Merry Christmas to all!

Hope you all had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
And have a HAPPY 2009!!!

Just letting you all (particularly those of you who live in Utah) know that my friends are putting on this boutique at Trolley Square. It should be good, so please go!

Tis the Season...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper with a nice bow!
2. Real tree or Artificial? I am fine with either one. Ian on the other hand HAS to have the real thing.
3. When do you put up the tree? Growing up it was the day after Thanksgiving, but now it is whenever Ian and I get around to buying a "real" one.
4. When do you take the tree down? Last year I took it down the day after Christmas...our apartment is TOO small for any "extras"
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmm....I really liked those dolls whose hair grew when the hand touched the ear, legos,
7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad and Ian, they BUY everything they want.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Nieces, Nephews, kids.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, I collect them. I was SO excited to put up my new one this year! I LOVE it!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Both!
11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm...I am not sure. My Mom probably remembers one.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Vacation
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Somewhat early...although Ian makes fun of me for it.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Oh yeah.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? EVERYTHING but especially our Christmas Eve Prime Rib dinner w/twice baked potatoes, raspberry jello, and yorkshire pudding! Yum! Only 2 more weeks!
16. Lights on the tree? When I get a tree, they will be white!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Still, Still Still
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Oh yeah!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying part of Christmas? Stinkin' crowds and shopping traffic!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? brown and green...or goldish cream
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? Our family's tradition dinner on CHristmas Eve (see #15)
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I haven't thought about it! Maybe a house!

Twighlight

So, last night at 12:30 (the 11:59 p.m. showing was sold out a month before it came out) I went to see Twighlight along with my sister, her friend, and all sorts of other people(yes there were some men and boys there), most of who were completely obsessed and all decked out in Twighlight attire. I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to stay awake (those of you who know me know my problem with movies) but I am proud to tell you all that this movie was SOOOO good, staying awake was not even a problem! In fact, I stayed up until about 3:30 thinking about the movie and wasn't even tired. I was a bit skeptical when I first saw the trailers and 1st finished scene, thinking they didn't choose the "right" Bella, and especially not the "right" Edward, but oh was I WRONG. They chose the PERFECT Bella and Edward, as well as the rest of the characters. I was very pleased with the way the movie turned out. I especially loved that as you watched the movie, you felt the same way you did as you read the book. They did a great job! If you are debating to see the movie or not, I would say definitely go....and I hope you like it as much as I did!
I can't wait for New Moon to come out!

Happy Halloween...late of course!

I was meaning to post this Friday night, but a few days later, here are some pictures of our costumes for the year.
Ian decided that this year he was going to be something other than the pink flamingo, so what he came up with this year was......

Hannah Montana.

A friend at work gave me the idea to be Billy Ray Cyrus, so that is what I ATTEMPTED to be- although I looked more like just a boy of some sort.

Anyway, there are a few things I loved about Ian's choice of costume:
1. When Ian went to try on the skirt (he found it at a Ross in Provo) the guy who was in charge of the dressing rooms didn't even know how to handle it when Ian held up the skirt and asked for a number. And then when Ian decided he was going to buy the skirt, how much more mind blown the guy was. It was a good one!
2.When Ian lifted up his arms, the armpit hair coming out of his shirt, along with the facial hair-it made for a nice white trashy version of the teenage idol.3. Not only did Ian wear an old bra, but he tried to stuff it to be just the right size of a 15/16/17 (however old she is) girl. Do you think he was accurate? Ha ha.

Halloween was fun. Ian and Franz went on their annual ride in their flamingo costumes...

After he made it safely home, we went up to my parents for awhile. Jordan in his cowboy costume.

Marissa as a puppy, and Gramps as himself.

Jacob as a scary scarecrow.

After that we stopped at some friend's Halloween party. Hope you all had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Another Month has passed...

and I am becoming one of those bloggers I NEVER wanted to be! I always think of things to blog about, but because we don't have internet at our place, it makes it a bit of a challenge.
Anyway, here is the update of our lives. We still are working and going to school. Nothing has changed there. We also still have our cat...although his name was only Cleveland for a day. We can't figure out a good name for him. Ian believes he has to do something to "earn" his name and I just think that nothing seems to fit him. As of yesterday, his name is Walter. He is a lazy cat that always thinks he is starving! I am starting to wonder if maybe he has tapeworm or something :(

Here is a picture of us on our couch....it is our most recent "family" picture.


