4 years!!!

I Love You
Ki cat threw up.
The snake got ill.
Our bank account
Was almost nil. (or so it seemed)

The laundry’s
Stacked up in a (HUGE) pile,
And I can hardly ride

with you a mile (in the car that is :)).

Although our life
Might look like blight,
I get to be
With you (almost)every night.

It may be (sort of) tough,
That much is true,
But still I LOVE
My life with you.

Happy Anniversary Bay!

We've had 4 FABULOUS years together and I hope for MANY MANY MORE!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's been fun this year to decorate my own house for Christmas! Although, it made me realize how many decorations I really don't have! In the apartment, two or three things filled it---but now with space....it's a little bit different!
I finally convinced Ian to get a FAKE tree this year, which I was very happy about! I wanted a tall one because of our have vaulted ceilings, so we went with this 9 footer. One of the things I LOVE MOST about the tree is that it is pre-lit!
I didn't realize didn't realize how much work decorating trees are until I got married and had my own to do.
I guess each year I set my expectations beyond my abilities, so every year when the tree is finished and looks stupid and not how I was hoping, I get this feeling of disappointment inside and can't wait to take it down. Isn't that horrible?
This year, my tree didn't turn out exactly how I anticipated it would, but it came pretty close I guess and will do.
What I dream of doing one day is to go buy a Festival of Trees tree--- pre-decorated, you know it will look good because you've seen it, all the work is done, and it'd be beautiful----maybe one day!
Okay, I will stop with this rambling pessimistic talk! :)
Hope you all are getting ready for Christmas....only 13 days left!!!!

Ki---the cat

Doesn't he look so cute and innocent.
Well, don't be fooled. He is cute but NOT so innocent lately.
Ki has always been a good cat and we never had problems with him doing naughty things....until we left to Virginia.
Ki has an eating disorder..he eats and eats and doesn't know when to stop. Because he thinks he is STARVING all the time (he was an abandoned cat so that might contribute to his problem) Ian and I have had to control his food for him.
While in Virginia, we were having Ian's dad and my family take turns feeding him. Well, one day Ted(Ian's dad) went up to feed him and found the food bucket with the LID off...and the cat had helped himself to ALL the food he could eat. This happened two other times while we were gone! So the food got put away and the problem was solved....or so one might think.
When Ian and I got home, we were amazed at how fat the cat got in one week! Normally the bucket of food lasts 2-3 weeks, but he ate an ENTIRE bucket in a week!
We decided he would have to go on a small diet and not eat so much.
This made him MAD and he was NOT happy with us at all.
One day I came home from work and he had jumped up two shelves into our pantry, ripped open two bags to get to his kitty treats, and left a huge pile of plastic mess all over the kitchen floor.
Another day he did the same thing again, but instead of the pantry he got into our suitcases to get some treats Ian's aunt had given us to give to him.
Then he decided to pee on Ian's clothes---I think he was trying to mark his territory and could smell Ian's grandmas cat on his shirt. Nevertheless, Ian was MAD!
The cat also decided to scratch up my BRAND NEW LEATHER COUCHES!!! I swear I almost killed the stupid thing!
I think (thank goodness!) he is almost done with this phase of being angry and doing bad things, because he hasn't done anything for the past week and a half (I will keep my fingers crossed)----maybe because we put him outside when we are gone so he can't do anything. Also he is off his diet now and getting fed like he used to which makes him a much a happier cat!

Life is still crazy!

VIRGINIA
We were settling into our new house, and getting things in order, but at the last minute (kind of) decided to leave to Virginia to see Ian's family. We spent a week out there, and REALLY enjoyed the time we got to spend with almost all of the family, eating lots of home cooked meals, the time off from school and work, some shopping, and the nice 75 degree weather (at least for a few of the days we were there).

Playing a good game of soccer in Grandma's yard with the cousins. We won!

Grandma holding "angel" kitty. This cat is a very special cat to the family. He stayed right with Grandpa and would not leave his side when he was sick and when he passed away this spring.

Ian pulling faces (and being retarded:)) while eating the best hot dogs! They are from "Minute Market"-a small gas station in town.

Ian and Colin with Smokey the cat.

Working in Grandma's yard in the nice weather.

Me proud of the tobacco plant I pulled up.

Katie the dog. Grandpa LOVED his dog so much! And I am sure she misses him! She is expecting and will have puppies this winter.

Grandma, Ian and the cat.

Some of the Farris side of the family at a dinner/get together with everyone.

Ian and Colin with Grandma Farris.

