Did I mention we have a new member in our family!?

On January 27th we adopted a baby girl. Her name is Charlotte. She is 5 months old and weighs a mere 4.5 pounds. So far she is doing great in our house! We weren’t sure how Korona would react to having something so small, that breaths and moves, in the house all the time. For the first 2 days he had a hard time adjusting and was pretty aggressive toward her. Kooka kept her distance like she was annoyed, but really didn’t care about whatever this little thing was doing in her house. (BTW Kooka is a very patient dog. She is kind and knows her boundaries, Korona on the other hand…)

Ben and I weren’t sure if this was the right decision for our home since it’s been pretty hectic lately. We decided to go for it, having another home lined up for Charlotte if things didn’t pan out over the weekend at our home.

We stayed home all weekend with our little ball of fun and let Kooka and Korona get used to having a youngster in the house.

Korona is still adjusting but Charlotte is holding her own now, Thank you Kook!
Charlotte loves playing with Kooka and taking Korona’s toys while he’s trying to enjoy them… Finally someone to stand up to our little bully!

They all do great together so far! We are glad that we were chosen to have this little girl bless our lives… We know she is here for a reason. I think it’s to teach us patience. We ALL need that for sure! Especially me and Korona!

Here are some pictures for you:

Though things are hard, they are worth it!

Wow! It’s been a roller coaster ride these past 4 months! (Well really last year)
After buying our house, planning a wedding, having a best friend get married 5 weeks before us, and 2 friends have babies within weeks (and another within 3 days!) of our wedding we’ve had many positive stresses in our lives! Then after the wedding things were supposed to be free of stress as we began our lives together in the newlywed phase. Nope!
Just weeks after the wedding, my grampa went in for hip surgery… 3 TIMES! Stubborn old man! My aunt1 was diagnosed with breast cancer, my uncle with large cell cancer, “my other” aunt2 with cancer and a few other mishaps along the way.
My uncle fought with his cancer for almost 3 months before it was too much for his body to handle. Then my uncle decided to let go of his body and stay with us in spirit. This is still rough! That very day my grama was admitted to the hospital with heart problems. She has been diagnosed with many things, including emphysema! She’s just as stubborn as my grampa!
At the funeral for my uncle I was notified that “my other aunt2” :) was refusing all treatments. As my uncle put it “she’s ready to go.”
The day my grama went in for open heart surgery, my aunt3 went to the emergency room, over stressed.
I also have a cousin that went through surgery in the middle of all of this and my aunt1 still going through chemo.
(BTW- everyone is doing ok. Gram, cousin and aunts123 are all doing fine. Gram is still recovering, but seems to be holding up like the champ she is!)
Ben and I have yet to have one week that has been normal without dramatic news.

Then came Abbey Grace! The beacon of light for all of us! My cousin and her husband had a BEAUTIFUL baby girl! Just at the right time! It’s like she came to give us all hope. Thank God too! We all needed her to be here right when she was. I’m so excited to meet her in March! Congrats Brit and Daniel! I miss you miserably. :)
James and Jess also had a PERFECT little guy! (Not a dragon like we all thought!) His name is Fenix and he is so tiny and really… just perfect! I love having them live so close now! (James Congrats on the new job!)

Ben and I haven’t even gotten our wedding pictures printed yet! Between all this family stuff and the holidays, the wedding, the honeymoon, etc… My goodness! We are still trying to get wedding thank you’s out to everyone! (And Christmas to Mel and Scott!) (Sorry to those of you who don’t your thank you cards yet! You are on my list of things to do I promise!)

Oh AND Ben walked into a lift at work and now has staples in his head! That was just the topping on the cake.
I am emotionally drained at this point. I’m ready to have CALM! (I don’t even know what that means anymore!)

We are still trying to complete our basement; just keeping the house clean is a big deal at this point! We designed our office and are working hard to save enough money to complete it all! It’s still FREEZING outside and all I really want to do is go out in my yard and play in the dirt, plant some trees and flowers and make it RELAXING! Sit by the fire and roast marshmallows! I can’t wait for it to be warm again!

I have to mention that my sister and her husband are building a house and will be moving in just weeks! I cannot CANNOT wait to go see it! Mel, I’ve been looking at plane tickets, wishing I could afford them! :( I’ll keep searching for a good deal! And I WILL be there at least once this year! Even if I’m alone… K?

I’m still reading about all your lives and I am excited to be calm enough to actually sit and type out my stories for you.

Thanks for reading!

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!
Ours was eventful to say the least!
I wish I had more time to write but with year end, vacation time and audit season I really don't.

I will be back though!

Happy Holidays!

-Beslie

Honeymoonen!

We just got back from St. Thomas. Our honeymoon was perfect! Absolutely perfect! (Of course we had our moments of disappointment, like when the little girl on the plane spilled her apple juice ALL over Ben's feet! Or when we found out that our "all inclusive package" was not all inclusive. Thanks Expedia!)

But once we got to the island and got a room upgrade :) we were in love!

Can you see why?
This is the view from our room:


And right away we spotted the perfect welcoming message. If you can't see the name on the boat it is "Daydreamer" How perfect is that!!?


The first day we just hung out by the pool. Walked on the beach and then went to bed. We had been in airports and on planes for 14 hours! That's exhausting!

The 2nd day we went to Red Hook. (Thanks Mr. D and Joyce for the suggestion!)
Except we went on Sunday, so... everything was closed! We did get to see what it was all about though. We went to the only open bar, and the one suggested by Joyce and Mr. D, Maggie Malone's. It was right on the water. It POORED rain the entire time we were there. It was cool to be sitting outside, but covered and watch and hear the rain come down. And we found a grocery store! We went grocery shopping after a little stroll around the closed town.

