tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61275552532324001442024-03-13T04:31:13.247-06:00The Price of LoveA blog about the merging of two lives, and the craziness that ensues thereafter!Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-37117173988803071052011-12-04T22:55:00.006-07:002011-12-07T12:39:48.813-07:00Hello SeattleWhat? You thought we had disappeared 2 years ago??? Well call off the search party...we are alive and well!<br /><br />So, I'm not the best at keeping up with our blog...who knew? But I believe in the grace to change, so I am making it a priority to do so :)<br /><br />LOTS and LOTS of changes since I last posted on Ryan's 25th birthday. Ryan is now 27, of course, and has so much more to show for those last two years! More so then me, I guess...I just seem to get older, doing the same old thing!<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0V5nfmw8KgE/TtzwnM-4IcI/AAAAAAAAAqw/eIvUT2ovBP0/s1600/Ryan%2527s+Commencement+094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0V5nfmw8KgE/TtzwnM-4IcI/AAAAAAAAAqw/eIvUT2ovBP0/s400/Ryan%2527s+Commencement+094.JPG" width="300" /></a>We finished up Ryan's degree at BYU-Idaho, and were lucky to have his mom and both of my parents come out for graduation in April 2011. Technically, he didn't fully complete his degree until July because he had to complete a 3 month internship before they would give it to him, but he was able to walk in April. At BYU-Idaho, during commencement, they tell you not to shout out to your loved ones, but wait for everyone to walk across the stage, and then cheer at the end. I was SOOOO disappointed with this announcement, since I've been dreaming of this day to cheer on my hubby for 3 years, ever since we went to my bro-in-law's graduation (Matthew) back in AZ and got to cheer for him. I envisioned the day of watching Ryan get his degree, and I whispered to Ryan that I couldn't wait until that was him, and how proud I would be, and surely tear-filled! So when they said we couldn't cheer, I was pretty upset, to put it lightly. But as students started walking up to get their diploma's, every once in a while you would hear a proud wife yell really loud for her husband. At that point, I didn't care anymore. I saw Ryan whispering to his friends seated next to him, with a big grin on his face, and I KNEW he was telling them that he figured one of us (either his mom or I) would be yelling for him. I couldn't let him down after I knew he told them that :) So I asked my mother-in-law and parents if they would disown me if I broke the rules and cheered, and with both of their go-ahead nods, I was DOING it, dang it! As soon as they called his name, I let out a HUGE,"WOOOOO Ryan!!!!". He stopped on stage, turned back towards us, and grinned. I knew I had just made his night :) We enjoyed our weekend with our parents, and celebrating. My parents stayed around for a week to visit us, which we loved, but Ryan's mom had to get back to work, so she made it a brief visit, which we were glad she could come out.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BSpf0nyDdT8/TtzvdHXJr9I/AAAAAAAAAqY/oG4cYOiLXNU/s1600/Ryan%2527s+Commencement+084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BSpf0nyDdT8/TtzvdHXJr9I/AAAAAAAAAqY/oG4cYOiLXNU/s400/Ryan%2527s+Commencement+084.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHokfJDfIb8/TtzwSt5emiI/AAAAAAAAAqo/Ys7RslJabkE/s1600/P1020699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHokfJDfIb8/TtzwSt5emiI/AAAAAAAAAqo/Ys7RslJabkE/s400/P1020699.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"> A week after graduation was over, Ryan and I also got the gift from my bro-in-law to use his flight miles and come out to visit my sister and her family, in which I hadn't seen in over 2 years, since they moved to North Carolina! Kids grow rapidly, and I was anxious to see my 4 nephews. We stayed for a week, and even spent the night with them in an awesome beach front hotel in Myrtle Beach, SC. We went to the Carowinds Amusement Park one day, but made it a brief visit when some of the rides made some of us sick, and Ryan had the unfortunate experience of splitting his shorts down his back pocket :) Embarrassing for him, but a saving grace for the rest of us to have a reason to leave after we didn't feel so well. We stopped and got some fireworks in SC, and put on a show in the cul-de-sac that night. We took a small hike/walk on Sunday after church, saw Rio in the theater, and I had lots and LOTS of Chick-fil-A :) It was a fun trip, and good for Ryan and I to get away. And, as expected, my nephews WERE huge. Man! Miss them all so much.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IVhBrzVmcBY/Ttz2_yr-dZI/AAAAAAAAAtM/KVL3Se4OEqo/s1600/Yellowstone+July+2011+088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IVhBrzVmcBY/Ttz2_yr-dZI/AAAAAAAAAtM/KVL3Se4OEqo/s400/Yellowstone+July+2011+088.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mmDDzNK56VI/Ttz3DPpO0LI/AAAAAAAAAtU/R7t-a8nxD54/s1600/Yellowstone+July+2011+089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mmDDzNK56VI/Ttz3DPpO0LI/AAAAAAAAAtU/R7t-a8nxD54/s400/Yellowstone+July+2011+089.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NWCDTwYlhq0/Ttz27m1HROI/AAAAAAAAAtE/30YsYVkvNWk/s1600/Yellowstone+July+2011+096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NWCDTwYlhq0/Ttz27m1HROI/AAAAAAAAAtE/30YsYVkvNWk/s400/Yellowstone+July+2011+096.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Ryan got an internship as a Business Analyst with a Rexburg company, Avercast, that specializes in supply chain management software. He had some great ideas there that the company was really interested in, and that helped shape out his resume. They wanted him to continue on with them, but due to some questionable stability with my own job at the time (we were worried they were going to close down the Rexburg office...turns out, they were just getting bought out), we wouldn't be able to survive on the low hourly pay they were offering him, and also I saw how unhappy and miserable Ryan was on a daily basis there because work came in waves for him. He needs to be busy, and feel utilized to stay happy and fulfilled. This wasn't what he ultimately wanted as a career, so we started looking elsewhere.<br /><br />Thankfully, we heard back immediately from Safeco Insurance in Seattle, Washington, on a Product Analyst position we had applied for. It was a bit of an interviewing process (phone interview with the recruiter, phone interview with the hiring manager, then them flying him out to Seattle to have a face-to-face interview with 4 managers) but after a month, they finally extended him the position! Lots of people applied for it, so it was a huge compliment to Ryan and his skills that they wanted him to work for them. We were excited because Ryan had been saying for the year prior to this that he thought he wanted to move to Seattle. He had never even VISITED Seattle before...he just felt right about it for some unknown reason at the time. He did visit Seattle in March as an intern expedition with BYU-I, and that just solidified his desire to move there. He loved the people, and felt like he would fit in culturally, with their quirky attitudes, and low-key lifestyles. Ryan accepted the job with Safeco, making a great starting salary for a kid right out of college--and giving me the ability to stop working--and we were set on moving to Seattle! Another compliment to him was he was called back by Farmer's Insurance in Woodland Hills, CA for a Product Analyst position, but we had already accepted the Safeco job. How likely is it for a new college grad to get called back by TWO companies that quickly? We were certainly blessed, and Ryan is very talented :)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_FfnCejDiPA/TtzyjOrpkTI/AAAAAAAAArg/fWnZigtn1fY/s1600/092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_FfnCejDiPA/TtzyjOrpkTI/AAAAAAAAArg/fWnZigtn1fY/s400/092.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>We came out the end of August to apartment hunt, and found the perfect place for us on our second appointment. It's such a QUIET complex, with beautiful landscaping, and right on a main road. The thing that sealed the deal for us was that there is a bus stop RIGHT in front of our complex, with a straight shot to downtown (no transferring buses, and he gets there in about 25 minutes) in front of Ryan's work! Ryan was going to have to take the bus because parking in downtown is at least $10 a day. We felt great about the apartment, got approved to move in, and decided we would come out Sept. 9th. Quick turn around to pack up our house back in Rexburg and move out!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8TbY9a9xNtU/TtzzDAmNofI/AAAAAAAAAsE/1gP9c_5Cvn4/s1600/115+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8TbY9a9xNtU/TtzzDAmNofI/AAAAAAAAAsE/1gP9c_5Cvn4/s400/115+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Both Ryan's mom and my dad flew out to Rexburg, ID to drive with us in our cars and U-Haul in the trek to Seattle. Everything went smoothly on the drive, and we were excited to be in our new apartment. My dad had to make it an EXTREMELY quick trip (flying home the next morning), so we were grateful for his generosity to spend so much money on a trip where he did nothing but WORK and DRIVE. Ryan's mom also had to get back to work, so she made it a quick weekend trip...and again, so grateful she took the time/money to come out to help us.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6-9SI-VsvzU/TtzzV-Q72ZI/AAAAAAAAAsk/v_h55TLnkm8/s1600/142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6-9SI-VsvzU/TtzzV-Q72ZI/AAAAAAAAAsk/v_h55TLnkm8/s400/142.JPG" width="400" /></a>We did some furniture shopping at Ashley Furniture and got us a new dining room table, bed frame and dresser, computer table, entertainment center, and couches. We had a hard time with the couch thing because of the way our entry to our apartment is laid out. There is an overhang outside our door, with a wall, so you have to stand the couch up on it's side and push it in. Well, the couch we wanted was too tall to fit under the overhang (didn't find out until it was trying to be delivered!), so we had to settle on getting the love seat and a chair & 1/2 with ottoman. Didn't get a couch to sit on until about a month of being here :) I greatly enjoyed receiving those items, FOR SURE!<br /><br />We love our new apartment, love the complex, and think we will stay here for several years. We feel very safe and undisturbed here, and love the feel of our apartment/home. I have to say, I'm quite proud of my decorating skills, and how it looks on the inside. :)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h-ZGXQ6ltCs/Tt-Zxat4ahI/AAAAAAAAAv8/ibLj30NcXqk/s1600/DSC09628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h-ZGXQ6ltCs/Tt-Zxat4ahI/AAAAAAAAAv8/ibLj30NcXqk/s400/DSC09628.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HaqIPlJ9VOM/Tt-abRUuYWI/AAAAAAAAAwk/cKc6fjXSoGo/s1600/DSC09640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DFUxd5QsbGM/Tt-mZbXVKNI/AAAAAAAAAyU/t3MnHq4d4s0/s1600/Table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DFUxd5QsbGM/Tt-mZbXVKNI/AAAAAAAAAyU/t3MnHq4d4s0/s400/Table.jpg" width="400" /></a>Ryan picked out the cream place mats for the table...I think they go GREAT with the color of our table!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7cH_YcMK65Y/Tt-mZCTGc9I/AAAAAAAAAyM/gY85pQNJfBc/s1600/Table+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7cH_YcMK65Y/Tt-mZCTGc9I/AAAAAAAAAyM/gY85pQNJfBc/s400/Table+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tExEbrVWd64/Tt-akAUPrNI/AAAAAAAAAws/Ek51zseKLEQ/s1600/DSC09652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tExEbrVWd64/Tt-akAUPrNI/AAAAAAAAAws/Ek51zseKLEQ/s400/DSC09652.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3IweTUVT7SA/Tt-bL7q2NiI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FphK1xRKHDg/s1600/DSC09684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3IweTUVT7SA/Tt-bL7q2NiI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FphK1xRKHDg/s400/DSC09684.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q8ZUrwygSeo/Tt-a5KHvMCI/AAAAAAAAAxE/6M2bXdQMA7w/s1600/DSC09665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q8ZUrwygSeo/Tt-a5KHvMCI/AAAAAAAAAxE/6M2bXdQMA7w/s400/DSC09665.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JOQPbOwPG4A/Tt-aEvl5BoI/AAAAAAAAAwM/21w873yyel8/s1600/DSC09632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FAWu0FSUrhk/Tt-apxZMDXI/AAAAAAAAAw0/UhmSHLgyZDo/s1600/DSC09654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uDNhPcI6t_M/Tt-bWz-6a2I/AAAAAAAAAxc/2KRQQXNm-Ug/s1600/DSC09680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uDNhPcI6t_M/Tt-bWz-6a2I/AAAAAAAAAxc/2KRQQXNm-Ug/s400/DSC09680.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FAWu0FSUrhk/Tt-apxZMDXI/AAAAAAAAAw0/UhmSHLgyZDo/s1600/DSC09654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FAWu0FSUrhk/Tt-apxZMDXI/AAAAAAAAAw0/UhmSHLgyZDo/s400/DSC09654.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HaqIPlJ9VOM/Tt-abRUuYWI/AAAAAAAAAwk/cKc6fjXSoGo/s1600/DSC09640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HaqIPlJ9VOM/Tt-abRUuYWI/AAAAAAAAAwk/cKc6fjXSoGo/s400/DSC09640.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V21Hmy6eJms/Tt-Z8hcxCbI/AAAAAAAAAwE/p7b5Fivu2Vo/s1600/DSC09637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V21Hmy6eJms/Tt-Z8hcxCbI/AAAAAAAAAwE/p7b5Fivu2Vo/s400/DSC09637.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HGD0F_KOZ8k/Tt-aVn2soJI/AAAAAAAAAwc/jxbpnvSmXrY/s1600/DSC09638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HGD0F_KOZ8k/Tt-aVn2soJI/AAAAAAAAAwc/jxbpnvSmXrY/s400/DSC09638.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HGD0F_KOZ8k/Tt-aVn2soJI/AAAAAAAAAwc/jxbpnvSmXrY/s1600/DSC09638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WR_1x_cgOXc/Tt-aKtHfHiI/AAAAAAAAAwU/19Gn1Uc29MQ/s1600/DSC09634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WR_1x_cgOXc/Tt-aKtHfHiI/AAAAAAAAAwU/19Gn1Uc29MQ/s400/DSC09634.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JOQPbOwPG4A/Tt-aEvl5BoI/AAAAAAAAAwM/21w873yyel8/s400/DSC09632.JPG" width="300" /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">These are pictures of the view out front and out back of our apartment.<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M_6r6NRLEwM/Tt-boP0f4JI/AAAAAAAAAxs/u-TRTri2jls/s1600/DSC09541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M_6r6NRLEwM/Tt-boP0f4JI/AAAAAAAAAxs/u-TRTri2jls/s400/DSC09541.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H0ojAIX2ZZo/Tt-a_Rzqc1I/AAAAAAAAAxM/hjqilT-WS1s/s1600/DSC09658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H0ojAIX2ZZo/Tt-a_Rzqc1I/AAAAAAAAAxM/hjqilT-WS1s/s400/DSC09658.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />We absolutely L O V E Seattle/Washington. SO pretty out here, with the green trees, water, and mountains! The beauty and splendor of Washington makes up for any grey days out here. On top of that, when the sun DOES come out, there is no better sight, and it makes us more active to get out and enjoy the weather.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Su4pjWLxWwc/Ttzy032ohII/AAAAAAAAArw/0NzT6_DqOT0/s1600/094+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Su4pjWLxWwc/Ttzy032ohII/AAAAAAAAArw/0NzT6_DqOT0/s400/094+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nayQKWdj2bA/Ttzyrd9DWqI/AAAAAAAAAro/xOSm_yITCdo/s1600/121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nayQKWdj2bA/Ttzyrd9DWqI/AAAAAAAAAro/xOSm_yITCdo/s400/121.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9wtzMDu6DF4/TtzzavgKJQI/AAAAAAAAAss/HqxXXqbY4NI/s1600/145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9wtzMDu6DF4/TtzzavgKJQI/AAAAAAAAAss/HqxXXqbY4NI/s400/145.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yxdzV1PyMHw/TtzzfdBqXjI/AAAAAAAAAs0/sgOEFPbjfyI/s1600/150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yxdzV1PyMHw/TtzzfdBqXjI/AAAAAAAAAs0/sgOEFPbjfyI/s400/150.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7RLBBjKVdAw/TtzzKSGoJSI/AAAAAAAAAsU/if7ivCEp4ik/s1600/118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7RLBBjKVdAw/TtzzKSGoJSI/AAAAAAAAAsU/if7ivCEp4ik/s400/118.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eGDmBPyefIc/TtzznbFOIvI/AAAAAAAAAs8/ImBBUJBWhkI/s1600/159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eGDmBPyefIc/TtzznbFOIvI/AAAAAAAAAs8/ImBBUJBWhkI/s400/159.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />As for Ryan's job...he loves it! He was on cloud 9 for the first several weeks working there. He has a desk at work that raises up and down with the push of a button, instead of having to adjust your chair up and down. He felt cool about that. He is loving learning about the insurance industry, and they all seem to love him. We were given tickets to their box seats with the Seattle Mariners, and I was able to meet one of the managers that interviewed Ryan during the hiring process. He told me he had great expectations for Ryan, and that he was even going to borrow Ryan from his manager to work on a project for HIM. That was nice to hear coming from a higher-up. I was proud of Ryan for making a great impression. The box seats were AMAZING! The Mariners lost, but the game/experience was fun.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JXIGutc8wxE/TtzxVZaNHJI/AAAAAAAAArI/KNo_ErBis8A/s1600/071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JXIGutc8wxE/TtzxVZaNHJI/AAAAAAAAArI/KNo_ErBis8A/s400/071.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jlQCKSAzSXM/TtzxjwxbUrI/AAAAAAAAArY/fXm103VhM74/s1600/077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jlQCKSAzSXM/TtzxjwxbUrI/AAAAAAAAArY/fXm103VhM74/s400/077.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3iaXaJn77wQ/TtzxgRFxAsI/AAAAAAAAArQ/j3QxEK4e-34/s1600/076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3iaXaJn77wQ/TtzxgRFxAsI/AAAAAAAAArQ/j3QxEK4e-34/s400/076.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jlQCKSAzSXM/TtzxjwxbUrI/AAAAAAAAArY/fXm103VhM74/s1600/077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kFk8oWtbPiU/TtzxMq5zF7I/AAAAAAAAAq4/pbI949xpgD0/s1600/060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kFk8oWtbPiU/TtzxMq5zF7I/AAAAAAAAAq4/pbI949xpgD0/s400/060.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Ryan has his ups and downs with the learning curve, and him expecting too much out of himself when he is starting out in a brand new industry to him, doing things he's never done before, as this is his first professional career. He always wants to look and do his best in front of management (which I can appreciate), but has a hard time being patient with himself while learning. He's working hard on "being kind" to himself (as I tell him to do each morning as he goes out the door :) He forgets all the good he's done, and focuses on the times he struggles.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nNBMJJhX520/TtzzSe9qj4I/AAAAAAAAAsc/G3qnTlScFHE/s1600/135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nNBMJJhX520/TtzzSe9qj4I/AAAAAAAAAsc/G3qnTlScFHE/s400/135.JPG" width="400" /></a>Some good things he's accomplished so far are: a project that he helped work on with someone else got impressive reviews by upper management; during a public speaking seminar that he had to take at work, one of the SVP's was in the audience, which made Ryan REALLY nervous...he came home that night fretting all about it...then the next morning his boss sent him an email saying that the SVP stopped by his desk and told him what a great job Ryan did on his speech; he got chosen to work on another special project for a different manager that he doesn't even report too; and he just recently got asked to take on a project from his boss to make sure the company's system gets corrected because Ryan and his mentor found some incorrect calculations on people's policies (the system wasn't able to calculate correctly for policies over a certain dollar amount in one of his states). He's excited to work on that project. He's finally enjoying LEARNING and taking these opportunities to grow. I'm proud of him. I love hearing about what he learns each day, and how much knowledge he is gaining about the insurance industry and how it works. There is LOTS of upward mobility in his company, so we both plan on staying here for a good long while. He loves the culture and the people, and getting to work on the 31st floor of a high-rise building in downtown, overlooking the Puget Sound!<br /><br />(Ryan's building is in the very center of the picture below...the square brown building in the back center, nicknamed "The Box the Space Needle Came In" since it is in the shape of a tall box :)<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rsv3xHceuZc/TtzzHTAmJCI/AAAAAAAAAsM/59Go8en5Do0/s1600/116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rsv3xHceuZc/TtzzHTAmJCI/AAAAAAAAAsM/59Go8en5Do0/s400/116.JPG" width="400" /></a>As for me, when we came out here, I was able to keep my job and work online from home. However, our company got bought out in October, and the new company wasn't so thrilled about the telecommuting idea, so I was let go. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do at that point (go to school, find another full-time job, stay at home, or heavily pursue fertility treatments), but was just grateful that we had planned ahead before moving out, and made sure all of our bills would fit under Ryan's income only, just in case this experimental scenario didn't work out for me. So when I lost my job, we both were able to not worry over the money aspect of it. That was a blessing, for sure.<br /><br />I have sent out a few resume's, and search job listings almost every day just to see what is out there, but am not looking actively. I really felt like (and still do) that my place needs to be at home for now, helping Ryan get off to work in the mornings. He has a hard time waking up, so we've gotten in to a routine where I wake up first, go make him a hot breakfast, deliver it to him in bed (LUCKY!), pack him a lunch, iron him a shirt and then lay out his clothes on his bed for him to change in to, get him his IPod or Galaxy Tablet ready to take with him on the bus, and get him out the door by 8:00 a.m.! It's worked well for him :) I've been blessed with a husband that wants me to do whatever I feel happy with. Being home has given me the opportunity to keep up on the house work (a FIRST for me since being married and working full time), run errands, grocery shop, and make dinner in the evenings instead of eating out. It's been good for us, and I actually enjoy it.<br /><br />However, when we were at a church linger-longer (dinner after church) last week, upon hearing that I was just a stay-at-home wife, a young mom at our table, that is new to our ward as well, mentioned they were looking for someone to be paid to watch their 3 year old daughter part-time during the week while she and her husband worked. They have a CUTE little girl, and we had a fun time with her this last Friday and Saturday. She's full of energy, very smart, and imaginative! She loves being chased and tickled, and galloping like a horse! Her favorite thing to do at my house so far is to play a Dora the Explorer memory game and play with a hot wheels stunt track that Ryan's mom had sent to Ryan as a joke birthday present, where we make the car fly through a ring of fire (and sometimes shoot it out and up into either the toy box or at Ryan's leg :) tee hee). She's adorable, and we love having a kid in our house and hearing the cute things she says. Now a saying Ryan and I have back and forth in our house with each other is, "YOU have to WAIT!". HA. She would have me get the car all wound up and set in the launcher for her, ready to go, then told me,"You have to say 'On your mark, get set, go, then tell me 'YOU have to WAIT!'". When I would start counting "On your mark" she would hit the switch and send the car flying, then want me to tickle her tummy and say,"YOU have to WAIT!". So cute!!! hahaha. We did this over and over again! We took her on a walk, looking to see if we had a playground (never found one) and she decided to chase a squirrel up a tree. HA! It made us laugh, but sent me chasing her cause I was scared the squirrel was going to be rabid with my luck, and jump down and attack her as she stood and giggled at it under the tree! HAHA! I have a fear of animals attacking, ok???!! Don't even ask about my fear with hummingbirds...just cover your eyes when they are around, that's all I'm sayin'! Anyways, it looks like this is going to become my permanent gig for now, which I am happy about! They are a cute family, getting through school, which we've been and done before! Happy to help them out.<br /><br />I can hardly resist the cute dishes I bought for her to use...you know I need a kid of my own when THIS sight below makes my ENTIRE YEAR! So cute...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nlwff8IBfy0/Tt-byjvjMHI/AAAAAAAAAx8/QD3Bv1fB5fI/s1600/DSC09699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nlwff8IBfy0/Tt-byjvjMHI/AAAAAAAAAx8/QD3Bv1fB5fI/s400/DSC09699.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p7FwDgXFv2I/Tt-b4sPn3NI/AAAAAAAAAyE/pId7dIBAZzk/s1600/DSC09700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p7FwDgXFv2I/Tt-b4sPn3NI/AAAAAAAAAyE/pId7dIBAZzk/s400/DSC09700.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>I still have school on my radar, and am hoping to be able to go back to school next year after I've established residency here. In the meantime, a friend out here mentioned looking into testing out of some of the gen-ed's this year while I wait, so I'm looking into that! Want to go back to school to get my Psychology degree!