Ian and Colin with Grandma and cousins MaryAnn, Beth, and Tara.

Ian and I with Grandma Scruggs. She took such good care of us while we were there!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN
Yesterday Ian turned 28---man he is getting OLD! We celebrated his birthday by going to McDonald's (Ian's choice) and taking advantage one last time of the 99 cent Big Mac special they had going on this month every Wednesday for the grand opening of another McDonald's in Draper. We also enjoyed his birthday cake---a mint oreo ice cream cake made by Judy(Ian's mom)

This cake is pretty much amazing!

HE'S LEAVING US IN LESS THAN ONE WEEK!
This picture was taken a few weeks ago for Colin. He is leaving here in a week to go on a mission to LA Spanish speaking! We are very excited for him! But things will definitely be different with him gone. We wish him our best!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
And today, we woke up to start off the Thanksgiving holiday with the traditional Human Race 5K in Draper. There was a HUGE turn out this year, which is great because the money raised goes to the church's Humanitarian Aid. They raised over $50,000.
I love running this race for two reasons 1-because it is fun and 2- because I can justify eating A LOT of food, which is what I did. Ian's parents had us over for the big Thanksgiving meal. It was yummy! Now we are going to look through the ads to see what deals there are for Black Friday tomorrow....another "tradition." And no work....YEAH!

My friend Jocelyn and I finally did an "official" run together. We had lots of fun!

Goodbye Apartment, Hello House

Ian and I are officially proud homeowners of this:
Last Wednesday we met to "close" or "sign away the next 30 years of our lives," and on Friday, the house became ours. We spent a lot of time over the weekend moving, and Ian finished up Monday.

We have mixed emotions, but overall are VERY excited for this new adventure. It's also nice to know that now our money is going towards something (yes, even if most of it is just going towards the interest for the first few years!) that will be beneficial to us.

What we'll miss:
*paying cheap rent
*paying REALLY cheap utilities
*living within walking distance of our friends
*the people in our ward
*our callings in the ward
*a 10 minute shorter commute to work(every minute in the car adds up---its not how I prefer to spend my time, but that's okay!)
*living SO close to many shopping areas

What we will NOT miss:
*scraping car windows in the winter (it snowed last night, and it was SOOOO nice to have a clean car pulling out of the driveway!)
*having to get onto or across 7th east (no matter what time of day---traffic was crappy!)
*sharing walls (although I think that played a part in our cheap utilities!)

*listening to obnoxious loud music(thanks to our neighbors)

Here we are pretty "homeless" looking, getting ready to sleep our first night at the new place.

I wish the house would magically clean itself, and that everything in it could put itself away in an organized manner! That would sure be nice!

I cringe when I think about this mess and the work it requires.

The snake gets his very own room---he is spoiled!

We aren't quite sure how we are going to fill the space. As you can see, it's definitely a change from our apartment! We'll now have plenty of room for any of you who ever want to come and visit!
Ki (the cat) found a new friend. You can see her glowing eyes if you look closely. He would NOT leave this door, and wanted to go out SO bad, but I wouldn't let him. We don't need any kittens around here!

WORST blogger ever!

That's me. I have officially given myself the title of WORST blogger ever! It's now been OVER a month, and no updates on the blog. I do have a list of excuses as to why this has happened.

They include, but are not limited to homework (yes school started for both myself and Ian), teaching Ian accounting (Because I like accounting A LOT, and Ian decided to take this class online,I have taken it upon myself to be his "real life" teacher, so he can understand it), working a lot (I do enjoy earning money to spend!), spending quality time with family (Katie, Chris and their boys came to visit for a few weeks, hence many get togethers), trying to go running to stay in somewhat of good shape (thanks to my new running partner and friend Jocelyn who makes me stay motivated!), making sure Ian doesn't fall from trees (Ian has been helping a few friends tear down/out some unwanted trees in their yards), preparing primary lessons(I still teach the 4 turning five year olds, and recently our ward split so I also now teach the 5 turning 6 year olds...they are so cute and fun!) shopping (everybody needs a new fall wardrobe....or at least a shirt or so), getting ready for enrichment night activities (we had another quarterly activity, which turned out nicely), not having the internet handy(don't feel like paying $30+ a month...yes, we are cheap!), going out of town(my work sent me to BOISE IDAHO to do some much needed inventory control---I know you are all VERY jealous!), being excited about new babies in the family(my sister Laura had her second baby, a boy named Dallas, he is SOOO cute, and my oldest sister Bethann will be having her third baby in a couple of weeks (or less)I was also excited to meet Ryan, my sister Katie's baby boy, who is so cute!) , crafting (it's been awhile since I have done a craft, but thankfully my sister invited me to her ward's super Saturday, where I made some fun wood decorations, a FHE board, and a couple of necklaces!) being supportive to my "quitter" husband (this is NOT how I view Ian, just so you know. Ian has been training to run the WASATCH 100 (yes, they run 100 miles) but due to health issues, Ian had to stop and drop out of the race after 53 miles! I still think that he still accomplished an AMAZING thing, and I was thankful to be able to pace him/walk with him, during his last 13.5ish miles) partying a lot(it seems like we've gone to quite a few birthday celebrations this month---good time of year to be born I guess) eating lots of good food with friends (Ken and Cheryl have invited us over and out to eat. We ALWAYS enjoy food!) taking care of our "baby"(the cat), being spiritually fed(I LOVE General Conference!)..etc. etc. etc.

