Its the most wonderful time of the year!

We went to the Trans siberian orchestra concert a few weeks ago and it was amazing! I have seen it once before, but I have always wanted to go again. We went with some good friends of ours! That orchestra is AMAZING! Their concert is so good. They do a Christmas portion in the beginning, and then just stuff from their Cd's after. They use AMAZING lights and everything. Its amazing basically. =)

me, val and rachel!

I love this time of year, don't you? I love looking at all the lights hung on the houses, the smell of apple Cinnamon and sugar cookie candles everywhere, putting up christmas decorations, CHRISTMAS MUSIC, and the happiness everyone feels. It truly is my favorite time of year!!!

Not much to update on for us. We have basically just been getting through each day slowly. This past week was a very hard one at work for me, lets just say it was an "off" week for the kids. I was so exhausted at the end of each day. Luckily though, yesterday was a better day and it was SO NICE to end the week on a good note. Nothing to exciting on John's end for work, he says it was a "dull week". So all in all, lame week.

So, i have been very into making things this week! We are trying to find inexpensive Christmas gifts, and one of them was making candles! We made our first candle, and it was so cool! We felt very crafty. It was not even that hard to make. (Probably because we bought a kit, but still) Now i want to learn how to make homemade soaps! I also finally used our ice cream maker and made my FAVORITE ice cream from coldstone. I messed up the recipe on the first batch, but the second one turned out fantastic! I am very excited to have that, and use it all the time! We also used our crock pot for the first time yesterday, and boy do we love it! We made pork chops and potatoes with a sour cream sauce, oh it was soooo yummy. We will be using that more often !

On a good note, only 20 days until Christmas! YAY! John and I bought some Christmas Decorations last weekend, and it was so much fun! We did not buy that many, since we are very tight on money, but the things we got are so cute =) I had so much fun setting it all up, and its sweet to walk into our apartment and feel a little Christmas in it! We bought lights too, and we have the strung on our balcony! I love coming home from work and seeing them. =) We also went out on black friday and bought John a new laptop, FINALLY. He was so happy because we got a way good deal on a HP one, so he is in heaven, STILL with it =) Did i love waking up early on a day off? noo .... but it was worth it! We also were able to get a good amount of gift shopping done as well that week. So that was nice =)

Thanksgiving was way fun. It was just my dad, john & I, since my mom flew out to Utah that morning to be with my sister and her husband. It was nice of my mommy to do that, seeing as Jenn has not been able to spend thanksgiving with her family in a long time. =( We were able to video chat with them later in the day though, which was very nice. It was like we were all together! YAY! I made my first pumpkin pie, and thanks to my grandma's recipe, it was SO good! My dad was so happy because it was the one he grew up with, so it was fun to have that again. John made yummy mashed potatoes too! It was a fun day of the boys watching football, and me begging them to let me watch just a little bit of something else. (and no, they never gave in. booo)

Hmm, thats about it! Today will be more Christmas Shopping and we may go to peddlers village to see all the lights! I have NEVER seen them, and I have lived here since i was 3. Crazy, I know! I will really need to bundle up though seeing as it is really starting to feel like winter here, its supposed to be like 30 degrees tonight! Good thing I have my new hat, scarf and gloves! =) YAY!

Well I am sure we will update soon, hopefully!

Happy Holidays!

More of LATELY.

So also ... we went to my bosses wedding in september! it was so beautiful! It was such a fun time. I love weddings =) Most of my good work friends were also at the wedding and that just made it WAY more fun. Some good times went on there! haha

Here are some pictures =)

the girls (and guy.) that i work with! YAY!

Good friends = good work times!

one of my favorite girls, val! ( We have worked together in the infant room for over 2 years & we will NEVER be separated lol )

before the wedding

Atlantic City!