Here are some pics of Red Hook:




The 3rd day we just hung out by the pool and again on the beach.
Some more pics:

The picture of the hotel shows our room. We were on the top floor the second balcony from the right.






The following day we went downtown to do some shopping. We didn't buy very much, but I took a ton of pictures!
Here are a few... You can find the rest on my facebook page.












The paintings on the barriers on the roads are all done by the students at the school nearby. The art teacher has the students paint these walls for their "finals" (Elementary and Jr. High aged students) I was amazed with some of it. Again, I have more on my facebook page.)

The following day we stayed at the hotel and played games, like Bingo. Never won, but it was fun anyway! They had the iguana feeding and so there were a bunch of iguanas out! We went for a walk around the hotel grounds and took some pictures.





Did I tell you the beach was perfect! We tried to snorkel this day, but I CAN NOT do it! I can't put that stupid mask on my face! I panic! Not to mention I am TERRIFIED to put my face in water! Ben went though and said it was pretty neat. I stayed on the beach and worked on a tan :)



This night we ate at the restaurant on the beach and they have a cat named Smokey that begs! I've never seen a cat that begs!! The waiter told us that locals would drop their cats off because they couldn't care for them. The hotel was having issues with birds so they decided to put food out so the cats would stay. Needless to say, they no longer have a bird problem! But now they have a begging cat! :) There were actually quite a few cats around. (Maybe 10 or 15 on their property) They were all lazy and polite. In fact, I think Ben and I agree that this was the best part about the resort!
Here are a few pics of cats around...

The first 2 are pictures of Smokey.






The 6th day we decided to go back to Red Hook, now that it would be open! We went to a bar called "Big Boy" Ben thought it would be stupid, but we were there during happy hour! It worked out and I think that is my new favorite bar! It was mostly locals and everyone was our age. The bartender and the cook were both hanging out with everyone. It was chill and Ben got a lot of beer in him for cheap! A bucket 'o' beer for $10! I only have 1 picture available from this bar. I have more at home :)


When we got back to the hotel we realized that it was the night of the carnival! We were nice and buzzed so we decided to go check it out before retiring. (It was hard to stay out after dark because they have a ton of bugs that bite!) But we decided to go anyway. This was the most fun!! We danced by the pool, got to watch a lady eat fire, Ben did the limbo with some REALLY young girls... We walked on the beach... It was a great night! Oh and they had a live band! We also bought a mask that a gentleman carved for us.





The 7th day we went to a place called "Coral World" It's like a mini Sea World I guess. We learned a lot about the animals. Ben even fed a sting ray for his first time! There were iguanas ALL over the park! One of which was 6 feet long!!

One of my favorite things was to watch Ben jump when an iguana caught him off guard. It happened at least 6 times this day! We went to a little bar to eat lunch and the lady working there handed us a broom and said "Just shoo them away if they come too close" Ben looked at me like, is she serious. As soon as we got our food I looked up and said "Here they come!" Ben thought I was kidding, but low and behold there was one little guy running as fast as he could toward us. And 2 others just behind him! The lady working grabbed the broom she just gave us and shooed them away. We began to eat and I was a little paranoid so I looked back over my shoulder and as soon as I did the little bugger jumped up the 3 foot wall right in front of me! Ben and I both jumped out of our seats! Leaving our food, and the broom behind. The lady had to come back again to shoo them away! She was laughing at us! It was a blast!
Here are some pictures from Coral World. Keep in mind that I DID NOT zoom in on any of the iguana pictures!











We only had one full day left. :(
Neither of us were ready to go home. We decided to stay at the resort and play the games again. Ben went bobbing for beer! It was fun to watch! He didn't win, but he did get a can of beer! The moon that night was dimmer than most nights, which meant I could actually get a picture that was more than just white!



The last day we had to check out at 11 and keep ourselves busy until 5... We played mini golf. Walked around the resort. Walked on the beach. And said our goodbye to the island. We headed to the airport and left for home.




I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to do this together! I know many people are not fortunate enough to go right now. I thank God everyday for what He has given me.
Happy Holidays everyone!

-Les

PAYBACK!!

I finally got Ben back! A few weeks ago I came up with a brilliant plan to get some quiet time with my hubby.
I found a place in Draper called "Color Me Mine" where you can go and paint pottery. It was pretty neat!
Ben and I were both having a pretty rough day and I decided that it would be a wonderful day to go relax and concentrate on something much simpler than the world at hand. (Plus it was $3 studio night!)

We took off after work, got stuck in some pretty terrible traffic, grabbed some dinner, and eventually got to Color Me Mine.

Now keep in mind that Ben doesn't know where we are going. Color Me Mine is set in between 2 large stores. Basically, it's a hole in the wall kind of place. We pull up and I park in front of Office Depot. Ben seems a little confused so I begin to explain...
"We're going to get a new office chair!"
Confused at why this is a date: "Oh..."
"Yeah, I figured it would motivate us to complete the office and give us more time to be creative at home."
Still a little lost, but starting to believe: "Cool. Can I pick my favorite?"
"You sure can!"

As he starts walking toward Office Depot I realize that he believed me! I begin to follow...

Then I turn and start going to Color Me Mine and he asks what I'm doing.
"I have to be honest Ben... Buying an office chair just isn't much of a date. I've actually chosen to take you to Color Me Mine instead."

At this point I really think he'd rather get an office chair. I mean you should have seen his face once he realized he was going to be painting pottery! There were all sorts of things to paint! Like coffee mugs that had hearts on them, coasters, plates.. You name it... They had it. We walked down to the end and guess what Ben found... A MONSTER TRUCK!! That's when the excitement came about. I could see the wheels turning and he sat down. I found a snake and inspiration hit me too.
And so it began...

