities god has given us: to walk, to see, to hear, to generally be healthy.
Jeff's job has really opened to our eyes to just how blessed we are to have our health.
The opportunities we have to go to school and get a wonderful education
That we have two vehicles that can get us from point a to b and back again regularly.
The freedoms that are granted by our amazing country.
Even if people complain about the government and programs we could be a lot worse off and have it pretty easy.
I'm grateful for the modern conveniences that are my daily part of life: cell phones, computers, pluming, clean running water, etc.
We are thankful that we have a belief system and that we know that the trials and hard times are for a purpose and that there is something grand after this life.
Did I mention my puppies? Still grateful for them :) and the hubby.

If you made it through all of this. Congratulations. I'm grateful to for your patience.

Pictures taken from pinterest.

Constant Smile and Wagging Behind

17 years ago this cute little fur ball came into my family's life. She was a puppy from our next door neighbor's dog and my grandma decided to buy her for my grandpa. I was only 7 at the time and spent A LOT of my time with my grandparents and was so excited to have a puppy to play with. I always wanted a dog of my own, so this was the next best thing. Mitzi was the best dog right from the start. She loved to play in the water and my grandparents got her a kiddy pool to put in the backyard. Even before she was big enough to jump in that dog was in and out of the water. I spent hours in the backyard throwing the tennis ball and playing with that pup.

Pictures I took last summer of Oakley and Mitzi playing in the backyard.

 Since my mom worked my grandpa picked me up from school every day, from kindergarten till my junior year of high school. Who came with every single day? Good ole Mitzi. She was always there to greet me with a big smile and her whole back end wagging back and forth. When I wasn't in school my grandpa picked up my cousin Dan and I and took us to walk the dogs every day up Muller Park canyon. When he came to pick me up he'd let Mitzi out and she'd come meet me at the door ready to go. Everyone knew Mitzi and loved her. She would go in and out of the water and wonder off to see every person we happened to walk by. She greeted every single one with her same big smile and the wag of her entire back end. I remember one time she was sitting in the back seat of the car and had an apple she found somewhere along the walk and my grandpa threw the apple out the window. There goes Mitzi straight out the window of the moving car to get the apple.

Mitzi was a tease, she would make you think she'd give you the stick. Then she'd turn at the last second. 

Mitzi was really a neighborhood dog than a household dog. She never had a collar, she refused to wear it even when she was a puppy. She wouldn't take a leash and would just carry it in her mouth instead. It didn't ever matter, because everyone in the neighborhood knew Mitzi and loved her. Many kids and families in the neighborhood considered her their dog. She stopped to see everyone whenever she saw them. The neighbor kids would come over and knock on the door to play with Mitzi. Anyone who came to visit my grandparents house were greeted in the driveway by Mitzi and she would walk them to their car when she left. When we moved into my grandma's house it was my favorite part of the day was coming home to that sweet dog. When I'd shovel the driveway in the winter Mitzi was always right by my side and ready to play in the snow, her favorite thing. She truly was a puppy at heart to the very end.

Mitzi was the smartest dog I have ever met. My grandpa used to joke that she was smarter than George Bush. You may not believe me if you never met her, but she really understood you when you talked to her. For a while my grandparents had another lab dog named Sage. When they first brought Sage home my grandma told Mitzi that this dish is Sage and that Mitzi couldn't eat out of it. She only told her once and Mitzi (who loved food more than anything) never touched that food dish, even after Sage wasn't there anymore. My grandpa taught Mitzi one day to go get the newspaper out of the driveway when she was a puppy and that when she brought it up in the morning she would get a treat. So a couple days later Mitzi thought if she got a treat for one newspaper that if she got every newspaper in the neighborhood she'd get a whole bunch of treats, so that's what she did.  After my grandpa died my mom walked Mitzi every night after work. Mitzi, again not on a leash, would walk along side and when they got to an intersection my mom would say stop and they'd look both ways and off they'd go.

Mitzi was a stubborn dog, especially the last couple of years, she would only come inside when she wanted to and if she didn't there was nothing you could do to get her inside. Last winter Jeff and his brother, David, tried to get her to go inside one night (remember she weighed about 120 plus pounds of solid lab) and they'd push on her but and try and pick her up and there she stood firmly planted. She wanted to be outside so that's what she did.

