Tis the Season!

I love my stockings! Thank you Mrs. Stephanie Reading, and Brandie Spalding...you guys surely are pretty fabulous friends!!! Steph made the bear and moose, and Brandie specially made Summit's stocking!! These ladies are quite the crafters!! They have some really cute things left over from the craft fair if anyone is interested let me know and I can get you their information if needed!!

Decorating our tree this year was fun! Jamie and just love this time of year, and the special thoughts of our Savior that come along with the season!!


Christmas tree hunting this year was a real workout! There was a lot of snow this year up where we hunt for our trees...made it quite a vigorous workout! I for the life of me couldn't find a tree that I liked enough to cut down...Jamie loved every tree he saw. But I just wouldn't have it!! After 2 hours, and burning around a thousand calories from hiking later, we went to find Hector, Sue, and Nat. They had found a tree! I...still couldn't decide on a tree. I told Jamie that we could go back to one of the tree's he liked...so back to the beginning of our hike...but I just couldn't get myself to like his tree!! It was NOT full enough!!! So we had decided to go back to the truck for lunch!

When we came out of the woods to the road, we found Hector, yelling at us a few yards up the road, we ran over to him and he said "Hey JULAY!! I found yous the perfect tree!!!" To my surprise he had!!! :O) It was the perfect height, and plenty thick! I was so happy, and Jamie was so relieved!!! He was about to have my head by the end of the tree hunt! I am thankful he was patient enough to let me drag him everywhere through the woods in deep snow!!

Summit enjoyed decorating the tree with us as well! He was a bit upset the first day we got the tree in because we put it in front of the bay window, which is HIS spot...he looks out quite frequently to look outside, and keep watch for us. Jamie and I had got the lights on the tree the first day. I went to work, and came home from lunch...Summit was fine. I went back to work and came home when I was off...I walked in to see my tree laying on the ground...Summit laying on the floor ashamed at what he had done, and the lights half way unstrung leading down the hall to our bedroom. Haha poor buddy...I came to the conclusion that he got behind the tree to see outside, and got tangled in the lights, got startled, knocked the tree over, and fled down the hall!!! I was mad at him, but really couldn't help but laugh to think of what the situation must have looked like!! Hilarious I bet!! He has not been near the tree or bay window since! :OP


We finally got the vanity top on, and new fixtures!! We can now officially wash our hands after we use the bathroom!! YEY! I am REALLY happy with the vanity top!! It is so hard when they only give you a little sample to look at to judge the color and texture. This is Rustico Noche. Muy Bien I must say!! It looks fabulous with the tile and bronze fixtures!!




As for the new fixtures. The original one as you know didn't work out. I like the new fixtures just as much though! same color, just a 3 piece set is all.


Still a nice chunk of work to do. We are gonna wait till January to do the shower. Then just carpet..and we can move our bedroom downstairs!! Then we can purchase our pine bedroom set to match our bed!!

Take a Moment

I had the pleasure of attending a session at the Vernal, Utah temple this weekend, with Sue Sue, and Grandma! We had such a nice time, and the weather was beautiful all day! Couldn't have been any more perfect!

I am so thankful for temple blessings, and the hope and happiness they give my life. You hear people speak of the peace that one feels when at the temple. It never gets old for me. I love that feeling, it always makes me awestruck. To just be content, no worry of work, cleaning house, school work/intern work, life in general.

I have been getting so involved with the Church the past couple of months, I would have thought that I would have bitten off too much to chew...but it doesn't feel that way to me. I actually feel like I have more time?? How odd...:O) I thought my life was too busy to do much of anything else...but then I take on a few more church related hobbies/activities/service...and it created more time in my day!?

I am so thankful to have converted when I was 17, and to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This church is my foundation, and I do not know where I would be today. I have enjoyed the many amazing times I have been able to see friends, as well as family members of mine come unto the Church and be baptized. I am so proud of their choices in life, and it is great to watch their spiritual growth!!! I just wanted to take the time to tell you all how much I love and appreciate the church, and the temples they provide!!...Off to Choir practice!!!