We sat quietly for 2 hours, concentrating on the project at hand. We spoke a few times, but only a few words at a time.
"Do you have the black paint?"
"Nope."
"I'll go get it."

Then back to painting.

We stayed until they closed. Neither of us finished.

When we left I thought he was going to tell me it was lame and he didn't want to come back.
On the contrary... He was excited to go back and finish! I couldn't believe it!

The following Tuesday (1 week ago today) we went back for "2 for Tuesday" ($10 studio fee instead of $20) and again, sat for hours to complete our pieces. Closing time and we finally finish up. Available for pick up Saturday.

This time we had more conversation... But still calming and quiet.

Saturday... We forget all about our pottery. We get a phone call saying to come pick up Sunday.

Sunday. Busy day! We did however make sure to go get our pieces... Ready!!???

Here they are!

For Me!?

Post #6-

Again... THE BEST HUSBAND EVER! I've got to come up with a great idea to pay him back. Any suggestions?

So Ben tells me on Sunday that we have plans Wednesday and I need to leave work on time to be home by 7pm. I agree.
...Monday....
...Tuesday....

Finally Wednesday! I'm excited to go home and see what is in store for me. However, Ben has had a really terrible day and is not excited about what went wrong at work. He's not excited for anything!

We both get home in time to eat and change.
I am trying to figure out where we are going so I keep asking simple questions like, "Can I wear heals? Or Should I wear tennis shoes?" His answer: "Either works". There goes my idea about the corn maze!
"Should I wear a hoodie or a nicer coat?"
"Either"
Well, We're not going to a nice dinner.
"Should I layer my clothes or just dress warm."
"Les! I'm not going to give anything away. I'm not telling you OR dropping hints to what we are doing. Just get ready and lets go. By the way you are driving."
"What? I don't know where I'm going. Where am I driving to?"
"Trax on 90th"
"Public Transportation again?"
"Yep. Lets go."

We leave. I drive. I'm headed to 90th and State and it's PACKED!! There are SO many people. I look around to see what all the madness is about and see a sign that says "ReAl parking $10"
10 DOLLARS!!! FOR PARKING!!!? "Outrageous," I say to Ben.
He agrees and says "keep going. We need to get to trax on time."
We're sitting at the light on 90th. And we watch Trax fly by in the intersection ahead of us. Great! We missed it!
Ben keeps pointing out spots for me to park. I don't know why he does this! Trax has a well lit parking lot right in front of the train.
I continue through the crowds of people and finally end up parking right by the entrance to Trax.

Guess what Ben doesn't have! Money to ride Trax! As I'm digging through my purse he starts walking away from the train and back toward State Street. I ask him what he's doing and he says....
...
...
...
...
"We're going to the ReAl game! All this talk about it and you don't even get it. =)"

He was trying to get me to park closer pointing out all the spots. But I didn't want to walk up that hill to trax. Well guess what? Now we are walking about double what we would have if I had just listened (or knew where we were going I guess.)

Anyway, the game was amazing! ReAl won. We had a blast! Their new stadium is AMAZING! It's all outdoors, but feels like you are inside with how well lit it is.

I had a picture to share, but I got a new phone and don't have it. Sorry!

Not So Haunted Houses

Post #5-

A much shorter post this time.
I just want everyone to know how excited I am that my friends are FINALLY buying houses!! Dustin and Laura will close in a week or so and Amanda in mid November. I cannot wait for them to own and be able to have their own yards etc.

Here is the selling pic of Dustin and Laura's new place:

Here is the selling picture of Travis and Amanda's new place:

So now we get to take trips to Lowes together and pass along needed information for new home owners! I'm so proud of you guys! Much love and best wishes on this new expensive journey! =)

Funny Stuff (ie: Traci)

Post #4

This is going to be a long post... Because... And only because... Traci now works with me. =)

Do you know anyone who is gullible? I do. She is my cousin. My co worker. My friend.
It's so nice to have someone easier to pick on than me at work. Now all the crap I used to get is on her plate. Thanks Traci.

So first we are going to talk a little about Halloween. Did you know Traci is terrified of clowns. I didn't until I showed her this.


I had a much smaller picture of this... On my phone. When I opened it to show her she literally jumped back like it was going to grab her! Hilarious!

While you may have had to be here for that one to think it's funny here are some other incidents that may make you laugh.

Her first week here was my first week off... Go figure. Something about me getting married... She was working in my office, since I was gone. Once I came back she had to move out of my office and into the "clinical office" Where our clinical team is always hard at work. There she met Sonya. Our director. And Leigh. A clinical supervisor. Leigh was just coming back to work after being sick the week before. Jacob, another co-worker of ours had also been sick all weekend.

Traci trying to be nice was talking to Leigh. Small talk. (Now there is something you should know... That Traci didn't. Leigh is gay. His boyfriends name is Jacob.) So as Traci is asking about how Leigh's weekend was Leigh was explaining that he thinks Jacob got him sick because Jake was sick all weekend.
Traci, unknowingly, looks right at Leigh and says: "Oh Yeah! Jacob WAS sick all weekend! He's feeling better now." (Not realizing that they were talking about 2 VERY different people)
Sonya, who knows all of this looks at her desk and starts typing, mumbling, "I wonder how she's going to handle this." :)

Leigh then looks at Traci confused and says... "No. No. Not that Jake. When I say Jake I'm talking about my Jake."