<br /><br />I took the plunge and sold my baby...my Ford Escape! Since Ryan takes the bus to work, we NEVER touched one of the cars. It would just sit in it's parking space that we had to pay extra for in our complex. Since the transit system is pretty good out here, we decided to sell my car, use the money to pay off a credit card (woohoo), and save money on gas (the hills out here are HORRIBLE on my Ford's gas mileage), parking, and registration (which was due this month!). I was sad to sell all of the "memories" in that car, but really, you can't sell memories, so I got over myself and am doing just fine without it! Now "my" car is Ryan's Toyota Corolla, which does GREAT on gas. I'm the primary driver whenever we go anywhere out here in Washington :) Pay back for all the years Ryan was.<br /><br />Ryan had his birthday in November, and I made plans for his birthday, only to find his car with a flat tire that morning (he knew it was getting low, but kept putting off getting it fixed), and my car with the brake light on. The idea of driving my car in the hills here with a brake light on did not thrill me (turned out to be running low on brake fluid, which I figured out by getting online), so I decided on getting Ryan's tire fixed. After a consultation phone call home to my Dad, I was able to change Ryan's flat tire (only took an hour....) and get it over to the tire shop. They found a small nail in it, patched it up for free, and sent me on my way!<br /><br />I picked Ryan up from work then headed over to Fry's Electronic to pick up parts to a new gaming computer that he wanted to build, then went to dinner at our favorite pizza place in Renton (The Rock). We came home, and I surprised him with two new pairs of jeans that he needed (they have jean Friday at work, and Ryan didn't have any) and a copy of Twilight done by Rifftrax, where the guys from Mystery Science Theater make fun of the movie. It's his favorite Rifftrax, and one of my co-workers from Rexburg burned a copy and mailed it to me for free. So nice. We watched the movie, and ate his favorite cake that I baked for him (rainbow chip). I surprised him that weekend with a tour on Bainbridge Island, just north of Seattle. You take the ferry out to the island, which Ryan LOVED, and were met up with the tour guides. We enjoyed seeing more of the area, and learning about Chief Seattle, and just being out with other people! There was a great view of Mt. Rainier that day! My favorite part: the sea lions. Ryan's favorite part: being captain of a small electric boat during part of the tour.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Az5n-_j9Iw/Tt-U8lz2uUI/AAAAAAAAAuE/MvTuId1OM1g/s1600/DSC09587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Az5n-_j9Iw/Tt-U8lz2uUI/AAAAAAAAAuE/MvTuId1OM1g/s400/DSC09587.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jq-eQ4LT6Xo/Tt-XC2y7SaI/AAAAAAAAAuk/q5bmR3XpTmM/s1600/DSC09584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jq-eQ4LT6Xo/Tt-XC2y7SaI/AAAAAAAAAuk/q5bmR3XpTmM/s400/DSC09584.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WLzgWDQI3Dg/Tt-VNsw3DGI/AAAAAAAAAuU/B_CgJFSQeNA/s1600/DSC09588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WLzgWDQI3Dg/Tt-VNsw3DGI/AAAAAAAAAuU/B_CgJFSQeNA/s400/DSC09588.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tRXodhAkM2c/Tt-UZgQdU5I/AAAAAAAAAtk/coNNOd9Fl5s/s1600/DSC09565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tRXodhAkM2c/Tt-UZgQdU5I/AAAAAAAAAtk/coNNOd9Fl5s/s400/DSC09565.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gwi7ksfcYM8/Tt-XKbddMeI/AAAAAAAAAus/Ma5XvFx1Z6Y/s1600/DSC09595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gwi7ksfcYM8/Tt-XKbddMeI/AAAAAAAAAus/Ma5XvFx1Z6Y/s400/DSC09595.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gu8VyndiAlA/Tt-UTWsW61I/AAAAAAAAAtc/CaM7lXeKLC0/s1600/DSC09557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uzYcwPQQg9Q/Tt-XUTHBGkI/AAAAAAAAAu8/F99Inw0UNmo/s1600/DSC09600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uzYcwPQQg9Q/Tt-XUTHBGkI/AAAAAAAAAu8/F99Inw0UNmo/s400/DSC09600.JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zozVnHUazS4/Tt-XPdGPOzI/AAAAAAAAAu0/wbIcZKmhDpQ/s1600/DSC09598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zozVnHUazS4/Tt-XPdGPOzI/AAAAAAAAAu0/wbIcZKmhDpQ/s400/DSC09598.JPG" width="400" /></a><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gu8VyndiAlA/Tt-UTWsW61I/AAAAAAAAAtc/CaM7lXeKLC0/s400/DSC09557.JPG" width="400" /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TId6kEBut94/Tt-UwtEC5yI/AAAAAAAAAt8/SRkC8-zwd9o/s1600/DSC09568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TId6kEBut94/Tt-UwtEC5yI/AAAAAAAAAt8/SRkC8-zwd9o/s400/DSC09568.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DsWnf5Amt44/Tt-UgWcS5TI/AAAAAAAAAts/sfyLWKTMK-Q/s1600/DSC09563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DsWnf5Amt44/Tt-UgWcS5TI/AAAAAAAAAts/sfyLWKTMK-Q/s400/DSC09563.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WjoTpvZiwcQ/Tt-XvjbqhZI/AAAAAAAAAvU/BzqLPCOaWRY/s1600/DSC09616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WjoTpvZiwcQ/Tt-XvjbqhZI/AAAAAAAAAvU/BzqLPCOaWRY/s400/DSC09616.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-81Vm0fsTOlk/Tt-Zmt-PtzI/AAAAAAAAAvs/O0YVAw-4kSU/s1600/DSC09560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-81Vm0fsTOlk/Tt-Zmt-PtzI/AAAAAAAAAvs/O0YVAw-4kSU/s400/DSC09560.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ahrzFhPk9FU/Tt-XZtuEnKI/AAAAAAAAAvE/1_GA8xWijiM/s1600/DSC09603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ahrzFhPk9FU/Tt-XZtuEnKI/AAAAAAAAAvE/1_GA8xWijiM/s400/DSC09603.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Vlth_ZX6Nc/Tt-XixCdDdI/AAAAAAAAAvM/4F0X3Kx56so/s1600/DSC09602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Vlth_ZX6Nc/Tt-XixCdDdI/AAAAAAAAAvM/4F0X3Kx56so/s400/DSC09602.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xF4Ij60GhE/Tt-X2MrwqLI/AAAAAAAAAvc/TCudF7U-qX4/s1600/DSC09620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xF4Ij60GhE/Tt-X2MrwqLI/AAAAAAAAAvc/TCudF7U-qX4/s400/DSC09620.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thanksgiving was just small but perfect here in our little apartment. I made mashed potatoes (with cream cheese as the secret ingredient...Ryan said it was the best mashed potatoes he's ever had!) with gravy, green bean casserole, steak (per Ryan's request), yams with marshmallows, and a pumpkin pie. Ryan was so loving that day, and kept telling me all day how much he loved me. It was nice. He loved the dinner, and said it was perfect. I appreciated him making me feel good, and I enjoy being able to do nice things like this for him.Ryan finished buying his parts for his computer, and spent Thanksgiving putting it together, and playing with his friends online. The graphics are SO much better, and the speed is SO much faster then our old computer. Ryan is a happy camper these days now that he has it! He's been wanting a new computer for over a year now.</div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oHW1nwpIJNg/Tt-avLapmZI/AAAAAAAAAw8/vTQkwCTrImw/s1600/DSC09656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oHW1nwpIJNg/Tt-avLapmZI/AAAAAAAAAw8/vTQkwCTrImw/s400/DSC09656.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />We love our church out here in Seattle, and feel the most welcomed and at home that we've ever felt since being married and going to church (even more so then when we lived in Arizona!). I think it's because there are so few members out here that it's easier to make friends because there aren't a bunch of cliques already with neighbors. That, or the people out here are just so easy-going that it's easy to make friends :) We both look forward to Sundays and going to church, and I've been able to go out with a few women and make new friends! We both got new callings in our church, and I now teach the 12-13 year old boys and girls Sunday School class (love them!) and Ryan is in scouting (a foreign concept to him, so it's met with trepidation, as Ryan was never a scout) and also a substitute teacher for the men in Elder's Quorum (which Ryan loves).<br /><br />I was also lucky enough to have a close friend from junior-high/high school (Sarah Herrera) live out here as well with her husband and kids, so I've gotten to see her a few times, which is fun.<br /><br />Ryan's mom is coming out for Christmas, so we plan on seeing some more fun things with her while she's here, like the Space Needle, some Christmas lights (one house out here in West Seattle does the whole Christmas lights timed to music thing), Pike's Place, etc. Should be fun! No snow out here yet, and I'm ok with that :) But it IS chilling up!<br /><br />That's about the latest and greatest for us out here in our new life in West Seattle! We love it, and plan to make it "HOME" for the rest of our lives, if we have anything to say about it ;)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ryan took today off of work and made secret "plans" for us today, so I'll keep you posted on what adventures we head off to today...</div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-26943597107604261872009-11-09T23:37:00.002-07:002009-11-10T00:12:22.975-07:00Happy 25th Birthday, RyanRyan just had one of *hopefully* many milestone birthdays to come! His big 2-5 on November 3rd! <br /><br />The story goes that he came a few weeks early, and was a FAST delivery...so fast, that his mom didn't even have time to get any of the "good stuff" to take the pain away :) She delivered all natural, and he came at a lightening speed pace within 2 hours! They were scrambling to find his mom's doctor, who finally came running into the delivery room in her soccer shoes!<br /><br />Ryan knew what he wanted for his birthday, so I wasn't able to surprise him with anything. I bought him a nice new backpack for school (he did LOTS of research for finding the PERFECT backpack, and finally decided on the Ogio Politan...after stalking other students backpacks at BYU-I for weeks!). It is such a great backpack, and honestly feels like nothing is in your bag, which helps Ryan's back out a lot! It also has a separate protected pocket for his laptop. <br /><br />He also requested Beatles Rockband, so his mom and I split the cost on that (we had gotten rid of our drum set when we moved to Idaho and were trying to pack lightly!). It's been fun to play...and fun to be able to play Rockband TOGETHER again (we still had our guitar...but no other instruments).<br /><br />Since I wasn't able to surprise him with gifts, I decided to just surprise him with the day. So, I decorated the garage with "Happy Birthday" streamers, and bought one of those white pens to write on car windows...writing things like,"I'm the BIG 2-5", "Happy Birthday", and "Hooray for cheaper insurance!" on his windows. I also bought the Seinfeld Scene-It game (he is a huge Seinfeld fan), wrapped it up, and set it on the hood of his car. I bought him a couple fun birthday cards, bought him some "Birthday Booty" (matched one of the cards sayings, with pirate loot) which consisted of Starburst Sour Gummies and a Mr. Goodbar (a few of his favorites). I made a yellow cake with rainbow chip frosting, and put some candles on it for him to blow out. He was definitely surprised by his car being decorated, and I think it made his day to feel like someone was thinking about him :) After school/work, we went out to dinner with his mom at Red Robin for some juicy hamburgers, where his mom "slipped" that it was his birthday to the waitress...so of course he got a birthday song, a sundae, and some balloons...he he he...<br /><br />During dinner, one story came out about when Ryan was born. He came out with Jaundice, and so he had to stay under the lights, wearing these little goggles over his eyes, almost like he was sunbathing! He couldn't be discharged from the hospital until he had his first, ahem, bowel movement, which was supposedly causing the disruption in his bilirubin levels. His mom said the nurses were all pleasant towards her, until one day, his mom walks in to see Ryan and gets a scowl of a look from the nurse. Marji had no idea what the matter was, and asked if everything was ok. The nurse said Ryan finally had his bowel movement...to which Marji replied that was excellent! Ryan would get to come home now! The nurse shot back,"Yeah, that's great unless you're the one that has to clean it up! He filled up the whole bassinet with it!" HA! Apparently, Ryan was a MUCH happier baby after that day :)<br /><br />After dinner, we headed over to the mall in Idaho Falls and bought Ryan a new beanie/hat for the winter! He's been wanting one of those beanies with a rim on it, like he had when he was on his mission in Illinois.<br /><br />We came back home and had the cake, which turned out FABULOUS (I must admit :), and some peppermint ice cream that Ryan requested for his birthday. <br /><br />It was a fun night, and I'm so happy that my little Ryan is growing up :) Helps me not look like so much of a cougar since I can now say he's in his late 20's...well, at least in his MID 20's :) And it helps that he has some grey hair that is "thinning" on top. His height helps me out too...he doesn't look like the 6 years younger that he is!<br /><br />I'm proud of Ryan, and all he is accomplishing in his schooling, and what he hopes to accomplish with his life. He is a very honorable man, and is so good to me. I'm so grateful that I get to go on this journey in life with him, and I'm excited to see what is yet to come!<br /><br />Happy Birthday, Buckwheat!Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-5410554870425914362009-11-07T02:40:00.009-07:002009-11-07T03:41:36.981-07:00Vegas Vacation!Ryan and I got to fly to Vegas the last weekend in September to go visit one of my best friends (and old roommate for 3 years, before I got married), Jen! She just had her cute baby girl a few months before that, and lucky for me, one of the cheapest flights you can get out of Idaho Falls is to Vegas, where Jen lives! PERFECT!!<div><br /></div><div><div>Ryan and I stayed at Bally's hotel, and we had a blast getting to see Jen and her husband, Anthony, and their cute little baby girl, Emmerson.</div><div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE0sdoshI/AAAAAAAAAkE/0CpEitdLqUk/s1600-h/DSC08041.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE0sdoshI/AAAAAAAAAkE/0CpEitdLqUk/s400/DSC08041.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401299000180126226" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE08_ogeI/AAAAAAAAAkM/k4NWijldxYo/s1600-h/DSC08044.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE08_ogeI/AAAAAAAAAkM/k4NWijldxYo/s400/DSC08044.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401299004617687522" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVFlhP8TOI/AAAAAAAAAlM/sZ6H9_tGGq4/s1600-h/DSC08093.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVFlhP8TOI/AAAAAAAAAlM/sZ6H9_tGGq4/s400/DSC08093.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401299838983490786" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I love seeing Jen, cause she is like the little sister I never had, and I miss her SO MUCH!</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVHcLVbU0I/AAAAAAAAAmk/nMIOtpNYV8o/s1600-h/DSC08142.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVHcLVbU0I/AAAAAAAAAmk/nMIOtpNYV8o/s400/DSC08142.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401301877505348418" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br />Things we did while in Vegas:<br /><br />We got THE MOST delicious Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity 3 (outside of Caesar's Palace). Seriously, yummy, and a must have if you are in Vegas! They cost about $9, but totally worth it! It has small, chopped ice pieces in a blend of several different kinds of chocolate, and topped off with whipped topping and chocolate shavings (it's more of a chocolate milk kind of taste with the ice bits that make it that much better). We splurged, and got some on two different days! Mmmm....</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE1czu35I/AAAAAAAAAkU/4qlLEQhoYsY/s1600-h/DSC08050.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE1czu35I/AAAAAAAAAkU/4qlLEQhoYsY/s400/DSC08050.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401299013157707666" style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE1czu35I/AAAAAAAAAkU/4qlLEQhoYsY/s1600-h/DSC08050.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE1-eyVjI/AAAAAAAAAkc/hCzxlzgbpJw/s1600-h/DSC08056.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE1-eyVjI/AAAAAAAAAkc/hCzxlzgbpJw/s400/DSC08056.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401299022196659762" style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE2EgfWDI/AAAAAAAAAkk/wL3WBshuJ4U/s1600-h/DSC08061.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE2EgfWDI/AAAAAAAAAkk/wL3WBshuJ4U/s400/DSC08061.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401299023814416434" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVE1-eyVjI/AAAAAAAAAkc/hCzxlzgbpJw/s1600-h/DSC08056.JPG"></a>We saw Penn & Teller (Ryan loves magic, and it was a buy one get one free deal....however, he decided that we won't ever see the same show in Vegas twice, cause it was EXACTLY the same show of theirs that we saw back in April...almost word for word. Not fun when you can anticipate the whole show! Ryan used HIS money for it though, so I was ok with it :).</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVHcfny02I/AAAAAAAAAms/Vf_yPJqg_bY/s1600-h/DSC08147.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVHcfny02I/AAAAAAAAAms/Vf_yPJqg_bY/s400/DSC08147.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401301882951095138" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br />Got to see the inside of The Venetian for the first time. VERY nice hotel.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVHc8y2IOI/AAAAAAAAAm0/YVbe_nVyrQc/s1600-h/DSC08167.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVHc8y2IOI/AAAAAAAAAm0/YVbe_nVyrQc/s400/DSC08167.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401301890782077154" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVHc8y2IOI/AAAAAAAAAm0/YVbe_nVyrQc/s1600-h/DSC08167.JPG"></a><br />Had a BBQ at Jen's house! Got to play with cute Emmerson. I think she got tired of all the flashing lights from my camera :) Ryan kept getting mad at me for taking her picture so much; he was VERY protective over her...very cute. She did really good with Ryan as he held, fed, burped, and had her fall asleep on his lap. He's a dad in the making!</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGOd5kSkI/AAAAAAAAAlk/GYucxIPp_WY/s1600-h/DSC08107.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGOd5kSkI/AAAAAAAAAlk/GYucxIPp_WY/s400/DSC08107.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401300542458972738" style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGOgF6eeI/AAAAAAAAAls/kp0NBOTz2X8/s1600-h/DSC08111.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGOgF6eeI/AAAAAAAAAls/kp0NBOTz2X8/s400/DSC08111.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401300543047629282" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGPLfWPII/AAAAAAAAAl0/63eJ3lT-FMw/s1600-h/DSC08113.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGPLfWPII/AAAAAAAAAl0/63eJ3lT-FMw/s400/DSC08113.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401300554697030786" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the start of the "grump-grump face" from Emmerson, after picture upon picture taken by me :)</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGPLfWPII/AAAAAAAAAl0/63eJ3lT-FMw/s1600-h/DSC08113.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVG8AxdIyI/AAAAAAAAAmE/cOSv3WpWxs4/s1600-h/DSC08125.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVG8AxdIyI/AAAAAAAAAmE/cOSv3WpWxs4/s400/DSC08125.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401301324914303778" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Followed up by giving me the "bird" and a shaken fist!</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVG80qmEII/AAAAAAAAAmU/stkBY5muWzk/s1600-h/DSC08134.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVG80qmEII/AAAAAAAAAmU/stkBY5muWzk/s400/DSC08134.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401301338844172418" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVG9eqNnCI/AAAAAAAAAmc/lIHKx7Oz3Pw/s1600-h/DSC08135.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVG9eqNnCI/AAAAAAAAAmc/lIHKx7Oz3Pw/s400/DSC08135.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401301350116858914" style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>But really, she's a sweet and beautiful baby!</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGNbNUKnI/AAAAAAAAAlU/rpIjaYk_gW4/s1600-h/DSC08102.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGNbNUKnI/AAAAAAAAAlU/rpIjaYk_gW4/s400/DSC08102.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401300524556626546" style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVG8jap_2I/AAAAAAAAAmM/dkHdpBSU_4I/s1600-h/DSC08133.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVG8jap_2I/AAAAAAAAAmM/dkHdpBSU_4I/s400/DSC08133.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401301334213918562" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVG8jap_2I/AAAAAAAAAmM/dkHdpBSU_4I/s1600-h/DSC08133.JPG"></a>Went to the top of the Eiffel Tower in the Paris. Watched the Bellagio water show from up there!</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVFkOdt7lI/AAAAAAAAAks/gc5XDjNGdt0/s1600-h/DSC08062.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVFkOdt7lI/AAAAAAAAAks/gc5XDjNGdt0/s400/DSC08062.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401299816761126482" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVFkngwiDI/AAAAAAAAAk0/bNpW1dkPIM8/s1600-h/DSC08063.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVFkngwiDI/AAAAAAAAAk0/bNpW1dkPIM8/s400/DSC08063.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401299823484766258" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVN5GtGSrI/AAAAAAAAAm8/--obXj7lCxc/s1600-h/DSC08066.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVN5GtGSrI/AAAAAAAAAm8/--obXj7lCxc/s400/DSC08066.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401308971548428978" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVFlTZ4m8I/AAAAAAAAAlE/KIJuVRCik9U/s1600-h/DSC08084.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVFlTZ4m8I/AAAAAAAAAlE/KIJuVRCik9U/s400/DSC08084.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401299835267095490" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>We had a blast, and it was a nice get-a-way weekend for us. It was SO good to see Jen and her cute family, and we appreciated how gracious they were to me and Ryan (picking us up from our hotel and driving us back and forth to their house, cooking us meals, and letting us just hang out and talk with them!). Can't wait to see them over Christmas break back in AZ, hopefully!</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGN2hw4MI/AAAAAAAAAlc/bRIwEHHGCbY/s1600-h/DSC08105.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvVGN2hw4MI/AAAAAAAAAlc/bRIwEHHGCbY/s400/DSC08105.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401300531890151618" style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div></div></div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-27257970821585824052009-11-07T01:30:00.000-07:002009-11-07T01:29:27.247-07:00Jellystone ParkI was reminded by an old roommate the other day that referring others to our blog to see what we've been up to does no good when the said blog is only updated a few times a year ;) I started this particular blog entry back in the beginning of September, but never finished it because I tend to get long winded in my entries, and run out of time to finish before the hubby kicks me off of the computer so he can use it. I wish I could be like those mom's who can write just a few sentences and then post 50 pictures of their kids and be done, but I'm not. I guess writing is cathartic for me...I can get my thoughts out clearly on paper, and I'm much better at communicating there than in person! Or, I guess I just feel more safe writing on paper, than speaking my mind out loud. It's MY chance to talk about what is going on, because I rather let other people tell me all of their problems or talk about themselves when I am in person with them. I'm a very good listener. But after THIS entry, I think I just might try doing short and sweet entries to see if I can keep it more up to date on a regular basis. I'd love to turn our blog into one of those cool hard bound books that are all the rage these days among blogging moms...<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Ryan's mom invited us for a quick family trip during Labor Day Weekend to go see the Bar J Wranglers perform in Jackson Hole, WY on Saturday night (a cowboy singing group where you come and eat a big "cowboy" meal and then enjoy their singing performance). Since she knew I've been really wanting to make a trip out to Yellowstone this year, she booked us a night in a suite at a beautiful lodge right there in Jackson Hole so we could make a day trip to Yellowstone on Sunday!<br /><br /><div>(This is Ryan outside the lodge, in front of the ski lift area...and another of him near the restaurant where we had breakfast in the lodge)</div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StDzxLEqbuI/AAAAAAAAAec/OXgiOTzOW_E/s1600-h/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+051.