~Happy Halloween~

Our Awesome Pumpkins! Okay, so I know it is almost a month too late for this blog, but I have been a little busy. We had a great halloween just staying at home and handing out candy. The Bowcutt's came over and we played games and watched a movie. Here is Patrick focusing very hard to make his pumpkin just perfect...I think the pirate flag was great. I decided to take a goofy stand and make my pumpkin crazy. For work we could dress up if we wanted to. I went as a 50's girl. This next picture is of my office. From left to right, Krista was a gypsy, Jaime had some crazy socks on, Lori was Princess Leia, Rhonda was a nurse, then there's me, and lastly we have Lynette, who just wore black and orange.

What If I Was On The Simpsons?

I have never really like the Simpson's, but really who can say that they haven't seen someone that they thought looked just a little bit like a character from the Simpson's. I found this website on a friends blog and thought it would be funny to see what me and my husband looked like, so I tried it. Patrick Nicky If any of you want to try it yourselves, here is the website. http://simpsonizeme.com/#

Pick'n Pretty-Plump Perfect Pumpkins

Today, Oct 8, 2007, Patrick and I decided that it was finally time to visit Paradise. Last year we found out that there was a pumpkin patch down in the town of Paradise, Ut that was planted by some young women in the local ward to serve as a fundraiser. So we went on a trip to pick some pumpkins. When we got there we were lucky to find a orchard next to the patch that sold some apple cider. It was great. We enjoyed the experience so much that I couldn't wait to go this year. We've been so excited for Halloween this year that we couldn't wait any longer to get pumpkins. Not only did we get pumpkins today that are exceptional but we also stopped by to get some apple cider from Paradise Family Farms. I would recommend this patch to anyone. I found out about it off the internet last year when I was reading up on Halloween. Here is the website if any of you are interested. http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/UTpumpkins.php

Pizza on the BBQ???

The other night (Sept. 21, 2007) we decided to be creative with dinner. Pizza sounded good, but we wanted to try something a little different for our date night. I had seen a picture with a recipe for pizza on the bbq. I didn't have the recipe, but how hard can it be....right? Earlier in the week we had been to the gardner's market and so we already had peppers, onions and tomato. An alfredo pizza sounded good, we just didn't want to take the time to make the chicken, so we decided to use ham. In High school Patrick worked at Papa John's Pizza, so I thought it would be good for him to make the crust. However, we bought one of those little Jiffy box mixes and it didn't work very well. By the time we put it on the bbq, it was so sticky and didn't stay looking so much like the shape of a pizza(but we got it on there). First you cook it on one side, after you flip it over, you put all of your toppings and then let it cook and melt the cheese. The end product was very good, but next time we will try a different pizza crust recipe and maybe pre-cook the vegi's. We had a great time with trying something different.

Memories of the Hogle Zoo!

I have been begging Patrick to take me to the Hogle Zoo for many months. A few weeks ago(August 22, 2007), he surprised me by taking me. I was a little worried because I had heard that the zoo had really gone down hill since I was little. I remember getting so excited to be able to go to the zoo. We would walk around, what seemed like a huge place back then, for hours. My favorite animals were always the monkeys, the polar bears and the seals, although I would have to say that I liked all of them. I always thought it was great to drink out of the 'huge' lion drinking fountain. We were in luck this trip because they still had the fountain, it was much smaller to me know though.As we walked around the park, we saw black bears that just kept pacing back and forth. It was really funny. They didn't have one of my favorites, the polar bear. They said that it kept getting sick and they had to move it to another zoo until they have a better place for it with more water for it to swim in. We saw some really cute gorillas that were lounging around. One of them just kept looking at us. As we were leaving the gorillas, we came upon this great gorilla statue that we had to be a part of. "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery." ~Dwight Shute, The Office. We also saw elephants which were Patrick's very favorite. They were really playful, I think it was because it was lunch time. There was a white alligator. It was really crazy and I thought it was fake, but it was definately real. They are extremely rare because if they are in the sun, they will die. It was not albino, but has some sort of skin disease that causes it to have no pigmant. We also saw rhinos, monkeys, giraffes and so many other animals. It was a wonderful day and so much fun to be able to remember being a kid. I would love to go to the zoo again soon, especially if they bring back the polar bear.

I'm Addicted!!

So, a few months ago my friend Lacey told me about a book that I just had to read. When she told me it was a Vampire Romance I sorta just laughed and thought to myself that is was definitely not the book for me. Later, she told me that I would really like the book, so I decided to give it a shot and now I am ADDICTED. I couldn't put all three of the books down and am really excited for the fourth. To anyone who hasn't read them yet, I would strongly recommend it. So, I saw this quiz on someone else's blog and I just had to take it. Here is the person I am most like! If any of you are interested in finding out which character you are most like, here's the website. http://www.quizilla.com/users/twilightnexus/quizzes/Which%20Twilight%20novel%20character%20are%20you%3F Want to know about these books, you can visit this website. http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/ I know I am crazy for liking a Vampire romance, but it really is so good!!!