A few minutes pass and Traci looks at Leigh and says, "So you have a son?"
Leigh: "What?"
Traci: "Jake, your son?"
Leigh then takes a picture off of his desk. The picture of him and his boyfriend and shows it to Traci and says, "No. This is Jake."

So what does Traci do? Yep. She looks at the wall and creates an awkward silence!

I think I peed a little when she yelled at me for not telling her!

Then we come to yesterday. . . From Traci's perspective.
Some joke-ster in our office made what Traci called an "earring" and threw it onto her desk while she wasn't looking. So who does Traci question? Sonya. The sweetest most innocent employee we have at Maxim! Of course it wasn't her so they went about working. A few minutes later another one lands. But this time it doesn't quite make it to her desk. Traci and Sonya do some inspecting and Traci assumes that it is Stephen. So she sends him an email. Stephen get offended and Traci brings the earrings out to show them. Everyone acts dumb. She goes back into her office and another one lands! This time it says "From Leslie". I then receive an email from Traci. "Someone is blackmailing you… watch out!"

Not having a clue what is going on I write her back. "What are you talking about?"
She replies: " Ask Stephen… I’m pretty positive its him."
Just as I read that email Stephen walks into my office. He asks me if I was the one who made earrings for Traci. Again. Clueless. However this is pretty entertaining now that my name is attached to this priceless prank! So I begin laughing and send Traci an email back. "He just asked me… something about earrings? I’m so confused."

Traci then came into my office. She showed me the "earring" with From Leslie written on it and asked who made it. I told her I didn't know and she told me I did. So I started laughing that she really was going to blame me for wasting that much time! She then told me it was Stephen. Right then Stephen appeared and said it wasn't him. She then looked at Alec and blamed him. Alec took the blame fully. As Stephen walked away red faced and laughing. Next Jacob walks in my office with two of the earrings in his ears. SICK! We all begin laughing hysterically! Traci is confused and getting frustrated so I try to calm her down and ask her what happened. She went into dramatics about how the earring flew onto her desk and how her and Sonya couldn't figure out what it was...

I was laughing pretty good when she looked at me and said she knew I knew who did it! She knew the look on my face! Pretty much accusing me!
Alec then tries to calm her down and figure out who was to blame. He gets up. Throws the earring, plots it all out. Sonya MUST know who it was!

I personally think that with as much flirting that Stephen does it was him. But Traci thinks I'm covering for Alec. Traci goes back to her office and emails me again.

"I am positive you know who did it!! I know that face! I’m leaning more toward alec now because you’re covering for him…. I’ll figure this out before the day is through… actually… I’m pretty sure its alec!"

I email her back "Go to work and we’ll talk when we leave. I’ve got to get this payroll done… " See because I'm not trying to waste time at work!

She says "Uh huh… you just confirmed it."
I say "That is was Alec? I’m pretty sure I’d know if he was wasting time making earrings… I think Stephens lack of interest in this says enough. And his face was definitely red. As soon as you said it was Alec he walked away laughing and never came back. I’m pretty sure Stephen is to blame."

She says " Let me know when you’re ready to go to lunch."

I say "Ok ok… it was me. I had Nalani write my name on the paper so that I had a way out. "

She says "You’re helping him [Alec]… boo!"

I say "Ok. Do you want me to say it was Alec? I just admitted that I did it and you don’t believe me… I’ll say it was whoever you want me to say it was… But I really think it was Stephen. Ask Nalani. I don’t think she’ll cover for anyone…"

Now she's mad.
So I get back to payroll and once I finish we go to lunch.

Nothing is said. She still doesn't know who did it.

We get back from lunch and I over hear that the printer is broken. Chris! AND now the Postage machine is broken. Chris! (Who knows if he really did it or not... but its his blame.) So, Stephen says... "Chris made the earrings!!" So I told Traci and I don't know if she bought it or not. But I'm pretty sure it was Chris and Stephen.

Then later on Alec tells me that one of the "earrings" was tossed into Traci's office yet again while he was in there! Really!! 4 of them!!

This ended up being an all day event!

And still nobody except Alec has taken blame. And he's not very convincing.

My theory: Stephen made them. Jacob threw them. Chris busted Jacob and Stephen. They framed me. Alec took the blame for me. And Traci still has no clue.

That's all for now.
Funny Stuff!

Surprise Surprise!

Post #3-
It's a Saturday. Ben is working. My parents are in Park City. Friends are busy. I'm home alone. I woke up a little later than planned. Stayed in bed most of the day with no plans. Every time I got up something went wrong. Korona is eating something. Kooka is barking. I spilled a glass of water. Bad day. Ben even played a joke on me about buying a new tool box. I believed him so much I actually cried.

All I asked was for Ben to make my day somehow. He said he'd try. I hate staying home alone for more than a few hours.

About 4pm now and I decide to get up and clean myself up, just in case Ben has plans to leave to make my day.

Ben gets home and I'm still doing my hair. His response: "Why are you getting all dolled up?"

I walked away crying realizing that he forgot about making my day.

He goes upstairs and gets on the computer. I sit on the couch and try to fall back asleep so the day passes by faster. About 10 minutes goes by (I think. My eyes were closed remember?) and Ben walks down the stairs. Sits on the couch. We have a short conversation and he leaves me alone again. A couple of minutes go by and he comes back down and asks: "Can you be ready to leave in 10 minutes." (See! Good thing I got ready!) After a few moans and complaints I get up and change out of my sweats. Ready to go.

We start the drive downtown. He takes me to the mall and informs me that we are going to Aldo. My favorite store to buy purses!! I picked one out and swapped all my things into it. We left and went to Starbucks. Then raced to the unknown place.

We pull up to....

"Public transportation?"

"Yep!"

"Hmm... Ok."