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391076780073971426" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StDzxLEqbuI/AAAAAAAAAec/OXgiOTzOW_E/s400/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+051.JPG"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StDzx03pQ2I/AAAAAAAAAek/btwKeYMFuvg/s1600-h/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+054.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391076791293657954" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StDzx03pQ2I/AAAAAAAAAek/btwKeYMFuvg/s400/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+054.JPG"></a></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StDzxLEqbuI/AAAAAAAAAec/OXgiOTzOW_E/s1600-h/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+051.JPG"></a></div><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">WOOHOO</span>! I've really been wanting to take advantage of the many beautiful areas that surround us here in Idaho, so I was way excited to finally get to see Yellowstone! And more importantly....see some animals!<br /><br />Our first stop was at the Bar J Ranch on Saturday afternoon/evening. This is a family regular for Ryan and his mom (they've been numerous times!) and only my second time...we came out and saw them last summer before we moved out to Idaho. It's such a fun show. Before the show, Ryan and I walked around and found a little "outdoor museum"....and we had a little fun with it!</div><br /><div>(Ryan's growling face to the bear)</div><br /><div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StDzwf1H7bI/AAAAAAAAAeM/Lw6w-tfKBag/s1600-h/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+027.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391076768466070962" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StDzwf1H7bI/AAAAAAAAAeM/Lw6w-tfKBag/s400/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+027.JPG"></a></div><br />(<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">OOOO</span>...scary bear...and scared Pam!)</div><div><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StD2bJDBDMI/AAAAAAAAAes/6CVJ_E_L4xg/s1600-h/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+022.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391079700107955394" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StD2bJDBDMI/AAAAAAAAAes/6CVJ_E_L4xg/s400/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+022.JPG"></a></div><br />(Ryan getting held up)</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SqVaF0-HdUI/AAAAAAAAAZU/1_h6GU2jiH8/s1600-h/DSC07850.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378804386128950594" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SqVaF0-HdUI/AAAAAAAAAZU/1_h6GU2jiH8/s400/DSC07850.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SqVjz3cqVRI/AAAAAAAAAd8/GxVcIh9YY_c/s1600-h/DSC07995.JPG"></a><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378804368593040914" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SqVaEzpOthI/AAAAAAAAAZE/FBy9dRzEypc/s400/DSC07848.JPG"></div><br />(Taking a quick break for a dance)</div><div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SqVYdTgaqDI/AAAAAAAAAY0/Pg-ETRgnww4/s1600-h/DSC07840.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378802590439614514" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SqVYdTgaqDI/AAAAAAAAAY0/Pg-ETRgnww4/s400/DSC07840.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SqVYdTgaqDI/AAAAAAAAAY0/Pg-ETRgnww4/s1600-h/DSC07840.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SqVaEf3COlI/AAAAAAAAAY8/APS1raDYuWQ/s1600-h/DSC07847.JPG"></a> </div><br />(Giving the bear a little TLC, due to all the persecution he was facing)<br /><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SqVYcxbtgKI/AAAAAAAAAYs/pmBUlIdXE78/s1600-h/DSC07836.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378802581293072546" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SqVYcxbtgKI/AAAAAAAAAYs/pmBUlIdXE78/s400/DSC07836.JPG"></a> </div><br />(Ryan at the Bar J Wranglers, waiting for the horse wagon to come pick us up for a ride around the Outdoor Museum we just walked through ourselves :)<br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StDzw2cCmDI/AAAAAAAAAeU/MAHMSa118Q4/s1600-h/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+032.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391076774534879282" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/StDzw2cCmDI/AAAAAAAAAeU/MAHMSa118Q4/s400/Jackson+Hole+and+Yellowstone+032.JPG"></a><br /></div><br />The next morning (Sunday) we woke up and headed up through the Grand <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Teton</span> National Park on our way up to Yellowstone. At one point, there were tons of cars stopped, so we decided to stop and see what was going on, and found this....</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUUrkjPt7I/AAAAAAAAAf0/nXbU9MQghk8/s1600-h/DSC07890.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUUrkjPt7I/AAAAAAAAAf0/nXbU9MQghk8/s400/DSC07890.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401246066879215538" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUVOZbpVAI/AAAAAAAAAf8/wU5lOcJ-WC4/s1600-h/DSC07900.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUVOZbpVAI/AAAAAAAAAf8/wU5lOcJ-WC4/s400/DSC07900.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401246665189970946" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div>A moose and her baby! How awesome! This was by far, the highlight of my trip. We just stood there watching them for about 10 minutes. I guess they had been in this pond for over an hour while people kept stopping to watch them. Very cool.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUVnMzAwCI/AAAAAAAAAgE/9am32c9Pc_U/s1600-h/DSC07888.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUVnMzAwCI/AAAAAAAAAgE/9am32c9Pc_U/s400/DSC07888.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401247091295043618" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUVnMzAwCI/AAAAAAAAAgE/9am32c9Pc_U/s1600-h/DSC07888.JPG"></a>"Moose, you say? What moose?"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUWcxKZ20I/AAAAAAAAAgU/XQu3A4U4HfA/s1600-h/DSC07893.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUWcxKZ20I/AAAAAAAAAgU/XQu3A4U4HfA/s400/DSC07893.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401248011589901122" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUW44VrYuI/AAAAAAAAAgc/qLsC9XsfyFE/s1600-h/DSC07891.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUW44VrYuI/AAAAAAAAAgc/qLsC9XsfyFE/s400/DSC07891.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401248494552572642" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div>We drove past this....The Grand Tetons...on our way up to Yellowstone...</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUZ-8oKqJI/AAAAAAAAAgs/11nnlD-gP2M/s1600-h/DSC07914.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUZ-8oKqJI/AAAAAAAAAgs/11nnlD-gP2M/s400/DSC07914.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401251897317959826" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUcC1xXARI/AAAAAAAAAg8/_48fSd9bBII/s1600-h/DSC07930.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUcC1xXARI/AAAAAAAAAg8/_48fSd9bBII/s400/DSC07930.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401254163220201746" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div>...and saw all the highlights of the west side of Yellowstone....</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUdUhRZmZI/AAAAAAAAAhM/_3bFIxjrPU8/s1600-h/DSC07944.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUdUhRZmZI/AAAAAAAAAhM/_3bFIxjrPU8/s400/DSC07944.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401255566466718098" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUdVqqR17I/AAAAAAAAAhc/g5XoBDIng7o/s1600-h/DSC07952.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUdVqqR17I/AAAAAAAAAhc/g5XoBDIng7o/s400/DSC07952.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401255586166855602" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUd_fQIdOI/AAAAAAAAAhs/auzu362QYsw/s1600-h/DSC07958.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUd_fQIdOI/AAAAAAAAAhs/auzu362QYsw/s400/DSC07958.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401256304658904290" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUfwXzKL1I/AAAAAAAAAiE/Zlnehp7IQRU/s1600-h/DSC07960.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUfwXzKL1I/AAAAAAAAAiE/Zlnehp7IQRU/s400/DSC07960.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401258243983552338" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUfw_S1RBI/AAAAAAAAAiM/fdacasfz13c/s1600-h/DSC07957.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUfw_S1RBI/AAAAAAAAAiM/fdacasfz13c/s400/DSC07957.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401258254585381906" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div>We lucked out and walked up to Old Faithful about 5 minutes before she went off! No waiting for us...it goes off about every hour.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUfw_S1RBI/AAAAAAAAAiM/fdacasfz13c/s1600-h/DSC07957.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUeAGTD7MI/AAAAAAAAAh8/je7ANktHHWU/s1600-h/DSC07969.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUeAGTD7MI/AAAAAAAAAh8/je7ANktHHWU/s400/DSC07969.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401256315140172994" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I was hoping (more like wishful thinking) that I would see a bear in Yellowstone, but all we really saw were the staple Bison :) They were still really cool to watch though. Massive beasts...</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUg5uQoUeI/AAAAAAAAAic/lQ7ekkcGqng/s1600-h/DSC07978.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUg5uQoUeI/AAAAAAAAAic/lQ7ekkcGqng/s400/DSC07978.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401259504143192546" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div>And just as I was complaining to Ryan that you always see these pictures of Bison stopping traffic at Yellowstone, but we hadn't seen any yet, and I thought that was just a fluke thing that photographers happened to see every once in a while...we pulled up to a back up of cars. At first, we were all assuming it was because of the section of road that they had closed for construction. As we slowly crawled by, we were pleasantly surprised (or not so pleasantly, as was the case for Marji...my mother-in-law...who was driving...) with this huge guy just cruising down the road by himself in the WRONG LANE (going head-on TOWARDS traffic). Boy, was I glad we just had to drive past him instead of stare at him coming face on to our vehicle! </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUg6hyLuFI/AAAAAAAAAis/h4N04VfAuUs/s1600-h/DSC07980.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUg6hyLuFI/AAAAAAAAAis/h4N04VfAuUs/s400/DSC07980.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401259517974132818" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div>As Marji was panicking as we had to drive past him, she tells me she is NOT stopping for pictures :) And as her driver side window went up as we got closer to him, mine went down a crack to try to get a close up on him...and I just caught the "tail" end :)</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUg6hyLuFI/AAAAAAAAAis/h4N04VfAuUs/s1600-h/DSC07980.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUg7AhkhpI/AAAAAAAAAi0/P0QLMqtur9U/s1600-h/DSC07981.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUg7AhkhpI/AAAAAAAAAi0/P0QLMqtur9U/s400/DSC07981.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401259526225954450" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Yellowstone was absolutely beautiful, and I can't wait to go back again sometime next year, and hopefully see more of the park! My family needs to come visit me so we can go together...hint, hint...</div><div><br /></div><div>On the way back to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Rexburg</span>, we went through the small town of Island Park. Ryan's Grandpa Price helped found this city when Marji was young. They were one of the first families to build a cabin and live there, and then Marji's dad was a realtor for the area. On top of that, just a short ways from their house, her dad built THIS store/gas station:</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi7glAtmI/AAAAAAAAAjc/BOBYMMkxY_4/s1600-h/DSC08000.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi7glAtmI/AAAAAAAAAjc/BOBYMMkxY_4/s400/DSC08000.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401261733853574754" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUmN3e9o0I/AAAAAAAAAjk/8KXZclGDNYY/s1600-h/DSC08004.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUmN3e9o0I/AAAAAAAAAjk/8KXZclGDNYY/s400/DSC08004.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401265347774751554" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Marji worked in this store (along with her siblings) when she was young, but it had been so long since she had been here, that she couldn't remember the exact location...but she COULD remember that it was an A-Frame building. So we would stop at all of these gas stations along the way that had an A-Frame to see if it was the old store her dad owned. She kept running inside and saying if she went inside, she would know whether or not it was THE store. I wondered what she was looking for, and FINALLY, after one stop, she came out and said it was the right one! We went inside, and she pointed to these, and said THIS is how she knew it was the right store:</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUmN3e9o0I/AAAAAAAAAjk/8KXZclGDNYY/s1600-h/DSC08004.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi59usyrI/AAAAAAAAAi8/DqRA4yjdZgM/s1600-h/DSC07996.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi59usyrI/AAAAAAAAAi8/DqRA4yjdZgM/s400/DSC07996.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401261707319102130" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi6dnAziI/AAAAAAAAAjE/DDinE3OteAI/s1600-h/DSC07991.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi6dnAziI/AAAAAAAAAjE/DDinE3OteAI/s400/DSC07991.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401261715876793890" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Her dad had put those looping ropes up in the store. It was so neat to see the ropes, and associate it with Ryan's Grandpa. He passed away when Ryan was young, so I never met him, but have heard wonderful (and funny) stories about him. I had always wanted to have my own Grandpa, and hoped that my husband would have one to share with me (mine both died before I was born and one immediately after I was born). While I never got to have my Grandpa, it's been fun to learn about Ryan's, and was even more fun to see things that he actually touched and created himself. Marji was so nostalgic in this store...it was fun for her to reminisce about the old days in there with her family. I was excited for her. </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi6xB04GI/AAAAAAAAAjM/F5OPraG9rR8/s1600-h/DSC07992.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi6xB04GI/AAAAAAAAAjM/F5OPraG9rR8/s400/DSC07992.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401261721089532002" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi7Xa3Q8I/AAAAAAAAAjU/PyLadqNBDJE/s1600-h/DSC07994.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi7Xa3Q8I/AAAAAAAAAjU/PyLadqNBDJE/s400/DSC07994.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401261731395093442" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; "></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SvUi7Xa3Q8I/AAAAAAAAAjU/PyLadqNBDJE/s1600-h/DSC07994.JPG"></a>We also got to go drive past her old house/cabin behind the store. I unfortunately didn't get any pictures of the house, but she told us of some fun stories, like the time a bear had wandered up to their cabin, her dad tried to scare it away I think by hitting his nose with a piece of wood or something, and instead, the bear got angry and decided to come up the steps at him! Luckily, his gun wasn't too far away, so he shot the bear dead right on the steps! Yikes...</div><div><br /></div><div>The short weekend trip was a blast, and I can't wait to go again next year! Crossing my fingers I'll see a bear catching fish next time ;)</div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-5089116267230771552009-07-26T22:50:00.013-06:002009-07-27T00:09:05.425-06:00Way too long....Wow. It's been way too long since I've updated our blog. I guess there hasn't been much to blog about, so I let it go for a while.<br /><div></div><br /><div>To bring you up to date since the last time I blogged, here's what we've been up to:</div><div></div><br /><div>1) Ryan and I went to Las Vegas to meet up with my best friends in April! Janae came from Arizona with her boyfriend, Jimmy, and we met up with my other best friend, Jen, and her husband Anthony, who currently live in Vegas. I hadn't ever met Janae's boyfriend, or Jen's husband, so I was excited to meet the "men" in my girlfriends lives. They both got my seal of approval :) This was Ryan's first time being in Vegas, and he was like a kid in a candy store. He got wide eyes with the bright lights, and fun decorations at the casinos. It was cute. Ryan is a huge magic fan, so of course we had to stop off at the Penn & Teller show while we were there. We had a blast, and even got to meet and take pictures with them after the show! That was the highlight of Ryans trip :) I was sad when I had to leave my girls behind and head home.<img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363010006976374034" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm09L9ixJRI/AAAAAAAAAXY/83LW7Y2JiAc/s400/DSC07587.JPG" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm09MZOGSnI/AAAAAAAAAXo/acPIhuWcJoI/s1600-h/DSC07738.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363010014405872242" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm09MZOGSnI/AAAAAAAAAXo/acPIhuWcJoI/s400/DSC07738.JPG" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm0977cbgMI/AAAAAAAAAX4/JhJfpn2J_GU/s1600-h/DSC07763.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363010831046639810" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm0977cbgMI/AAAAAAAAAX4/JhJfpn2J_GU/s400/DSC07763.JPG" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm097a4hRPI/AAAAAAAAAXw/pFiPx36iEg8/s1600-h/DSC07743.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363010822306088178" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm097a4hRPI/AAAAAAAAAXw/pFiPx36iEg8/s400/DSC07743.JPG" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm09MHJy1ZI/AAAAAAAAAXg/EhNi4gTCfJc/s1600-h/DSC07732.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363010009555981714" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm09MHJy1ZI/AAAAAAAAAXg/EhNi4gTCfJc/s400/DSC07732.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div>2) Ryan's mom's (Marji) boyfriend, Rory, got baptized in April. He flew out here to Idaho (he lives in Washington) and had Ryan baptize him. </div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm09LMu9_HI/AAAAAAAAAXI/-heHXzgbK6U/s1600-h/DSC07570.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363009993874209906" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm09LMu9_HI/AAAAAAAAAXI/-heHXzgbK6U/s400/DSC07570.JPG" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm09LYpjQ-I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/5gbHtFgEoVA/s1600-h/DSC07579.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363009997072712674" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm09LYpjQ-I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/5gbHtFgEoVA/s400/DSC07579.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div></div><div><br />3) May brought excitement and disappointment as I went to the OB/GYN to talk about fertility options. The doctor gave me some Clomid to take to help get pregnant, but I mentioned to him that I would like a blood test just to see what my Triglycerides were doing since I had been off of my Triglyceride medicine for the last 6 months (I have a history of VERY high triglycerides along with high cholesterol). He took a blood test, and sent me on my way. The very next day, the nurse called back with my results and said my Triglycerides were again EXTREMELY high, along with my cholesterol, and the doctor did not want me getting pregnant yet as I would be a high risk case, so I wasn't to take the Clomid. I was devestated as I was really hoping to get this ball rolling. I'm getting older, so I hate waiting and waiting to get pregnant. He wanted me to go on an extreme diabetic diet to try to lower my lipid levels. Ryan and I did really well the whole month of May, and we BOTH lost 10 pounds. Unfortunately, we let go of the rigidness we were in May, and didn't lose any weight this last June or July. On the brighter side, we didn't GAIN any of the 10 pounds back either :) We just stayed the same. We are going to try harder starting in August, to lose more weight. I want to be a healthy mom, and want to start healthy habits in my life to give back to my kids. It's hard because Ryan is a muncher...I haven't munched so much in my life! So I try to keep both me AND him in line :) It's hard work, but we want to both get healthy. I have PCOS, which is caused mainly by Insulin Resistance. The doctor believes if I get my insulin levels under control, I won't have a problem getting back on to a regular cycle and getting pregnant. Crossing my fingers...</div><div></div><div></div><div><br />4) June...I went to Lagoon for my first time ever, with a couple girls from my work. We had a blast, and I loved getting to know these girls better. I've been blessed with some good girls to work with at my new job. Love them.</div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm1B3bi19eI/AAAAAAAAAYI/yauIUUDCzsQ/s1600-h/Ryan%26Pam+B%26G-231.jpg"></a></div><div></div><div><br />5) July 4th, Ryan and I went BACK to Lagoon (he was jealous over my girls trip, so I wanted to go with him too). We went out on the morning of Friday, July 3rd, and spent all day on the roller coasters. We had a blast! We spent the night in SLC, and went back to Lagoon the next day on their "Bounce Back" special, where you can go back a second day for $9 bucks! We decided to do Lagoon-A-Beach (swimming park) that day. While Ryan and I were sitting in our tubes going around the Lazy River, some kids inner tube fell into the water from off of the deck, so Ryan, being the great guy he is, picks it up and throws it back out to him...........and in the process, loses his wedding ring in the water! We searched and searched, and other people searched with us, but we never found his ring. The current from everyone going around must have been too great, and the ring was gone. That kinda tainted the rest of the night for us, and it was kinda sad to lose a piece of "our history". He would never have the same ring that we got married with again! In other news, Ryan is excited to purchase a new ring, and THIS TIME I get to propose to HIM. I plan on making it fun :) We'll see what I come up with!</div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm1B3bi19eI/AAAAAAAAAYI/yauIUUDCzsQ/s1600-h/Ryan%26Pam+B%26G-231.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 267px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363015151810639330" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm1B3bi19eI/AAAAAAAAAYI/yauIUUDCzsQ/s400/Ryan%26Pam+B%26G-231.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div>6) Ryan JUST finished his spring semester at school! He did awesome in all of his classes and got straight A's! Hooray! He's currently on a 6 week break from school until his fall semester starts.</div><br /><div>7) I'm STILL waiting on our license at work to open the Rexburg branch...after 5 months...so I drive to Idaho Falls (30 miles one way) every day. I hate the driving, but love the people. I'll be sad when the Rexburg office finally opens up and I'm all alone at the office, and don't get to see these ladies on a daily basis. On the other hand, I'll be ok without the driving and gas I spend going to IF everyday! I like my work, and love the people.</div><br /><div>8) I just started learning how to crochet as something to do with my time! Ryan likes to play World of Warcraft online a lot at night (his way of unwinding from his day) and I'm tired of surfing the internet to kill my alone time. So I decided to do something domestic that I might enjoy...and so far, I love it! (Well, that's once I finally get the stiches down...it drove me crazy at first!). I'm about 1/3rd of the way done with a "Larksfoot Baby Blanket" that I am working on. I'm excited to do something that is relaxing while I listen to the T.V. or something on YouTube :) Ryan wants me to make him a hat for the winter....</div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm098cPlYHI/AAAAAAAAAYA/v1-9vX8FtK8/s1600-h/DSC07801.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363010839851130994" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/Sm098cPlYHI/AAAAAAAAAYA/v1-9vX8FtK8/s400/DSC07801.JPG" /></a><br /></div><br /><div>9) A lot of my friends are having babies right now! My best friend, Jen, just had a baby girl this week. I'm so excited for her. Ryan and I were planning on going out at the end of this year to visit her and see the baby (they live in Vegas), and another friend decided she wanted to get all of our old "group" together and make it a reunion trip to Vegas! So 3 other girlfriends are coming out from Arizona to meet us in Vegas at the end of September! I'm excited to see everyone! Vegas is one of the only flights we can take out of Idaho Falls for pretty cheap...Allegiant Air has some direct flights to Vegas for great deals when you also book a hotel with the flight. Can't pass up that deal.