I am thankful for my husband

I just need to start off by saying how thankful I am to my lovely husband for the great man that he is!! I am thankful for the hard work that he puts fourth for our lil family :O) I am very grateful for the skills and trades he has learned thus far in his life. And I can't wait to watch him teach our children all that he knows.

Our master bed and bath is coming along. We have gotten the toilet installed and running..No more having to run up stairs!! Our vanity finally came in too. We haven't gotten that setup quite yet. I just picked up the top this past weekend, and Jamie has been on graves. So he hasn't had the time to put the top on.

The lighting is a bit crummy, so it looks more red than it actually is. I went with a Noche Rustico Traveterine top with an attached under mount porcelain sink. Very pretty! And the fixture I picked is pretty cool too!

I can't wait till it is finally done! We still have the shower to Sheetrock, tile, insert lights, and fixtures...Then on to the bedroom. I think I have decided to just go with carpet rather than hardwood??...still a little indecisive...



And then paint..ugh...I have been fighting over colors..not sure what I want to do..this seems to almost be the hardest part of it all! I was supposed to have the painting done before we installed the toilet...lol...Let's see if I can get a color picked before thanksgiving??? Ya..wish me luck!




On my hunt for all this bathroom stuff, I found my couches and recliner finally! Jamie is happy to have a recliner back in his life...and guess where he put it??? Yea, he put his little "gamer" space smack dab in the middle of my couch down stairs...ha...But my hubby deserves it!!! He is doing all this hard work, I could treat him to a little man space!


I decided to go with something that was made more for a sitting area, rather than the lounging look.. we have all the lounging furniture we could ever need downstairs!!

All this home improvement makes me want to have every room re done now lol! ...we have decided to take it a year at a time, and do one room a year if feasible..it isn't cheap that is for sure!!

All things on earth point home in old October.

WOWZA...been ages since I have posted any news!! Not that there hasn't been news...there has been plenty!!! Just been super busy!! There is so much going on in our life at the moment I don't know where to start!! Guess I will start with my favorite news..

Jamie and I have decided to start a family :O) We aren't pregnant yet...but well on our way! We have been tying for a few months now! We are very excited!

I have finally found some tile for the downstairs master bed and bath that Jamie has been working on...we took a very long break for hunting season, and for me to find some tile! We have the main part of the bathroom tiled...now to find tile for my huge shower...haha wish me luck! I most def feel very blessed to have such an amazing and handy hubby to this type of work around my home :O)

If we stay on track, we should be able to get the master bed and bath done SOON!

On another note!! Hunting has been a blast! We haven't gotten anything yet, but it has been a lot of fun seeing all the elk in the basin the past month and a half. :O) Bow hunting is certainly the best! I got a bear tag, deer, and elk...I don't think I will be getting them all filled this year unfortunately lol..We went up White Mountain are this past weekend...saw plenty of deer...but they were all does :O/ and some wild horses as usual.

As you can see...we have been getting SNOW!!!! For this I am extremely excited!! I pick up my season passes to the Canyons next week..can't wait to get out there and snowboard!! I am still working with shreddingbetty...it sure has picked up this year!! Their shop is doing fabulous!! I am thankful to be a part of it, and work with such awesome gals that have the same love for snowboarding that I do!!

As for my sponsorships...they still stand, and they all really want me to compete this season as well...I have told them my plans for a baby, they don't seem to be as excited as I am about it...but OH WELL!! Taking a season off is gonna be so hard!!! But I think I will manage, and make do with such a blessing :O)

Salt Lake City Half Marathon

Here are a few photos!! Ill be running in the Keith Younge memorial 5k this Saturday!!

!!

May Update!

WOW! A lot has been going on in our lives the past month! We had our third year anniversary, Jamie's 26th birthday, I ran a half marathon, and we bought a new vehicle!!

