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.

Memories

We are MARRIED!! It was a Beautiful weekend and we thank all of you who helped make it so. Everything turned out just the way we wanted! The receptions were both so beautiful! My sister told us she had a gift for us that she was really excited about. I had been racking my brain trying to figure out what it could be. Finally, after all the waiting, she gave us her gift. It was a memory. She hired Trevor Forsman, a young man that she grew up with and won second place in the Arizona Idol competition the weekend before, to come and sing our first dance for us. He had a partner with him and after they finished singing At the Beginning with You, they sang a Trevor original. Oh my gosh, the words are so beautiful and they did such an amazing job singing! I know he will go far with his music. Thank you so much to Mary Lynne! You gave us an amazing memory that will last forever!! We love you!

We are now on our honeymoon in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It is so green and gorgeous here. We got here Sunday night and went straight to sleep. It had been a long day. We woke up Monday morning and went to the activities center to book some activities to do. We booked a wagon ride/bbq dinner for that night. It was delicious!! Brian wants to go back again tomorrow night just for the food! The ride was fun and after dinner we sang a few songs but the highlight was the food.

My parents gave us a day on a zip line course. We rode the Silverton train about half way up and then we started. They fit us with harnesses and taught us a few safety things and then we were off! While we were eating lunch (which they provide) one of the dogs chased a bear right under us. (We ate up in the trees) I will post pictures that I got of the bear. He ended up climbing the tree we were sitting in and sticking his nose through the slots. He was really cute and I got some good pictures before we had to chase him off. It was a really awesome experience and I HIGHLY recommend anyone who comes to this part of the country (and you all should because it is wonderful) do the soaring. If you want to learn about it, go to soaringtreetopadventures.com A little expensive but worth every penny!!

Brian surprised me with a hot air balloon ride that we will be taking Thursday morning. I am really looking forward to that! We don't really know what else we will plan but I am loving the relaxed nature of this honeymoon and I am mostly loving the time I am getting to spend with my husband. I am learning more and more about him everyday and loving him more and more every minute!

Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Lattitudes

The only thing constant is change right? Well there have been some big ones here!

The little girl that I have been babysitting for the last 3 years is moving! Her step dad decided he was not able to find a job here so he wants to look in a bigger city. He picked Denver, as in Denver Colorado. A whole 12 hour drive away from Flagstaff. I cried and cried. I called Brian and told him. With them moving, we would not be able to make enough money to live in Flagstaff. He listened to my heart break then helped me to calm down.

A little while later, he called me and told me that maybe we should look into me moving to the valley because it is so much cheaper to live and he already has a job there. I conceded that this was the best choice and so we started looking for apartments.

His parents came to him a few days later and gave him/us a wonderful gift! They offered to act as a bank for us and give us a loan for a house. A whole HOUSE!! We started looking at prices and decided that somewhere in Queen Creek would be the best bet. Newer houses and VERY GOOD prices! We have a couple friends that live out there so we were kinda looking in their neighborhood. We found a few that we liked and after a lot of bidding wars (they are forclosure houses) and some frustration, we finally won a house at auction!

It was a house that I had never seen. Remember that I live in Flagstaff still and the list for the auction goes out the night before the auction happens. Brian had seen it and told me about it and I trusted him to make the decision. Boy am I glad I did. The house is AWESOME!! 3 bedrooms, 2 and 1/2 baths, a huge kitchen that I LOVE putting together. There is a nice back yard with a sprinkler system already in. It is perfect for us.

I have been applying for a few jobs this last month and last week I got a call from Gilbert Public Schools. I went in for an interview and got the job! I will be driving school buses! They are going to train me for my CDL.

I am a lucky girl and feel so blessed to have all these wonderful people in my life! Thank you to everyone who has helped make this time in my life so great! The wedding is in 5 days!! Then I will have another wonderful group of people to add to my family! This transition has been a difficult one for me but the support from all my family has been great! Thanks to all! Love ya!

Where has all the time gone?

I don't really believe it has been 2 months since I updated. I don't know where the time is going. There is 84 days until our wedding and I am still really calm. People keep asking how the plans are coming and I think and say that every thing is great! It really is!

Brian applied to NAU and was accepted last week. He also applied for a job with NAU driving busses. He interviewed on Monday and was offered the job on Tuesday morning! I guess they saw how amazing he is just like I do. He will start in August so he can finish his finals and his current job in Gilbert with their school district. Then he will move here the beginning of June and we will get married the end of June and then the honeymoon the last week of June then we will have almost 2 months to settle into marriage before he has to start work. I am so proud of him and his determination and focus. He always get done what needs to get done.