</div><br /><div>Not much else is going on for us. Ryan got his classes all figured out, and he will be graduating in July 2011. Only 2 more years left! I think the rest of this year will fly by...I can't believe it's almost August already!!! Once he is done here, we are going on to get his PhD...I would prefer at ASU so we can be back by my friends and family, but we are also considering WSU in Washington. Who knows where we'll end up! Could be neither one of these schools...and watch us end up on the east coast somewhere! </div><br /><div>I think that's about all the "excitement" going on here in Idaho....the weather is actually really nice right now. I don't miss the AZ heat at all.....but come winter time, I won't know what hit me when the snow comes! :)</div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-82480222862648993242009-03-17T22:55:00.000-06:002009-03-17T23:09:22.404-06:00All good things come to those who wait.<div>It happened. After 2 1/2 months of waiting. It finally happened. I FINALLY landed a job interview....and what's even better than that, I actually GOT the job! Hooray! I'm so thankful and relieved. I had applied to numerous jobs, turned in resume's to banks that weren't even hiring, and even desperately applied at Wal-Mart, all to the sound of deafening silence....the silence that tells you we are in a tough economy right now, and I live in a small college town.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB1K24C9cI/AAAAAAAAAVo/XykADNoQV3Q/s1600-h/DSC07296.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314376389686916546" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB1K24C9cI/AAAAAAAAAVo/XykADNoQV3Q/s400/DSC07296.JPG" /></a><br />In telling my story, I'm mostly telling it in detail for my family history aspect of keeping a blog...for my posterity. So if you get bored with the details, bare with me just this one time :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB4nWLdoUI/AAAAAAAAAWY/Okf-yfjA6-0/s1600-h/DSC07507.JPG"></a><br />I wrote in my last blog about hoping to hear back from on a job with a hospice company. Well, a few weeks had gone by after turning in my application, so I pretty much wrote that opportunity off, figuring they went with someone with experience in the medical industry. However, I applied for a job as a secretary at a rehab counseling center and they had called me back! I was so happy to have a call back about an interview, even though this wasn't the job I was really hoping for (which was the hospice job). This job was a piece of cake job, something I felt I could do in my sleep, and was definitely far below my skill level. BUT, it was a job. A cheap, easy job. Beggers can't be choosers.<br /><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314376398662298658" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB1LYT8bCI/AAAAAAAAAV4/H1XIGlgd9hg/s400/DSC07318.JPG" /><br />I set up an appointment for my interview, and started preparing for it. They only were calling a few people back from the applications, so I felt lucky to be one of them. That very same day that they called me for an interview, I got ANOTHER call from the HOSPICE company! Holy cow! I all but almost forgot about them since it had been so long. I quickly felt like I had a dilemma with two interviews coming up. What would I do if one offered me the job, but I wanted to hear back from the other company first before accepting from the one? Numerous scenarios went through my head like this. After the wise advice given to me by my mother-in-law, I quickly realized I could use this opportunity of interviewing THEM for the right position for ME. They surely were interviewing other people than just me, so I could do the same and interview other companies than just one.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB1K3ekbmI/AAAAAAAAAVw/LDNjGgd94RI/s1600-h/DSC07299.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314376389848493666" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB1K3ekbmI/AAAAAAAAAVw/LDNjGgd94RI/s400/DSC07299.JPG" /></a><br />I really wanted the hospice job, but didn't want to count my eggs before they hatched, and would take either job just to HAVE a job at this point. However, the hospice job seemed more challenging and a better opportunity for growth...and, honestly, paid much more. But I mostly wanted the job because I thought it would be a whole new set of learning skills for me to use in my life. A great experience for me, plus having the opportunity to do something great within the community.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB4nFaMP0I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/1OeUnwFL71k/s1600-h/DSC07447.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314380173159448386" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB4nFaMP0I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/1OeUnwFL71k/s400/DSC07447.JPG" /></a><br />The morning of my scheduled interview with the secretary position (the job I didn't really want), I got up early, went over some mock interview questions/answers, got dressed, and tried to relax a bit before the interview. Thirty minutes before my scheduled interview, I got a call from the company, telling me they were sorry but they would have to cancel my interview for that morning...they had already filled the position. GET REAL! One more shot at a job, down the drain. I felt a tinge of bitterness as the feeling of not even being able to GET an interview ate at me a little bit, before I realized this just gave me more time to prepare for the interview for the job I actually WANTED. So I went right to it, and thought of all my skills/experience to draw examples on during my interview. I prepared ALL day. Before I went to bed that night, I said a prayer and told Heavenly Father how I had done all I could to prepare myself for this interview, and would he help me to speak eloquently, to say the things I needed to say to show my talents/experience, and that if it would be his will, that I might get this job. I put in the effort, and needed his help to go the rest of the way...I knew I couldn't do this one on my own.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB1LbLGAXI/AAAAAAAAAWA/4pnZbEBFhzY/s1600-h/DSC07327.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314376399430484338" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB1LbLGAXI/AAAAAAAAAWA/4pnZbEBFhzY/s400/DSC07327.JPG" /></a><br />The morning of my interview, I got up, got dressed, and rehearsed my answers. I even came up with dumb little songs to remember some of them...and even got Ryan singing them after a while :) I said a prayer again, and off I went to my interview. When I got there, I discovered that this was going to be a panel interview. SERIOUSLY. I have NEVER had a panel interview before. This made my heart jump for a minute. But I calmed my nerves, and sat at the head of the table with two people on each side of the table of me (a total of 4 women interviewers). They went around in a circle each asking a question of me...this went on for about 16 questions! But I was on top of EVERY question. No pauses, no hemming and hawing, no stupid answers. I had the best answer/examples for each question asked of me. I could tell this interview was going EXCEPTIONALLY well. By the end of the interview, they had told me that they had gotten STACKS and STACKS of resumes for this job as Office Manager (I eventually found out it was about 50 total applicants) and they had narrowed the interviews down to 12 applicants, and I was the final interviewee. I thought what a great way to end an interview session....I had slam dunked this thing! Obviously, I was very confident in how it went :) They told me that now they were going to choose a select few to call back in for 2nd interviews, and then they would choose the final candidate. I knew I would be one of the few to get a second interview. I was sure of it. I let my references know that they might be getting a call about me. Sure enough, my best friend and old manager called me up and told me that they had called her to check my references already. I thought this was a good sign since they were checking BEFORE my second interview. They were really serious about me to go that far already! My friend told me it went really well, that they said they were very impressed with me and how I carried myself in the interview, and how personable I was. My friend recommended me for the job and said she thought I would be a great fit for it.<br /><br />My 30th birthday weekend was that week, and I found out that Ryan had the following Monday off of school for the holiday (President's Day). I was feeling good, and also was reminded during my interview that it was now or never to take a vacation before I was logged down with a job (they had asked me in my interview if I had any big vacations planned for the year...also a good sign). Originally I was only going to fly home if I heard back that I got the job (so I would feel okay about spending the money to fly to AZ) but I said SCREW THAT! I'm going no matter what...so I booked a flight back to AZ for me and Ryan. The very next day, I got a call back from the company.............only, they weren't calling me back in for a second interview. No, instead, they were OFFERING ME THE JOB!!! Holy smokes! I gladly accepted, flew home that weekend for a fun birthday weekend with my family and friends, and came back to start work on Tuesday.<br /><br />I know that I only did as well as I did, and spoke as eloquently as I did because of Heavenly Father's help since I did my part in preparing my best for it. I think this job will be such a great benefit to me in my life, and I can't wait to see how much I learn and grow from it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB1Lx0mMnI/AAAAAAAAAWI/utDVIualFEw/s1600-h/DSC07404.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314376405510140530" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/ScB1Lx0mMnI/AAAAAAAAAWI/utDVIualFEw/s400/DSC07404.JPG" /></a><br />What the job entails is opening up a brand new branch of Creekside Home Health & Hospice in Rexburg. There are currently offices in Pocatello and Idaho Falls. It's part of Alpine Home Health & Hospice in Utah. I will be the only person actually working in the office all day, while the nurses and therapists come in and out during the day to drop off paper work, etc. Eventually, once I get this office up and running and we start getting busy, I will be able to hire on additional office staff to take on some of the jobs that I will be doing (I will be doing the job of what 4 other people do at the Idaho Falls branch!). This is such an exciting opportunity for me as I get to challenge myself, and will be able to see my own accomplishments first hand as I watch how my large participation will help our business to thrive in this city (I handle the data entry of admitting patients, creating and keeping the patient charts, payroll, human resources, handling referrals and intakes, marketing in the local area, and also tending to ordering any office supplies/nursing supplies, planning lunches and meetings, etc). It's the job of Data Entry, Accounting, Compliance, Human Resource, Payroll, Admin Assistant, Office Manager, etc. So many opportunities here. And, the best part, I don't even feel like this is a JOB. I enjoy the work, enjoy the people, and have not felt one ounce of stress while training! It's a nice break from the financing world :) But I'll admit, it's strange to work at a place that doesn't have one single adding machine :) Not used to that...I was accidentally shipped some adding machine tape the other day from Office Depot, and the first thing I thought was,"What the heck am I going to use this for....we don't even HAVE adding machines here!" :) I'm so excited, and so grateful for this opportunity. It was a long 2 months, but it was worth it in the end. I'm having a fun time setting the office up from scratch right now (literally) and decorating it. Everyone comments how good the office looks since I got there...that makes me feel good. It changes every week with new stuff (either pictures or office supplies or furniture!). I like making it an inviting place for the nurses/therapists to come and do their office work inbetween home visits.<br /><br />Ryan is doing well at school, and recently came up with the idea (as in he figured this out YESTERDAY) that he is going to continue his schooling past his bachelors degree all the way up to a PhD in Economics! He had some very inspired thoughts come to him yesterday during school (a conversation in his mind that lasted over 4 hours at school...) that brought him to the conclusion that he should continue on to get his PhD. He's not sure where yet, but one of our good friends is going to go to Washington State University to get his PhD in Economics after he finishes up here at BYU, and they have a great program that lets you get your Masters and PhD together, and you even save a year by allowing you to count some of your Masters credits in with your PhD. That sounds appealing to Ryan...but he still wants to look at some other schools. He doesn't have a lot of wants in his life, except to be able to provide for his family and to eventually own a Toyota 4 Runner. Simple enough ;) In talking with other guys in his Econ Society Club that he goes to every Thursday, he learned that a PhD in Economics usually STARTS OUT at around $110K, you get to be the leader of the research groups, you are widely accepted as someone who is to be used as a great source of knowledge in the business community, and you can pretty much teach at any of the universities. Ryan would like to do consulting for several years after he graduates, and then would also love to teach Economics at a university some day. He's excited about this new idea, and probably more relieved than anything to just have a plan for himself. He feels like the reason he is getting a Minor in Journalism with his Major in Economics for his Bachelors is to help him with the writing he will have to do during his dissertation for his PhD. Lots of his ideas are coming together full circle now, and he's piecing them all together. I'm happy for him. But, that leaves us with more schooling after we are done here at BYU-Idaho....but I think it will be the best place for Ryan, and will put our family in the best place when he is done. And then Pam can retire :) I'm just grateful that Ryan is willing to go through all this schooling for our benefit. He's getting the highest grade in several of his classes, if not all of them. He tends to get too hard on himself about grades, but he is doing great!<br /><br />We are loving Idaho more these days, as the snow is finally melting! Hooray! You can see the grass again! Although, it has been extremely windy the last several days...that is no fun. But the highs have reached the 50's a couple of days this last week...that is fabulous :) I never thought I would say that the 50's were perfect weather...but it is pretty well close to perfect! I love it! I've acclimatized to the weather a lot more than Ryan...he still shivers :) I can't wait for late spring/summer comes around. It's going to be beautiful out here...I wish I had a really great camera to take cool pictures of all the trees. That is one thing I will splurge on once we start a family...I can't wait to take really amazing pictures!<br /><br />Speaking of starting a family...we are working on that....but nothing to share as of yet! I hate this part...all the wishing, and hoping, and waiting, and spending tons of money on negative pregnant tests. But it's still early, so I can't get upset about it yet....we've only been trying for about 3 months now. I have PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) which can make it a little more difficult. One of my friends out here in Idaho told me she has it too, and it took her a year and a half with her last pregnancy....BUT, she just had twins from it :) She had to start fertility treatments, but she was successful after the first month! So even if it takes a while for it to happen, I know it will eventually happen. Plus, it will probably be best to get all moved in to our house at the end of this month before I'm pregnant, cause I tend to over-do myself when moving things...I like to think I'm She-Ra! I am going BABY CRAZY though...Ryan is too. We hear the baby that lives in the apartment above us all the time, and it makes me want one so bad. If Ryan had his way, we would have twins too :) We've ended up having two different friends (one in AZ and one out here in ID) that have boy/girl twins. He thinks it's all fun and games :) Well....he can be the one that gets up in the middle of the night with both of them then... he he he...<br /><br />Ryan will be done with his first semester of school the second week of April. To celebrate, we are spending a weekend in Vegas! (Easter Weekend). I've been to Vegas twice, and really don't care for it all that much. But Ryan's been dying to go for some reason (I think cause he likes CSI-Vegas...who knows) so I thought it would be fun to go since he has only a week break before he starts up his next semester of school. He loves magic, so we are going to go see Penn and Teller while we are there (they are playing in the hotel we are staying in...The Rio All Suite Hotel). That is what I am most excited for! One of my best friends, Jen, (my old roommate before I got married) now lives in Vegas with her new husband, and I haven't seen her for over a year, so I'm excited to see her! She's going to come to the magic show with us, and do my hair while I'm there (she's a hairdresser). AND, my other best friend might be meeting us out there will her boyfriend as well! So all of us will go to the magic show together. HOW FUN! I can't wait...this will be a great time.<br /><br />The house is ALMOST done. It looks great. Papers get signed on March 27th, and we have to be out of our apartment by the end of the month. It will be so nice to get out of this apartment. I'll post pictures of the house when we move in.<br /><br />Oh, and my new favorite game is Ticket to Ride...in case any of you cared :) </div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-43976621848252286612009-02-12T09:23:00.002-07:002009-02-12T09:33:52.236-07:0025 Random Things About Pam That You Wish You Never Knew...25 Random Things About Me:<br /><br />1. I've been to New Zealand...and it has to be one of the most beautiful places on the Earth!<br /><br />2. I've also been rafting down the worlds largest raftable waterfall...which happens to be in New Zealand. 25 foot drop in an 8 man raft! I took my anxiety medication before hand.<br /><br />3. Before I was married, my initials spelled PAM (Pamela Anne Meyers). Now they spell PAP, or as some say "PP". Neither of which are very attractive...<br /><br />4. I seem to have some obsessive compulsive behaviors that I've noticed in life...like re-reading emails over and over again (especially before I send them...but even AFTER I've sent them...I try to figure out what it sounds like to the other person...I've read this posting already about 4 times). Also, if I clean, I have to clean EVERYTHING spick and span...I deep clean when I do clean...which makes cleaning not happen very often because I don't have time to deep clean...but I hate leaving things half undone, so I rather leave it ALL undone. Don't ask. I have no idea.<br /><br />5. I really...really really....want a baby right now. Like, right now. And my husband is just as bad...<br /><br />6. I am the baby of the family (5 kids). And while I don't show it in my dealings with people in general (I'm EXTREMELY independent...my parents were too poor growing up to spoil me too much) I do show it in my family relations. I like to bug my family...and while my siblings got to get away from my pestering, my poor husband has to endure it for eternity :) He would say "Oh Joy" right about now...especially when I keep him up at night poking him or blowing air from my CPAP on his face.<br /><br />7. In reference to the above, I use a CPAP Machine (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) for Sleep Apnea. The first time any of my little kids decides to sneak in our bedroom at night, they will be pleasantly surprised (or scared!) to see a mask on mommy's face...I will tell them all mommies wear them ;) j/k. But, I don't snore anymore, much to my husbands delight.<br /><br />8. I have panic attacks...and have since I was a little kid.<br /><br />9. I hate when I feel out of control in cars...like when you were little and your dad would jerk the stearing wheel back and forth to make the car swerve for fun...yeah, I HATE that. Ryan likes to fish tail out here on the ice, and I yell at him EVERY TIME that it is NOT funny.<br /><br />10. Macayo's Red Corn Chicken Taquitos with Baja Sauce is my FAVORITE meal. And I am having some on Saturday when I go home to AZ...Oh how I've missed my Macayo's out here in Idaho...<br /><br />11. I wore flourescent socks when I was in elementary school (around 1st grade). The first impression my best friend from elementary school can remember about me is seeing me walk down the halls in my flourescent socks.<br /><br />12. I once allowed my oldest sister to lock me in the trunk of her car. I don't know why I thought it was a great idea, or what I thought she was going to do with me...but she started backing out of the driveway, and I immediately went into a full blown panic attack, pounding on the trunk and screaming and crying. She stopped at the end of the drive way and finally let me out. I can still remember the horrible feeling today...<br /><br />13. I've been to Oahu, Hawaii.<br /><br />14. I love, love, love CSI (Vegas). My favorite show, and I own all the seasons.<br /><br />15. I think I really want a Magic Bullet for my birthday...my husband is aware.<br /><br />16. I'm not one much for diamond jewelry or expensive gifts. My husband bought me some diamond earrings for our 1 year anniversary in December, and he found out I rather have had the latest CSI Season out on DVD :) (which he ended up buying for me for Christmas instead). He also bought me a $400 bracelet last year for my birthday and Valentines day...I LOVE the color of it (different shades of blue all around) but I've only worn it about 5 times. That same V-Day last year, he bought a $300 Massage for me, that I never ended up using. When I went to use it before we moved out here, I found out the business closed down due to the struggling economy. I'm a simple girl, and also an anxiety ridden one that didn't want to go to a well-to-do salon all by myself. BUT, as he mentioned the other day, he is actually relieved to know I'm not big on fancy presents (or even presents at all...I really don't care) so he doesn't have to stress over V-Day this year. See, I'm a great wife.<br /><br />17. I am completely out of debt. And proud of it.<br /><br />18. I played the violin growing up. I haven't touched it since I graduated high school.<br /><br />19. I hate E.T. I remember watching E.T. in the movie theatre with my family when I was only 3 years old...probably one of my earliest memories. I sat through the movie with my moms hand over my eyes, and I would space out her fingers every once in a while to peek through. To get me over my fear of E.T., my mom bought me a plastic E.T. doll where you pushed a button on his back, and his neck would raise up. Probably the worst idea my mom has ever come up with. I ripped off his head and threw him in the garbage. My brother wanted to keep him for himself, but thankfully, my mom wouldn't let him since I didn't want it in the house. I still hate E.T. to this day. Especially when he gets sick and turns white. My husband thinks he is going to get our kids hooked on watching E.T. just to mess with my mind.<br /><br />20. I have the longest Uvula (the thing that hangs down in the back of your throat) you have ever seen. It's fat, and long, and touches my tongue. Thus, the reason I snore...<br /><br />21. I hate any kind of food that comes out of the ocean. Fish, seafood, you name it. No thanks.<br /><br />22. I LOVE eating tomatoes whole, like you would eat an apple...but don't like them sliced on my sandwich. I'll pull them off.<br /><br />23. My husband was my first real boyfriend. And I was his first kiss (I wasn't TOO far ahead of him here...).<br /><br />24. I have a love/hate relationship with rollar coasters. I love them, but they scare the crap out of me!<br /><br />25. I like Ketchup on my tostadas (beans, sour cream, cheese, and ketchup on top!), burritos, and on my tacos. And even used to put it on my Macaroni & Cheese when I was little. My parents used to tease me that if I could, I would live off of ketchup alonePam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-36966627657987235452009-01-27T21:08:00.017-07:002009-02-11T11:01:06.188-07:00They say patience is a virtue....Here I am. Nearly two months of living in Rexburg....and not much to talk about. Well, I guess I always have something to talk about, just not much to make note of.