Wow, its been too long!

So, I haven't blogged for a very long time. I've been a little preoccupied I guess. Or I just don't have an excuse. Its sort of like writing in my journal has been my whole life, I go through streaks. While Matt and I were dating I kept a journal all the time, we got married and I did ok, and it just gradually went downhill. The good news is, I think that soon I will be on the upswing and blog a whole bunch.

So the holiday's were good and they won't get more of a mention than that. Matt graduated (sort of almost, but I consider him graduated. Just got to finish that last class honey :) and it was a lot of fun for me as the wife. I'm really proud of him.

And then our big news is we've now moved from the frozen north, just a little farther south to Brigham City. Matt has pictures from the move, which he might feel inclined to share sometime. His parents got a job out in Sacramento and have made the big move out there, in the meantime we are living in their house. Its really nice to have a lot of space, we just have to be careful not to fill it. The house is nice and we're both really enjoying it. Its also been nice being closer to family again. Matt's brother lives just across town and my sisters are only a half hour away. So we're taking advantage of that.

I've started working at the local elementary school, and I love it. I'm a paraprofessional, which is a fancy word for an aid who teaches a lot, in a resource class. The kids are awesome and I'm having a blast. Big shoes to fill though. I actually am replacing my mother-in-law who is one of the nicest people ever, and then indirectly it was actually my aunt who had my exact job about a year and a half ago. I really like my job. Then I'm also starting to teach piano, and its been a long time since I've had very many students, and quite a while since I taught at all and I LOVE teaching piano. I'm sure to it will make good stories which I hope to post here.

So there, I caught up. Next post I won't be lazy and I'll add pictures of the new house. But I have to decorate it at least a little first. It feels good to have finally done this.

Changes

Change seems to happen all at once. But I guess its a chain reaction, since one change often causes other changes. That is the case with our little family. Soon we'll have a change in location, a change in employment, and the big change of graduation. I'm a little sad as I've started packing a little and I look around our first little apartment. Its going to be somewhat emotional leaving our first place and I can't believe we only have a little over 2 weeks left here. So much love and learning and joy and hard stuff too. A lot of memories. I'm excited because our next place is going to be awesome and I'll be able to start teaching piano and lots of other things. But its just interesting to change.

M E P S

When people tell me that being a Marine is one of the toughest jobs on earth, I'm beginning to think that most of challenge is just getting into the Corp. Even the recruiters, who try to gloss over most of the paperwork as "simple" put the fear of fire and brimstone into recruits before going to MEPS. Military Entrance Program Stations are where the doctors make sure everything is working before drill instructors break it all down. As nervous as I was, the process wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. The doctors are actual people with skewed senses of humor (like: Why are there Marines on Navy capital ships? Well, the Army uses guard dogs for secure bases and the Army got to pick first). So the worst part was trying to track down paperwork that didn't exist (got shredded after 7 years of doing nothing). Of course, it was odd to leave my lovely wife all alone in our apartment, but she did get her best night's sleep without me rolling over her in the night. Imagine that.

Home Sweet Home

So, I know that you all want to see wedding pictures, and I promise they will come soon. I have been very excited this week to move into our own place, plus I already have pictures ready of moving in. We have lived in our little apartment only a little while now, but it already feels like home. That's the main part of the house. I love the couch especially - $25 at D.I. Best rental deal ever.Here is the leaning tower of boxes from unloading everything. Lots and lots of empty boxes :).

Our bedroom with a small shot of the beautiful quilt Grandma Clayson made us.

This apartment has the most unique kitchen of almost any I've ever seen. The hall from the living area to the bedroom/bathroom is the kitchen, as you can see. But I have to admit, I like it. The pizza is one of the meals here so far that has worked pretty well. I've also made salsa which worked a little less well. I didn't use gloves when cutting jalepenos, and I'm still paying for it. Just a recommendation as well, don't itch armpits when you have jalepeno on your hand. Not that I'm speaking from experience.
And finally, can you think of a better way to break in a house after moving in than a light saber fight. I think not.