"We're taking the Frontrunner to Ogden. Going to dinner and coming back home."

This was the BEST date ever!! So simple. But great! We had about 4 hours of uninterrupted talking. 50 minutes to Ogden. A short walk. Dinner. A short walk back. 50 Minutes home.

It ended up being a perfect night! I love my husband so so so much!


FYI- There is SO much to do just a few blocks of where the Frontrunner drops off in Ogden. Indoor skydiving, rock climbing, surfing. A bowling alley (Fat Cats actually!). A big movie theatre. Dance clubs. And food. We hope to have a full day there when we are a little richer! We were there until the last Frontrunner trip to Salt Lake left.

Logan Adventures

Post #2-
So once upon a time my sweet husband was invited to go to Logan to help Ty load up a motorcycle that was for sale. And at that time I was called by my sweet Ty. On that very phone call he asked if I would let my sweet husband go with him. And of course I immediately said NO! It was a Wednesday night. 5pm. Logan if you don't know, is about 2 hours away. That's almost 4 hours of driving alone. Then you have to add up the time to get lost, eat, work out a deal with the guy selling it, getting it loaded up... etc... I knew even if they left at 5pm, right that minute, that they wouldn't return home until after 10pm. See I didn't really want to be home alone all night. (Oh and this was barely a week after we got married so I was a little possessive.)
He proceeded to beg. I proceeded with NO!
begging
begging
begging
NO!
begging
begging
begging
NO!
He passed the phone to Ben. Who didn't seem to care much about going or not. He just wanted to know what to do. Drive home or drive to Logan.
Ty again.
Begging
Begging
Begging
NO!
Ben again. Ben says "Les. If you come you can have the front seat."
FINE!! Let's go.

And off we go.

Can I tell you how beautiful Logan is? So Beautiful. I have some great memories there! We drove up 2 hours. Stopped twice to pee and grab snacks. Ty drove. I got front and Ben was squished in back. Talking the whole way.

We get lost... See told ya!
Ty gets frustrated on the phone. I have to talk to the guy selling the bike and Ty to find where we are supposed to be.

See the bike. Oh how I wish I had a picture of my face when I saw this piece of junk! We drove all the way to Logan for this POS. I couldn't believe it!

But it worked out because Ty got the guy down quite a bit of money and we left with the bike. Turns out it's pretty cool once it's running right. The boys have had a lot of fun with it.

On the way home we stopped at a burger place. So yummy!
We had to call on Laura to feed our poor pups! I'm so glad she has a key! She and Dustin have saved our dogs so many times!

We got home at about 1130pm. Did I not call that!?

All in all, the begging paid off and I really enjoyed the adventure with my two favorite guys!

Oh and I wish I could move to Logan! Always have! It's just so far away from work!

Just my luck!

I have so much to tell! I'm going to write individual posts so that I can keep it all straight.
Post #1- Just my luck! (Yep... This one)
Post #2- Logan Adventures
Post #3- Surprise Surprise!
Post #4- Funny Stuff (ie: Traci)
Post #5- Not So Haunted Houses
Post #6- For Me!?

Beginning with Post #1-

I swear EVERY TIME I say I'm going to sell a car something goes wrong. My first car... totalled! My second car... Stolen. My third car... well that's an exception because I sold it within an hour of saying I was going to sell it. But anyway... Always bad luck when I go to sell a car. So last week Ben and I talked about selling my car and the next day I go to lunch, like normal. Roll down my window so I can get my fast *yucky* food. Drive away and my stinking window won't roll back up!! What's that about!! I panic for a second and realize that as soon as I get back to work I can just use my key to roll it up. Yep. I get back to work as it doesn't work! I can't get my window up. Did I mention that this was on a Wednesday? Why is that significant you ask? Well Tuesday is shop night for Ben and I'm pretty sure he asked me if I'd rather have my brakes fixed or my switch for my window fixed. Of course I chose brakes. So he changed out my brakes. Spent $100 doing it. Did I also mention that I work next to a bus stop? And many cars have been broken into, cars with the window up! And now I have my car parked out by the bus stop with my window down!! And the panic sets in again.

I went back into work and called Ben, who calmed me down until he told me how much the part to fix my window would be! $140!!! Remember that I just spent $100 on brakes?
I take my car to Ben's work and trade for his truck. He orders the part. It's not coming until Thursday. He is sweet enough to drive home with the window down AND drive it back in the cold of morning to fix it on Thursday. He replaces the part. STILL DOESN'T WORK!!! We have to buy another part. Why because I pushed the stupid broken switch so much that the motor gave in too! ANOTHER $140!!!

Luckily that fixes it and my window works better than ever now. But I swear my cars know when I'm trying to get rid of them!! I swear.

At the end of the day I have just put almost $400 into this car so it's got a few months of me sucking up before I decide if it's going anywhere.

The Privileges of Marriage

I just want to state that my BIGGEST fear of getting married was combining money.
I know we are still NEWLYweds but the communication we have about every dollar has increased and we are both watching what we spend. I never imagined it would be like this. At this point it's great! I'm so proud of my hubby (I can say that now!!) for maturing in his spending habits. Lets hope and pray it stays like this! At least until we get a routine and budget in place. Then it will be habit and less to worry about!
Before we got married I went over and over different ways to keep our money in line. All of them included some kind of "allowance" for each of us each week for random things... Now I know it may get to this point, but for now we are comfortable and spending within our means.
I'm so proud of us for all we've accomplished!
Ben thank you for supporting me and easing my fear of sharing. =) Love you! Gigga!

From my heart. As always.