<br /><br /><div></div><div>December was rough. The weather in Rexburg can be BRUTAL at times. Sub-zero weather cuts right through your skin. The snow was pretty at first, but after a few times of shoveling our cars I wasn't as thrilled! Thankfully, Ryan *says* he enjoys shoveling, so I let him have all the honors :)<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>After a few weeks of rough December came a calm January. AWW, relief! We had 3 good weeks of beautiful winter weather, and NO snow! I was just beginning to think I could handle this, when along came this week...with more snow and ridiculously COLD weather. For example, all the schools were closed today because it was -25 here! Ryan had a rough day walking around campus! :) This is the only time I am grateful that I don't have a job yet, so I can hibernate inside all day, everyday :) We went out last night to grab some food, and I quickly remembered the same cold feeling from December...and the reason why I hated it so much! BONE CHILLING! My car windows were frozen shut so we had to open the door to get our food through the drive-thru! And who knew your nose hairs could freeze the second you step out your door....<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>As far as the job situation (or lack thereof), it's been depressing and exciting all at the same time. Every time a job situation comes and goes, I get depressed for a day and then move on to my next option. Wells Fargo has turned out to be very disappointing when it comes to helping you find a new job within the company. I now know what another one of my co-workers was going through when she moved to CA. The job that I was excited about right after Christmas that they had posted on their internal website ended up being a big disappointment. It was THE EXACT job that I did in Arizona for 6 years, so I anxiously applied. Once the position closed, I emailed the hiring manager to bring his attention to my application, and come to find out, he had filled the position with an employee already in their office PRIOR to posting the position...he just posted because Wells Fargo's human resources requires it. The best part...HE TOLD ME ALL OF THIS! Guaranteed the person he hired didn't have as much experience as me. I'm pretty sure this could be a huge HR issue if I had decided to bring it to someones attention, but I decided it wasn't worth it. </div><br /><div>I also had applied to two Teller positions with them, and got a generic email back from the local recruiter saying that they hired someone more qualified for the position, and to talk to my manager about finding jobs in the company more suitable for me. GET REAL! If they can hire kids right out of high school, I can do a teller job...I have cashiering experience and accounting experience. After that letter, I've written Wells off as a potential employer. If they won't hire me as a teller, there is NOTHING out here for me to do with them.</div><br /><div>I have been applying to other jobs as well, of course, but there aren't that many! Living in a college town of 20,000, and with the failing economy, finding a job here is IMPOSSIBLE. I was even so desperate that I applied at Wal-Mart! But....they aren't hiring. I finally figured that I had to find a way to make money at home...so after a LOT of research, I found the "legitimate" way that women work from home (not one of those get rich quick scheme's...FAR FROM IT). It's called Virtual Assisting....where you work at home (virtually) and help small businesses with their back office work, etc. Lots of women are becoming successful doing this, and I figure I have plenty of office experience to be able to do this on my own. I've become really excited about the option, and am finding all the information I can about it. I'm in the process of creating my very own website, reading books about it, downloading different types of software to help me, coming up with a business plan, joined a virtual assistant website that posts hundreds of jobs from small businesses that they have researched to verify they are legitimate, etc. It's not easy...it's a LOT of work. I know going this route will be a long, hard process in the beginning. But I feel really good about it, and about the opportunity that I could stay home with my kids someday and make us some extra income, which I plan on saving away. I came up with my company name (after banging my head on a wall about it for a while!). Sunny Palms Admin Services. I even have my domain name bought on the web under SunnyPalmsAdmin.com. WHOA! Craziness. Now I just have to figure out how to make a webpage.... </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Ryan's doing great at school. BYU-Idaho is a great fit for him! He's going to school to major in Economics, and finally decided what he wants to minor in....Journalism! Not something he expected or planned on, but he feels really good about it and how it fits into what he wants to do...be a Research Analyst and report on what he finds! I think he'll be great at it. Here's a picture of Ryan heading out on his first day of school (Jan. 7th). Even though being out here has been a challenge for me, I know it is the right place for us to be...and that Ryan will be well on his way when we are done!</div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_qg53REGI/AAAAAAAAAUY/cfZEi5Nvclc/s1600-h/DSC07188.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296209537820332130" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_qg53REGI/AAAAAAAAAUY/cfZEi5Nvclc/s400/DSC07188.JPG" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_qhLEJHuI/AAAAAAAAAUg/N6vBjUR-aOM/s1600-h/DSC07190.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296209542437740258" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_qhLEJHuI/AAAAAAAAAUg/N6vBjUR-aOM/s400/DSC07190.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>I'm trying to be a LITTLE more domestic since I have time on my hands...and actually cook for Ryan more often :) Here's the best creation so far...Chicken Taquitos! I made them myself! I boiled chicken, shredded it with a fork, then boiled it in some chicken broth to give it more flavor. I rolled it up in corn tortillas and fried them! Put them on a plate of lettuce and added Baja Sauce on top (based off of Macayo's sauce...but I still have some perfecting to do!), cheese, and tomatoes (on mine only...Ryan hates tomatoes). They were GREAT! Ryan loved them :) I thought they looked pretty....</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_qhYtuj_I/AAAAAAAAAUo/uckT1dCHxek/s1600-h/DSC07165.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296209546101821426" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_qhYtuj_I/AAAAAAAAAUo/uckT1dCHxek/s400/DSC07165.JPG" /></a><br /></div><br /><div>The house is coming along nicely...here's a picture I took last week. They are painting and bricking it next. All the dry wall, plumbing, and electricity are in! It will be nice to be in a house...Ryan's mom is generous to include us in this! The basement apartment is going to be great! I'm mostly excited for the garage (to stay out of the snow) and the fireplace in our basement :) Oh, and the hot tub on the porch out back! Oh, and the jetted tub in the house! This house is going to be rockin'!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_rooznAcI/AAAAAAAAAVI/4qQV0vbNZfs/s1600-h/DSC07191.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296210770192171458" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_rooznAcI/AAAAAAAAAVI/4qQV0vbNZfs/s400/DSC07191.JPG" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_ro_oyngI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/I_HEPOhjDxw/s1600-h/DSC07194.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296210776320810498" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_ro_oyngI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/I_HEPOhjDxw/s400/DSC07194.JPG" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_rpfi_KyI/AAAAAAAAAVg/dfA8WMmwTKE/s1600-h/DSC07218.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296210784886401826" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_rpfi_KyI/AAAAAAAAAVg/dfA8WMmwTKE/s400/DSC07218.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We had a nice Christmas at Ryan's aunts house in Boise, ID. I hadn't met her or her family before then, so it was good to meet more of Ryan's family! They were fun. This is Ryan's cousin's son, Ethan. He's 3 years old...I played with him all Christmas day...he was my little buddy! So cute. He was so excited about this shark he got for Christmas and held it ALL day.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_roZkEWmI/AAAAAAAAAVA/CD6fs1A9KCo/s1600-h/DSC07182.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296210766100453986" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_roZkEWmI/AAAAAAAAAVA/CD6fs1A9KCo/s400/DSC07182.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_qhyBYxeI/AAAAAAAAAU4/QLVEm1jCGdk/s1600-h/DSC07179.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296209552895165922" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_qhyBYxeI/AAAAAAAAAU4/QLVEm1jCGdk/s400/DSC07179.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_qhWflwDI/AAAAAAAAAUw/Z0hsPfXrBFM/s1600-h/DSC07183.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296209545505652786" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SX_qhWflwDI/AAAAAAAAAUw/Z0hsPfXrBFM/s400/DSC07183.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I also got the chance to go visit my old salesman from Wells Fargo that I worked with for 5 years...Karle Armitage! He lives in Boise down the street from where we were, so I stopped off at his house and met his family. They were all very welcoming and fun to talk to. We only got to stay for about 30 minutes cause it was on Christmas Eve and we STILL had shopping to do before dinner, but it was a good visit! We'll have to stop by again the next time we are out there. I miss working with Karle.</div><br /><div></div><div>That's about it! I need to write blogs more often so they aren't this long...but I feel like I don't do anything but sit here all day, every day!</div><div></div><div>Anyways, I love and miss you all....especially Arizona :)</div><br /><div>Love,</div><div>Pam</div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-51515017581485860822008-12-14T15:01:00.000-07:002008-12-14T19:36:35.821-07:00I-DA-SNOWWell, we've officially been here, in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rexburg</span>, Idaho, for one week now. It's starting to feel more like "home" now....or should I say, more like I know I'm not going back to Arizona, and this is not a vacation :)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWx9utxRpI/AAAAAAAAASc/5mDoIm_Vuh4/s1600-h/snow+021.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279821812231915154" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWx9utxRpI/AAAAAAAAASc/5mDoIm_Vuh4/s400/snow+021.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />(we took this picture tonight, on our way back from checking out the progress of the house...it was snowing when I took this!)<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWrXfYqCHI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/dAYTuC-MUTk/s1600-h/028.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279814558212032626" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWrXfYqCHI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/dAYTuC-MUTk/s400/028.JPG" /></a><br /><br />But I like <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rexburg</span>, in it's small, quaint little town way. It's slower here. Literally. The speed limit is usually around 25 miles per hour, 35 when we are lucky. And when it's snowing (like today) you go about 10 miles per hour slower than the posted speed! At night, they have Christmas lights lit up going down Main Street. You don't see things like this, or as pretty as these ones, down in the Valley of the Sun.<br /><br />(this picture is the start of Main Street coming IN to town...but the lights aren't turned on for the night yet...it was only 4:30 p.m....and all the snow makes it look even MORE small <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">townish</span> than it is....I guess it's about 40,000 people right now. We have <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Walmart</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Applebee's</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">JB's</span>, Frontier Pies, Taco Bell, Taco Time, Arctic Circle...who has the best fries EVER, and the best Fry Sauce to go with them!....Pizza Hut, Dominoes, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">McDonalds</span>, Sonic, Dairy Queen, Subway, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Gandolfo's</span>, Burger King, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Walgreens</span>, Cold Stone, Wingers, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bajio</span>, The REX Movie Theater, Kmart, local <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">chinese</span> and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">mexican</span> restaurants, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Papa Murphy's Pizza-Take & Bake, and ALL the banks you could possibly want)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWsLWpoVrI/AAAAAAAAARE/rFu5ZjtWs-4/s1600-h/033.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279815449220503218" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWsLWpoVrI/AAAAAAAAARE/rFu5ZjtWs-4/s400/033.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWz8il6qUI/AAAAAAAAATU/3gFL6gdFluE/s1600-h/029.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279823990821136706" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWz8il6qUI/AAAAAAAAATU/3gFL6gdFluE/s400/029.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />The people....they are SERIOUSLY what make this small town so great. Everyone is so nice. People offer to help you with things like moving, or for you to use their snow scraper on your car :) They are very welcoming at church, and you feel at home, even when they know we will be moving in 3 months, once the house is done being built. For example...someone just knocked on Ryan's mom's door....it was two men from our church coming to help Ryan move our couch into our new apartment. Ryan didn't even call to have them come over! They just showed up, willing and able. That is nice. I t's neat (there's a word I picked up from Ryan over the last year) cause the two couples that live above our apartment are both in our ward. Both of them have really cute babies that we love to watch at church :)<br /><br /><br />(this is a picture of snow flakes on my car window today)<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWuuaRui4I/AAAAAAAAARM/CpyJxJXYCro/s1600-h/004.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279818250512665474" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWuuaRui4I/AAAAAAAAARM/CpyJxJXYCro/s400/004.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />Two days after we got to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rexburg</span>, we had our first snowfall. Mom and Dad had driven with Ryan and me up to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rexburg</span> to pull a small U-Haul trailer for us with all of our stuff in it (which was a HUGE help to us, and we really appreciated). Mom called me Monday morning, before they were getting ready to come over to our hotel and say goodbye, and asked me,"What's that white stuff outside?". I had told her the night before that I had jumped up that morning out of bed to look out the window to see if there was snow (which there wasn't). I just anticipated it now that we were in "snow country". I had forgotten all about looking out the window that next morning until Mom "<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">surprised</span>" me with snow :) It was fun to see, and exciting since it was only the second time in my life that I had actually SEEN snow fall (the first being in San Antonio, many, many years ago....like when I was 12). I didn't drive in it at all that day cause this Arizona girl was NOT ready for it. I am too scared of sliding around. The snow started to melt a little by the end of the day, but remnants of the first "real" snowfall for the city of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rexburg</span> were left on the ground in peoples yards for the rest of the week. I was so grateful that it waited until after we had gotten moved in before the winter REALLY started.<br /><br />(Do you SEE how deep that snow is? It was about 3 inches this morning when I took this picture outside our apartment)<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWwuxFsC9I/AAAAAAAAAR0/Nbwyakuax3Q/s1600-h/snow+011.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279820455659441106" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWwuxFsC9I/AAAAAAAAAR0/Nbwyakuax3Q/s400/snow+011.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Friday brought us a couple different things. The first was we got to move into our apartment! We had been living out of a hotel for a week until the apartment was ready. So that was exciting to have a place of our own. It made it feel more real that we are staying here vs. feeling like we were here on vacation, visiting Ryan's mom and staying in a hotel. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">SOOO</span> nice. The apartment is bigger and better laid out than our old one in Tempe. And thankfully has a nice, BIG laundry room, cause anyone that knows me KNOWS one of the biggest messes in my house is my clothes...so I'm glad I have somewhere to wash, dry, iron, hang, and leave my dirty clothes hamper in, instead of in my bedroom. I think this will help me be more organized. Our kitchen has a LOT more shelf and counter space...it's lovely. I already had the whole thing decorated the first night we moved in! I was THAT excited....<br /><br /><br />(That is our bedroom window to our apartment, with pretty trees beside it, next to the walkway to our cars...and Ryan shoveling our sidewalk after church today)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWwKq41DMI/AAAAAAAAARU/4AlgmVHwwyg/s1600-h/snow+013.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279819835519601858" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWwKq41DMI/AAAAAAAAARU/4AlgmVHwwyg/s400/snow+013.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWxU6FTEMI/AAAAAAAAASE/knriKRkdFJc/s1600-h/snow+015.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279821110908752066" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWxU6FTEMI/AAAAAAAAASE/knriKRkdFJc/s400/snow+015.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWxyAdZc6I/AAAAAAAAASU/Yy7UkTOW4YY/s1600-h/snow+019.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279821610836652962" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWxyAdZc6I/AAAAAAAAASU/Yy7UkTOW4YY/s400/snow+019.JPG" /></a><br /><br />The second thing that happened on Friday was our second snowfall. AND....Pam drove in it BY HER SELF. That's right folks, I went out that night to pick up some things at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">Walmart</span> during a pretty heavy snowfall. I didn't like it very much cause it was heavy, my windshield wipers didn't work too well (I need some new ones that don't just smear it around) and it was DARK outside, so I couldn't see the street turnoffs or lane markers. But, I made it home safe and sound. Ryan had me drive out to the house today, and I experienced my first sliding experiences while driving, but nothing bad :)<br /><br />Friday's snowfall seems to have brought snow on for the winter! It snowed yesterday and today as well....and they are expecting snow all week except for maybe Friday or something like that. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">AHHHH</span>. When we got up and went to church this morning it was 2 degrees outside! It is SO cold. Our windows get frozen shut on our cars so we have to open our doors when going through a drive <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error">thru</span> :) We bought our own ice scrapers/snow brushes for our cars, as well as a small shovel to keep in our cars for emergencies, in case we ever have to dig our cars out :) I can't believe I'm even having this conversation.....<br /><br /><br /><br />(This is Ryan brushing off my car, and then a picture of my Escape this morning before church)<br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWy7mlXjbI/AAAAAAAAASk/oFrOw7kEia8/s1600-h/008.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279822875201080754" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWy7mlXjbI/AAAAAAAAASk/oFrOw7kEia8/s400/008.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWwXUJfyGI/AAAAAAAAARc/8RbS1k0MvTE/s1600-h/snow+005.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279820052753795170" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWwXUJfyGI/AAAAAAAAARc/8RbS1k0MvTE/s400/snow+005.JPG" /></a><br /><br />The snow is beautiful, I will give you that. But it definitely is going to wreck havoc on my Arizona wardrobe. I'm going to have to find a whole new fashion sense out here that is snow friendly. My heels won't work out here very often...</div><div></div><div>I absolutely LOVE the trees they have here. I'm partial to these kind of "pine" trees, and various other trees that we don't have in Arizona. Seeing them change color for the winter is fabulous.</div><div></div><br /><div>(These are some trees outside of our apartment)<br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWwet2cv-I/AAAAAAAAARk/WENUw-SlA30/s1600-h/snow+007.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279820179912310754" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWwet2cv-I/AAAAAAAAARk/WENUw-SlA30/s400/snow+007.JPG" /></a></div><div></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWw2lIZRaI/AAAAAAAAAR8/_G1R6H4hxts/s1600-h/snow+012.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279820589888521634" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWw2lIZRaI/AAAAAAAAAR8/_G1R6H4hxts/s400/snow+012.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWwlwRyM3I/AAAAAAAAARs/GW9q0kj7cbE/s1600-h/snow+008.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279820300822918002" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWwlwRyM3I/AAAAAAAAARs/GW9q0kj7cbE/s400/snow+008.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div></div><div>(And a red tree that I found down Main Street....I love these red trees)<br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUW4ymu7sII/AAAAAAAAATk/ZmWpL3BXFfY/s1600-h/030.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279829317692141698" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUW4ymu7sII/AAAAAAAAATk/ZmWpL3BXFfY/s400/030.JPG" /></a><br /></div><br /><div></div><div>I had a job interview with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error">BYU</span>-Idaho over the phone with the Human Resource lady last Wednesday. It went really well, but she said it will probably take about 2 to 3 weeks until I hear back from them on a formal interview. She told me not to lose sleep over it....it takes a while for this kind of stuff to go through the education system, not to mention it's Christmas time. I'm hoping to hear back from them. It's as an Office Assistant for the Counseling department (like the Psychologists, not counseling for students registering for classes). I'm really excited about this position, because my ultimate desire is to get a degree in Psychology, and become a counselor for women in the church. I can't think of a better job for me than this, to prepare me for what I want to do as a career later in my life. They have seminars and stuff all the time, that I would help prepare for with the Counselors. They just did one a few weeks ago where they had some well known guest speakers come in and give seminars to the students on Eating Disorders. This kind of stuff gets me excited....cross your fingers, and say a little prayer for me. I would love it if I got this job. The HR lady told me I was a top candidate for the position. She was very impressed with my resume and all my experience, and wanted to know if I would be <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-error">ok</span> with the salary they were offering (wasn't bad for coming out here with no debt and a lower cost of living...$25,400...definitely a lot lower than what I WAS making, but this position is something I really love, and that makes it all worth it!), as well as wondered what was making me switch professions. She remembered me from an application I turned in to her about 3 weeks ago (she said I was a top candidate that time as well), but since I was still living in Arizona, they didn't follow through with me on that job, but now that I'm in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rexburg</span>, she said she hopes to talk to me again soon. Sounded like she was pleased with our interview. I hope so...</div><br /><div>The house started getting built more quickly this week, as the builder is wanting to get it completely built up outside, so they can work indoors during the winter snow. They had to wait for the trusses to come, so it stopped the last few days, and when we went out there to look at it this afternoon, it looks like they didn't get the roof on as hoped. And it also looks like they will be doing a LOT of sweeping tomorrow to get the snow out of the house :) They are estimating a February completion date. Only one more move....thank goodness. I'm tired of rotating boxes around.</div><div></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWzGLRCQzI/AAAAAAAAASs/aaqs1gvn8Pk/s1600-h/011.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279823056846603058" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWzGLRCQzI/AAAAAAAAASs/aaqs1gvn8Pk/s400/011.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>(And here's a picture of our neighborhood to the North of our house)</div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWzjt3qmNI/AAAAAAAAATE/UMyyEZp_Mac/s1600-h/019.