the beach at night >

being our typical selves ... NERDS

So this past weekend we went to Atlantic City!! It was way fun =) We went because there was a So You Think You Can Dance Tour on Saturday night, and we just made it into a long weekend. It was a much needed mini-vacation. I took off work Friday and Monday, and John took off monday, and just did a half day friday. It was so nice to just get away for a few days. Things have been very stressful around here lately, just figuring things out and between both of our jobs, its crazyness! It was so much fun while we were there. We got in later in the afternoon on Friday and just explored our hotel, and went to the MINI arcade cause we are cool like that. haha. Only we would go to an arcade in a hotel with a casino. We are AWESOME =) Anyways, Saturday we got up early and went sight seeing. Not much to see .... but we loved the boardwalk! They have this HUGE mall right on the boardwalk that overlooks the water and it is amazing! Ofcourse that was like my favorite part =) That night was the show, and GAHHHH I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Its sad, but I am obsessed with that show. Anyways, the show was great, and then they always have a meet and greet after the show so we waited around for that. We waited for like 2 hourss to meet all of them. The show ended around 10 and we left FINALLY to go home around 1230. It was INSANE, but SO worth it. I MET KENT! =) And random enough, while we were waiting to meet all the dancers, we started talking with these girls next to us and they were from Utah and here nannying, and they were DEF members. Who says "Oh my gosh" and dresses that modestly if you are not mormon? haha Anyways small world right? It was fun =) So Sunday we slept in and just had a lazy day and then went on the boardwalk again and went back to the mall and sat on these cool beach chairs they have in the mall looking out over the water. We also watched this way cool water show they have there! Then we went out to dinner, with our last gift card from our wedding, to the Rain Forest Cafe. MMMM it was delicious =) We recommend it HIGHLY. Afterwards we walked along the beach, and it was relaxing! It was so fun to walk on the beach with my hubby =) We were like the only ones on it too. YAY! So thats about it =) Enjoy the pictures! ( I will post more soon!)

the finale of the water show.

the water show in the MALL. how cool is that?

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

outside the mall on their deck overlooking the water. it was soooo peaceful!

at the Tropicana Hotel. BEAUTIFUL!

at the so you think you can dance tour!! YAY !

the hotel! =)

It my cute sweatshirt I bought at the beach!

At the beach!!

We are BACK!

So, sorry that we have not updated in over a month but we have been living like the "Amish" i like to say. We have had no internet or cable. We finally JUST got cable on wednesday. Its pretty basic, but that is all we need. BUT we are not very happy with internet right now. Our apartment told us that we had to get Verizon Internet, and we were fine with it cause we found a good deal that was not that much money. SO, we got the self installment thing but someone still had to come and turn on our phone jack or something, i have no clue. Anyways, the guy shows up last tuesday, unannounced and calls John and says "hey I am at your apartment and your pass code is not working, can you just let me up?" And John replies with, "Uh, who is this?" and then says "uh, well no I am at work and so is my wife. No one told us anyone was coming". The guy continues and says, well i can come on the weekend if that is better, and we said sure! So John stayed home ALL Saturday and did anyone show up? NOPE. No one came on Sunday either. We were NOT happy. So John called Verizon on Tuesday and they said someone would come within the next 72 hours. Oh ok that works....NOT. We both work... sooo yeah. But ofcourse does ANYONE come this week ... NOPE. We were SO angry. So we have come to the conclusion that we are getting comcast cable and internet. We found out that we can have comcast internet. John called Verizon and cancelled with them last night. UGHHHH.

So thats that story! Other than that we have just been hanging around the apartment watching A LOT of movies and playing games, and trying to find other things to do. It was nice sometimes not having either one, but it gets dull after awhile. lol. Work has been good for both of us. Mine has been stressful at some points, last friday was our In-service day where we had to get all the rooms set up for September. I was at work at 6 in the morning, BOOO. A big change for me happened ....I cut my hair! I got like 4 inches cut off, which is a lot since i have not had my hair this short since ... like 10th grade. I really like it though =) It took some getting used too, but I am enjoying having a new look.

Oh, So if you are wondering how I am doing this right now, I am at my parents house watching the dogs with John. My dad got into an accident bike riding today, and he is at the hospital with my mom right now =(. I have not heard anything yet, all I know is that he is okay, and they think he might have broken his forearm. =(

So I think thats it for now!

WELCOME TO THE NEW AND IMPROVED!

Well hello there everyone! As you can tell, I have revamped John's Blog to an awesome, new and improved one! We have decided to officially join the blogging world. Lets hope that we can keep this one going and update often! I do not have the best track record ... (Britt), but I have a good feeling about this one!

First things first, we have a new calling in our ward... we are the new nursery leaders! I could not be MORE excited for this calling! I believe John is as well =) haha!

So lots of exciting things have been happening in our life! We are all settled into our lovely new apartment! We really like it, and I had so much fun decorating it! We still have to put up pictures on the walls but everything else is set up! It really feels like home =) John's Parents have been the only ones over so far, and we got their approval, so we are set! haha =) Our living room is a lot of dark wood & reds, and same with our kitchen. All of our pots & pans and dishes are red and we love them! Our bedroom is a blue and white theme, and it reminds me of the beach almost. Its that kind of bedspread, it is just very warm I think. The bathroom goes along with the bedroom in color scheme, it has like teal and cream colors in it. It was so fun decorating the apartment because I shocked myself with what I could do! I really thought I had no decorative skills, but apparently i have a few. =)

In other news, my job is going very well. Nothing new, I still love it! As stressful as being with 12 infants a day can be, i still love it . I definitely come home exhausted some days though! Those kids are cute but wow they can get you tired! I say its good training for when we have kids! John's job is going very well! He is officially promoted, and has gotten his raise! It was such a relief when he got his raise because it is something that we really needed. Of course we are still tight on money, but not as much as we would have been if he did not get the raise. It truly was an immense blessing. He is enjoying actually being able to interact with his co-workers, and being noticed! He does miss his office though =(.