A wedding is supposed to be the most joyous time in your life. A beginning of a new journey. Combining two lives into one soul. It is supposed to be, as we said in our vows, the most beautifully choreographed first step in a new life together.
I started the beginning of that with “supposed to be”… I have to admit, that even through the rain and hail, that my wedding day was just that. It was the best and most memorable day in my life so far.
I was told from the beginning that I couldn’t possibly make everyone happy. That I should make decisions based on what I wanted. To go with my heart and make it my day. I was told that at the end of it all I would be the one who treasured it most. I received many phone calls, text messages, emails and personal conversations giving the same advice. I would be stupid not to take it right?
So I did. And I have no regrets. It was my day and it went better than I could have planned. My husband and I enjoyed every moment. And after all said and done we agreed that we wouldn’t have changed a single moment.
It saddens me that wedding after wedding, advice and more advice is passed along by those who, at the end of the day, are the most upset that plans went my way instead of theirs. I am confused by the ones who have come to me and my family with complaints about the decisions I was told to make for me and my groom. The only disappointment I have now is that I let it get to me in the days after our wedding.
The biggest decision I had to make, and the hardest, is the one I am being crucified for. And not by the party that I would expect to have ill feelings, but by outsiders who don’t have a clue as to what has gone on behind the scenes, for the past 24 years of my life, and especially in the last year of my life planning a wedding.
I put my heart on my sleeve and let everyone join in on the biggest commitment I will ever make to my husband, and God. I shared the joy with those who support me most in life, those who I enjoy, respect and love with all my heart. Only to disappoint those who haven’t been there for me in good and bad times. And yet somehow my heart aches for them for not understanding my motives.
I’m sure if you are reading this now that you either, know exactly what I’m talking about, or know that you are not involved, because after all, the people taking the time to check up on me are the same people who I shared all this joy with.
Now I know that the people this should be touching are not reading my feelings right now. But that the people who care, are.
I am so thankful to have so many people in my life, who just get it. You all see what my family dynamic is. You all know who is who and where my heart lies. You also see that I have a healthy, I’m going to repeat that, healthy relationship with my mom and dad. And if you know me well enough you know exactly what I’m talking about.
So instead of dwelling on what I didn’t do, or what went wrong, I am going to clear the air with those involved. And at this moment I can guarantee that they don’t see it coming. Not from me. Not ever. But I want everyone to know from here on out, I’m not backing down or bowing out. Things will not be swept under the rug for rumors to spread about what kind of person I am. Or about the decisions I made with a clear mind and full heart. This will be resolved on my end. I will address issues as needed and the ball will be left in another court. I’m not going to dwell in drama anymore.

For those of you reading, thank you for being my friend, my family, my life. Thank you for knowing the back stories and supporting my good intentions, respecting my decisions and supporting my husband and me in the decisions we are making together. I love you all!

MARRIED!

If you didn't know, Ben and I had a wedding on Saturday the 19th! We have officially been married for 4 days now!
I know you all want to see pictures and hear stories so as soon as I get pictures I will post them and if you have a story to share please let me know and I'll post it.
I want to know what everyone's favorite moment was...

My personal favorite, besides the whole wedding in general was when Franke and Nick were singing the song they wrote for us. It started HAILING!! Not one person went inside, but instead ran closer with umbrellas to cover Ben and I, and themselves, to listen. Then once they were done with the song we all ran inside. I'm so happy for that!

Also, when the video our moms made, played and Ben was in tears. I'm so glad that those 2 things were kept as a complete surprise!

Although many that attending thought the rain would ruin my day, it actually made it! I'm so thankful that we had such a memorable day! Our first dance in the pouring rain... Just makes sense for us!

Thank you to all of you that attended!

9 days left!!

I'm so excited!!! My bachelorette party is this weekend and I can't wait to get out and party it up!! One night of fun and no worries I definitely need! Laura- Thank you so much for putting it all together!!! Kristen thank you for your help as well! I am so lucky to have all these wonderful women in my life! I really do have some quality girlfriends...

Anyway, I just wanted to say how excited I am for my wedding and bachelorette party! 9 holes here we come!

I will start updating more often when things in my life calm down. Between planning a wedding and flu season at work I hardly have time to think. Unbelievable!

Thanks for reading my mumble jumble!

cRazy with a capital R

I can't even believe that I am not sleeping all day or ripping my hair out with all that is going on right now!
Wedding planning. Coming together, but consumes my every free moment and thought! (Even consumes some time and thoughts that aren't free!)
Work. (Enough said right!?) Not only is it flu season (my tax season as it is referred to at my job.) But it's audit season, and I just had an auditor walk in the door! AGHH!!! Plus I'm taking a week off for my wedding! 1 more week to get everything done!
Life. It never stops! But isn't it fun to think back and wonder how you made it through all you did and how wonderful it is to have accomplished what you wanted? As much as I hate running all the time and want to just lay with my, almost, husband (18 days left!) and fall asleep to a movie EVERY night, I know that I have to wake up and brew the coffee. (Yes, brew... not smell, becuase the smell only comes after you get your ass up out of bed and make the damn coffee!!! BTW- I HATE THE SMELL OF COFFEE, so I never wake up to make it =)

I'm in the most random mood... Can you keep up?

Becoming a Day!

One month from today I can officially change my last name!! I'm so excited! The wedding plans are coming along well. Stressful and keeping us busy, but they are coming along!

I also want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTTY!!! I'm sorry you don't get to spend it with your wife or her family, but you are in my thoughts! 4 more weeks till you guys are here! HOORAY!!!

No other exciting things to tell...

BUSTED!