She really was the best dog and everyone loved her. Yesterday when my mom called me and said that Mitzi was dying it broke my heart. We dropped what we were doing to go up and see her. We got there within 10 minutes of my mom's call and when we got there all the neighbors had gathered and everyone was crying and loving on Mitzi. It was the hardest thing for me to say goodbye to her and I will miss her every day. My mom, Jeff, and the two guys next door went to the vets. Mitzi didn't have the strength to stand up anymore, but she would lift her head and look at each of us with her big smile and her tail was wagging like it always had right up to the end. She knew she was surrounded by those who loved her and she got to be with her best friend again, my grandpa.

Oakley is really going to miss his friend

I can't tell you how much everyone is going to miss that sweet dog. I know Oakley really will miss her. He loved to play and chase her around the yard. He always greeted her with a kiss. We love you Mitzi.

Remember Remember the Fifth of November

I wish she was still this itty bitty

Today is our sweet little Bailee's birthday.

I can't believe its been almost a year since she joined our family.

Still sleeps like this today

She seems like she's been out of the puppy stage for a while, she stopped growing months ago

I thought she would be a big dog, like Oakley, but she only weighs 34 lbs

We believe that she might have a little or a lot of a black pointer.

Sleeping anywhere plush

She has a lot of that breeds traits/behaviors and looks just like a black lab pointer mix

Not to mention she is way small for being a pure bred lab

But then again she still is naughty at times. 

I feel like the year mark is when Oakley stopped {for the most part} his naughty shenanigans

Hanging with her best buddy

Bailee is such a funny dog with a very unique personality

She is a very lovey dog, she loves to give kisses and hugs to everyone

She doesn't really care to be petted, where Oakley that's all he wants

Bailee is pampered and she won't sleep on the floor without there being something to sleep on

She loves to sleep on anything plush and I frequently refer to her as "princess and the pea" 

She is sensitive and can get her feels hurt easily

She loves ANY toy, especially a wood stick {not matter the size, even a twig}

Hated car rides as a puppy, but LOVES them now

She has endless bounds of energy

We can be at the park for hours and she will run around full speed {which is VERY fast} non stop and still have plenty of energy

She is smart. Too Smart and it amazes me the things she figures out

Such a bird dog and little hunter

Outside she is very independent, but at home she has to be right next to me

She doesn't like when people wear hats and will remove it; then she'll lick your ear

She loves to dance, especially if food is involved.

She loves and adores Oakley and cries anytime when we separate them

Found a stick

Our home would not be the same without Bailee, or Pippers as I call her

We look forward to many more years with our two amazing dogs.

My love bug

Happy Halloween 2013

I was on a roll with posts, but its been a REALLY busy 2 weeks.

I started my new job with Ritz Carlton and LOVE IT!!!

Ritzy hotels and awesome people!

Not to mention the travel perks

Plus we have been doing finishing up our townhome for our renters, who moved in today!

I love Halloween. A Lot

I love decorating my house.

I love dressing up in costumes. especially when it comes to my dogs.

I even love carving pumpkins, minus the allergic reactions. 

I love the fall and all that it brings.

This year was lame. 

First of all, I had to work till 7 pm and Jeff had to GO to work at 7 pm.

We did NOT carve pumpkins for the first time, since we started dating 9 years ago!

I have NOT decorated my house at all, other than getting the boxes out.

I did, however, dress up my dogs

well at least Bailee... {Bailee destroyed Oakley's headless horseman costume the night before}

I did get a huge dose of Halloween at work
My coworkers are hilarious and so clever
We had some really elaborate costumes
my boss came in a Theater quality Marie Antoniette costume, sorry failed on a picture

Animal Themed... Zoo Keeper and all his animals

Hee Love her!, Really bad pictures off of my phone. but you still get the idea

Paint = Ruined Clothing

Part of getting ready for our renters to move in we needed to do a little painting

We wanted to cover some dings and nail holes

We also had some damage from the previous owners we never got around to fixing

We also had a hole in the wall that was made worse by Oakley

Part of owning a dog I guess

Generally, pretty easy fix and nothing to major

I thought I could just carry a little paint drip pan around with me and fix the spots that needed fixing

Easier said than done

Within the first couple strokes the plastic drip pan bent 

The ENTIRE thing of paint dripped down my sweatshirt, my new leggings, and onto my favorite pair of Toms

{They don't make my Toms anymore}

Heartbroken and covered in wet paint I just thought I'd ruined my entire outfit

Well thanks to the magic of the internet I decided to research how to remove dry latex paint from clothing

Multiple different sites suggest a variety of things

The only one I had experience using to remove stains, like pen ink, was rubbing alcohol

I thought I'd test out this method and share the results.