I LOVE the fall! This is the best time of year! (Minus the COLD days) Ian and I have been quite "festive" this year. One day after work we went up the canyon to see the leaves. We also were able to go to Frightmares @ Lagoon for my work party. This past weekend a local apple orchard/farm down the street was showing The Great Pumpkin/Charlie Brown movie outdoors in their little field, so we went to that with some of our friends. We also have a few decorations up at the house. And this week, we will be going to a few Halloween Parties! What a good time of year it is, although I can hardly believe it is almost NOVEMBER!!!

Oh yeah, I do have a few stories, but I will post those as soon as I get the pictures uploaded!

Cleveland

It all started the day the cat came meowing to the window.

A couple of weeks ago, I was home for lunch with Ian. Outside we heard some meowing and then cat fighting. The next thing we knew, there was more meowing,getting louder and closer. We opened our blinds to find this. This is "Tom" the other cat who was in the fight....(or the rapist)

We thought the cat might be hurt (or getting raped:[) so we let him in. The cat LOVED the house and immediately started to rub on EVERYTHING!!! Ian's bike, Ian, Me, our table, our carpet, our couch. He was definitely not afraid to make himself comfortable and at home.

Time has passed and we are not so sure what to do with Cleveland. We did name him, and are really wanting to "adopt" him. We are thinking that he was abandoned. So for that reason and because he is such a good, nice, friendly, beautiful cat (and we really love him) we want to keep him. We are still trying to figure out how it will happen since we are not allowed to have animals in our house. I guess it is more motivation to find and BUY our own home!

Tag!

I was tagged by my friend, who has a certain scent to her, Meredith.
The Rules: Answer the questions using only ONE WORD. Then tag four others.

1. Where is your cell phone? Couch
2. Your significant other? Bay
3. Your hair? Crooked
4. Your mother? Amazing
5. Your father? Amazing
6. Your favorite thing? Sleep
7. Your dream last night? Interesting
8 Your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper
9. Your dream/goal? Family
10. The room you’re in? Office
11. Your hobby? "Papercrafting"
12. Your fear? Creatures
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Alive!
14. What you’re not? Pleasant
15. Muffins? Yum!
16. One of your wish list items? PTO (paid time off-lots of it!)
17. Where you grew up? Draper
18. The last thing you did? Birthday
19. What are you wearing? Warm
20. Favorite gadget? Cricut
1. Your pets? Non-existent
22. Your computer? Mac Book
23.Your mood? Blah
24. Missing someone? Family
25.Your car? Dirty
26. Something you’re not wearing? socks
27. Favorite store? Target
28. Like someone? NOBODY! Ha ha
29. Your favorite color? Brown
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Recently

And I tag...whoever wants to do it!

Our Past Month

Well, now that I have let another month pass by without updating the blog...here goes another LONG update.
Ian
Ian finished up working with TNT for the summer-but don't let that fool you-he is still VERY busy.
He has been spending the majority of his time on school. He is enrolled in a bunch of classes at UVU (the old UVSC) to get a specialized degree in Emergency Medical Services Management(or something like that), which coincides with the firefighting stuff. He has also applied to a few different stations in the valley and will test at the end of the month. In case you don't know how the hiring process works (because I had NO idea myself), once they have finished going through the fire academy, they then have to find out what stations/cities are hiring. They then fill out their application, and send in a resume. From there the city/station (if they want you) will have you take a written test. If you pass that test, you get to go back and take the physical test. If you pass that (and the city still is interested in hiring a person) they (the city/station) will call you back to meet with 1-3 people on an oral board. Then if they approve of you, then you get put on a short list, and with all of your scores combined, you will get a rating, and if it is good enough, THEN you get hired. It is very competitive and there are a TON of people looking for a job (to give you an idea-at one time this spring there were 8 full time positions available in SL and over 900 applicants), so we'll just keep our fingers crossed and if he doesn't get hired then at least he will get practice.
Ian has also been spening some time on different projects that he has wanted to do, but hasn't had time for until now. He finally sold my car (the Passat)! YAY!-except for the money went towards his tuition (not fun) and our new computer (fun!). He also has been fixing up the bodywork on his WRX (car) with our good friend (and expert) Ken, who has been a huge help.
Ian has also spent time running races and staying active. Yesterday he did his second triathlon and did VERY well. He took first in his division and 22 overall, out of 250ish people. I will brag about him because he won't brag about himself.