Off To Work I Go

A little over a month ago, Patrick and I both were "let go" from our jobs. We worked at World Savings and they were bought out by Wachovia. Shortly after they decided to shut our office down and so we were left jobless. I took my time looking for a new job because we were getting paid for a few more weeks and then severance on top of that. It was nice for awhile not having to worry about waking up on time for work and planning my day around a job, but after a couple of weeks I started to go crazy. Once Patrick started school, I was so bored that I had to find something soon. I saw a position for a loan processor, which is what I was before, and decided to apply. I didn't think I had any chance in getting hired because so many people from my old company were looking for jobs and this is one they would be going for. Well, I took in my resume and they interviewed me the very next day. The day after that I was hired. My new job is not at all like the last one, but I am learning alot and really starting to enjoy it. I will say that I didn't like it AT ALL in the beginning and even thought about quitting, but after giving it a chance, I have started to understand more. It is nice to have a job and feel like I am actually doing something each day.

Our New Purchase

For many months we have been testing out different couches. Always looking with the knowledge that it was only "window shopping." Well, on Thursday, September 13, we decided to splurge. We had seen this particular couch about a month ago, and it was love at first sight. After much consideration we decided to go for it. I have to say that in the store it looked quite a bit smaller compared to all the other sectionals, but we love it. When we got married Patrick's parents gave us their old loveseat and it has been great. We will really miss our "first couch" and are very grateful to them for giving it to us. Don't be too sad though cause it will not be completely gone...it is staying in the family. Derrick recently moved out and we have decided to give it to him. It will be nice to know it is going to be in good hands.

The Office is coming back!!!

Okay, so we are very big fans of the office. Tonight while talking to some friends we remembered seeing a preview of The Office on the internet and decided that we needed to post it for everyone to see:) We are excited for the next season and hope this sure makes you all want to start a new obsession. http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/#mea=150375

Bear Lake Adventure

The Bowcutt's invited us to go to Bear Lake the weekend of August 18th. I had never been there before so we were excited. We left Friday night and got there when it was dark, so that night we stayed up way too late playing Nertz! Breakfast was great in the morning and you can tell from the picture below that Patrick was not too happy after doing all the dishes. After breakfrast we just hung out and played around. We went down to the lake and swam for a bit but it was an overcast day and slightly breezy. On the way back up we found a caterpillar that would have surely died had we not saved it from off the road. Patrick also decided it would be great to be superheros. It was a great weekend to just get out of Logan and have some fun.

Oklahoma

In July ventured out to Oklahoma...Yes, I said Oklahoma. My sister, Krista, lives there and her fiancée's family stays in some cabins each year. It was great to see some of my family and also to see where Krista is from. Although it was EXTREMELY humid, we had a lot of fun! This is a picture of Patrick with my niece Kelsey, and nephews, Spencer and Jordan. It was really good that we brought the portable dvd player for a little down time. We went to see the USS Batfish. It was a war submarine commissioned in 1943. It was really cool to be able to walk around inside and see what it would be like. I couldn't believe how tight everything fit inside and how many people were in it. I don't think I would have been able to handle living on a submarine, but it was very interesting to see how it all worked.

Happy 4th of July

The 4th of July was great this year. We went down to Orem to spend time with my family. One of the best parts is that my brother Scott and his wife Karen were able to come from England. Patrick had never met them before so it was really nice to be able to have them meet and spend some with them because we don't see them very often. The picture above is at my parents house in Orem. Starting from the left is Patrick, my mom, my sister Krista and her fiance Walter, my dad, my sister-in-law Karen and my brother Scott.

Patrick's Birthday!

This year on June 6th Patrick turned 24 years old. Wow!!! He was surprised(yeah right) at his birthday gift, which was The Lord of the Rings Trilogy(he had picked them out many months before). A few months earlier, I had been looking through a magazine and found really cool birthday cakes. Well, I decided it would be great if I tried to make my very first "cool" birthday cake. I think I picked the hardest one in there. It took about three hours to make, but it was well worth it in the end. That night, we had some friends over for cake and ice cream. It was a great day!

Slacking!!!

Ok everyone...I have really been slacking on my blog. I started and that was about it! So, now I am going to have to make up for some of the things that I have missed over the summer. I will try to do better...hopefully:)

Graduation

After 5 years of work, graduation finally came. On May 5, 2007 I graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelors Degree in Family Consumer Human Development. My emphasis is in Family Community Services, and I really am not planning on working in my field...at least not yet. For now I will hopefully be working a full time job and helping my husband finish up his schooling. That is the really great thing about being graduated. Now I can work full time so he can focus more on school and not have to work quite so much. I was really excited to have it all done, and yet a little sad that I would not be going back in the future. Now my life really starts and I am not just a college girl working toward the goal of graduation. I am really grateful for all of my family that helped me through college and all of the support they have given me through the years.

Dad and Mom with me

Krista came too It was great to have Patrick's family there as well Kati, Eric, Patrick, Nicky, Todd, Judy, Derrick, Carny