Major paint spill right? This is a week and a wash/dry later

STEP #1

Soak paint stained area in small bowl of rubbing alcohol

Wait 10 minutes

STEP #2

Use a little elbow grease 

Rub with cleaning rag {one you don't care if the stain transfers to}

Keep scrubbing until you see the stain disappearing

Side note: You might have to add a little more rubbing alcohol through the process

STEP #3

Rinse thoroughly with warm water

{rubbing alcohol is FLAMMABLE and needs to be out of your clothing before washing}

STEP #4

Wash your clothing as directed on the label



Before actually washing. Surprising right?

STEP #5

Enjoy your clothes again!

Side Note: It worked the best on my black pants, my white shoes it was an improvement, but didn't fix it completely. It could have been, because I didn't try to fix it until a week later so the stain REALLY set in. The quicker you act on ANY stain the better. Rubbing alcohol is also great at removing pen ink, but make sure you blot the stain DO NOT rub or it will just spread like wildfire.

Making Dreams Come True: Our Bucket List

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss, but that it is too low and we reach it." ~ Michelangelo Buonarroti

Our life is ours to live and we intend to live it to the fullest. We are always talking about things we would like to do in our lifetime and places we want to go. I personally LOVE to make lists so why not make a list of our dreams and turn words into actions. In a Forbes article it outlines ways to achieve any goal; step one: write it down, step two: look it often, step three: tell people. Here you go, in no particular order. Some of these are individual goals, but we plan to do them together. Some of them I'm adding that were on my bucket list before

1. Own a dog Completed August 2011
2. Fall in love Completed Summer 2005
3. Get married to best friend Completed August 2011
4. Move away for college Completed August 2008
5. Buy first car all on own Completed in 2008
6. Buy first home Completed June 2011
7. Own a Lovesac sactional Completed September 2013
8. Stay in Presidential Suite of fancy Hotel Completed Summer 2010? Again on honeymoon
9. Kiss on the beach Completed June 2012
10. Learn to Surf {Completed by Katie in Hawaii October 2003}
11. Become parents
12. Cook a Thanksgiving Dinner all by myself Completed Thanksgiving 2011
13. Experience Christmas in New York {Katie)
14. Spend all day and night on the beach, bonfire included
15. Volunteer in Africa
16. See the Northern Lights
    
17. Change someones life for the better
18. Play "messy" twister, keyword paint
19. Go on a cruise
20. Learn to drive manual {Katie}
21. Get a puppy for Christmas, like on Lady and the Tramp Completed Christmas 2012
22. Swim in every ocean
23. Become fluent in ASL {Katie}
24. Become fluent in another language {Katie: Italian, Jeff: Spanish}
25. Visit Dubai 
26. Own a horse
27. Ride a mechanical bull
28. Plant a tree from a seed and watch it grow
    
29. Milk a cow
30. Go hang gliding {Mostly Jeff}
31. Go bungee jumping {Mostly Jeff}
32. Go skiing in Aspen, Colorado
33. Swim with dolphins {Completed by Katie in Hawaii October 2003}
34. Have a 50th wedding anniversary and many more
35. Run in the Color Run
36. Run a half marathon
37. Ride an elephant
38. Pet and hold a baby tiger
39. Go scuba diving {Jeff has a GIANT list of places}
    
40. Ride in a helicopter
41. Visit all 50 states, airports do not count
42. Ride in a hot air balloon
43. Visit the pyramids in Egypt
44. Graduate from College
45. Go skydiving {Mainly Jeff's, Katie's have the guts to go}
46. Stand on every continent 
47. Go white water rafting {Completed by Jeff as a kid}
48. Go to the floating lantern festival {Katie}
49. Walk the Great Wall of China
50. Attend the Olympics Completed at the 2002 Winter Olympics
51. Attach a lock to Love Bridge
52. Watch the ball drop in Times Square
53. Cut down own Christmas tree
54. Go to Mardi Gras
55. Go paintballing {Katie, Jeff has many times}
    
56. Go on vacation with no plans, show up at airport and take next flight
57. Spend the night in an aquarium
58. Build a piece of furniture from scratch {Katie}
59. Adopt a baby
60. Be paid to blog
61. See a show on Broadway {Katie}
62. Learn to play a musical instrument
63. Throw a dart at a map and travel to wherever it lands
64. Put a piece of gum on the gum wall in Seattle
    