I'll start with my favorite! Our anniversary! :O) It was fantastic! We stayed 4 days in a timeshare in Park City we are thinking of purchasing, it was AMAZING! We lounged, shopped, and relaxed for our stay, it was well needed!!

Jamie purchased me a new vehicle for our anniversary...we traded in the Jeep, and got me a brand spanking new Toyota FJ Cruiser!! I have been wanting one of these since 2007...and I have finally got one! YAY!

Crystal and I ran the SLC Half marathon, it was such an awesome experience!! We ran 13.1 miles, it was an awesome accomplishment..we intend to run as many halfs, and 10-5 k's this season!

One of the many blisters I got :O/

Summit boy has been doing great!! Getting big, he is such a sweet boy!!! Great Dane's are honestly the most docile, easy training breed of any dog!!! I love how he is 30lbs bigger than me...but still listens to me with ease!!! Here is my boy at 11 months!

Going back home to the West Coast

Our trip to Oregon went fabulous!! It was great to see my family!! Been too long! Not much has changed over their way...my sister has surpassed me in height...wowza!! Her birthday was on the 27th. She turned 14...wholly cow!

While we were there we got some good ole snowboarding in at Mt Hood Meadows, with my sister, bro, and the inlaws. And we were able to hit up the beach! The mountains and the Ocean, my two favorite things! :O)

I will admit I was ready to go home after a week! I love Oregon, but I do not miss the rain. And the economy is just horrible over there. It's scary! I feel truly blessed to have been promted with Jamie's job offer, to move back to Wyoming when we did.

We took Summit along with us for the trip. He did very well! He was extremely stressed out though whenever we weren't around him. Poor boy!! He wouldn't eat nor sleep. Other than that, he was perfect!

The trip home was tiring..Jamie and I drove straight through, and had to get up early the next day for work.

Jamie had a critical test at work the next day for a promotion. He had passed the first test the week before, and was worried cause he hadn't had any time to study while we were in Oregon.

He texted me as soon as he got off work..he passed his test, and has been promoted to a Grade 3 position at Solvay, and received a very nice raise!!! I am so proud of my hubby!! :O)

The Joy's of Computers...

So after years and years of loyalty my computer has had it!! Recently the screen just stays black, but the rest of the computer is running just fine!

I was really peeved when this happened, I had all my shreddingbetty stuff on that computer, loads of awesome tunes, and of course all my HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS! How am supposed to do finals?! I mean sure yeah I can go over to Sue Sue and Hectors, so I am not at a complete loss, but just having everything at the convenience of home is...just well..convenient!

Jamie hooked up our laptop to our tv in the living room. And everything seems to be running just fine, I am transfering all my goods to a USB to put on my new laptop!

Before we figured out this little trick of our tv, we were using a backup laptop of ours, Bryce was just going to huck it, and we said nah, we will take it! It is slower than molasses, but better than nothing!!

We went shopping the other day for laptops, I think we have it narrowed down to 2! The HP Pavillion dv6 and the HP HDX 16 (My personal fave!!) It has 6GB Ram, and 500 GB internal drive :O) HECK YES!!! Go big or go home! And it has a lovely 17 inch wide screen, and of course all the newest latest features on could ask for!! I has a pretty neat thumb scanner you use to login to your computer, so no one else can, like we need it...but it's neat am I right?

It's gonna cost a pretty penny, but oh so worth it! We are leaving for Oregon on Tuesday, so we just plan on buying one there when we visit ( No sales tax! )

It certainly has been interesting to see how I have had to adapt to not having my computer function for a few days...indeed, I actually did not adapt, I was pathetic, I moaned and groaned everyday...

In this day and age computers are everywhere, everyone has one, and I for one seriously had my LIFE on this puppy. All of my snowboarding internship pieces, college work, and networking is all on computers, without one, I would have a hard time getting anything done!!

I am thankful for the convenience that computers provide, hopefully it will be at least another 7 years before this one goes out!!! Ugh!

"Running is a mental sport...and we're all insane!"

Crystal and I have been training our buns off these days. We are planning on running a half marathon in April, and doing a triathlon in May. I want to also run a 10k in June, and another half marathon in Sept.

