Ketchup... catsup... Catch Up

It has been a while, like usual.

Brian is working at Verizon still. He has been working hard at school and will be graduating in December. We don't know what will happen from there. Anyone know of someone that needs help from someone with a technology management degree? He is great with computers and what goes with them.

Anyway, I am very proud of him and what he has done. He works hard to take care of me.

I have started school. I started in May and just finished my first semester yesterday. I have never had to work so hard for school in my life. I love the challenge! I passed all my classes with A's and B's and even got a 100% on my math final! I will be done next December and then will be studying a lot for the certification exam. After that, I will be a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant and will finally be able to work doing what I have wanted to do my entire life!

I am so grateful to Brian for making it possible for me to not work. I have quit driving buses and am able to focus on my schooling. This last semester was mostly during the summer and I would not have made it through if I had been working along with 7 classes. It was brutal and I was having a hard time looking at the future of getting up at 4:30 and leaving the house and not getting home until 6:30 at night and then having 7 classes of homework. Brian made it so I didn't have to go back to work and I jumped at the chance.

We are all doing well here. For our one year anniversary, Brian surprised me with a trip to Indio California. It is a small town outside of Palm Springs. I loved it there. So beautiful! We stayed at one of his grandparents timeshares and could not have asked for a better location. The weekend happened to fall right before midterms and it was just the thing I needed to be able to relax and calm down. When we got back, I was focused and passed midterms with flying colors! It was a wonderful getaway and we plan on doing it again!!

This summer we have made a few trips to Flagstaff and spent lots of time with family. It has been great! My sister moved to Tucson and is now only a short 2 hour drive away from me. She has been spending a lot of time at our house and I have loved every min of it.

That's the happenings around here. Hope all is well with you!

April

We are nearing the end of Brian's semester at school. He will be taking one class this summer and then 4 more in the fall. Then he will GRADUATE!!! December 16th I think is the official date. I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished! He is still enjoying his job at Verizon and I hope that the fun and joy he has at his job continues.

I am still driving buses and enjoying it a little more. I love that I can have a group of kids to get to know again. I like having my own route. I start my Occupational Therapy Assistant school this Monday. It is a 20 month program so I will be done in less than 2 years! I am nervous and excited and ready and not ready and so many emotions at once. I have wanted this my whole life and now I have found a way to accomplish it. I am excited to take this next step in life.

A Whole New World...

I read everyones blogs every day. I actually check my google reader account numerous time a day. I LOVE google reader, but there is a problem... Google reader doesn't tell me how long it has been since I last blogged. I checked it out and found it has been since June. JUNE people! I haven't blogged since I got back from my honeymoon. I can't believe that was over 7 months ago!

A fast catch up:

July: Brian and I finished moving into our home. I started working for Gilbert Public Schools. I was in training for my CDL actually but it was still work. I was getting up at 5:00 and leaving the house at 6 to get to work at 7. It was hard and little did I know... it gets worse! Brian and I tried to adjust to living together and I was trying to adjust to moving away from everything I had ever known. I had a new house, new husband, new job, new family, heck I even had a new last name. I loved it and hated it all at the same time. I went home every chance I got. I think Brian was getting tired of driving to Flagstaff all the time, but he is so good to me and didn't complain at all. He is so supportive.

August: More traveling to Flagstaff and still training. Brian is enjoying not working and not having school work. He got a lot of good video game time in. Work started for both of us in the end of August. I really didn't like my job but I loved that I got to work with Brian. Being with him was the best part of my day.

September: Work was in full swing and now school started. Brian and I both are doing online classes. They are convenient but man are they a lot of work. I think there is double the amount of work. We were still getting used to living together and honestly, I think we will always be getting used to living together. My birthday!! Brian got me a wonderful trip to Tucson and invited my parents to come because he knows how much my family means to me. We went to Cartchner Caverns and had dinner with some family friends. We had a GREAT time! It was a wonderful birthday!

October: Not much happened that I can remember. Work and school... My mom's birthday and my sisters birthday. Halloween was fun this year. I got to have Alora with me and we went to the church trunk-r-treat party. She was Pebbles Flinstone. So adorable as always!!

November: The beginning of the month was pretty quiet.Brian and I joined my family, some family friends, and Aunt Lois in Page for the Balloon festivel. It was so amazing! We also went to Antelope Canyon. It is a huge canyon that has been carved in the ground that you can walk through. The pictures don't do it justice. The colors are AMAZING!! Truly a work of God! It was another really great trip.

Our house heater went out but we had a very warm season so it was not too big of a deal. Well for Brian at least. I was freezing but my parents gave us a room heater so it was ok. We had Thanksgiving dinner here and my family and Brian's family both came. I was a little worried about what we would all talk about but I think it went great! We all had a good time and I really enjoyed having everyone over. Maybe this will become the new tradition!

December: CHRISTMAS!!! I LOVE this time of year!! The beginning of the month we found out that Brian got a job with Verizon and he was supposed to start in January! We we so excited that we could still do our big trip to Utah and Colorado together and then he could start this great new job. He then got offered a chance to start the end of December instead. This meant no trip, but he would get a giant jump in seniority and therefor able to get better shifts when the time came. We debated, but in the end decided it would be much better for him to start as soon as possible. He was able to fly up to Denver and be with us for Christmas and then flew back again for work. It all worked out and Brian is happy at his new job.

January: A new year!! We are loving our precious time together. Now that we don't work together, we don't get much time to be together. It really makes me savor the time we do have. I really feel so lucky to have such a hard working and wonderful man with me for eternity. He is truly the perfect guy for me! Now that we are all caught up, maybe I will remember to post a little more often.