Me (Kristin)
My life on the other hand is not so busy. I am still just trying to adjust to the new job and loving not having anything to do at nights. Although, that may change here tomorrow....after I call SLCC to see if I can still register for classes. If I can, I will be going to school this semester-ONLY because I got a scholarship and if I don't use it, it is basically a waste. I am so glad they told me that I got it yesterday-that was so helpful of them----NOT....but this story will wait for my next post. Other than that and a lot of shopping and sitting on my couch eating lots, that is where I have spent my time. Oh yeah, and I am finishing up New Moon-FINALLY.
Well, that is it for now.

WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG

So, I am FINALLY getting around to updating my blog, now that it has been OVER A MONTH!!! I have probably lost all of my blog readers because week after week NOTHING has changed. SO-if there is anyone out there still interested in what I have been up to lately-this is for you!

To start off, my life has been INSANE the last month or so! I finally know the feeling of being BUSY-and I am not a HUGE fan of it at all. (to say the least)

June 28-July 5
So, the last time I posted, Ian's parents were on their trip to Virginia and I was at their house taking care of their dogs and cat. You'd think that that was no big deal, but let me tell you-it was very adventuresome. I not only learned of my sensitivity to animal food as I nearly threw up everytime I smelled it, but I somehow managed to lock myself out of the house(and my car) one morning, entertained my VERY good friend and neighbor every night as I chased the little dog Scooter around the yard trying to get him inside, had nightmares of neighborhood children opening the fence letting the dogs run away, etc. etc. Along with taking care of the animals, I was doing my usual of working every day, as well as going to school every Tuesday and Thursday nights until late. So NOT fun!

My neighbor and friend, Jess, decided that while Ian was away (he was gone to Colorado for work from June 15-July 17th) we'd make a list of all the fun things that we normally wouldn't do (or couldn't do as easily) if we was home. So, we were able to squeeze a few fun things that week into my crazy schedule which included; eating at Paradise Bakery, getting Pedicures, shopping for baby presents, and hanging out, and talking. Don't worry, we had WAY more on the list, but because of me---they haven't happened...YET.

On July 3rd, I had an interview for a new job I applied for, did well (I guess), and got offered a job as accounting assistant at Code Corporation-thanks to my good friend Jana. I wasn't totally ready to quit, but knew I was going to eventually, and because things worked out so well, and because it was too good of a deal for me to pass up, I decided it was the right thing and best thing to do. So, that next week, I got to talk to my boss and tell him the news as well as give him my 2 weeks---NORMALLY, you wouldn't call your boss while he was on vacation with his family, but because he was going to be gone for the next few weeks, and I had to start my new job before he got back, I basically had no other choice-that is how I had to do it! That was the first time I have ever "quit" a job!!! It wasn't easy!!!
Also, my sister Katie, Chris (her husband), and Jared, my super cute nephew flew into town from Hawaii-so that night as soon as school was over, I drove up to my parent's because I was so anxious to see them!

On the 4th of July, I spent the day relaxing with my family, did a little shopping with my mom and sister, and then that night we went over to my aunt MayreAnn's with my mom's side for fireworks and a BBQ-which is always fun.

The next week of JULY(5-13th)...
I spent getting ready to quit my job, stressing A LOT over my classes at school (they were REALLY hard this semester!) and getting things ready for Girl's Camp. I was also taking care of things that needed to get done around the house such as mowing the lawn (sorry to all my neighbors who may have been asleep when I was out mowing the lawn one night at 9:45), cleaning, laundry, etc. Normally Ian is around to help with those things, but it was really hard squeezing in the time to do them by myself!!!