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279823564351641810" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWzjt3qmNI/AAAAAAAAATE/UMyyEZp_Mac/s400/019.JPG" /></a><br /><br />My saving grace this week was driving into Idaho Falls two times to go clothes shopping at the mall out there. Idaho Falls is about 25 minutes from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rexburg</span>, and is a fairly big city. It's nice to drive there when you need a little bit of the city feel :) The mall is just like the malls we had in Arizona....at least the older malls in Arizona, like Fiesta Mall :) It has Macy's, Penney's, Sears, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" class="blsp-spelling-error">Dillards</span>, and all the other normal clothes stores in the mall. I got some GREAT deals at J.C. Penney's Friday night.</div><div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWzrPr_9LI/AAAAAAAAATM/34g3lXELxq0/s1600-h/021.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279823693688599730" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWzrPr_9LI/AAAAAAAAATM/34g3lXELxq0/s400/021.JPG" /></a><br /><br />We have plans to drive to Ryan's aunt's house in Boise, ID for Christmas. We are leaving the Monday before (I think Dec. 22) and coming home the day after. That will be fun to see what Boise is all about.</div><div></div><br /><div>(This is Ryan too chicken to get out of the car in the cold weather while I looked at the house)</div><div></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWzcMgM7MI/AAAAAAAAAS8/rJqY6jfX9PQ/s1600-h/018.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279823435135773890" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SUWzcMgM7MI/AAAAAAAAAS8/rJqY6jfX9PQ/s400/018.JPG" /></a><br /><br />And the last big thing I will leave you all with is..............dun dun dun..........no, I'm not pregnant. BUT, Ryan and I are celebrating our 1 year anniversary tomorrow (15<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span>)! HOLY SMOKES! I can't believe it's already been a year. It's been a good year. If they say that the first year is the hardest, we should have smooth sailing ahead! It's been fun to get to know Ryan better this year, and for the man he is. Every day just gets better and better, and we had the opportunity to have some really neat talks on our drive up to Idaho that I wouldn't trade for anything....having a chance to dig deeper into ourselves and really let the other person in. It's a fun experience. Hopefully, in this next year if we are so blessed, we might be able to continue on with our <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26" class="blsp-spelling-error">learning</span> experiences by adding another little body to our family. I've got to find me a job and some insurance first though. But you all will be informed of any such events when they transpire :) Here's to all my girlfriends who didn't think I would last a full year of resisting the urge to have a baby....<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_27" class="blsp-spelling-error">neener</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_28" class="blsp-spelling-error">neener</span>. :)</div><br /><div>I miss and love you all....and my warm Arizona!</div><br /><div>Love,</div><div></div><div>Pam </div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-55348623620619384742008-10-26T23:10:00.000-06:002008-10-26T23:15:09.490-06:00California Dreamin' with a CPAPAHHHH!!!! Someone slow the time down, please! There are officially 40 days left until Idaho. I'm getting into countdown mode, and trying to make sure we have everything in place. And yes, that includes anxiety medication! I started taking Zoloft again a few weeks ago to help with the anxiety/depression and also to keep me calm during this move, and in learning a new job and dealing with all the changes out in Idaho. It's helped me a lot. I haven't had any panic attacks for several weeks now.<br /><br />The anxiety medication also helped cause I had to have ALL 4 of my wisdom teeth removed a week ago! I wasn't really nervous for the procedure, but more for the IV :) Everything went great though...they gave me a IV anesthetic, but didn't put me out all the way since I have sleep apnea, so I was awake during the whole thing (although drugged up enough that all I really remember is him telling me he was done! I don't remember him being in my mouth at all!). He also gave me a local anesthetic in my mouth to numb it up. The only incident we had was when they called Ryan in to the room to get me, and they started explaining to him how to change my gauze in my mouth, he got REALLY dizzy :) He said he started thinking about HIS experience with getting his teeth removed, and remembered all the blood that came out when he went to change his gauze...the thought made him weak in the knees! He told the nurses he didn't feel so good, so they took him to the other room. As he was headed for a chair, he blacked out and fell to his knees right in front of the chair. He came to quickly, and was trying to remember what he was doing...."oh yeah, I was going to sit in the chair". :) I was in the other room all by myself as all the nurses rushed in there with him. I heard them yell out for the doctor, but didn't know what was going on. The nurses came back in with me and asked me who was going to drive us both home now :) They gave Ryan a Slim-Fast Shake, and eventually he made it back into my room, a little more embarrassed :) Poor Ryan. But we got home, and he helped me all weekend with getting my prescriptions filled, buying me food and juice, and helping take my medicine, etc. He was a great help...I love him. My recovery was pretty easy...a swollen face, and some pain in my jaw, but nothing horrible. It was all very tolerable. Overall, I don't know why I put it off so long...I always envision things being worse than they really are. How could I complain about this situation? I had good drugs, a cute doctor, no pain, hardly any blood, and no infections afterward. That was a successful procedure :)<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVCQ-P8OoI/AAAAAAAAAOs/AqD38EwKiNw/s1600-h/Ryan+and+Pam+California--Kyla"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261684599007492738" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVCQ-P8OoI/AAAAAAAAAOs/AqD38EwKiNw/s320/Ryan+and+Pam+California--Kyla" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The other inquired about topic by some of you....how goes it with my CPAP? Well....as you know, the first several weeks I really wanted to throw it out just to get some sleep! Here was this thing that was supposed to make you feel refreshed in the morning, but instead, I was even MORE tired from the lack of being able to sleep with something different on my face! I really was scared that it would never get better, despite most peoples warnings that it took up to a month or more to get used to it. HOWEVER, I'm so glad I didn't give up on it (I really was determined to make it work) cause I'm here to tell you that I have officially become inaugurated into the CPAP Hall of Fame. I'm a life long user. I am used to sleeping with it now, and can fall asleep right away like I used to. I sleep through the WHOLE night with it, besides one or two wake ups, but I immediately fall back to sleep. I used to wake up every other hour or so when I first started wearing it. But now, I NEED my CPAP to fall asleep and I have dreams ALL NIGHT LONG! Having Sleep Apnea, I used to always wake myself up before I got into the deep REM sleep cause I would stop breathing, so your body wakes itself up just a little bit to get oxygen again...so I hardly EVER had dreams before :) And the even BETTER part? I don't snore. That's right, Pam no longer sounds like a growling bear (per Ryan), and in return, Ryan sleeps better, too :) I now wake up, and can focus at work. I don't have the fogginess that I used to, where it took people repeating things several times for me to catch what they were saying. I feel smart and capable. AND, I don't have the overwhelming urge to come right home from work and nap! :) YAY! I can see the benefits already, and I'm told they just get better and better as time goes on. I am PRO-CPAP! It was worth the several weeks of getting used to. Yes, I even took it with us to California....they tell you to make sure you even use it for naps!<br /><div><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVCnh7nCjI/AAAAAAAAAO0/oMwfcqPSy2w/s1600-h/La+Jolla+Beach"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261684986543016498" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVCnh7nCjI/AAAAAAAAAO0/oMwfcqPSy2w/s320/La+Jolla+Beach" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Ryan and I had the opportunity to go to San Diego, CA two weekends ago for a friends wedding in the San Diego Temple. I lucked out cause my recommend expires at the end of this month, and I had forgotten to check the expiration date! I would have felt so bad if I had missed it. It was a beautiful wedding, and a true testament of change and the happiness that can enter our lives.</div><div><br />Couple other incidents while we were out in Cali....the first is we almost ran out of gas on the way to San Diego. YES. Pam's WORST FEAR actually almost came true! And guess who was driving???? ME! I screwed up. Normally, on the straight drive to LA using the I-10 we can get there on one tank of gas. However, the drive to San Diego is different with more mountains to go through, using up more gas. Stupid Pam misjudged it, and as we were getting to the end of the drive, the tank was getting lower and lower. We had to stop a few times in the mountain for Border Patrol check points, and after the last check point, the gas light came on. OH CRAP! Sitting in the middle of the mountains, without civilization around. We came up to an Indian Casino, but all I saw was the casino! Ryan made a short mention of "Maybe we can get gas at the casino?" I guess as his cue to me to get off....but I looked over and just saw the casino, so I kept going. We kept driving, and I could tell Ryan was getting really nervous as he would keep making comments about "hopefully we can get somewhere without running out", etc. This just bugged me cause talking out loud about it wasn't going to solve the situation! So I would turn up the radio as my cue to him to be quiet, and told him that "I'm saying a prayer", and I meant that quite literally. I had no other option at that point other than to pray that we would get to a gas station in time, leaving it in Heavenly Fathers hands as I coasted down the mountains, trying not to use as much gas as possible. And my other option would be to deal with the running out of gas situation when and if it actually happened. It wasn't going to do me any good if I sat there and worried about it. I figured if worse came to worse, we would use one of those emergency call boxes to get help, or call 911. We weren't THAT far outside the city that someone couldn't get us help within a reasonable time, and there was plenty of traffic. Of course, I rather NOT have that situation :) I kept praying and praying, and pleading and pleading. And low and behold, a gas station appeared up a hill ahead. Ryan had gotten a little upset at me, but mostly out of fear cause he said he didn't know what he was supposed to do if we ran out of gas...so that fear put him in a defensive mode :) But he later apologized as we were back on the road with a full tank of gas (we had .2 gallons left...we were almost on fumes!), and I let him drive the rest of the way so I could have a good cry and get out my fear and anxiety from the situation! I hope that never happens again. We got gas in Yuma on the way home :) </div><div></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SPQV0ZLvsOI/AAAAAAAAAOM/89QwJgBRBbA/s1600-h/California+066.JPG"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SPQWKG-151I/AAAAAAAAAOU/NV3maXbSrQI/s1600-h/California+067.JPG"></a><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVEiUlOW1I/AAAAAAAAAO8/yBD1Ww2mMcI/s1600-h/Ryan+Hood"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261687096083372882" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVEiUlOW1I/AAAAAAAAAO8/yBD1Ww2mMcI/s320/Ryan+Hood" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVEoAYEdbI/AAAAAAAAAPE/97PU5EmFt80/s1600-h/Ryan+Bed"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261687193738704306" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVEoAYEdbI/AAAAAAAAAPE/97PU5EmFt80/s320/Ryan+Bed" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The other thing was we went to Scripps Aquarium. It was much smaller than I remember. It was interesting to see, but I have to admit that I like the Long Beach Aquarium better....it has WAY more things to see. The weather in California is COOOLLLL. Ryan would say it was cold :) He froze the whole time we were there! The weather in Rexburg has already cooled WAAYYY down, so we are in for quite the shocking surprise when we move :)</div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVE6MP081I/AAAAAAAAAPM/_X9jJr7BpSE/s1600-h/Ryan+ocean"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261687506163004242" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVE6MP081I/AAAAAAAAAPM/_X9jJr7BpSE/s320/Ryan+ocean" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We also went to see the movie "Express" at the theater in Cali. It's the football movie based on a true story about the first black man to get the Heisman Trophy. It was a really good movie. Highly recommended. We enjoyed it....</div><div><br />Lately I've become addicted to watching CSI over and over on DVD. LOVE it. I watched several episodes on our laptop to and from California in the car :) The other thing we have been watching lately (and probably will be for some time, considering how many episodes and seasons there are) is Stargate SG-1. Ryan has all of the episodes, and LOVES that show. After a lot of pleading, I finally gave in and watched some with him (I always avoided it cause I assumed it was like Star Trek). I actually like it! They have sarcasm and humor in it that I like, and the story lines are pretty good. </div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVFASJHcWI/AAAAAAAAAPU/xNDiclbScS0/s1600-h/Pam+Ocean"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261687610824683874" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SQVFASJHcWI/AAAAAAAAAPU/xNDiclbScS0/s320/Pam+Ocean" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The other thing I'm addicted to is reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. It's that series about vampires written by an LDS lady. I'm on the third book, and I'm making Ryan go see the movie with me when it comes out next month :) I can't decide who I like more...Edward or Jacob. I have a feeling there are a lot more twists and turns to come as I keep reading :)</div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-40367584842016422972008-09-13T17:30:00.000-06:002008-09-13T18:28:57.072-06:00Just a BLAAAHHHHGSeptember! Already....<br /><br />This last month just flew by! And we are already half way through this month. I have a feeling that the next 3 months we have left here in Arizona before we head out to our new adventure in Idaho are going to go by very quickly.<br /><br />I don't have anything cute to share for this past month (happens when you don't have anything but a husband right now :) No cute kids to speak of, or take pictures of). But a few things happened for us.<br /><br />I went to the doctor earlier this last month for chest pains. I've been having these sharp pains in my left side of my chest. After one full night of nothing but pains, I decided to go to the doctor just in case (I have high cholesterol and triglycerides, so that worried me a little). While I was there I also asked if I could go in to get a Sleep Apnea test done. I've snored ever since I can remember (at least from the age of 10...I have a rather long and thick Uvula...you know, that thing that hangs down in the back of your throat? Yeah, my siblings used to tease me that I had a long "hangy").<br /><br />The first set of roomates I had, I shared a room with one of them. After several months of living there, I noticed my roomate walk in to our bedroom super early in the morning. That's when I clued in that she had been sleeping on the couch for several weeks cause my snoring was so loud she couldn't sleep. I felt SOO horribly embarrassed, and slept on the couch myself for the next several months until our lease was up. I decided at that point that I would never share a room again with roomates to avoid that embarrasment and situation. I was often teased at girls camp for snoring (I think that's one of the main reasons why I never made it past my 3rd year at girls camp...you always hated that dreaded question before the first night of,"Does anyone snore??") and have a horrible memory of being teased by my mean boy cousins when I was 12 years old when I was visiting them in California and they were sleeping in the living room with me and my sister. I woke up and heard them in the kitchen making some kind of concoction to pour down my throat while I slept since I was snoring. I looked up and one of my cousins had come out of the kitchen and was standing over me to see if I was still asleep. They ran and got back in bed when I turned and looked at him. The next night when we were getting ready for bed, one of them said,"Don't snore like a freaking pig again tonight", really rudely. Needless to say, my snoring has always embarrassed me, but it was something I could do NOTHING about. It wasn't cause I was overweight, or something that I could control. It had to do with the make up of my throat! Man, it has always been such an anxiety creator for me if I knew I had to sleep with someone in the same room that wasn't my immediate family. I always dreaded getting married cause I didn't want to have my husband hate me for keeping him up all night. Thankfully, Heavenly Father must have known this was one of my worries, cause he gave me Ryan, who is the soundest sleeper there is. But over the last several months I've thought I needed to go get checked out for Sleep Apnea cause I wake up often feeling like I had stopped breathing, and am tired ALL DAY LONG, can't focus at work, and have a hard time pulling words out of my brain when having conversations. It really affects my whole life every day.<br /><br />Anyways, the doctor set me up with a Stress Test (where you have to go run on a treadmill and they take an ultrasound of your heart to see if there is any blockage) and a Sleep Apnea Test.<br /><br />I went to the Stress Test first....and I'm happy to report, that my heart is as healthy as it should be. No problems there. The cardiologist sent me on my way....but it WAS cool to see the ultrasound of my heart pumping :)<br /><br />Then I had my Sleep Apnea Test. I wasn't nervous going into the test, and they have the room set up like a mini hotel room. It's very nice and relaxing, except for the fact that you have about 20 electrodes hanging off of your body and head, and there is a camera in the ceiling so they can see which side of your body you are laying on during the test. Anyone who knows me knows I suffer from anxiety. And I guess the idea of being somewhere different, with the camera, and that someone was monitoring me all night long was too much. I literally slept maybe an hour the whole night. At least in that hour, they were able to tell that I had episodes of Sleep Apnea.<br /><br />They requested I come back in and get tested wearing the CPAP machine (little air mask you wear while you sleep so the air keeps constant pressure going through your throat at night, which stints your throat open so it doesn't close up and you get fresh oxygen to breath). They sent me back in with an Ambien to try to help me sleep this time. I'm not sure the total number of hours I slept that time (it still felt like it wasn't a full night, but definitely more than the first time...I remember I dreamed a little). I just got the final report back from my doctor, and they did diagnose me with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, and I have to pick up my very own CPAP machine to try at home. I told Ryan he could start referring to me as an Elephant :) I'm only 29, and I'm looking at having to use this machine for the rest of my life....but if it helps give me back a quality life, I'm all for it. I just want to feel normal and not in a daze all the time. They also say that Sleep Apnea can cause anxiety, so I'm hoping that some of my anxiety might go away too...wouldn't that be nice!!! I'll let you know how it goes once I start my CPAP therapy here at home.<br /><br />The other BIG news is that Ryan was officially accepted to BYU-Idaho!!! That was our final step before the big move...making sure he could actually attend! I'm proud of him and am excited to see where BYU-Idaho leads him in his future career endeavors.<br /><br />We are just getting geared up for the move. I'm sure it will be here before I am ready. I need to start packing boxes and throwing things we don't need away! I still have stuff sitting at my parents house that I need to go through! EEK. Not fun. But it must be done....<br /><br />Rockband 2 comes out on Sunday. Ryan is planning on running down to Best Buy first thing Monday morning to pick it up. We are excited for it, and the new songs we get to play!!! YAY!<br /><br />I've been in kind of a depressive funk lately, and I'm hoping I come out of it soon. I think the move, and leaving my friends and family, is part of it. I think my medical stuff lately is another part, and being anxiety ridden about the fact that I have officially been TOLD I stop breathing while I sleep (I can't WAIT for that CPAP machine, just to stop worrying about it!). And I think the fact that I've gained 15 pounds in the last 9 months that I've been married (after staying at a decent weight for 3 years while I was single) and can't fit into any of my cute clothes anymore, and my hair color looks like crap ever since my best friend moved to Las Vegas last year....it's all just piling up. And the sad thing about depression is once you are in it, you can't do anything to fix the problems you are complaining about cause you just don't feel like doing ANYTHING! I hate this cycle. Hopefully it will pass soon...I usually get into a depressive funk a few months every year...and this is my time this year! I'm hoping to get out of it before we get out to Idaho, cause I want to start trying to have a baby soon after we get out there, but if I can't get out of this funk, I'll ask to get on some medication...and I don't want to be on that medication when I'm pregnant (they prefer you NOT to be). I think if I could motivate myself AT ALL to start exercising, that would be half of my battle. Now if I could just do that..............<br /><br />Sorry, I didn't mean this post to sound negative or anything. Things are going good for us! We are getting all our debt paid off before the move, are enjoying our time together as a married couple without kids, and are both looking forward to what lies ahead for us and our family.<br /><br />OH, AND we got a new calling at church as Primary Teachers for the Valient classes (age 9-12). Ryan does good teaching them about the scriptures. He had to teach all 10 of them by himself last Sunday while I was having my last Sleep Apnea Test done. I was so proud of him and how he handled it. He enjoyed teaching them.<br /><br />I got to go out to lunch with two of my sisters today, Candy and Kristen. I'm trying to spend as much time with my family as possible before I move, and it was fun to go out with them. We also went and spent some money together at Target, clothes shopping! I still had some gift cards from our Wedding, so I bought myself a treat with a few new clothes. I needed them! :) We had fun together.<br /><br />I'm also addicted (no pun intended) lately to that show on the A&E channel, Intervention. It's about families who are surprising their family member with an intervention for their drug or alcohol abuse, to send them to a treatment center to recover. I find it interesting to see where people come from in their lives that bring them to that point. They all have stories, and they usually are full of abuse or dysfunction. It's interesting to see how we all really have two roads we can travel in life, when dealing with hard things growing up. Some people will choose to go down one path and keep their lives going in a positive direction despite what has happened to them, while others take what was done to them and spiral out of control down the other path. I love the psychology of it all, and quite honestly, the sympathetic/compassionate side of me aches for these people who have experienced so much tragedy in their lives, and makes me yearn for their happiness and success. I want to help and save them all, but I can't. As I want to do some sort of counseling later in my life for women dealing with abuse, I am interested in learning all I can about how people end up in these situations, and figuring out what the best way to help them out of something that seems hopeless to them, keeps me watching.<br /><br />That's about it for me today! I'll try to have some fun news to share later this week to off set this plain old blog :) I can't pull my creative Pam out today, but I'll do that soon!Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-25142853238017072852008-09-03T23:37:00.000-06:002008-09-03T23:55:38.942-06:00One Word QuestionsOne word. That's all you can write as your answer. Can you do it? Not as easy as you might think. Change the answers to fit you and post! It's hard to only use one word answers!