The start...

Hi!  So I am kinda scared/nervous to start blogging... I love to look at my family and friends but never really feel like I had much to post.  I decided to do it, using it more as a journal to help me remember all the random happenings in life.  So if you start at the bottom and work up, I will start with how I met my Husband and a most of the main points about our life so far.

Projects I have been working on…

1.  Food Storage!  I credit everything I did to this blog (Look at her Tues, Nov. 16th, 2010 post, and if you e-mail her she will send you an e-mail version of her book.  This includes the way she rotates, organizes, stores, shops, cooks, and recipes for food storage.  She has some really good tips!) 

       I decided to start with making a 4month supply which includes 7 breakfasts, 7 dinners, bread for lunch, and 3 desserts.  All of these meals I plan on the worst situation, no food, water, electricity.   I started this the middle of last year and have been s.l.o.w.l.y… making progress.  I finally feel like I am almost there!  Recently we bought a shelf from “Shelf Reliance” which rotates cans great and holds a TON of cans!  I would rate it 8/10.  The last bit of stuff I need to work on is getting a hand wheat grinder, something to cook everything with (I am thinking of the colman oven/stove things), gathering up water barrels, and buying the #10 cans and bulk from  the LDS canery and Honeyville found here

2.  I have been getting into sewing.  So far, I have completed 2 skirts, and almost finished with the third. I know pictures of them being worn are better, but this is what I have:

 This is a skirt I made from 2 old work Polo shirts for my 2yr old niece.  I found the pattern from this blog, who ALWAYS has TONS of cute ideas! 

 This is a skirt I made for me using this pattern from the same blog, makeit-loveit.  I went out and bought basic knit material from hobby lobby and borrowed a sister-in-laws serger to finish it up. The top of the skirt folds down, or can stay up for a "maternity" type skirt.  You'll see it in the blog,  So cute!

Our new home!

July 2011 we bought a new home in Mesa, AZ.  We now live 3 doors down and across the street from 2 sisters, and about a mile away from another sister.  We also live 1-2 miles away from 2 of Wills siblings and Dad.  The first month we spent painting the house, fixing drywall, and stuff like that.  We had someone install carpet for us the week we moved in.  Since we have moved in, we finished painting the kitchen and living room.  Will and his Dad put in new cabinets and counter tops and the inside is complete for now.  We have been working on making our yard look nicer with the cooler weather.  I have to say my favorites of the house are:

 

1.  We have a HUGE pantry to store lots of food!
2. 2 car garage with a washer and dryer in the garage instead of the house
3.  A yard!  (I know that means yard work, but what better way to get a tan?). Since it’s started to war m up my rose bushes are blooming!  It’s so fun to see what colors they are because I’ve never seen them before.

Kitchen before: broken tile on floor, very old cabinets, yellow counter top
Kitchen after: new counter tops, cabinets, painted

Hallway before: lots of holes in wall, no carpet
Hallway after: painted (not show completely in middle pic.), and carpet (as seen in pic on right)

Living room looking into kitchen before and after

 Kitchen looking at pantry wall before

After: all new light fixtures, filled in missing tile, and lots of shelves with a nice way to hide it

The pic of the one rose blooming right now

1st Year Highlights

*I became an official licensed Physical Therapist Assistant and starting working at rehab centers in nursing homes

*We bought a 2007 Honda Civic
*Will started and graduated with a certificate to become an Electrical Lineman
*We went on our first campout... and survived the cold!

*I got my first .22 and love it!  Will is really good with coming up with random fun targets, it's pretty fun seeing how good/not so good I am at shooting.

Wedding Day/Honeymoon

On May 21, 2010 I was married to by husband for time and all eternity as we work together side by side.

                

For our HoneyMoon we went to Lake Tahoe, and stayed on the California side.  The weather was a little chilly and we even got some snow.  We enjoyed spending a whole week together, a road trip, hiking, and just hanging around.  My husband is the best!

Our Engagement…February 6, 2010

In February we took a trip up to Nebraska to visit my family (Will just wanted a chance to talk with my dad).  Thanks to Irving, we got some cheap tickets too!  We got up there Friday afternoon, went to dinner with my parents, and then I was told that we were having a girls night while Kent and Levi took Will out (I felt really bad for him).  Saturday I went shopping with Mom and LanaMarie…as I left Will with dad for a couple of hours.  That night, LanaMarie let me borrow her cute clothes and Will took me out to a nice restaurant downtown, Vivace.  After we ate, he claimed he was full and needed to take a walk.  I have to add…it was only about 30degrees outside with some snow on the ground, and this boy wanted to go for a walk?!  We walked to the lake downtown and followed around it for a ways until we came to a candlelight table.  We ate a bit, and then Will got down on one knee and Proposed!  It was the cutest thing ever!  LanaMarie and Kent helped and showed up quickly to take pictures and clean things up while we went back to the house.  It was great!  Just a little cold, but completely worth it! The ring is perfect!

How we met...

My sister-in-law Emile was good friends with Will’s family and was at one of their get together.  Will’s sisters were complaining how they wanted to set him up with a nice girl because he’s “to shy and won’t talk to girls”.  Emilie volunteered me…don’t worry, she told me afterwards.  A couple months went by and I didn’t hear anything until around Halloween.  Emilie and Irving were having a family party the day before Halloween with some friends and family.  She invited Will’s sister, and of course, she dragged Will along. 
Emilie’s mom introduced me as “the little tour guide” and I had to take him and his sister through the maze.  Surprisingly enough, Will did very good and only made 2-3 wrong turns, he claims “I am just that good”.  Anyway, afterwards we chatted for a bit, and he got my number.  I was shocked!  After hear that he doesn’t talk to girls… and getting my number.  I didn’t expect too much because guys had gotten my number before and never called.  As you can tell, he called, we went on a date, and the rest is history.