So, in case you were wondering, that is pretty much what I/we have been up to this past month plus a week.

Wow---the month flew by!

So, apparently I haven't blogged for a month now, but I didn't even realize it has been that long---guess we've been busy! So now I will continue where I left off...

I got home from Vegas on "Draper Days" and was excited to see the fireworks, since I missed out on the other parts of the day. We met our friends Ken & Cheryl, and their three daughters, Shilee, Khylan, and Justie at a perfect place they found last year to watch them---it was right by the field where the fireworks are launched. We had a great time.

Ian's cousin Tamara was here visiting from Virginia for about a week, so we spent some good times with her while she was here. The night she left, we decided to go to a Bees baseball game. We enjoyed it very much even though the Bees lost terribly. We especially liked when Tamara caught a foul ball. We also enjoyed making fun of the family (4 of 5 including the mom, the dad was the only one NOT participating) in front of us who read Harry Potter the whole game.

That Friday I had the day off of work because it was Pioneer Day. I spent the morning part of my day waiting to see Ian as he and his mom crossed the finish line of the Deseret News marathon. Good job to you both!

Later that day, we went to my mom's for a family reunion with her side of the family, including her aunt and uncle(who recently returned home from their church assignment in Africa) and their family. We had a good time eating yummy food, and visiting with each other. The next morning we went to Riverton park to continue with the reunion. There was more good food, games, and fun....but we missed my mom being there. Friday night when everybody left, she ended up having to go to the hospital because of a really bad bloody nose, and wasn't up to coming Saturday--she was tired and had a big tube up her nose.

That night Ian and gang did their annual firework show. There were many fireworks to be lit, as you can see by the picture below, but it was an enjoyable time for all who came.

At the beginning of August, I went with my friend Kalli to my mom's relief society enrichment one night downtown at the conference center. We took a nice tour of the building and learned a lot, then went to the Nauvoo cafe for dessert. It was REAL nice!

Last weekend we celebrated my younger brother's birthdays. Jacob turned 12 (he's a deacon! crazy!) and Adam is now 18! Happy Birthday to them!

We haven't done much during the weeks, except for the usual which includes work, running lots (especially Ian), trying to find a house to buy, visiting with friends and family, and taking it easy.

Well, if you have made it to the end of this really long (and probably boring post) that brings up to date with our latest!

He came back and I left!

So, Ian did make it home, but my excuse is that I have not been to a computer that I could finish this post on. So now here's the run down of what we've been up to these past few weeks.

Ian made it home on a Thursday after a LONG day of driving and working, at about 2:30 a.m. (if I remember right). We saw each other for a little that night (30 mins or so). I woke up, went to work, came home from work and saw Ian as I packed to head to Vegas for a work meeting. So yeah, as soon as Ian got back, I left!

After an interesting plane ride (by myself for the first time), I arrived to Vegas, took a shuttle to our hotel (The Palazzo) and quickly got my stuff up to our room just in time to meet one of my boss' and a few co-workers for a show, the Blue Man group. It was pretty entertaining, that's for sure, and very random.

The next day we went to a very informative and productive meeting for the majority of the day. Afterwards, we headed out to the pool and practically melted in the 115 degree weather for a few hours. It was REALLY relaxing! After getting ready for the night, I attended what Biomet called a "product fair" at the Tao, and learned a lot from some of the sales reps I work with---I finally got to see ALL of the components of each joint, or at least the hips and knees. It was interesting to see how everything I deal with and bill for works together and what each part does.

