Holiday Dilemma

So, ever since I have moved out of my parents house I have always done a Christmas card/photo. I did one with Kim, Melissa and Erin my first year of college, I have made Ryan do one with me ever since we have been together, and they have ALWAYS been done the first week of December. Well, here it is the week before Christmas and I haven't even started my Christmas cards OR my Christmas shopping!!!! What is wrong with me??? Anyone that knows me well knows that this is something completely out of the ordinary. I blame the 75-80* weather we have been having the last few weeks. Like I said before, it is very hard to get into the Christmas spirit this year.

Blast from the past...

2000


2004


2005


2006


2007


2008


Anyway, it is cloudy outside today (it looks like it might snow...ha) and I have the day off so I am going to try and bust it out all in one day! Wish me luck!!!!!

Tis the season!

Wow! I have come to realize that I SUCK at blogging! No posts since July...Maybe I should make it my New Year's resolution and then I would stick to it...Right, like I ever stick to my resolutions. But here's hoping that I will get better in 2011!

So obviously we have been doing a lot since July. Ryan and I both have new jobs and are liking them thus far. I am working as a manager for Paradise Bakery and Cafe . I really like the company and what they stand for. This is not my ideal career but it works for now. We are actually getting ready to open a new store out by the house and I am much looking forward to the 10 minute drive as opposed to a 45+ minute drive.

We have been doing a lot around the house to make it our home, especially in the back yard. It has become a wonderful place for us to hang out and as soon as everything starts to grow it will be a place that we can enjoy. We are also looking forward to starting on the inside of the house and can't wait to get some color on the walls. Here are a couple pictures...

Before...




After...





(notice our "crop circle" haha)

Both of our parents have come to visit us Bob and Vickie in July (they got to experience the 112*) and we went to a baseball game. And my parents in October and we went to a football game.




So we have both decided that Arizona in the winter is amazing!!!! We are really enjoying the warm weather and 70-80* is something we can really get used to. Ryan likes it a lot more than I do I think, I really miss the snow...not the cold, just the snow! Luckily we will be headed to Montana in a couple weeks so I can get my cold/snow FIX haha and then I can enjoy the beautiful AZ winter as long as we can before it starts to get hot again.

It's a little difficult to get into the Christmas spirit when it is 80* out and there is not a sign of snow in sight, but here is our version of our winter wonderland!




Hope this finds you all well and prepared for the holidays!

One Year Anniversary

Today marks our first wedding anniversary!!! I feels like it was yesterday that we were standing in front of friends and family expressing our love for one another. This has been a crazy year and we have accomplished so much. We continue to have great adventures and we look forward to many many more! Here is a preview of our action-packed first year as a married couple!

July 24, 2009...




Our NOT honeymoon but vacation after the wedding...






Ryan got a new job...

So we packed up and moved!!

We bought a new house...


and I finally graduated college!


It has truly been an amazing year and there is no one I would rather spend the rest of my life with. Ryan is the best thing that has ever happened to me and he helps to make me a better person and makes me laugh every day. Happy first anniversary babe, I love you more than you will ever know!!!

Katie's Bachelorette Weekend...

One of Katie's last weekend as a single woman went off without a hitch in Jackson Hole, WY. We stayed in an amazing condo had great food, drinks and company. We also got all geared up and went white-water rafting, then took Katie out on the town and showed Jackson how we roll :) Hopefully Katie had as much fun as I did....thanks ladies for such a good weekend!

Graduation

I know it's a little late, but I finally have some time to get caught up on our blog. So May 15, 2010 was a long time in the works but I finally did it, I graduated college!!!! Got my Bachelor's Degree in Psychology...no idea what I am going to do with it, but I got it!

My mom, dad, Grandma, Ryan, Bob, Vickie and Travis all made the journey to Boise to help me celebrate, as well as lots of friends from out of town. Sarah helped me plan a big party and all my friends showed up to help celebrate, even some people I haven't seen in a while. A lot of our friends have children now, so the days of partying until 4-5 AM are long gone but it's fun to see all the kids playing with each other.

It was a great day, I had a lot of fun chatting and catching up with all my friends. Thanks to my mom and grandma for helping me with all the food, and to Sarah and Joe for being some of the best party-planners there ever was.

Here are some pictures from the much-awaited event...