Where did the month go?

The months has flow by and Christmas has come. It has been busy lately for Brian and I but just with the usual day to day chores and worries. We visited my parents for Thanksgiving this year. It was a short visit but it was really nice to get away for a few days. We also got a chance to visit my grandfather. Even at 95 years old he is doing really well. Since Thanksgiving, Brian has been busy with his math classes and studying for his finals and I have been at work. Christmas here has only gotten as far as mailing gifts and letters and hanging lights outside. This week we'll put up the tree.

Another year

 



It was our 4th anniversary a few days ago. Brian bought me an orchid to celebrate and took me to dinner and a movie. I've been wanting an orchid for a long time now (since last Christmas actually) but this is the first time we have seen them available in the stores. I had a hard time deciding between white and pink. Brian liked the pink better so that's what I chose. My gift to Brian was the Pixar movie "UP".

Halloween!

This year I was off work for Halloween. We had fun carving a Jack-O-Latern and then attending our ward's Trunk or Treat. It was fun to see all the kids in their costumes and Brian loved handing out candy. We had quite a bit of candy but it was all gone by the time the Trunk or Treat was over.

Carving the pumpkin










Do you like our spider?







Remembering those high school days. (Brian and Mark all dressed up)



















Trunk or Treat!

Nathan's Birthday

Nathan and my Mom came to visit for a weekend. Nathan was hoping to hear good news about a job in landscaping. Alas it wasn't to be. We had a good time riding bikes and playing card games and just visiting together though. It was so close to Nathan's birthday we had a mini birthday party for him.

Puppet Fun!

Mom sent me a baby doll and a puppet for my birthday. I had fun with making the cheeta puppet play with Emmy. Simon was inculded in the fun too.

Its Here!

Our new stove has been installed! I can cook in a proper oven again and don't have to manage the stove top with one knob anymore! We went with a ceramic top and so far I really like how easy it cleans. It warms up really quickly too. I cooked Brownies (Giaradelli brand) and Tuna chip casserole the first day. It is so wonderful to be able to cook a meal all the way through without the edges being scorched:) Now we just have to fix the huge gap underneath. Turns out all drop in range models are not equal.

A ribbon winning County Fair

The Washington County Fair was just over a week ago. Brian and I entered projects last year and did fairly well so I thought I would try again this year. I enter two photographs and the quilt I made for Tommy (with Brian's urging). Brian could have entered some photographs as well but didn't like any of his pictures enough to try. I actually did better then I had thought I would. One of my photos earned a blue and the other a red. I was really surprised at the red I earned for the quilt (it's really pretty shoddy work in my opinion). We had fun going over one night while the fair was here to see all the entries and tour the vendor booths. Brian loved the Navajo tacos. We could have gone on some of the carnival rides but chose not to due to expense and lateness in the day (I had to work the next morning). It was fun to get out and enjoy the festivities.

A relaxing Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July was pretty uneventful. So uneventful in fact that we don't even have pictures. Brian had the day off from classes and chose to spend the time in Hurricane with his family. Russell had come down from Salt Lake to visit for the holiday which meant Brian had someone to play games with and discuss strategy for the online game he is currently addicted to. I spent the day working at the hospital lab. The Emergency room was nice to us and didn't send much work our way. I actually had time to do maintenance on the six machines I'm responsible for because of the low workload. After I got off from work, Brian came back to St George and we went to watch the fireworks. Near our house is a ridge that overlooks the city called Foremaster Ridge. We thought it would be a perfect place to see the fireworks from and we were right. Everyone else in town had the same idea though so finding a place was a little tricky. One of the local radio stations played patriotic music to go with the fireworks which was really nice. The city actually set off fireworks from two places, Dixie rock and the Sunbowl. It was quite the show.

What a trip!

Brian and I decided to visit Mom and Dad for a week a couple of weeks ago. We picked a week when I was off work and durning the break between spring and summer classes. Brian tallked his parents into joining us. It was a good chance for them to see the state and for us to visit with my parents. We had all sorts of adventures.

First stop: The Zoo





A train ride to remember









What a face!









You can't forget Bandolier








A quick stop to see a painted desert and petrified wood

We Are Offical!

After more then one year, we have finally made it official! We can now become adoptive parents!!! Our profile was reviewed by the adoption committee and approved! They liked our pictures, our letter, and apparently think we are suitable to be parents. Now we wait. The anxiety and worry now shifts to wonder if anyone is looking at our profile and whether they like what they see. Wish us Luck!

More pictures

Here are just a few other pictures that we used in our adoption profile

Its done!

We needed new pictures for our adoption profile. Brian had the fabulous idea of going to Zions for the pictures. It was cold and I was tired after working a 10 hour shift but the picture really turned out well. Ronald was good enough to help us out with all the new photos for our profile by being our photographer. We got some really nice pictures and our caseworker says that with the changes we should be approved on Wednesday. Wish us luck!

Simon's best friend

Simom was caught hanging out on the bathroom mirror enjoying his reflexion. He was even talking to himself. We thought it was pretty funny to watch.
It was Spring Break last week. We hadn't planned much which was a good thing because I ended up getting sick. Brian was wonderful and took good care of me. The interviews with Family Services we had scheduled this week were rescheduled for the second week of April. What a lovely lazy week.

Brian's Pie Day!

March 14th is Pie Day! At least it is according to Brian. His math teacher appearently gave him the idea by telling them the mathmathical equivialent of pi (3.14) was the same as the date (3/14). Brian had a great time celebrating by eating apple pie with his parents. I was stuck at work that day so Brian saved a piece of pie for me. Marie Callender makes some good apple pie.

Spring!

Spring has made it to St George! I am waiting eagerly for the hyacinth to bloom. I have been seeing young Robins around the house. They seem to really like the garden. I'm spending as much time as I can fixing up our little garden and making it ready for plants later in the month. I have been looking online and have seen some really pretty desert plants. Now I just have to find those at the local nursery. Hope everyone else is having a warm day:)

Still going

We made it through the day long training for adoption. Not a whole lot of new information but it did cover a couple of subjects I was worried about. It went over a subject I never even considered too. No, we still aren't approve but it's really close. We just have to make sure one of our references sends in their letter then we have our home inspection and approval. Brian reminded Brother Olsen about it again Sunday.

Nothing else happening here. There was suppose to be a Recongition night for the Activites day girls that I had to help with this week but they decieded to postpone it for a couple of weeks (and I had so much fun putting the invitation together). Brian took another math test last Thursday and is positive he got another 100%. He finds out tomorrow at class for sure. That's all for now!

No more stubbed toes

We haven't be doing much lately but I wanted to update the blog. We just got back from our FSA (Families Supporting Adoption) meeting which was about blogging safely. With adoption profiles online now they wanted to be sure we all knew the sort of things that can be posted without worry of identity theft.
The picture is of one of the changes we made to our living room since Mom and Dad were here last summer. This is the fish tank stand we asked Brian's Dad to make us so that we didn't keep stubbing our toes on the other one. We are both really pleased with it. When the warm weather comes back, we'll finish staining it.
Not much else happening. It was a pretty normal, noisy new year for us and things are back to normal for us at work.