Hmm, what else what else! Thats about it so far. We have really enjoyed being married! A lot of adjustments, but we are slowly learning, and I am sure we have many more years of learning! We finally have set routines for the most part which is nice. It was so hard in the beginning because we were living at my parents and then once we moved into the apartment we were setting things up like every night for a few weeks and now we are finally able to just relax (well, most nights lol) when we come home. OH! And I would just like to say that my husband is a very good cook! He is the dinner maker right now cause he gets home way before I do, and I come home at like 630, so he gets to make the yummy dinners!

So thats really it! Hope you enjoyed our first post!

Update

I must say: I LOVE BEING MARRIED TO MY SWEETHEART!!! How lucky am I? How happy she makes me! How precious she is! Life is a bit clearer now that she and I are married :) I love her! <3
Given this post is overdue, I must say that settling into a new place and getting organized in many areas… takes more time than one might think :D Nonetheless, Brittany and I are fortunate to have a place to live and so grateful to those who helped us to get to this point. My “new job” at work begins this month – a job that I have been doing since October 2007, but now I will be an “official” employee.
This summer will be relaxing, in the sense that I won’t be attending school until the end of August. I’ll be officially attending Temple University! I never would’ve thought that I would be attending a university. It will be quite the experience for sure!
That’s about it.
Adios!

'Round the corner :)

Sooo Britt and I are gettin' married in a couple of weeks... that's like, soon!! :) :) We are so happy to be able to go to the temple! We have been checking things off the list one by one, and realizing at the same time just how many 'unthought of' expenses there are prior to a wedding! :D It's a wild ride for sure!

Nonetheless, I am SSOO excited to be sealed to my sweetheart!!! She is so very precious :) We both have grown a great deal together and know that it will continue forever :)

And that is all for now - I usually let Britt give the details on her blog :D

25 things

Yesterday was my birthday and I am now officially twenty-five years of age! After work I went over to see Britt where she made me a tasty-licious dinner: TACO SALAD!!! MMMMMMMMM I want more! I never knew that Taco Salad was served best with Catalina Dressing :) Brittant then gave me my presents, some pretty sweet clothes! :) Apparently, my wardrobe has been lookin' a little sappy as far as sprein/summer goes. Then to top it off, she baked me a DELICIOUS chocolate cake!! *wipes mouth with towel* It was an amazing evening to spend with my sweetheart :) She is so incredibly precious <3

Also, Britt and I found an apartment in Lansdale: one bedroom, yet really spacious (good closet space). It is located in a good area within the Souderton Ward boundaries. We're currently working on getting the wedding invites all in order and collecting addresses; along with finding some furniture (IKEA of course) and Big Lots seems to have some good stuff too. I ordered a tux for May 12th - 16th, and... I am currently eating Peanut M&M's :D


Below is a repeat of what my post was from March '09 (of course with an additonal change).


1 yr old.. learning to walk
2 yrs old.. learning to talk
3 yrs old.. getting my first big-boy bed (woot woot!!)
4 yrs old.. my white sail boat I got for my birthday
5 yrs old.. having a best friend
6 yrs old.. starting kindergarten (because it was only half the day!)
7 yrs old.. first learning about computers and cursive (handwriting at its best)
8 yrs old.. being baptized
9 yrs old.. having a lot of friends at school.. good times I miss :(
10 yrs old.. getting my glasses for the first time... it has had its perks :/
11 yrs old.. learning how tender my mothers heart really is... :)
12 yrs old.. receiving the Aaronic Priesthood
13 yrs old.. when my patience truly began to be developed
14 yrs old.. having activity period in school - a nice break!! :P
15 yrs old.. not succombing to the Y2K scare
16 yrs old.. having a memorable surprise party
17 yrs old.. when I first began to love reading
18 yrs old.. ENDING HIGH SCHOOL!!!!
19 yrs old.. when I woke up
20 yrs old.. starting my mission
21 yrs old.. learning what hard work really was
22 yrs old.. seeing others in a whole new light
23 yrs old.. attending the sealing of Antonia and Francisco Gonzales and their daughter Paola
24 yrs old.. 4 words: happiest, glorious, exciting - miraculous :)
25 yrs old.. the start of something precious - and eternal <3

