When i say a while i of course mean almost a year. I wish i had a clever excuse, but lets be honest, i'm just lazy. This blog is no different than anything else in my life. There are so many walls i've been meaning to paint, so much crap from pinterest i've been meaning to make, recipes to try, weight to lose, friends to make, religion to gain, dogs to learn to love, money to save, and my list could go on and on. Now before you start juding, i'm not depressed. I'm as happy as a clam. The Big Guy and I have actually stayed really busy this year, mostly with things that have to be done, but there were some fun times here and there.
After updating the windows in our perfect turn of the century home i really didnt do a whole alot. I had expected to come in and totally redo everything, i was going to paint every room, have lots of cute decorations all over the place, blog about every little project, but once we got settled in, i just loved the house the way it was. There really wasn't alot that needed to be done to the place since the previous owner had already updated everything. I did get a wild flare one weekend and painted the dining room and living room, i think it turned out pretty cute.
We also built Romo a dog house and since he is enormous now, we fenced in a good chunk of the yard for him. He is such a good dog and as much as I complain about him, I can't imagine our little family without him in it.
Around the end of the summer my Grandma Stoddards Maltipoo escaped and got the neighbors Shorkie preggers. This wasn't the first incident and the neighbors have really been able to turn a profit from all these little puppies since they can sell them for a few hundered a piece. They always offer my Grandparents the pick of the litter, and they in turn offer it to the family. This time around no one wanted one, but i wanted to go see the puppies. Bad idea. They were SO tiny, and SO cute, and SO perfect, i just had to have one. We had to wait a few weeks for her to be old enough to bring home, but The Big Guy surprised me with her one night. Pandora and Romo have been best friends ever since. And if you are wondering what she is, 1/4 yorkie, 1/4 maltise, 1/4 shih tzu, 1/4 poodle. Perfection
Once The Big Guy finished his classes for the fall semister he spent 2 weeks in SLC getting his CNA course done, and then went to work for my dad in Colorado with Callin, Preston, and Trevor. I dont know it was such a good idea to send 4 boys to live in a grimmy hotel for the summer, doing nothing buy digging holes all day. But they somehow survived, and after a few months apart, i know we were all glad to get our boys home. I of course was home working.
The Big Guy got back into school in August and had a pretty tough semister, put came out of it with good grades.I of course was still home working. We decided it was time for a vacation, and the only way i could talk Jess into a vacation is if it had something to do with the Dallas Cowboys. We 'compromised' so my much needed vaca would be in Dallas TX for the Christmas Eve game against the Eagles. Now i wouldn't call myself a fan by any means, but it was alot of fun. We bought ourselves some jersey's, and i'm pretty sure I had a few to many hot dogs. The staduim is amazing, and i would definately do it again. I thought my husband was obsessed, but it was a real eye opener to see some of the die-hard fans of 'America's Team'. It made me greatful for my sweet husband that will occasionally let me turn the channel during the game, cause some of these guys were intense.We spent Christmas vegging in our hotel room, and had THE BEST Christmas dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House. All in all, we had a great vacation, and a great Christmas.
After wrapping up some holiday festivities, The Big Guy got another call from Uncle Sam and we learned he would be sent on a 'short deployment', and would leave the end of January for Crete, Greece. I decided to stay home (in Ephraim) during the week and then go to my mom's (in Orem) on the weekends. So far it has worked out nicely, and i think it is better for me and the dogs.
Just a few facts about Crete:
-it is the largest island in Greece
-it has the highest ratio of guns per person in Europe, aka Paul's heaven
-the God Zeus was born there
-Jennifer Aniston's dad was born there
We had and are still having very mixed emotions when it comes down to it. It is a great experiance for Jess and he will be able to pad our savings account a little bit, but it is hard to be away from each other any more than a week or two. They've got the guys set up in a hotel since it is a shorter deployment, but he hasn't had alot of time to get a lay of the land because of the shifts he works. He is on the graveyard shift so he works from 8pm-8am, and works 4 days on 2 days off, and then 3 on 3 off, so it breaks it up a little bit.
Can i just say i am SOOOO grateful for all the new technologies out there. We dont have to spend a fortune calling out of the country, we wait days to get snail mail. We can just skype or tango each other every day. Considering everything, Jess and I are very lucky to live the life we do, and even though some days are tougher than others, and i can't wait to get my Big Guy home, i really dont have a whole lot to complain about besides the fact Chy moved my sweet babies to TX. Be honest, who wouldnt' miss these faces?
Til......next year.... maybe...
Har