MUCH NEEDED TRIP TO CALIFORNIA
On July 10 I left with my Mom, and brothers, Adam and Jacob, to California. We drove to Auburn on Thursday and stayed at a little hotel that night. The next morning we woke up and went to the CHP academy in Sacramento for Gavin's (my brother in law) graduation. It was neat to see where he lived, and to kind of get a taste of some of the things he got to experience there. After the graduation, we drove to Vacaville where we stayed the remainder of our time in California. That night we ate some REALLY good food at a place (I can't remember what it is called now). Saturday we drove to a beautiful beach called Dillon's beach. I LOVED it there-the day couldn't have been more perfect. It was SO relaxing, the weather was perfect, and it was SO nice to just hang out. Oh yes, and everybody brought their dog to that beach, so it was fun to see all the different kinds of dogs and their owners. It reminded me of 101 dalmations-when the people(who are walking their dogs) look like their dogs....anyway...that night we hung out with Gavin's family, ate dinner, played games, and went back to the hotel exhausted! Sunday we woke up and drove home-I got to sit by Sydney, my adorable niece, most of the ride home and had a lot of fun playing with her! She is so cute!

JULY 14-19
When we got home from California, I finished up my last week of work, which felt so strange. It was actually quite sad for me to say good-bye. I was excited for the new job, but I knew it wasn't going to be the same.

Ian also came home from Colorado that week, which was SO wonderful! I have LOVED having him home!

DRAPER DAYS
Saturday morning we woke up and ran the Draper Days 5K. It was neat this year because there was a big group of family and friends that did it. We all did well, and had fun doing it! After the race, I went with my family to watch the parade. During the day, Ian played in the softball tournament with a team made up of some ward friends. That night we went to the Draper Days Rodeo-which I LOVE!!! And I loved that Ian made it home this year to be with me! It was a lot of fun! We watched the fireworks from the rodeo grounds.

JULY 20-28
This week I started my new job, tried finishing up with my classes at school, and tied up all the loose ends for girl's camp. I also spent Friday-Saturday up in Park City with some of my dad's family who were going to be there for the week for the family reunion.

PIONEER DAY
On the 24th of July, Ian was ambitious and ran the Deseret News Marathon again for his second time. He did a great job and finished!!! It is a REALLY hard course, and the heat makes it pretty tough as well, so I am proud of him for doing that, especially since he hadn't ran more then 3 miles for at least 5 weeks! We also had a few firework shows this year to celebrate the holidays!

From JULY 28-AUGUST 1
I was at Girl's Camp. We were fortunate this year, and got to go up to Heber Valley camp which was really nice--especially because of all the luxuries that are available up there (cabins, kitchen facilities, running water, showers, refridgerators, etc.) You can hardly call it "camping" but I was TOTALLY okay with it. We all had a great time up there, there was NO drama again (second year in a row) and the girls all seemed to have a very good time. They are all very neat girls and I really appreciate each one of them! It was a great experience for me! I loved seeing camp from the leader's perspective-it is very interesting. I was VERY HAPPY that camp was successful!

LIFE SINCE AUGUST 1
I came home from camp, finished up school (hugest headache EVER) and have spent some time TRYING to relax and catch up on life!!! Both of my sister's and their families left to go home, which was really sad! I felt like I didn't get to spend as much time as I wanted to with them, and feel bad because everytime I was around, I wasn't much fun!!! (the stress was REALLY getting to me!) I guess I will just have to go visit them sometime-which would be TOTALLY fun-who wouldn't want to go to California or Hawaii?!?!?
The new job is going well---definitely an adjustment. I LOVE not having to commute everyday, and I LOVE other parts of my job, like keeping busy. Although, I forgot what it is like to be the "new person" and how stupid you can feel at times!!! But that's okay with me---I know it will just take some time!

Some Pictures

I am sitting here on Ian's parent's computer looking at some of our old pictures from the past few years. I thought it would be fun to post some of them. So, here they are-us over the past few years.

Ian's 25th Birthday

Friends-I don't know when!

Ian and Ryan in their Halloween get-ups (I think in 2006)

My sisters and I after the Draper Days 5k-in 2007

Ian (yes, that's Ian), Hannah, and Colin

I will post some more later on.

A few ideas to share

This summer I have been pretty busy getting ready for Girl's camp, which is at the end of July. I have REALLY enjoyed my calling as Camp Director, and have been able to use my creative side a bit (as well as my cricut!)

Anyway, I thought I would share a few ideas with ya'all, in case you are or ever are in need of something fun to give/do for someone.

We decided we'd give our Young Women some "incentives" to go to camp, so one Sunday each month, since February, we went in to Young Women's and gave a little handout. It has worked so far! 14 of 20 girls will be at camp-at least they have committed up to this point!

February's "Incentive"(AKA BRIBE!) was DOVE chocolate hearts...I told them I would "love" for them to come to camp this summer.