So far so good! I haven't been diligently running for a while- before the holiday season last year I was running on average 25 miles a week. Getting back into running wasn't as hard as I thought it was gonna be, it probably helps that I kept doing my other workouts!!

I am not too sure how my training will pay off on such short notice of the marathon, but heck, I don't really care at this point, it is just a starting point! Something to keep me motivated to keep running!

If there who would like to join us is this quest, please do let us know, we would love to have ya!

Things have been going smooth our way. I got another raise at work!! I work hard, and it is acknowledged for once!! I am very thankful for the amazing boss that I have- couldn't find one better!!

Jamie and I have finally gotten our taxes done!! Boy am I happy to see those numbers! On top of that, the Government is giving out a $7000 loan if you were a first time home buyer in 2008. It is interest free, and they just take a bit out of your taxes each year until it is paid back.

We haven't quite figured out how we want to spend it. Some for the remodel, maybe a bit towards my Jeep, and of course, my favorite part...just plain ole spending it on us!!

VACATION!! Jamie and I have been trying to figure out where we would like to vaca to. It is a tougher process than I thought!! So many choices! Can't I have em all????

We will be able to have a mini vaca the end of this month. We will be going to Oregon for a week to visit my family!! It has been too long! It will be awesome to see them all, and to be able to be there on my lil sis's bday!!

Home Improvements!

Finally we have begun our little project! Our down stairs is where we have our master bedroom/bath. When we bought our house, this was the only part that was not finished.

We haven't gotten very far, but it is just the beginning!! We are halfway done with framing the walls, we have just the shower part done so far...and by golly...it is gonna be a huge shower!

We have been getting some great ideas from Jamie's family!
This is where our shower will be, we have some pretty stellar ideas for a double headed shower, with a nice bench in the far back, with a archway entrance!


This is where the bathroom will be. The past owners, had some really weird layout with a wall built in the middle, and it had what looked like where a window may go? Hard to explain, but we just couldn't find a need for it, so we knocked it out and expanded the bathroom here to this area.

I helped Jamie build one wall so far...yay! GO ME! haha I do intend to help more..I am very thankful to have a handy hubby. He has learned so much from his family when it comes to building homes, and home repair. It is awesome! He reminds me very much of my dad! :O)


This here is the area just to the left of the bathroom, this is where our walk in closet shall be.
This is the on the far opposite side parallel to the closet. This is where we will most likely place our bed, and then to the right dressers, and a rocking chair of course...Jamie insists!!! haha

My favorite store is now Home Depot!! I used to dread walking around all day with my dad, I only enjoyed it because I liked the smell when I was younger...but now..who ever thought that picking out toilets, tile, and fixtures could be so much fun!!!?

On another note, my snowboarding competition went great! I places fourth, and got to meet and hang with some pros! I met a bunch of really awesome gals, who I plan on boarding with whenever the chance arises!

This here is Professional Snowboarder Iris LazzareschThis is the pro in the comp that I competed against, she is uber chill and down to earth!!!








It was a great experience for myself!! Still surreal that it even really happened! I plan to continue to compete a bit, just to see if I really like it. I do have a competitive edge, but when it comes to snowboarding...that is a bit different. So far I think I just enjoy the ride, cruising with hubby and friends, enjoying nature. The more I venture into the snowboarding industry, the more I see the politics of it all, which kinda sucks the life outta ya!! Oh well!??

As for my pup Summit..he now weighs 120 lbs...yes 120. I myself weigh 109..you do the math...HUGE! He is only 8 months, so not even close to being full grown!! WOWZA!

We will be taking him to Oregon the end of this month to visit my family. My mom breeds and sells miniature horses. Not ponies, not Shetlands. But miniature horses, there is a difference...go google it!

The smallest FULL GROWN mini that my mom owns is 26 inches high. Summit TOWERS over this lil dude, I plan on taking pics of the two of them side by side.. I can't wait to share the pics!!