Jellystone Park

I 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...

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!

(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)

WOOHOO! 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!

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!

(Ryan's growling face to the bear)

(OOOO...scary bear...and scared Pam!)

(Ryan getting held up)

(Taking a quick break for a dance)

(Giving the bear a little TLC, due to all the persecution he was facing)

(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 :)

The next morning (Sunday) we woke up and headed up through the Grand Teton 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....

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.

"Moose, you say? What moose?"

We drove past this....The Grand Tetons...on our way up to Yellowstone...

...and saw all the highlights of the west side of Yellowstone....

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.

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...

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!

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 :)

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...

On the way back to Rexburg, 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:

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:

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.

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...

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 ;)

Way 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.

To bring you up to date since the last time I blogged, here's what we've been up to:

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.

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.

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...

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.

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!

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.

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.

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....

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.

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!

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! :)

All good things come to those who wait.

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.

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 :)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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...

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.

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.

Oh, and my new favorite game is Ticket to Ride...in case any of you cared :)

25 Random Things About Pam That You Wish You Never Knew...

25 Random Things About Me:

1. I've been to New Zealand...and it has to be one of the most beautiful places on the Earth!

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.

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...

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.

5. I really...really really....want a baby right now. Like, right now. And my husband is just as bad...

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.

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.

8. I have panic attacks...and have since I was a little kid.

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.

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...

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.

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...

13. I've been to Oahu, Hawaii.

14. I love, love, love CSI (Vegas). My favorite show, and I own all the seasons.

15. I think I really want a Magic Bullet for my birthday...my husband is aware.

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.

17. I am completely out of debt. And proud of it.

18. I played the violin growing up. I haven't touched it since I graduated high school.

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.

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...

21. I hate any kind of food that comes out of the ocean. Fish, seafood, you name it. No thanks.

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.

23. My husband was my first real boyfriend. And I was his first kiss (I wasn't TOO far ahead of him here...).

24. I have a love/hate relationship with rollar coasters. I love them, but they scare the crap out of me!

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 alone

They 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.

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 :)

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....

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.

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.

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....

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!

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....

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'!

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.

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.

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!

Anyways, I love and miss you all....especially Arizona :)

Love,

Pam

I-DA-SNOW

Well, we've officially been here, in Rexburg, 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 :)






(we took this picture tonight, on our way back from checking out the progress of the house...it was snowing when I took this!)



But I like Rexburg, 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.

(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 townish than it is....I guess it's about 40,000 people right now. We have Walmart, Applebee's, JB's, 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, McDonalds, Sonic, Dairy Queen, Subway, Gandolfo's, Burger King, Walgreens, Cold Stone, Wingers, Bajio, The REX Movie Theater, Kmart, local chinese and mexican restaurants, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Papa Murphy's Pizza-Take & Bake, and ALL the banks you could possibly want)








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 :)


(this is a picture of snow flakes on my car window today)




Two days after we got to Rexburg, we had our first snowfall. Mom and Dad had driven with Ryan and me up to Rexburg 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 "surprised" 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 Rexburg 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.

(Do you SEE how deep that snow is? It was about 3 inches this morning when I took this picture outside our apartment)



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. SOOO 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....


(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)








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 Walmart 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 :)

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. AHHHH. 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 thru :) 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.....



(This is Ryan brushing off my car, and then a picture of my Escape this morning before church)

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...

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.

(These are some trees outside of our apartment)

(And a red tree that I found down Main Street....I love these red trees)

I had a job interview with BYU-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 ok 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 Rexburg, she said she hopes to talk to me again soon. Sounded like she was pleased with our interview. I hope so...

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.

(And here's a picture of our neighborhood to the North of our house)

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 Rexburg, 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, Dillards, and all the other normal clothes stores in the mall. I got some GREAT deals at J.C. Penney's Friday night.

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.

(This is Ryan too chicken to get out of the car in the cold weather while I looked at the house)

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 (15th)! 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 learning 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....neener neener. :)

I miss and love you all....and my warm Arizona!

Love,

Pam

California Dreamin' with a CPAP

AHHHH!!!! 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.

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 :)



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!

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.

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 :)

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 :)

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....

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.

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 :)