Anyway, that night we went to Sushisamba for dinner. That was my first time at a "real" sushi place, and I am not going to lie, I am not as big of a fan as most seem to be. Some of the food was REALLY good, especially after I got past the raw fish part. It had good flavor and tasted good but boy was it pricy! Not to mention---I am WAY too uncoordinated to use chopsticks! After dinner, we walked around for awhile. I could hardly stay awake, and decided it was time for bed.

The next day, I woke up and barely made it to a wrap up meeting, did a little shopping, then went to catch my shuttle.

Ian came to pick me up from the airport and had brought me flowers and a huge bag of one of my favorite treats....peanut butter M&M's! I think he missed me a little....

After I unpacked my stuff, I went in our room to find the cat thinking he had a new bed. What a wierdo.

Oh yeah, and I need to mention that I did miss out on our tradition--- running in the Draper Days 5K and watching the parade. I was sad about that, but luckily Adam (my little bro) wasa willing to run the 5K for me to get my money's worth. He did it in like 22 mins, which is the best time I will ever have in my name!

I did make it home in time to see the fireworks. Our friends found the most perfect spot to watch them, right up close where they launch them. It was very enjoyable. Here are some pictures!

Less than 1 week to go!

I am not counting down the time until Ian gets home or anything! :)

This week I was REALLY tired ALL week, but I got through it and was pretty productive! I had fun getting a Mary Kay facial, watching the Bachelorette and eating dinner with some friends, tried a new place for dinner at a REALLY YUMMY and HEALTHY place (called U Food Grill) as well as got a pedicure with my friend Jess, went running with Janae, watched a movie and mowed the lawn and washed my car (all in one day!), went running with Jana, took my niece Marissa, nephew Jordan, and brother Jacob on a little hike, hung out with my dad (who was really nice and made me dinner), went with my sister to her enlightening enrichment activity, helped clean the toilets at the Draper temple, went for a longer run Saturday, picked my mom up from the aiport (she just got back from Hawaii... I wish I could've gone to see my new nephew too!) went shopping, went to the Draper Days Rodeo, taught primary, and took two really nice (and needed) naps!

This week was a good week!

The only thing I had to deal with this week---as it almost came in my house!


Jacob helped me a lot with the kids---I was happy he came!

Jordan and Marissa did a really good job on their FIRST hike!

We were all THRILLED and looking forward to go down the mountain -can't you tell?

Dad doing his thing at the rodeo

Grammy explaining one of the events to Jordan

The cute kitty and not so cute me! At least this kitty likes me---our cat is currently mad at me for some reason. I think he just misses Ian.

Week 2

My second week with Ian gone was very busy---and good! I did some cleaning, shopping, crafting with my friend Kalli, went to dinner and a movie with my Russia friends Meredith and Heather, and then Thursday night flew out to Colorado for the weekend to do something fun and to see and be with Ian!

There were a couple of minor things again that I got to deal with---but thankfully Monday night when I found this in my lawn, Neil (Ian's cousin who came up to help me with firework stuff) was still there and took care of it for me. Thank You Neil!

My Colorado Trip

When I was debating whether or not to go out to see Ian this year, my cousin Janae made my day when she said she'd go out with me. So, Monday we bought our tickets and Thursday we found ourselves on the plane, flying to Denver. When we arrived, my cousin Lisa picked us up and we went back to their house and fell asleep.

Friday we spent the day at WaterWorld- a really big water park in CO. The weather was SOOO nice, and we had a lot of fun going on all the different slides. That night we went to dinner, and were entertained watching and listening to 3 year olds (my cousin's daughter Kaylen and her friend Daniel)

Saturday morning (the 4th) we woke up nice and early and decided to run in a 5K. Ian met us there. I was excited to see him!

Later that day, Janae and I drove to Ian's hotel, hung out, went shopping (while Ian worked) and then went to dinner. Then we went back up to watch fireworks with Lisa, Sam and their kids. It was cold but WAY fun to watch SOOOO many fireworks everywhere. We sat in a perfect spot to watch fireworks. Everywhere you looked they were going off. It was really cool!

It rained REALLY hard on Saturday afternoon. Janae put a bag on her head to keep from getting wet....it was pretty funny!

Saturday night I stayed with Ian and Sunday I rode around with him while he worked. We did a few returns in Colorado, and I also had the chance to go to NEBRASKA for my first time!

We had an exciting time doing stuff in the truck!

After spending 12ish hours with Ian in the car, he dropped me off at my cousin's house. After 3 1/2 hours of sleep, it was time to wake up and head to the airport. We flew home Monday morning, and I made a BAD DECISION and went to work from there.That day was NOT a fun one! The lesson I learned was that I will ALWAYS give myself a day or so in between coming home from somewhere and going back to work!