<br /><br />1. Where is your cell phone? .................... Purse<br />2. Your significant other?....................... Ryan<br />3. Your hair?.................................... Poopy<br />4. Your mother? .................................Caring<br />5. Your father?....................................Works<br />6. Your favorite thing?..........................Food<br />7. Your dream last night?........................Interesting<br />8. Your favorite drink...........................Pepsi<br />9. Your dream/goal?..............................Mom<br />10. The room you're in?..........................Living<br />11. friends?.....................................Funny<br />12. Your fear?...................................Death<br />13. Where do you want to be in 6 years...........House<br />14. Where were you last night?...................Home<br />15. What you're not?.............................Organized<br />16. Muffins......................................Crumbs<br />17. One of your wish list items?.................Perfume<br />18. Where you grew up?........................... Arizona<br />20. What are you wearing?.......................G's<br />21. Your TV?.....................................Sony<br />22. Your pets?...................................Roaches<br />23. Your computer? ..............................Laptop<br />24. Your life?...................................Anxious<br />25. Your mood?...................................Tired<br />26. Missing someone?.............................Jen<br />27. Your car?....................................Useful<br />28. Something you're not wearing?................hmmm....<br />29. Favorite Store?..............................Clothes<br />30. Your summer?.................................Hot<br />31. Like someone?...............................Yes<br />32. Your favorite color?.........................Brown<br />33. Last time you laughed........................Today<br />34. Last time you cried?......................SaturdayPam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-21386809177080348372008-08-05T20:14:00.001-06:002008-08-05T20:51:47.289-06:00Winning StreakSo this last weekend proved good for me...<br /><div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>My good friend, Tera, that used to work with me before she ran off and had twins, invited me and Ryan over Friday night so I could play with her and her Bunco group (Ryan hung out with her husband, Jeff, and had fun of his own by going out with Jeff and buying a really expensive video game without talking to me first ;). It was her turn to host Bunco night, so she thought she could invite me :) I've never played Bunco before, but heard it was a lot of fun. All these women seem to get addicted to their Bunco groups. I figured why not give it a try? It's a dice game, sorta like Yahtzee, where you each take turns rolling dice and you get points if you roll the right number (this is a very condensed description :) Anyways, about 12 women showed up (all married, and most with children)...and Tera, I must add, was a gracious host and supplied dinner for everyone (yummy Chicken Enchiladas) and homemade guacamole and bean dip...YUM! The first round of playing I had NO idea what was happening. I trusted my teammate to keep track if I was supposed to keep rolling or not, and if I got points :) Finally, after a few rounds, I quickly caught on (it's quite easy, but VERY fun...it also has to do with the sociality of it all, that makes it so enjoyable). And guess what???!!! I WON! That's right...I had the most wins at the end of the night (see attached proof) and as the winner, I got this lovely crystal bowl from Tera! WOOHOO!</div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SJkLNRJTAII/AAAAAAAAAL8/KvHLnAnDER0/s1600-h/Pam%27s+Pics+082.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231224764736143490" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SJkLNRJTAII/AAAAAAAAAL8/KvHLnAnDER0/s320/Pam%27s+Pics+082.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SJkLVLRC6CI/AAAAAAAAAME/9VuDYH3T0l0/s1600-h/Pam%27s+Pics+067.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231224900596983842" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SJkLVLRC6CI/AAAAAAAAAME/9VuDYH3T0l0/s320/Pam%27s+Pics+067.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>I loved the Bunco group idea so much, that I hope when I move to Idaho I either get a group started on my own, or find a group to join! It's so much fun to get together with a group of friends and play games!</div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>ALSO, the other big win in my life....last night, Ryan and I went bowling down at Apache Lanes for our Family Home Evening together. Generally, Ryan and I both suck at bowling. It's not our best sport. Our night bowling is usually spent down the "Walk of Shame" (you know, that really embarrassed/defeated walk back to your seat when you roll gutter ball after gutter ball, and you have to pass all of your friends? That's the Walk of Shame). We decided to play 3 games together. The first two games stayed true to who we are...and that sure ain't bowlers! I broke 100 on the second game, and Ryan came up at 60. Well, something must have changed in the air, cause on the 3rd game, miracles started happening. Yes. Miracles. I'm up first....and I start off with a BANG! It was a STRIKE! Then my second bowl....another STRIKE! WHAT IS GOING ON??? Third bowl....you guessed it....A TURKEY! STRIKE! Amazing! Of course by the 4th bowl, I had to take a break, and didn't get the strike...5th bowl...STRIKE! This went on TWO MORE TIMES! I got 6 strikes total! AND a spare! 7 out of 10 aint bad folks! I had already hit 100 points on my 4th frame, and by the end of the game I got a 186! Holy cow...that's nearly 200! Ryan was in utter disbelief (as was I). I kicked everyone's butt that was playing around us...it was awesome :) I think Ryan being the man, took a hit to his ego a little bit, and the Walk of Shame seemed a little more painful for him in my glory...but he was a good sport as we left the building and he told me how good I did and that he was proud of me :) I have to journal this event, cause heaven knows it might not ever happen again :) Truly amazing.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>Nothing much else new going on...we got a letter in the mail today from Ryan's old employer. When Ryan quit his job his boss didn't process his paper work, so Ryan got automatic deposits into our bank account on two paydays AFTER he quit. I finally had Ryan call down there and tell them what was going on so they would stop. But we still had his paychecks in our bank account, and obviously had to return the money ($2050!). We were smart enough not to spend it when it got deposited, so we cut a check and sent it back. They sent us a letter today saying they received our payment, were very appreciative of us taking the initiative to send the money back, and ended it by saying how Ryan's honesty was "admirable". That was a nice end to our day. Trust me, saying goodbye to $2000 to a couple getting ready to move to Idaho and are trying to save as much money as they can, wasn't the easiest...but it was the right choice...I couldn't have lived with myself knowing we had money that didn't belong to us.</div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SJkO-PxCS7I/AAAAAAAAAMM/QcHH0HA0pZw/s1600-h/Pam%27s+Pics+086.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231228904714423218" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SJkO-PxCS7I/AAAAAAAAAMM/QcHH0HA0pZw/s320/Pam%27s+Pics+086.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div>Anyways, I'm off to make Spaghetti. Ryan called a few hours ago saying it sounded really good, and wanted me to make it and bring it down to him at work for dinner...he tends to get wrapped up in his computer game he plays before work, and doesn't eat. I'm sure he's starving by now! At least Spaghetti is something I can't really ruin, can I?<br /></div><div></div></div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-6681020146833015042008-07-26T22:49:00.000-06:002008-07-26T22:54:22.485-06:00Garage living....So, while I was home for lunch last Monday, Ryan's mom called and told us about her final plans. She is going to build this house (only probably not so much of the wood on the inside walls) and build on the attached three car garage with an apartment above it, for us to live in. The garage will be attached to the back of the house where the mechanial room and cedar shower and tub are, and our apartment will be above that, next to where the loft is. We can either go in and out through the garage (our own private access...she's building stairs through the garage, which will be nice in the winter) or through the door in the loft. She's also going to have the gazebo out front more swung around on the side of the house, and she is putting a hot tub on the gazebo! YAY! She thinks the grandkinds will like the little "Bonco" area below the loft, where they can read books in their own little nook. <br /><br />We thought this was a great idea for her, first off, because it is a TON LESS than building an UNFINISHED basement for us to live in. And she will have an extra apartment that she can rent out to relatives (nieces or nephews, but the grandkids stay for free!) in the future if they want to go to BYU-Idaho...or a place for us to come stay at when we come to visit in the future, so we don't have to stay at a hotel. The only outstanding debt she'll have is her house, which she will pay off within 15 years (when she turns 65...perfect for retirement age). I thought she made a great decision to set herself up for retirement :) I think it will be a great investment for her. The builder likes the design so much that he thinks he can get away with building it in a REALLY nice subdivision, even though it will be far smaller than the other houses. He thinks the architectural integrity of the house will let them get away with building there. Which will also be a good investment for her to have the smallest house in a very prominent neighborhood. Should be easy to sell if she ever needed to.<br /><br />Anyways, should be fun! She says if we start having a family while we are there, she would even switch us for the house/her in the apartment, since she has two bedrooms, and we'll just have the one bedroom in the apartment. I told her she wouldn't have to do that (it makes me feel bad!) but she said it would be plenty of space for her to live in while we finish out school there...I told her we would figure it out when the time came :) I'm alright putting any little ones in the living room for a while, while we finish up school there. We'll see what the future holds. But it's getting more exciting the more firm our plans get, like mom getting a house built! YAY!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.eplans.com/craftsman_house-plans/HWEPL55632.hwx" target="_blank">http://www.eplans.com/craftsman_house-plans/HWEPL55632.hwx</a><br /><a href="http://www.eplans.com/traditional_house-plans/HWEPL64436.hwx" target="_blank">http://www.eplans.com/traditional_house-plans/HWEPL64436.hwx</a>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-42154713662182137462008-07-20T11:22:00.000-06:002008-07-20T11:30:25.195-06:00Sleep TalkingRyan is a sound sleeper. Which is good, cause honestly, I snore...not a little bit...but A LOT. So I've always appreciated that I married Ryan cause he sleeps right through it all.<br /><br />The other thing I appreciate about him is that he sleep talks. AND he's one of those who will respond right back to you. Usually he doesn't remember anything he talks about when I ask him in the morning.<br /><br />Well, this morning, around 7 a.m. I wake up feeling the whole bed shaking. I look over at Ryan and see a HUGE grin on his face. Ryan is laughing hysterically in his sleep (yet completely out loud). This wasn't just a small laugh, it was a full-on hearty laugh, as if we were having a conversation and he was laughing. I decided to play with it a little bit, so I asked him what was so funny. He chuckles a little and says,"1-800-STINK!" and then busts out laughing again. :) Crack me up. <br /><br />When I talked to him about it this morning, he actually remembered saying 1-800-STINK, but can't remember what in the world his dream was about. Too funny.Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-69068664783860023202008-07-17T18:22:00.000-06:002008-07-17T18:44:18.955-06:00What can brown cookies do for you?<div><div><div><div><div>Late last night, Ryan decided to make our chocolate chip cookies. These are the type of cookies that come in a package, and all you have to do is add eggs and butter. </div><div><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH_lIIN9DSI/AAAAAAAAALU/tpspB_x4zBQ/s1600-h/Ryans+Cookies+004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224146020580789538" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH_lIIN9DSI/AAAAAAAAALU/tpspB_x4zBQ/s320/Ryans+Cookies+004.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div>Not much to it....just the way I like it! I was so proud of Ryan cause he was in the kitchen making them all on his own...when he puts in his first batch of cookies in the oven and says,"I don't know....we'll see how these turn out....things turn out weird whenever I make them, especially baking." I wasn't sure why he was so pessimistic about it all (Ryan is generally a VERY optimistic person...enough for both of us, cause I am on the pessimistic end of things). As he was coming out into the living room to wait for them to bake, I decide I need a bite of cookie dough! How can you NOT take a bite of cookie dough when making cookies?? That's the best part! So as I pass by him and tell him I need a bite, he gets this kinda weird look on his face and says he hopes they turn out ok. As I go into the kitchen and look into the mixer bowl, I see this:</div><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH_lOIbE5YI/AAAAAAAAALc/-JXQl8Pas_0/s1600-h/Ryans+Cookies+005.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224146123715044738" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH_lOIbE5YI/AAAAAAAAALc/-JXQl8Pas_0/s320/Ryans+Cookies+005.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH_lingsYbI/AAAAAAAAAL0/MAQEl987R4c/s1600-h/Ryans+Cookies+008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224146475657486770" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH_lingsYbI/AAAAAAAAAL0/MAQEl987R4c/s320/Ryans+Cookies+008.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div>BROWN COOKIES!!!! WHAT??? These were just normal chocolate chip cookies....nothing brown about them, except for the chocolate chips! I was SOOO perplexed! I asked Ryan WHAT happened, and he said he didn't know! He said the mix was white when it came out of the package, but brown when he stirred it all together! HUH??? I just couldn't understand this, or why it happened. I SWORE he was lying to me, and just trying to play a joke on me. I kept bugging him over and over about what happened and what he put in it. I thought he might have put some cocoa in it or something, just to make me freak out or something. He promised me he did nothing to the cookies. The dough TASTED normal...it just didn't LOOK normal. The cookies were pretty flat, which we didn't mind, but they didn't rise very much. And after they were done cooking, this is what they looked like (and they WEREN'T burned...far from it!). </div><br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH_lTTiCGII/AAAAAAAAALk/i6krRfHR3zQ/s1600-h/Ryans+Cookies+006.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224146212596357250" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH_lTTiCGII/AAAAAAAAALk/i6krRfHR3zQ/s320/Ryans+Cookies+006.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div>So weird!!! I'm still so confused as to what happened to the cookies...but they taste good :) Does anyone know what might have happened?</div><br /><div></div><div>Ryan works tonight, so I'm off to clean the house to keep me busy until he gets home around 10 p.m. We are so excited cause Batman comes out this weekend! We're planning on going to see it Saturday morning (when it's cheaper and less crowded!). We can't wait! :)</div></div></div></div></div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-44919947368232969612008-07-15T23:00:00.000-06:002008-07-16T12:39:53.250-06:00Why does Walle have a roach as a friend?I hate the summer in Arizona for numerous reasons...not only is the heat enough to melt your skin off, but the monsoon season brings more than just floods...it brings sewer roaches! BLAH! Seriously...I walked into my bathroom last night around midnight to get ready for bed, and as SOON as I turned on the light, my eyes gravitated to something dark sitting right next to my bathroom <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">toilet</span>...<br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH2KaNwFFCI/AAAAAAAAALE/O49_eWSXpIo/s1600-h/Roach+010.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223483325792195618" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH2KaNwFFCI/AAAAAAAAALE/O49_eWSXpIo/s320/Roach+010.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />"RYAN!!!!!! Help, I need you!!!!!" I yelled, while shaking my hands wildly and making noises like,"<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">blahhhhhhh</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">blahhhh</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">blahhhhh</span></span>". I was in a predicament. Stay there and stare at the huge roach, who must have felt my eyes baring down on him so he was scared to move an inch, and almost looked dead....OR run away and lose eye contact with him, which would lead to a roach disappearing to the unknown...if I did this would he end up in my bed? My clothes in the laundry basket? Where would he go? So many thoughts and questions, and choices that needed to be made. After standing there for a minute, full on knowing Ryan couldn't/wouldn't get up right at that minute cause he was in the middle of some quest in the game he was playing on the computer, and knowing that I wasn't going to actually APPROACH the roach myself (ha! I just said <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">appROACH</span></span> the roach) and didn't feel like standing there and staring at it all night, I took the chance that he might remain still for a bit longer, and I also might be able to coax Ryan away for a minute. So...I did it. I LEFT the roach. I went to the spare bedroom and kinda talked about how gross it was again to Ryan, hoping he might think it was really nasty too so he would come kill it, but no such luck. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Ok</span></span>...I'm gonna have to suck it up and kill it myself. I happen to have some Raid in the house from when we had an ant infestation a few months ago after Ryan picked off all the pineapple from his pizza and left it in the pizza box on the floor. The ants went CRAZY and must have been able to smell that sweetness from outside! Ryan woke me up around 2 a.m. and told me we had ants in our living room. Our solution that night was to vacuum them all up, since we have a bag-less vacuum. Worked quite well. We had about 3 different ant lines coming in our house that time...not fun. Anyways, so I decided to Raid this roach! I could do it! At least I had something to spray on him, so I didn't have to get close. I got armed with my Raid, and headed into the bathroom...only to discover, he was gone!!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH2KewcvpLI/AAAAAAAAALM/exGLDvTDIFs/s1600-h/Roach+011.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223483403825816754" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SH2KewcvpLI/AAAAAAAAALM/exGLDvTDIFs/s320/Roach+011.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I KNEW IT! I knew he would leave! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">AHHHH</span></span>!!!! That created MORE screaming and flailing of arms and running back to Ryan. CRAP! Now I have a roach on the loose somewhere in my house. Ryan "protected" me by keeping me in the extra bedroom with him until he was done with his quest. I went on the couch and fell asleep until he was done, so we could go back to the bedroom together, and he could make sure there weren't any roaches in my bed. BLAH. I hate roaches. More than anything.<br /><br /><br />I pulled my free credit report today. My one free credit report that the government so graciously allows us once a year! I'm happy to say, I have great credit, and no one is stealing my identity :) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">YAY</span></span>!<br /><br /><br />So tonight, Ryan worked, and I met up with one of my old friends, Trisha, for dinner. I hadn't seen her since before I got married too. She cracks me up...so many stories! We ate at Sweet Tomatoes (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">MMMM</span></span>.....) and talked for 2 hours! It was nice to get out and be with someone, while I waited for Ryan to get off work.<br /><br /><br />Ryan just walked in, so I better go and hang out! Jay Leno is on, so we'll probably finish watching this. Ryan's surfing the fridge for dinner. He hasn't found anything he wants, but he did find our cookie mix, and we've decided to make cookies tomorrow :)<br /><br />Ryan and I have been married for 7 months as of TODAY!!! Can you believe it? 7 months!!! Happy 7 month Anniversary, baby! I love ya! Time flies when you are having fun....Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-73085658849106948282008-07-14T22:48:00.001-06:002008-07-14T23:52:12.339-06:00Monday, Monday....What is there to say about Mondays? Your weekend is over, and it's back to work! The hustle and bustle of the world comes back into your life. I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled about going to work this morning...and I could hardly keep myself awake all day! But all in all, it was an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ok</span> day for us today!<br /><br />I got up and left to work, as my cute husband got to lay in bed...ahhh...jealousy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ensues</span>...I brought a wheat bagel and some fat free cream cheese to work for breakfast today, trying to eat a little healthier and save some money by not going across the street and getting it from the cafe next to my work. As I told my salesman today when he asked how it was...it was fat free...how do you think it tastes? :) Can't even compare to the fresh bagels next door, with the mound of fully-fat cream cheese they put on it, but those bagels next door might also be contributing to that weight gain I was referring to a few blogs ago :) I thought it best to start eating my own :)<br /><br />I text Ryan around 9:15 a.m., still expecting him to be in bed since school doesn't start until 11:20 a.m. I asked him if he could try picking up the living room a little bit, and load the dish washer since the repair man would be coming today to fix our <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">air conditioner</span>. To my surprise, he text back almost immediately saying he was already in the process of doing that :) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">YAY</span> for my husband! I thought that was so good of him to already be on top of that....and I much appreciated it. (As a side note, he found out today he got a 91% on his math test! Good job, babe! I'm proud of you...summer math is NOT easy....).<br /><br />I came home for lunch around 1:30 p.m., just as Ryan got home from school. The repair man came promptly at 2:00 p.m. to fix our air. A process I expected to be long and drawn out took the man merely 5 minutes top to fix. 5 minutes!!!! He walked in and knew what to do the second he came in. Wow. Apparently we had too much gunk in our bathroom sink (toothpaste, etc) that it was clogging up the pipe that also drained the water from our <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">air conditioner</span> (who knew it was attached to our bathroom sink! So much for cleaning the living room....the man went into our master bathroom! EEK :) It wasn't too bad, but we weren't prepared for him to have to walk through our bedroom to our bathroom. At least nothing embarrassing was laying out...<br /><br />So...we now have a fully functioning <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">air conditioner</span>! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">YAY</span>! No more pot, and no more leaks :)<br /><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHwzbjm7-yI/AAAAAAAAAKY/w1QFiHvle8g/s1600-h/Ryan+Food+008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223106216350972706" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHwzbjm7-yI/AAAAAAAAAKY/w1QFiHvle8g/s320/Ryan+Food+008.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Today was my nephew, Brandt's, 8<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">th</span> birthday, so Ryan and I went over to my sister Michele's house with my parents and other sister for cake and ice cream! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Woohoo</span>! Ryan and I stuck around for an hour, and then we took off to go get some dinner (around 8 p.m.). We made a stop first at a Whole Foods store to find a new grain that we were introduced to when we visited Idaho...it's called Spelt. Never heard of it? Don't worry, neither had I. It's a sort of wheat/oat type grain (looks like wheat until you cook it, and then it opens up into an oat type look). It's really healthy, and REALLY, uh...cleans out your system. :) We thought we would try it again and see how it makes us feel, since both of us are trying to eat healthier.</div><div></div><div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHwzuL29kFI/AAAAAAAAAKg/ZdpeR0dljqU/s1600-h/Ryan+Food+007.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223106536393248850" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHwzuL29kFI/AAAAAAAAAKg/ZdpeR0dljqU/s320/Ryan+Food+007.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div>As we were getting back into our car after leaving Whole Foods, I heard about 6 loud "pops". Being from the valley, I knew EXACTLY what that sound was....Ryan, on the other hand, had never heard those sounds before, and didn't know what it was. "Get me IN the car! Those were gun shots!" I eagerly urged Ryan. He was casually like,"Was that what that was? I've never heard gunshots before" :) We drove over to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Qdoba</span> in the same plaza to get something to eat. As we were finishing up at the cash register and looked out the window, we saw an ambulance and several cop cars on the other side of the plaza. Holy Cow! I didn't realize it was THAT close...freaked me out. Can you say ghetto? EEK. I won't miss that part of Arizona when I move to Idaho :)</div><br /><div>Ryan ordered a burrito for dinner...but made a HUGE mistake. One thing about Ryan, he HATES tomatoes. I mean absolutely HATES tomatoes. He cannot swallow food if it has tomato in it...his tongue is super <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">sensitive</span> and he can taste whenever there is tomatoes in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">something</span>...he can even just taste the left over FLAVOR if there WAS a tomato on something. It had been a while since Ryan had been to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Qdoba</span>, and forgot what salsa was what. When he asked for mild salsa, he didn't realize it was pretty much <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">pico</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">de</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">gallo</span>. Yes. LOADED with HUGE tomato chunks. As soon as he saw the lady putting it on his burrito, he panicked, realizing what he had done, but felt it was too late to say anything. As we first sat down to our meal, I had a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">distraught</span> Ryan on my hands, where he felt like he couldn't even eat his burrito, and thought his whole night had been ruined. </div><br /><div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHwz-elANVI/AAAAAAAAAKo/Aym7-L4-GB4/s1600-h/Ryan+Food+003.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223106816296105298" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHwz-elANVI/AAAAAAAAAKo/Aym7-L4-GB4/s320/Ryan+Food+003.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div>So <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">that's</span> when the operation began. With fork and knife in hand, he sliced open that burrito straight down the middle, pulled it apart <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">delicately</span>, and began removing the tomato pieces. He had steady hands, and was able to remove all of the bad tissue :) After about 5 long minutes of diligently hunting through the burrito, he sewed his burrito back up and all that was left as proof of his hard laboring efforts, was this mound on the table:</div><br /><div></div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHw0X8cCPLI/AAAAAAAAAKw/tb5kks6CHVU/s1600-h/Ryan+Food+002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223107253808282802" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHw0X8cCPLI/AAAAAAAAAKw/tb5kks6CHVU/s320/Ryan+Food+002.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>Ryan was able to enjoy the rest of his burrito, besides that ONE time when he stopped cold in his chewing, and leaned over the table...I panicked for a minute, asking him if he was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">ok</span> cause he looked like he was choking or something. He barely got the words out that he wasn't <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">ok</span>, so I continued to be a little worried, when finally he <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">squeaked</span> out that he tasted tomato in his mouth (mind you, this was just the FLAVOR of tomato...no actual tomato was in his mouth). :) Oh, my little Ryan. I love you. After a swig of his drink, he was back to normal, and finished up his burrito.</div><br /><div>We headed back home, singing to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Weezers</span> new album, and then got in our nightly positions with me on the laptop in the living room, and him playing his game on the computer in the spare bedroom. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Ahh</span>...life is good.<br /></div><div><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHw1e2Ov9DI/AAAAAAAAAK8/2UuUaegNoyc/s1600-h/Ryan+Food+006.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223108471912657970" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHw1e2Ov9DI/AAAAAAAAAK8/2UuUaegNoyc/s320/Ryan+Food+006.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />P.S. Did you hear about the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Indymac</span> Bank closing, and tons of people losing their hard earned money they saved for retirement? So sad....I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to lose the money you saved to keep you going throughout your life. That's why it's so important to DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY your funds!</div></div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-41877864429795215202008-07-13T18:32:00.000-06:002008-07-13T19:58:01.212-06:00Pam's Fantabulous Saturday<div>I was getting dressed yesterday afternoon to meet up with some girlfriends for lunch and a pedicure, and as I was doing my hair in our extra bathroom, I kept hearing dripping. This was odd, I thought, because we never USE the extra bathroom for showering, EVER...so I didn't know why dripping would be going on in there. As I checked behind the shower curtain I FOUND.....nothing. What the heck? So I walked out of the bathroom to head to our bathroom to check if the shower was dripping in there (after all, I HAD just gotten done taking a shower). As soon as I walked out of the bathroom, I felt something wet hit my head! Huh?? I looked up, and saw water dripping out of our airconditioner unit in our hallway. GREEEAATTT....only a few more months living here and things couldn't wait to break down AFTER we left. I put a pot underneath it to catch the drips, and asked Ryan if he would go open it up to see what the problem was. "Sure", he said, while playing a game on the computer..."It's probably just condensation or something". After several more minutes of asking him to check it, cause it was REALLY dripping...a steady stream of water...not condensation...and I was worried it might cause water damage, and heaven forbid, a pipe break that is going to flood our house or something (this is my over dramatic worry-wart part of my mind) I finally got the folding chair and our screwdriver out, and hopped up to open it myself (of course this finally got his attention where he knew I meant business, so Ryan finally came into the kitchen...funny how that works :) When I opened it, you could see water streaming out of a VERY rusted pipe where the water flows in to the airconditioner. Every time our air is on, and water is pumping through, it comes out the pipe. Great. So, we are trying to keep the air off as much as possible (thankfully it's not that hot here this week, with all the rain, but it IS humid). We'll go down to the office tomorrow morning to have maintenance come change the pipe. Hopefully this is an easy fix, and not something that drags on. As for now, this is what we are using for protection:<br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHpgGQqoKbI/AAAAAAAAAF8/MONB59Ii3iA/s1600-h/Pam%27s+Saturday+074.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222592378558753202" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHpgGQqoKbI/AAAAAAAAAF8/MONB59Ii3iA/s320/Pam%27s+Saturday+074.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />And this is our rusted out airconditioner...if you look closely, on the right, you can see water dripping out:<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHpgWHknCZI/AAAAAAAAAGE/ywJX9arbcZ4/s1600-h/Pam%27s+Saturday+071.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222592650995501458" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHpgWHknCZI/AAAAAAAAAGE/ywJX9arbcZ4/s320/Pam%27s+Saturday+071.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />So I finished getting dressed to head out with some girlfriends I haven't seen since getting married (almost 7 months ago!!!). We ate a late lunch at Applebee's down on Gilbert/Baseline. It was fun to catch up on gossip from our old singles ward, and find out who is dating/marrying who! :) Afterwards, we went to Diane's Nail Salon (or something like that) just down the street on Gilbert & Southern, in the northeast corner of the plaza. This was where my friend I was with goes at least once a month for the last 3 years! They all know her by name there :) They were all SUPER friendly, the place is clean, and they rub your legs and feet FOREVER! The lady I had had to work on my feet a little longer to remove all my nasty calluses...one of the down falls of wearing heels all the time. I got a nice French Pedicure, and the lady did a great job...so great, that she even (and I'm not sure if I should share this or not) TRIMMED the hair on my big toes :) HA! I thought that was great. While I was over drying my toenails, she came over with some cream to give me a BACK MASSAGE!!! It was heaven! I think it was quite honestly the best shoulder massage I've ever gotten. And the cream was the menthol kind, that kept on going after she was done. So fabulous. And that was all free of charge, and standard there. Can you believe it? I've never been to a place that does all that, just for a pedicure. Here are my cute toes:<br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHpksJuBmtI/AAAAAAAAAGM/wBxHdVGLSi0/s1600-h/Pam%27s+Saturday+100.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222597427575495378" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHpksJuBmtI/AAAAAAAAAGM/wBxHdVGLSi0/s320/Pam%27s+Saturday+100.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />After that, I dropped by my parents house (Ryan had to work yesterday night from 4-10 p.m., so I was looking for company) but they were out to dinner, so I headed over to Walmart to do some grocery shopping. Ryan and I hadn't been in almost 2 weeks, and we were literally on our last two sheets of toilet paper, last blob of toothpaste, last drop of contact solution, and down to bread and water in our fridge :) It was time. On the way out (after an hour and a half of shopping...I hate grocery shopping, especially when I don't know what I'm going to do for dinners) I picked up my girly splurge by getting a Star Magazine....I love gossip magazines! I get to tell Ryan all the gossip going on, like they are all our best friends. He loves it just as much! Plus, Star has crossword puzzles in them, and Ryan and I like to do those together :)<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHpmaI317MI/AAAAAAAAAGc/kQ4ttp3dcDg/s1600-h/Pam%27s+Saturday+106.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222599317133847746" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHpmaI317MI/AAAAAAAAAGc/kQ4ttp3dcDg/s320/Pam%27s+Saturday+106.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I came home, had some cereal for dinner....</div><br /><div><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHplkirUHZI/AAAAAAAAAGU/Sz63tXGKWak/s1600-h/Pam%27s+Saturday+088.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222598396347686290" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHplkirUHZI/AAAAAAAAAGU/Sz63tXGKWak/s320/Pam%27s+Saturday+088.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div>(my favorite meal...even on our honey moon, when Ryan went down to Downtown Disney for both of us after a long day being at the theme parks, I had him buy me a bowl of cereal to bring back up to me at the hotel, from WOLF GANG PUCK'S EXPRESS. HA! Here is this world renowned chef, and I have Ryan come back with a bowl of cereal. Poor kid, he said the guy at the register just looked at him like,"REALLY? Are you really buying cereal?" Hey, the way I look at it, why serve it there if you aren't trying to sell it! :) I really wanted it! Of course, once we discovered Wolf Gang's 4 cheese macaroni and cheese the next night, we were hooked on that instead :)<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHqnoIwVVhI/AAAAAAAAAJU/ajc7lgEDDBk/s1600-h/Ryan+and+Grandma+100.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222671025876325906" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHqnoIwVVhI/AAAAAAAAAJU/ajc7lgEDDBk/s320/Ryan+and+Grandma+100.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHqojavEL9I/AAAAAAAAAJc/CJvwPgKAcPw/s1600-h/Ryan+and+Grandma+099.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222672044315127762" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHqojavEL9I/AAAAAAAAAJc/CJvwPgKAcPw/s320/Ryan+and+Grandma+099.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I finished my magazine last night, Ryan got home, we watched some Mad TV and Saturday Night Live (switched between the two, depending on who's skit was the stupidest or not), and fell asleep. It was a good day.....</div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-34836856995468039752008-07-13T18:30:00.000-06:002008-07-13T22:25:13.531-06:00WIIIIIIIIIIIIRyan and I bought a Wii Fit today! YAY! It seems pretty fun so far...I definitely could get used to using it on a daily basis for some exercise. We are both determined to lose about 20 pounds. We'll keep you posted on how it works out for us :)Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-65855915129927096992008-07-13T18:28:00.001-06:002008-07-13T22:27:25.878-06:006 Random Things About PamI had a friend that tagged me to list 6 random things about myself...so I'll give this a try.<br /><br />1) I went down the worlds largest raftable waterfall (25 feet) in New Zealand. It was an 8 man raft, with a 50-50 chance of flipping on the way down. I'm happy to say, we didn't flip! :)<br /><br />2) I absolutely love to eat tomatoes whole, like you would eat an apple, but hate them sliced and on my sandwiches/hamburgers.<br /><br />3) I played the violin all growing up, and was even 1st Chair Violin in my Junior Year in high school.<br /><br />4) I was ambidextrious (sp?) until I broke my left arm in Kindergarten, falling off of my older sisters (too big for me) bike, and was forced to use my right arm for 6 weeks, while my left arm was in a cast!<br /><br />5) I am absolutely TERRIFIED of E.T. Yes. You read that right...E.T. As in Extra Terrestrial. I saw that movie in the movie theater with my family when I was only 3 years old (probably one of my earliest memories...I can actually remember this). I sat through the whole movie with my moms hand over my eyes, and I would spread her fingers every so often to see through until I got scared again. My mom bought me an E.T. action figure to help me get over my fear. You could push a button on his back and his head would raise up. I ripped his head off, and threw him away. That's how I deal with my fear. And yes, I'm still scared of him to this day. I refuse to watch that movie, but Ryan says he is going to get our kids addicted to watching it over and over again just to torture me.<br /><br />6) When I'm watching something very emotional on t.v., like a story on babies, or family or something, and my eyes start welling up and I want to cry, I start laughing instead. I guess to counter act the crying, I laugh to diffuse the tears. It's the weirdest thing. All that emotion gets built up, and laughter comes out to relieve it.<br /><br />That's me in a nut shell....I'm a mixed nut at that. :)Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-31660458598615354962008-07-13T18:26:00.000-06:002008-07-13T22:28:36.479-06:00I-DA-HOGall, it's been forever since posting on here...nothing new ever happens, and since I don't have any cute kids to blog about yet, I run out of things to say! I figure once we make the big trek to Idaho, I'll have a whole sort of new adventures to blog about, and to keep up with everyone I leave in Arizona! <div><br /><div></div><div>Ryan and I made a quick trip to Idaho last month with his mom. We decided I had better visit it while it's warm and pretty, before moving in the depths of winter :) Wow. What an eye-opening experience. Idaho has the landscape I like...tons of greenery and mountains/hills. I will admit, as much as I LOVE Arizona, I don't care for the desert scenery much. So I am welcoming this new change to greenery. On the other hand, the part of Idaho we will be living in is SMALL. I've never lived in a small town, and thought that I never WOULD live in a small town...I'm a big city girl at heart, although, keeping an open mind, I've never EXPERIENCED small town life. I could, very well, come to appreciate it MORE than city life. We did a lot of house hunting in our short weekend...and it looks like Ryan's mom is more than likely either building a twin home or a house with a completed basement with kitchen and seperate entrance through the garage, out in Rexburg, ID. That's where BYU-Idaho is, so with the gas costs, etc. these days, Rexburg just made most sense. </div><div></div><div>(Below are some pictures on our way to Jackson Hole, WY, which is only 2 hours from Rexburg...Yes, that's snow on the mountains in the middle of JUNE).</div><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHGzE-03udI/AAAAAAAAAFs/YJz8oHPzAEw/s1600-h/Idaho+010.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220150341264718290" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHGzE-03udI/AAAAAAAAAFs/YJz8oHPzAEw/s320/Idaho+010.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHGzScbrmmI/AAAAAAAAAF0/mX7nMjA70os/s1600-h/Idaho+013.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220150572550429282" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/__Q1hatYcLsg/SHGzScbrmmI/AAAAAAAAAF0/mX7nMjA70os/s320/Idaho+013.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><div>We got to meet some family friends of Ryan's mom, and it was good to at least meet more people in Idaho that I will be able to feel like I can "do stuff" with...so I won't feel alone. They were so nice and welcoming, and quite honestly, down to earth, which I love. </div><br /><div></div><div>The closer I get to the "move", the more I realize that I WILL miss my family. I thought it wouldn't be a problem for the most part, since I'm so independent, but just KNOWING that my family is not at arms reach is a little sad for me. But moving on to this new part in our lives as OUR new little family, is exciting too. And I think I'll like the safe/clean/down home part of Idaho that you can't get here in the Valley. It's a totally different atmosphere. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll have some of my own immediate family move out that way in a few years...so I can get the best of both worlds ;) One of my other sisters is more than likely moving to North Carolina in the next month or so, with her 4 boys and husband. It feels so weird that our stagnant life is yet again being shaken up in all sorts of directions!</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><br />Right now, we are just trying to save money, get all our debt paid off by the time we leave, and head to Idaho with a little bit of savings. Figuring out what to do with all of our stuff is the next big step...sell it and buy new stuff in Idaho, or rent a U-Haul for over $1K (not including GAS). We'll get it all figured out eventually...I'm just trying not to worry too much about it right now :)</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><br />The other thing on my mind most lately is how unforgiving marriage has been with my weight....good golly. I've stayed the same weight for at least two years straight...not that it was my IDEAL weight, but it was a manageable one, and one I could live with. But almost 7 months after marriage, and WOOOAAAHHH NELLY! I've gained almost 15 pounds!!!! Not pretty. As any girl can understand, that can really wreck havok on a girls self esteem. I've felt SO not pretty lately, and my look and attitude can attest to it. I'm very self conscious of how I look and feel right now, and quite honestly, I'm a little depressed about it. Stuck in a rut, and going through the cycle of negativity about it in my head. Making dinner for TWO people is so different now (I was ok eating cereal every night as a single girl, but that doesn't work for Ryan :). I'm going to try to get determined to LOSE the weight before moving to Idaho. Not only for myself, but to also prepare my body the best for hopefully having babies once we are out there. My cholesterol and triglycerides aren't at their best. I've got a lot of work to do...I'm just hoping I can do it. I'm at a loss for meal ideas, and controlling the snacking that goes on at our house. Blah, blah, blah.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><br />Anyways, that's about it for us. Nothing new yet, but I'm sure more will come in the next few months. It's late, and I have work in the morning...so I'm off for now!</div><div><br />Sweet dreams,</div><div></div><div>Pam</div><div></div><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-60407095912968814742008-07-13T18:24:00.000-06:002008-07-13T18:36:25.788-06:00Glorious! (Ryan Blog Excerpt)**NOTE--Sadly, this was the last post Ryan has ever done...once he lived here and we were "steady" I guess there was no more need for the computer romancing :) HA! We got engaged about a week and a half after this post (2 months after we started dating), and were married 4 months later on December 15th, 2007 (total of 6 months dating time). And last month marked our year anniversary of when we started dating each other! WOW how time flies...For those of you just joining in, I have posted all of the Blog entries that Ryan ever wrote on his Myspace blog while we were just starting to date, mostly for our own family history purposes. If you want to skip over them to see what we are currently up to, feel free to do so :) Our feelings won't be hurt**PAM<br /><br />Sunday, August 12, 2007<br /><br />The past couple months have gone by in a whirlwind!<br /><br />I have returned home from my mission. Had my third back surgery. Moved to Arizona. Got a new job at the University of Phoenix. Best of all, I met the most wonderful woman of them all.<br /><br />It hasn't been easy... It's all been new, exciting, and a little nerve wracking at times. However, it's all been good. I am grateful for all of it!<br /><br />Thanks to my friends Kyle and Jen... Pam, I loves ya!<br /><br />With all the shenanigans and goings on... you'd think I would be ready to settle down and slow down and just chill. Quite the contrary, things are only going to get crazier! I'm excited!Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-59264069527127570602008-07-13T18:23:00.000-06:002008-07-13T18:24:28.857-06:00Survey says... (Ryan Blog Excerpt)**NOTE--Ryans intellectual side coming out....**PAM<br /><br />Tuesday, July 31, 2007<br /><br />I don't get many things right the first time. In fact, I am told that a lot.<br /><br />Can one be predispositioned to fail a given task? Why?<br /><br />What happens if a person doesn't quite measure up to the standards of a peer?<br /><br />Which is better: The effort, or the end result? Why?<br /><br />What reaction from peers should one expect for lacking knowledge on any given subject?<br /><br />If a person is called "dumb" often enough, does that mean they are dumb? Why?<br /><br />How does one know the difference between a cutting or kidding remark?<br /><br />Is a person allowed to have feelings, or is it better to be invincible? Why?<br /><br />Is a person allowed to express thier feelings?<br /><br />If yes, can they do so without reproach? If no, why not?Pam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6127555253232400144.post-91531860799354740922008-07-13T18:20:00.000-06:002008-07-13T20:18:16.208-06:00A Few Observations (Ryan Blog Excerpt)**Note--One of my roomates had dated (briefly) a guy named Callous at the time of this blog. Thus the reasoning for his definition of Callous :) **PAM<br /><br /><br />Tuesday, July 17, 2007<br /><br />People who play piano cannot be punks. To prove my point, I reference the music video, "My Favorite Accident" by Motion City Soundtrack. He's not rocking out, he's having a seizure!<br /><br />Callous: (adj.) Insensitive, indifferent, unsympathetic. Consequently, it's a bad name for a child.<br /><br />MoHawk and Mullet. A waste of two perfectly good "M" words.<br /><br />Pam's hot.<br /><br />I love and support art. With that said, there sure is some sucky art out there.<br /><br />I lost my train of thought... I'll have to continue this another timePam Pricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699044053880999143noreply@blogger.com0