65. Stand on the Chicago Ledge in the Sears Tower
66. Stay in over the water hotel in Bora Bora, the one on Couples Retreat
67. Go on a safari
68. Carve something on a tree together
69. Jump off a waterfall
70. See the frozen waves in Antarctica
71. Send a message in a bottle
72. See an Ohio State football game {Katie}
73. Visit Greece
74. Kiss at the top of the Empire State Building
75. Kiss at the top of the Eiffel Tower
76. Take a gondola in Venice
77. Make a wish in the Trivi Fountain
78. Visit Vatican City
79. Visit Ireland
80. Visit London
81. Visit Rome
82. Put a letter on Juliet's Wall {Katie}
    
83. Go zorbing 
84. Ride a segway
85. Go Para sailing 
86. Watch sea turtles hatch
87. Participate in the polar bear plunge
88. Ice skate in Central Park
89. Donate bone marrow and save a life
90. Visit the four corners
91. Be part of a flash mob {Katie}
92. Spend the night in an igloo 
93. Stay at the ice hotel
94. Go whale watching {Completed by Jeff in August 2008, Alaska}
95. Go cage diving with Great whites {Jeff, he is nuts}
    
96. See all the 7 wonders of the world
97. Go to the Galapagos Islands
98. Ride in a submarine
99. Cook every single thing in a cookbook
100. Be an extra in a movie
101. "Hold up" the Leaning Tower of Pisa
102. Own something from Tiffany and Co
103. Experience zero gravity
104. Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
105. Climb the steps of the Mayan Ruins
106. See a meteor shower
107. Go to every Disney Land/World
     
108. Swim with manta rays
109. Ride a camel 
110. Become a teacher {Katie}
111. Become a police officer {Jeff}
112. Swim with beluga whales
113. Do everything on my bucket list

That's all I want to think of right now. I will add on as I go and update with all our adventures. Do you have any bucket list items? Any Suggestions? Let me know, I am always up for new ideas. 

My Little Raccoon Puppy

If you are a friend on Facebook you have probably heard part of this story.

A couple days ago we were watching TV when I looked over at our little dog, Bailee, and noticed something odd.



This is her cute little face normally. I love this pup!

It looked like she had been punched in the left eye.

All around her eye was swollen and you could really see her white skin under her black fur

I thought maybe she had something in her eye and had Jeff take a look.

We couldn't see anything and decided just to watch her

After a couple hours we realized both eyes were getting swollen and the left one was a lot worse

This was when I first noticed both eyes were swollen.

Jeff kept calling her his little raccoon puppy. Poor dog.

She was acting her normal hyper self.

We even went to the park and played fetch until they were both worn out.

Before we left Jeff gave her a Benadryl

We were used to doing this, since Oakley has major skin allergies in the Spring

A couple hours went by and it seemed like it was getting even worse

So I took to the internet to look at different causes and asked our dog friends for advice

I called the vet to get advice and see if they were still open she was turning off the phones as I called

She told me just to keep on the Benadryl to make it through the night and then if needed come in the morning

Around this time Jeff found the remnants of the first Benadryl on the kitchen floor, little stink

We gave her another Benadryl, making sure she actually ate it

You can tell it was getting worse and looked like fluid around the eye.
{Sorry bad picture, these were taken with my phone and she wiggles a lot}



 I was really worried, because I couldn't think of anything that she could have come in contact with out of the ordinary.

I started wondering if one of the other dogs in our community gave her something

Needless to say I treat my dogs like my babies and I was freaking out. Google didn't help either

We bought some eye drops for her and hoped that she'd get better

Though I couldn't tell if the Benadryl was helping at all

We went to bed and hoped for the best.

Throughout the night Bailee threw up a couple times.

Which is not something she has ever done

Her swelling had gone down and by morning it was almost completely gone.

Throughout the next day she acted normal, except she threw up about 3-4 times

She still was eating, drinking, and playing like normal

Vet's advice to fast for 12 hours and then for the following 12 hours only give small amounts of rice and boiled chicken.

We also continued the Benadryl for the next 24 hours to prevent any other complications.

Probable Diagnosis: bug bite or allergic reaction

Since we hadn't given her anything new or changed anything in our home I believe a bug bite

Since we moved back to Bountiful I have been traumatized by spiders

 I am terrified of them and they are everywhere. We see big ones at least every other day

Bountiful equals the land of the Spiders

I believe that my sweet little dog has now been attacked by one of these spiders.

Happy to have my little dog back to normal!

Baby Fever

In Utah its no secret we get married young and have babies quickly there after. 

I have friends who are pregnant with or just had their third baby!!!

