Eight Months Later....

It's been eight months since my last post.
I know I say this often, but time seems to go by so quickly.
We may be playing the catch up game for awhile.

This year has been a great one so far.

I have the most incredible husband a person could ever ask for. He is kind, loving, and very patient. He understands how I think like no one else does. I only wish I could read him as well as he reads me.

I have the best dogs! They make me excited to come home every day. They both have the magic power to make me smile... even on the worst days.

I love Abbie (our cat) and she loves me too but only when
its convenient for her :).

I love my job. I can't say that I jump out of bed in the morning with anticipation of going to work, but it's a great feeling to wake up in the morning and not dread going to work. My co-worker Megan is wonderful and I couldn't ask for better bosses.

We have worked VERY hard on becoming debt free. Although it still hasn't sunk in, we will be completely debt free (including the house) by the end of September. Only two more months! It's been 2 and a half years in the works and I am so excited for all of our hard work to finally pay off!
All thanks to Dave Ramsey.

Posts of some of our last 8 months events to follow....

Happy New Year

2010 is here.
It still sounds futuristic to me.
Time seems to fly by so quickly...almost like a blur.



2009 Highlights

We worked really hard all year towards our goal of paying off the house and discovering the freedom of being debt free! Our goal is to pay off the house by our 5th anniversary (Aug. 12th 2010).

June 11th marked one year since Matt and Zach found each other through the Big Brother big Sister program.

Tyler Moved in with us. Both challenging and wonderful times but overall it has been really great getting to know him all over again.

During a very hard time economically, we watched as our friends, family members, and co-workers were laid off from their jobs. Through this time, Matt and I have been very fortunate. We feel very lucky to both have somewhat stable jobs and have even been able to pick up a few side jobs.

We celebrated our 4th anniversary (Aug 12th) in Lava Hot Springs. It was very quiet, very relaxing, and very very romantic.

We worked hard at growing a garden. Although I think our gardens will forever be a work in process, we are getting better at it. We grew beets for the first time and they turned out wonderful (now if only I liked to eat beets). Luckily, Matt loves them. We turned our tomatoes into spaghetti sauce and are hoping to start bottling next year. Among those, we planted: Potatoes, carrots, peas, cantaloupe, and corn.

During the summer, Matt was able to go mountain bike riding on a regular basis. He started "Thursday Morning Rides" and has met a few great friends that share his passion of riding. He also built me a mountain bike. I am looking forward to trying it out next spring.

Gabe (our german shorthair) turned 12 years old and has very rapidly started showing his age. It breaks my heart to know that his backpacking career may be over and I can't imagine going on a trip without our "trailmaster". This has been very hard on both Matt and I, but we cherish every moment of him and spend a lot of time snuggling with him which seems to be his new favorite hobby.

Matt and I started an at home exercise program called P90X in October. We are 60 days into it and are feeling great about getting into shape and learning to eat better.


Hoping the new year brings us: Financial peace and A wonderful 5 yr anniversary.

P90X

Matt and I are doing P90X.

When I first heard about P90X I was a little intimidated, not quite sure what I was getting myself into.
I heard twice that the workouts will make you cry yourself to sleep at night.

Tomorrow will be day 30!

What do I have to say about it now?...

It's one of the best things I have ever committed to.
I love the time spent working out with Matt in the mornings.
I'm thrilled that I have actually been able to wake up and work out at 5AM in the mornings.
It has helped me eat smaller more frequent meals. I actually eat real portion sizes now. No more feeling bloated after eating too much.
The videos are fun.
Love Kenpo! Look like a dork doing it ....but Love it.
I feel great!


P90X Intro

Hayley's Homecoming

My little sister is not so little anymore. She is growing up so fast. Last month she went to her first High school dance. Homecoming 2009.

As a gift, I took her to a salon get a professional up-do. She loved it.

Her dress was adorable.

Happy Birthday.

Where does time go?

It feels like you were just with me and yet it has been over 5 years.
I still think about you everyday.
I miss ya.
Happy Birthday.

Lava Hot Springs

Only Four years of marriage and I can't remember what life was like before US. Our life together is everything I could have ever asked for. I won't lie...Marriage is work. But what we have...I wouldn't trade for the world.

We spent our anniversary in Lava Hot Springs.

We
Relaxed, Played with the pups, Took afternoon naps, Floated down the river, Made Pancakes, Listened to Music, Took Deep Breaths, Cuddled, Almost bought a Lottery ticket, Walked Main Street, Browsed Shops, Seen some deer, Stared at the Stars, Mooed at the Cattle grazing in the yard, Played Cards, and of course Soaked in the Hot Springs.

View from the patio

Sam



Breakfast on the patio


Family Pictures


We woke up in the morning to find a backyard filled with Cattle. Sam's instinct was to herd them...it was hilarious.




On Monday, we decided to take the VERY LONG way home and explore some small towns.


Matt taught me how to drive his manual 5-speed car.


There were a few towns we visited but did not get a picture of the welcoming sign. We also stopped for lunch in Malad. Of the towns we visited, Corrine was the most appealing. Quaint and small but still a 15 minute drive to civilization.

I would LOVE to live in a small town some day.

Car Camping

Willow Flats. We've been there several times. This time however, was the first time that both the weather and the road allowed us to explore beyond the two camping spots we were familiar with. The camping site we found was AMAZING!

Backing up a little. We arrived after dark and set up camp at a site we had stayed at previously. It is not our favorite place to camp, but since we no longer have a 4-wheel drive our car camping options are limited. As I crawled into bed...we received a surprise visit from our VERY LOUD, VERY DRUNK, hillbilly of a neighbor. Neighbors and camping don't really go together in the first place but like I said before...our options have been limited. But THIS neighbor.. This neighbor was ridiculously obnoxious! Needless to say, we went exploring for a new site first thing in the morning and was thrilled with the site we found.

The colors in the wild flowers were BRILLIANT.


My sitting spot.

Our Camp.

Sam Played ball until his pads were bleeding.

Wild Flowers

Matt brought a slingshot

Gabe keeping Matt company for some reading time

Campfire. Gabe thinks hes a lapdog

Bed Time