March/April we gave them these "Save the Date" magnets-so they'd know and their parent's would know when camp is!

May we gave them some Yellow(which is our ward's color as far as the stake stuff goes) Old Navy flip flops, with a tag that said, "Don't be a flip-flop this summer, come to Camp!"

June for our Camp Kickoff/Sleepover, I made these invitations-our theme is western....inside the S'more bag I included a not that said, "To get s'more information on camp, and to have fun, come to the camp kickoff!"

Also, in June we will be handing out cans of Rootbeer with a tag that says, "We are "Sodalighted" you will be at camp!" or something to that affect.

I will post some more of our fun ideas later on!

"

A watermelon...explosion???

Last Tuesday night, after a long day of work, and after a stressful night at school (I took a REALLY hard quiz-it was more like a test I must say) I came home to something I have NEVER come home to before---a watermelon mess!!!

I still am not quite sure what happened. All I know is that it smelled REALLy wierd in my apartment, I was standing in 2" of watermelon juice, my kitchen table had a puddle on the entire thing (except for the one part I had a baby present on-thank goodness!), and that my carpet was saturated with stuff.

I was very thankful for my lovely neighbor Jess, who came and saved me from having a breakdown. She helped me be able to laugh about the whole disaster, and also helped me clean up the sick mess.

I guess sometimes you just have to learn things the not so fun way-

So, for all of you who never realized you are supposed to refrigerate your watermelon (even though the stores don't keep them cold, nor are they cold when they are growing in the ground!) now you know what could happen!!!

Oh yeah, and my apartment still smells wierd-even though I have scrubbed the carpet and the floors numerous times, so please, if any of you have a special "trick" I would love for you to share! I am sick of smelling stinky sock smell when I am sitting on the couch! Thanks!

My First...and LAST

This past Saturday was Draper Trails Day. Ian and Judy (Ian's mom) were pretty excited for this race and were looking very forward to it-they both LOVE trail running. Me, on the other hand...I wasn't so sure what to think...it was a COLD morning, I have NOT trained very well, and I was REALLY tired from a crazy week! I was excited, but a little nervous as well, because this was my first race of the "season."

We got to the Equestrian center signed in, got our numbers, shirts, and goodie bags, and went to the car to sit, and attempt to get warmer. Before the race, I was debating what mileage I was going to do...you could choose between 4 miles, 6 miles (which ended up being closer to 7 miles) 10 miles, and 15 miles. I hadn't completely decided, but the race started, and I soon found myself running up a mountain-about to DIE!!! One of my old friends, Amelia Daw was there, and we started running together, but she left me in the dust! When I was near the top, I decided that I was going to be a baby and just do the 4 miler. My heart rate was SO high, I was getting a side ache, and was thinking---everyone who thinks running is miserable--they are right! Well, my heart rate came down, things got better, and I finished the race....

I got a pretty decent time-43:27 and felt really good at the end. Well, 20 or so minutes later, they started to announce the winners---and guess who got 1st place in the Women's 4 miler ages 17-30....you guessed it! I won the money! I was SO surprised...I even asked the lady,"Are you sure I WON?"

Sure enough, it was me---I got $25 out of it, and came to the conclusion that SOMETIMES it DOES pay off to be a wimp! (Note: I need to clarify. I am only calling myself a wimp because that is what I was being-I could've done more, but I chose to be a baby. I don't think anyone else is a wimp for any reason-Just so you know!)

Anyway, that was my FIRST time ever winning a race-and I can almost guarantee it will be my LAST! Usually I am a very average runner-but Saturday I had an advantage. Not many people showed up!

Oh yes, Ian and Judy both did VERY well! Judy ran the 6 miles in about 1 hour 10 mins-and SHOULD HAVE won (they didn't break up the ages very well-her category was 31 and older--which isn't very fair for the older ones) That is FAST!

Ian-I am VERY proud of him! He was amazing and did the 15 miler-in an excellent time! He ran it in about 2 hours 30 mins-reducing his time by 30 mins from last year! That is HUGE!!!

He took 2nd place in his category and also won some $$$!!!

It was a good day!

These pictures are actually from last year---I found them online--kind of scary thinking what kind of BLACKMAIL people might have!!! Anyway, I wanted to post pictures because my blogs have been boring-so until I get the pictures off Judy's camera-here are some to look at!