Bachelor party/ Bachelorette party. Saturday night. Great time. Boys at hotel party. Girls at Greenstreet. Girls close out bar. Go to hotel to crash bachelor party. Linds and Les stop at light next to hotel. Look to Right. See Ben and Ty in handcuffs. Girls keep driving. Park at hotel. Walk to Ben and Ty. They are trashed. Ben looks like he's guilty. We laugh. Girls see construsction site behind boys and bet that they were climbing like monkeys to the top. Cop walks over to girls. He confirms that boys were climbing in building. We all laugh. Boys get ticketed and uncuffed. Les says to Ben and Ty, "I hope you got pictures that are worth $500." They do. See.

Camping

We went to Joes Valley this year. It was Ben's first time. We had a blast!!!!
Thought I'd share a few of the pictures that I have...


This is when it started raining. We were all lined up to get a family picture and the thunder and rain started coming down so everyone walked/ran to the quads to be on our way...


This is after the rain... about 1/2 way through our 8 hour trip on the quads...





Remember the 1st picture? This is the view behind us... And that trail... That's where we went and got muddy... Well we went farther than just that but you get the idea...

AHHHHH!!!

So I shouldn't be taking time to do this today because I am SWAMPED at work, but I need a little moment to vent before I have a nervous breakdown!

We are painting at work... Great idea right? Well it was when the plan was to paint while we were closed, but now we still aren't done and the regional manager is coming to town tomorrow... so business hour painting has begun! (Actually, it started yesterday!) Our AC is broken, it smells like paint, we have 10 interviews today and the place is impossible to navigate because all the desks, bookshelves, etc are moved to the center of the office and the walls are wet! I just want to go home screaming!!

To add to it, I came in this morning and started my HR day with 3 interviews (Scheduled to be here 30 minutes before I am even scheduled to come in... Thanks recruiters!!!) So I have 3 people waiting on me that I'm sure are irritated that I'm late (When really I was 15 minutes early!)I have to put together their paperwork, in the mess of an office and go through a jungle of desks to get to the copier that is broken so I have to stand there and hold the top of it down while it copies so it doesn't jam... I finish my copies and go back for the interview. Interview packet = 100 pages... Original that I made copies from... NOT IN ORDER!! (Again, thanks recruiters!!) So now I look like I'm late, disorganized and obviously frazzled and irritated! (The only one being false is that I was NOT late!)

I barely get through my interviews. Go to my office and start going through last weeks paperwork that I missed. I find some payroll notes. My thought... OH FU@$!! I had a nurse come in last week and hand me her payroll... I didn't process it. She's not going to get her paycheck this week!! Not only that but this one nurse happens to be the ONLY nurse that I have messed up her benefits... so bad that she is not eligible until NEXT MAY!!! (Don't ask! 1 nurse in 4 years aint bad!) So I know she already hates me! And now... No paycheck for her! Geez!! Way to think on my toes! (And since I've been blaming the recruiters, I'm sure I can blame them for this mistake too :) This really was all my fault though!)

Right at lunch time a past employee comes in and wants to reactivate... Well, with my luck today guess what! More bad news!! You see after an employee goes inactive for 90 days they must reapply as if they are a new employee. I LOVE this policy because usually the ones that go inactive suck at life and our hiring process takes about 6 hours... Most of them won't do it again and I always have the best staff possible. But this time... I love the nurse! She is great and the clients love her too! So I look at her last date working and cross my fingers that it hasn't been 90 days... Again... remember my luck today? 92 days!! 2 freaking days late!!! Guess lunch will have to wait!

I have an orientation at 1pm with a lady that should be retired. (I'm being serious... She's not only past her working ages, but her brain is hardly working.) I'm not sure who decided she'd be a good hire, but here we go. Into an interview again.

So now I have 4 people here, all waiting for me. I still haven't eaten, the office is still a disaster and I have to make copies AGAIN and my master is STILL out of order. It's hot, I'm hungry and I still want to walk out of here screaming!

Ah! Thanks for letting me vent! I feel refreshed and ready to master this mess of a day!

Pastor

So last night we met with Pastor Josh.
The experience we had was something to be talked about. I won't bore you with all the details in my head, but I will say this.
If you are married... Go to counseling. If you are getting married... Go to counseling. If you aren't married... go to counseling.

I've always loved sitting with someone and telling them all my woes and it being all about me. It's relieving. And to feel like they aren't judging you is even better!

This was a different kind of counseling. It was with a Pastor. It was based on our belief in God and the Bible. The questions were about Ben and I as a COUPLE, instead of individuals. We are signing up to be one, so fair enough that it's not just about me anymore. =)

I have never felt closer to God than I did with those two men beside me. I've never felt more loved and accepted by them AND God.

Some of the questions asked were, well... not expected. We both, Ben and I, had to stop and think for a second. And although they were not the answers the Pastor wanted to hear, or expected to hear, we felt like we had room in our hearts (and already spinning heads) for more love and information.

I felt like someone was telling me how selfish I am. And after thinking of my answers I realized that not once did I say what I was doing for someone, but what someone did for me. (not that I don't help others out, I just noticed that all my answers were about ME ME ME. And Ben's too) We are learning from this.

In the 2.5 hour meeting I learned more about Ben and felt closer to Ben than I have in over 2 years of being with him. And there are so many areas where we can and will learn more.

Josh told us that we will be meeting with him once every 3 weeks, unless we request more, until our wedding, and after if we request. He gave us a few books to complete. I will list them at the bottom if you are interested in any of them. I'm excited to start reading and doing... The books should be to me in 3-6 days (shipping times! Gotta love the wait, but I did get 4% cash back for using ebates! =D)

Ben and I made many commitments last night, to each other, but mostly to God. I'm excited to start a "new journey" as a couple! Like I said before... If you are human (basically what I said) go to counseling! Not just a licensed counselor, but someone from your church of choice. It's rejoicing!