We got our engagement pictures done a few weeks ago. They turned out great and I will be posting some on my facebook soon. We are in the process of trying to design the announcements now. Wording is proving to be a little difficult. If anyone has any suggestions or examples please let me know. My e-mail is ljw13@hotmail.com I would love any help I can get.

Love you all!!

Wedding Blues (actually purples)

I promise my posts will not all be about the wedding. Just until the wedding is over.

We have the Temple time arranged!! 9:45 in the morning on Friday June 25th. I think we will be taking pictures before hand so we can avoid most of the heat. The reception will be here in Flagstaff on the 26th. Don't know what time yet but I think it will be around 6 in the evening. I kind of have a love/hate relationship with the reception. I have enjoyed the planning but there is so much to do and I start to get really over whelmed with it all. (I am starting to understand eloping) I am so glad that I have my mom to help. I have pretty much given her the reins and am just putting in my 2 cents worth now and then. I know it will be beautiful and it will turn out wonderful.

Brian has been great as usual. He gives his opinion when I ask but for the most part he is letting me do and have what I want. I really couldn't ask for a better man! Now we need to find him a job here in Flagstaff. Anyone have suggestions?

I am still watching the 2 girls and I will be starting to watch a 3 month old little boy soon. I am starting to think I am crazy. I don't know how I will do it. I need to pray for patience.

I also want to thank Nikki for making my blog so cute! You are wonderful!

So this is LOVE!! (hum hum hum hum)

Well things are still going well here. I am still planning a wedding, although we are kinda at a stand still right now because we can't book the Temple until 6 months out, and I can't get my dress until Christmas when we are in Denver where my Grandma has it stored. I am wearing my mom's dress with some alterations done to it.

So far we have the day picked out (June 25th), the reception place mostly planned (in the cul-de-sac with a bunch of Christmas lights and decorations or for a back up, the stake center), the colors picked (if you know me at all you will know that this will be purple. Different shades of purple to be exact), and I have me a groom which I think is actually the most important part!

Brian is so great! He treats me so well, and I could not ask for a better companion to spend the rest of eternity with. I really look forward to the day that I can go into that temple and be sealed to this wonderful man!

Ok, enough mushy stuff! Brian and I are going to Utah on the 18th to see his best friends up there. I am just a little nervous about meeting them. They mean so much to him and I just hope I can live up to their expectations. We will then head to Denver to spend Christmas with my mom's side of the family. We will spend a few days there then drive back to Flag for a day or so then head to Gilbert to ring in the new year with his family. I am really looking forward to all the time I get to be with him and all the family we get to see.

Well I hope you all are enjoying your holidays and that the rest of this year is great for all of you!

LELA IS ENGAGED!!

Ok so I think that most of you probably know this but I am engaged! Here is how it happened!

He took me to Lowell Observatory to look at the stars. We looked at Jupiter and its moons which was really cool. When we were done we went out to the car and as he was opening my door (which he always does cause he is wonderful!) he noticed he had a flat tire. He asked me to get the compressor out of the back of the car so I went to get it. As I opened the back hatch, there were purple roses and a custom made banner saying, "Lela will you marry me?" I looked at him and he got down on his knee and asked me. I told him yes of course! Then he called to his friend and my cousin that they could come out. They had flattened his tire for him and were in on the whole thing.

The ring is beautiful, he is wonderful and I am so happy!!!

And now some pictures.





Oh the wedding is scheduled for June 25th and I will be needing addresses so please send them to my e-mail so I can be sure to invite all you wonderful people! ljw13@hotmail.com

Babies are great!

I am now watching 2 babies during the day. They are finally learning to play together and not fight all the time. It is so great to see Alora learn to share the toys and me. She has had me to herself for the last 2 years and the adjustment has been difficult for her, but she is doing a great job and I am so proud of her!

Ellie is just over a year old and is the daughter of some friends from the ward. She is so adorable and has the cutest personality. She takes all the mean stuff Alora does to her and doesn't even cry. (she does have 3 older brothers though) She is putting everything in her mouth and it has been hard for me to remember that she is only 1 and not older. I keep thinking that she should be doing and understanding the same things as Alora. It is a chalenge that I am really enjoying. Maybe someday I will be able to get some good pics of them together.