We are the odd ones out with no babies. Except of course our two fur babies.

My fur babies are pretty cute though

Ever since we got married it seems babies are everywhere

The last couple months even more so

I am so happy for all my friends and family who are pregnant or new parents.

You are all making me want a baby, especially since the birth of our adorable niece Avery

We wish she wasn't on the other side of the globe! We are dying to meet her

Plus we want to wish our handsome nephew Dominic happy 2nd birthday!!!

We wish we could have been there and we miss you terribly!

Isn't she adorable? I can't believe how much Dominic has grown up!

Only a handful of people know that at the beginning of this year Jeff and I were trying to conceive

Obviously, nothing happened so NO we are not pregnant.... keep reading
We knew that it would take some time to get pregnant, I was diagnosed with PCOS back in 2007
We weren't in a big rush and just followed my doctor's advice

However, life intervened
We had so many changes and new challenges that we decided to put it on hold.
I will be the first to admit that it was a really hard decision.
I really wanted to start our family, I still do

We decided it was not the right time after all

We realized we have dreams we want to accomplish before we bring children into the picture

We want to travel and to see the world 

not exactly easy to do with a child on your hip

We want Jeff to be hired on with one of the police agencies

Babies are expensive

I want to be the healthiest in all aspects of my life I can be
I still have to have that dreaded surgery, after all
We will wait at least a year and maybe two years before we add any more members to our family.

Babies will change our lives and we really cannot wait to be parents someday

In the mean time I will stifle my baby fever with visiting everyone else's adorable babies.

The Catch Up Part III: The Big Move



One of many trips on Frontrunner

Good-bye Utah County! Hello Davis County!

That's right we moved!

For the last 6 months or so we had just kinda thrown the idea around to move.

It was something that we would say "oh, six months from now," or "down the road"

This September we decided that the time had finally come.

Between school, my injury, Jeff starting the police academy, and life intervening

Jeff was looking at traveling up to 4 hours a day. Not exactly practical

Its funny how when you make the decision how everything escalates so quickly

It seemed like we started packing stuff up, looking for a place to live, and actually moving in just a couple weeks time

Its amazing how things fall into place when something is right. 

I'm someone who worries. That's an understatement 

I stay up late going over possible outcomes and debating on the right thing to do.

I break down plans and make to do lists. over and over

I lived on the Internet looking for places to live and tips to selling your house.

It's been an exhausting month to say the least.



Our home for the last 2 1/2 years!

When we decided to move we were planning on selling our house.

We talked to a realtor and had her go through our house telling us what to fix and what will up our sale price. 

We started fixing repairs that we had delayed doing while we lived there.

Our family has been such a HUGE help and we appreciate it sooo much!

My mom was there every day she could helping clean and paint. 

All while she has had pneumonia!  

Jeff's family has helped with repairs and painting, which included painting an entire room that was yellow

My dad helped fix the carpet and fix some baseboards that needed to be replaced.

Throughout this whole process Jeff and I have been excited to move back to our home town.

But there was just an uneasy feeling about selling our house.

I think at first we both really ignored it, I mean its easy to do when you are super busy every minute

We prayed about it and I spent my late nights thinking  obsessing about it

The promptings were always there and just got louder the closer we got to officially putting our house on the market.

We talked it over and decided that maybe selling wasn't the right direction for us. 

When we first bought our home we knew we wouldn't live there forever.

We had talked over the years about someday renting out our home since its such an amazing location

So we decided to become LANDLORDS!!! 

Cue the scary music

Its amazing how much better and less stressed I felt after paying attention to those little "nudges" 

I know more than ever that we made the right decision and that Heavenly Father really brought that peace.

Happy to be able to sleep a good nights sleep again. 

 

The instant we made that decision EVERYTHING fell into place

We found a cute family to rent our home that had lived in our community a year before

We have had great advice from friends and family who have experience with having rental property

We have done tons of research and read books for advice.

We are ready to take this head on and start this new adventure!

We are loving being back and being so close to friends and family

Oakley didn't like it at first and seemed a little homesick, but has adjusted well

Bailee on the other hand took to the new place like she owned the place.

I can't tell you how much we have hated despised making the hour drive down here all the time

Jeff went back to working at his old job and is loving being back with all his favorite patients

I still will keep substituting, but not for all the school districts and just for schools in Salt Lake

However, I did get a NEW job working for Ritz Carlton!

We are excited for these new adventures and changes. 

I am personally happy things are settling down a bit though

Just in time for the holidays!