This past year has been indescribable. Brittany is so incredibly precious: what more can I say?. Miracles DO happen; prayers ARE heard AND answered, and angels DO exist, because I fell in love with mine. :)

I love you Brittany!!!! --{--@ x 12 (pink)

Sssoooooooo..... this past Saturday was our one-year anniversary!!!! I told Brittany several weeks prior to plan on getting dressed-up for a special outing ;) She looked abasolutely amazing! And soooo beautiful! :) :) She was too adorable trying to pry it out of me on where we were going :) But, I amazingly did not crack (a rareity) and she was thoroughly surprised AND ALL SMILES!! :) We went to the William Penn Inn - a fancy shmancy kinda place with a harpist playing in the background and waiters that wait on you hand and foot. (And might I add how beautiful Brittany looked?) *ahem* Nonetheless, it was a great time for the both of us. <3

I love my girl! She is so precious to me and I cannot wait to marry her in the temple!!! :) :) :) FOREVER!! :) :) :)

***I won't steal the spotlightthe other details I will let Brittany explain on her blog ;) ****

A NEW JOB!!!!

This is another update from the previous post: I HAVE A NEW JOB!!!! :) :) :)

As you all may or may not know, I have been working at 'Medidata Solutions Wolrdwide' for 2+ years as an 'Intern.' The management approached me last month about this new position and wanted to know if I wanted a change of venue. Um... YES! Sooooo for the next 5 or 6 months I will be "in training" (for budgeting reasons). Nonetheless, my title is now 'Clinical Data Processing Specialist.' After going through the logistics and duties of my new position, there is a lot more to it than just processing data - A LOT more! Which is a SO much better than scanning doc's all day - TRUST ME!! :)

This is truly an IMMENSE blessing for Brittany and I, and an answer to MANY MANY prayers. I am happy to now be exposed to a greater part of the company and how it works - more specifically in dealing with their actual clients. It is wonderful to actually BE INVOLVED with the company! :D

Other news....

Britt and I have been looking for areas to live in once we are married - we are looking around Lansdale and North Wales and have found some affordable (and safe) areas to live' so we'll check those out in the coming weeks :) She and her mom have been busy with planning for the wedding, and the *ahem* wedding showers :D Brittany has been and continues to be such a great source of comfort, strength, and motivation for me. She is the most tender and loving woman I could ever wish for :)
I LOVE YOU SWEETHEART!! <3

My application to Temple University was submitted last month and am still waiting for a response to see if I have been accepted - so cross your fingers! :)

And I am absolutely sure you all want to know this, but I have 139 MST3K episodes left to see... so any gift ideas for, let's say, my birthday for instance, would be most beneficial to me in completing my goal to see all the episodes. Thanks! :D

That's it from this end. So long! And be sure to tip your waitress.

:)

Job updateroo..

The low-down is that this new position will begin July 1st of this year! :) In-between now and then my pay will increase for the "training period", then increase to salary! This is such an IMMENSE blessing for Brittany and I :)

I'll post again when I get more details :)

Mammoth.. Galactic.. Incontinent.. Magnanimous!

As evidenced by the eccentric title for my current post, I will modulate my speech into something much more 'academic' and filled with every bit of sophistry I can surmise. Nonetheless, I beseech the reader to ferret out a dictionary so as to be able to fully comprehend the said post.

During the latter-end of the quondam year, I had the utmost advantage to..... ok, forget it. I'm gonna speak simply, now. :) So since my last post I have been able to spend time with my sweetheart <3 Her sister and Bro-in-law visited during the Christmas break; ergo, I was able to meet them and everything went great! :) I got a nice TV from my parents and a lot of cool stocking stuffers :)))

Life is progressing as it should. It seems as if I will be "upgraded" from my current position as an intern to an actual full-time, staff employee! :) The logistics still need to be explained (clarified, rather) so we can get that ball rollin'! My semester ended with getting 'A's in both of my classes!! WOOT WOOT This coming fall I will hopefully be attending Temple Univeristy to pursue my Bachelor's Degree in Political Science - and where that takes me has yet to be determined.

I am happy with how things are transpiring; Brittany is a constant help and support to me which helps EXTREMELY :) We both will have the choiced experience this coming May to be sealed in the DC Temple forever and ever O:) And I wouldn't choose to do that with any other person but my sweetheart ;)



And I make an end...