Family, Friends, and Upcoming Trips.

I had surgery about a month ago. I had a hernia in my stomach and ulcers in my esophagus. Not fun and very painful. The good thing is, now I don't have heartburn! I have had almost constant heartburn for the last few years and since the surgery I have had NONE!! It was SO worth the few days of pain to get rid of the constant pain. I recovered well and now everything is great again.






We had our annual 4th of July party this last weekend. It went really well and I think we all had a good time. Almost all the Grandys came (we missed you Rachel, Talmage and babies) and we did a garden project but for the most part we played games, had tons of food and had a blast. Aunt Lois had the ice cream maker going almost non stop and it was so wonderful. Thanks for doing that for us! I think this was the last time we (the Wilkins) will see Jacob before he leaves for his mission and we are great full for the time we got with him. Jacob we are going to miss you, but we are also so proud of you and the choices you have made with your life. We love you!!!





My mom is off to Alaska next week. We will miss her but we are so glad she has the opportunity to go. She is going with her friend of many years, Jenny. They will be gone for 2 weeks. I am sure there will be more to post about her trip later.


(Family on my moms side this past Christmas)

Mom gets home on Wed the 29th and we leave for Colorado on the 31st. One day home. Crazy huh!! My parents and 2 other couples (the Flagstaff 6 my dad calls the group) are riding motorcycles up to my Grandma's house in Dillon and my sister and I will be in the van. I am really looking forward to seeing my Grandma again. I only get to see her 2 times a year and I don't know how much longer I will have the opportunity to see her. She is in wonderful shape and could run circles around me. I hope that continues for many years but you never know so I really have learned to cherish all the time I get with her as well as all my family. I really have the best family and friends anyone could ask for. I love you all!!

Rain and Mexico!!

I love the rain!! It has been raining in Flagstaff for the last couple of days and I have been soaking it in! The earth smells sooooo good!





I left this morning at 3:45 for the airport. The plane left at 7:45 for San Diego where we (my friend and I) got picked up and shuttled to Tiajuana Mexico. My friend had surgery and just got back to the room about 5 min's ago. Things went well and she is sleeping off the drugs. While she was gone I got brave and went shopping at a little out door mall they have across the street. I didn't get abducted and I managed to find a Burger King and got my self some dinner. FYI the milk shakes taste a lot different. Much sweeter than at home. The television has some english channels and I am now watching Harry Potter. Tomorrow we will hang around here and recover a little from surgery and then Sunday morning we leave for home again.

Cakes and Birthdays

Thursday the 9th of April my little baby turned 2. I can't believe she is 2!! I started watching her when she was only 8 weeks old. What happened? She used to be so tiny and helpless. Now she is very demanding and so adorable!! I have loved these last 2 years. Watching her learn and grow. Figuring out the world around her. She is so smart.


Here she is at 5 months old!



Now she is 2 years old!


This is the cake that my mom and I made for her party. I think it turned out pretty good. Some issues but over all I like it.





This is a cake that we made for a family friends 5th birthday this last weekend. He is really into Star Wars. We pieced a bunch of cakes together and I love it. I think this one turned out great!



Anyone need a cake done? My mom and I would love to help.

VOTE!!!

OK so I am a big fan of Dancing With the Stars. I have been since the beginning. This season I feel like I have a connection to the show. It is a far far away connection but it is still there. My friend from high school and before is married to one of the pro's brothers. I am voting and voting and voting. You all should too. Even if you don't watch (which you should cause Chelsie is AMAZING as a dancer and choreographer) you should still vote for her. Doesn't take long and every vote helps!



By the way Stacy, If you do go to Cali and Vegas you should let me know. I was thinking about going to Vegas next weekend and I want to see you and your adorable kiddo!

Thanks to ALL!

Thank you to all who commented. I like to know that people read even though it is boring. I will stop being so dramatic.

No one reads.

Well I guess not many people read my blog, so I decided I will just use it more as a journal.

Life has been pretty mellow lately. Min got out of the hospital and is doing good. She still is having some strange pains but they are in a different spot and not constant so we don't know what is going on there. She refuses to go to the doctor again. She is so sick of doctors.

For spring break Min and I went to Las Vegas for a few days. It was so fun spending time with my sister just the 2 of us. We met some of my friends and hung out with them for the first day and then we hung out just us the rest of the time. We stayed at the Plaza right down on freemont street. So much fun. I miss our time together. Life just seems to get in the way sometimes.