And for the books!
Men: What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Men (Hobson)
If you are getting married (or are married): Before You Say I Do (Norman)

Women: What Husbands Wish Their Wives Knew About Men (Morley)
If you are getting marries (or are married): Before You Say I Do (Norman)

As a couple: (Married or not) Love Dare (Kendrick)
(Married) Fit To Be Tied (Hybals)

A SnEaK pEaK

A SNEAK PEEK AT SOME ENGAGEMENT PICTURES....

Stolen Tag

I stole another "tag" from Andrew's blog... here is "Spouse Tag!!"
How fun!! I expect all of you to steal it from me so I can enjoy reading your info!

♥ What are your middle names? Ben's is Joseph, Mine is Ann
♥ How long have you been together? 2 years and 2 months, about to get married!
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? About 2-3 weeks
♥ Who asked who out? I asked him. He declined and I just kept asking until he said yes. We went to a Bee's game!
♥ How old are each of you? 24 (He's 5 days younger than me)
♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? Mine by far. His family does not live in Utah.
♥ Do you have any children together? 2 dogs... No kids yet.
♥What about pets? 2 dogs.
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Hmm... Probably remembering to buy gifts for everyone in our families and planning far enough ahead of time to get them shipped. If not that, then balancing time with each other and friends.
♥ Did you go to the same school? No
♥ Are you from the same home town? No. I'm from Utah... Ben is from Minnesota.
♥Who is smarter? Depends on the subject.
♥ Who is more sensitive? Me by far... But I'm female so I guess that makes sense.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Lately it's been Taco Bell.
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Minnesota
♥ Who has the craziest exes? Ben I guess. My exes aren't crazy. =D
♥ Who has the worst temper? Me. I do a lot better with Ben than I do with most people though...
♥ Who does the cooking? We share this task pretty evenly.
♥Who is more social? Hmm... I would say Ben if he's comfortable, me if it's a new crowd. I like making new friends!
♥ Who is the neat-freak? I am. But I'm not a neat freak. I'm messy too!
♥ Who is more stubborn? We both are!
♥ Who hogs the bed? Depends on how tired we are. Ben hogs the blanket and the dogs get the bed
♥ Who wakes up earlier? Ben. I changed hours at work so I get to wake up later. =)
♥ Where was your first date? Bees Game. (First official date anyway)
♥ Who has the bigger family? I do.
♥ How do you spend the holidays? depends on the year. Mostly with my family.
♥ How long did it take to get serious? We've moved so fast! About 2 weeks!We said "I love you" after a month and moved in after 4 months. Got engaged at 1 1/2 years, bought a house a month later and will be married after 2 1/2 years.
♥Who eats more? Ben by far. I count calories.
♥ Who does/ did the laundry? I used to, but I stress too much so we are starting to share the task.
♥ Who’s better with the computer? Probably me.
♥ Who drives when you are together? Almost always Ben unless he's been drinking.

New Blog

So I started a new blog for my wedding... Just so that my line and parents could keep up with what was going on with plans... And I sorta forgot to let you all in on my life during the planning. Sorry.

First of all... Life really sucks without Melony! Her and Amber's birthday is next weekend (The 20th) and we will not have her here... Doesn't sound right and I don't like it! Also missing her and Scott for Fathers Day. Sad.

On another note. Ben and I have decided to put our butts in gear and get our house together.
We've been doing some work in the yard and are planning on buying a tree this weekend for our front yard. This will be the 3rd weekend we said we're going to do this and we just haven't decided which tree to buy. I think we agreed on one... We shall see if we actually end up with that one!


We are also painting and redoing the "Forgotten Day Suite" and hope that by the time his sisters come to stay they won't feel like they are sleeping in a "dungeon".

We have begun to price out and lay out how we will have our laundry room so it's no longer in the bathroom! Another to do before the wedding. (We'll see about this! It's a big project!) Sorry ladies if we don't have it done when you come. We're trying.


Other than normal life,
the wedding planning is moving along. We went to a great new church and met the Pastor that will marry us! He is a perfect fit for us!

Last weekend we went to Park City and chose the alcohol we are going to have at the wedding... And Ben is changing his mind. So much for crossing that off the list!

Ben just set his last tattoo appointment so it will be done by the wedding. (It's 2 weeks before the wedding!! I'm nervous about that!)

We got our engagements done and will get the pictures this weekend (I hope!). We still need a photographer for our ceremony and reception. If you know anyone please let me know! It's getting down to the wire!

I am still working on the smaller details, but for the most part the big deals are completed. We know who what when where and how... We just need to define each part.

We will be going to the cabin on the twins birthday to help my gramma with her yard and see what we need to do to prepare.

There is so much going on right now I don't even know what day it is half the time!
I'll remember this blog and keep posting. =)

I KNOW YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO READ POSTS WITH PICTURES SO THE ONE'S POSTED, THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT IS WRITTEN IS A PLOY TO GET YOU TO READ ALL OF IT!!! =D


AND A "WTF!?" FACE FROM BEN!

My Big Sister

It's official! She's moved. It's been a tough few weeks, months... for all of us. I'm happy for her and her husband now. Just seeing them together and interact made me feel 100% better about the whole move. I'll see them in September for sure (For the wedding) and then hopefully soon after that. It's going to be weird without them here for all of the holidays... And small events. I guess I'll have to do the Skype thing... Like Mel requested...

Mel and Scott,
I love you two so very much and wish you the best luck and most happiness ever known. Enjoy your new journey together and know in your heart, that you are both in mine.
Hugs and Kisses,
Les