The second part of break Hyrum and Sarah Grandy came down from Utah and spent some time with us. Hyrum and my mom installed some recessed lighting in our living room, hallway and my mom and dad's closets. They look really nice. We played lots of cards and Hyrum helped clean out our fridge. It was fun to have them here. I am excited to play with their baby when it gets here later this year. Saturday we went down to Phoenix for Rick and Alyssa's baby blessing. It was the first time I saw Thayne and he is adorable. That family makes some cute kids.

Nikki had her baby last friday. Pierce is perfect. So much hair! Easter is next weekend and therefore the treasure hunt. The entire Grandy family will be there (-Angel). I am excited to see all the babies and their familys.

Speaking of the hunt, I am now, and for the forseeable future, in charge of the Junior hunt. This year is only a junior hunt but next year we will have a junior (8-12 or so) hunt and an egg hunt (everyone 1-6 or 7). We will have Paysen, Porter, Pierce, Hanna, Heber, Thayne, Mackezie, AmberLynn, and maybe more for the eggs. People keep multiplying. I love it!! The kids hunts are my favorite. I love to see the fun and excitement in their eyes. It's great!!

Well I guess thats all for now. Oh by the way, Tannis I will need your address. E-mail it to me ljw13@hotmail.com.

To give me something fun to do!

So I have read a few blogs that have done this and while I didn't respond to theirs I hope people respond to mine. I love to give gifts to people!!

Here's how it works: the first FIVE (Maybe more if I decided I am having too much fun making things) people to respond to this post will get something made by me personally. What I make is my choice, but it will be made JUST FOR YOU! My choice. For you. However, like all things that sound too good to be true :), this offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- There is no guarantee that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you personally.
3- It will be completed sometime this year. :)
4- You will receive no clues as to what it's going to be. I'll let you post a request of some sort with your comment, but still... it could be anything!
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange if I so desire... it may blow your mind! Or it may not. It may be very simple and predictable... but hopefully you will benefit from it!

And like most things that sound too good to be true, there is a catch. You must re-post this on your blog and offer the same deal to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. Not too bad, huh? In fact, I think it'll be a lot of fun!!

So-- on your mark, get set, GO! The first 5 (or so) people to leave a comment telling me they posted this on their blog and want to win a free, FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift from me will receive just that!!! **Remember: You have to tell me in your post that you've posted this on your blog before you can be guaranteed one of the slots!** Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Out of Surgery!

Ok so Mary Lynne is out of surgery and the doctor said he thinks he got it all and that he hopes he didn't nic the bowels. HOPES!!! What the heck does that mean? Anyway I am sitting at home babysitting when I really want to be at the hospital with my parents and my sick sister.

For any of you who know the Hovers, Rita is in the waiting room with my parents waiting for Tom. He had a heart attack and is having triple bi-pass surgery right now. Prayers would be welcome!

Sick sisters are no fun!

My sister is sick. She came over yesterday early after not sleeping all night because of side pain. It continued to get worse and my mom finally took her to the ER. They ran some blood tests and came back with elevated lipase levels, which means something is wrong with the pancreas. They admitted her and this morning at 4 am they did a CT scan. They found an obstruction in her intestines. The intestines are blocked and starting to wrap around themselves. She is going in for surgery as I am typing this. I really hope all goes well and I will keep you updated.

Bored...

Well I am bored. I know that is not a very good reason to blog but maybe I will be able to come up with some interesting things to say.

My "cousin" Alyssa had her baby last week. A little boy named (sorry if I butcher the spelling) Roderick Thane Grandy. I think they are going to call him Thane seeing as Roderick is his dad's name. Anyway congrats to them!

Last week Amanda and Rachel and her babies came to visit us. We LOVED seeing them. The babies are so cute and I was so excited to see Amanda. This was the first time since she got back from her mission. She has not changed and we love her so much. We love the whole family!!

Last night I made dinner for my parents and sister and Brandon. Meatloaf made with croutons, mashed potatoes, salad and homemade rolls. Everyone loved it and I was pretty happy with it myself. My dad says that now I am the dinner maker. He doesn't have to do it now. I don't think that's fair. Just cause I make one good meal doesn't mean that I should cook everyday. Oh well, good thing that I like to cook. I would love any recipes (not too involved) that you all might have. Suggestions are always welcome.

I hope every one is doing good!