Happy One Year Anniversary!

That is right, Garrett and I celebrated our one year married together on Monday the 20th. First of all, let me just say that I am incredibly blessed to have Garrett as a husband. He is a loving, kind, passionate, hilarious, godly, and talented man. He makes me feel so loved...and yes sometimes I get annoyed of him and we argue, but behind it all is real love. Thank you, Garrett, for being you and for loving me the way you do!

Anyways, about the day. We had planned on going to the zoo for our anniversary and I was so excited the night before. So, I wake up on our anniversary morning and it is raining! Let me just say that it hadn't rained once since we had been in Portland and this just had to be the day it decides to. Besides that, I had an excellent morning. When I woke up I saw that Garrett was already up, so I was walking to the bathroom and passed the office/music room :) and saw him in there. He said he had made breakfast for me...waffles. So, I go into the bathroom and I hear the toaster oven, I come out and he had put some frozen Eggo waffles into the toaster oven. I kind of laughed to myself that that was what he meant by he made me breakfast, but it was sweet and I was very grateful. After we got all ready we went downtown for lunch at a pizza by the slice place. The rain and lightened up a little by then so we decided that we could still go to the zoo. I was so happy! So, we went to the zoo and had a great time together. It wasn't very crowded since it was a Monday afternoon and it was a little rainy. It was nice. After that I made a sort of romantic dinner by candle light at home. It was quite good if I do say so myself. :) Then we rented Music and Lyrics. It was actually pretty good! I didn't think I would like it by what I saw in the previews, but it was a light hearted and funny movie. Oh, yes we also had the top of our wedding cake that we froze for the year. We were so scared to eat it! We fed the first bite to eachother, like we did when we had it the first time. It actually tasted like real cake and not like it had been frozen for a year! haha. Anyways, it was a really great day and I am looking forward to another amazing year with my sweet hubby!

Hello Portland, Goodbye Family

As most of you know Garrett and I made our big move to Portland for school on the 13th of August. We are pretty much all settled in now...there are just a few more pictures to hang. :) We are now just waiting for school to start...it starts monday the 27th. I want to update you on the past two weeks. I am going to break it up ino 3 posts; this one, one year anniversary, and the coast. So, here we go.

Monday (13th) Garrett and I met my mom and family at our apartment and headed off at 8:00 AM for Portland. It seemed like a really long drive, even though it was only 7 hours. Poor Garrett had to drive a huge 24- foot truck, because the truck company was out of the 10 and 16 foot. We got it for the price of a 10 foot, though. Anyways, he had a heck of a time driving it! We got here safely, though. Eliseo, Dionna, and the girls met us at our new apartment to help us unload and unpack somethings...which was so helpful! Thank you you guys! And girls you did a great job helping me with kitchen! :) Anyways, it was hard saying goodbye, but at least we know it really isn't goodbye. We will be home soon! My mom and brothers stayed in Portland for a few days and had their own little vacation. I was glad to have my mom there for a few days to help me sort of ease into things. I still wasn't ready to say goodbye, but like I said it isn't really goodbye. Things went smoothly and now we are trying to figure out the city of Portland and settle into our new lives here.

A Little Break from it All...

This last Friday I worked until 5 PM and Garrett worked until 6 PM. I was planning on making dinner and picking up the house a bit when I got home...that didn't exactly end up happening. I was so exhausted when I got home I just wanted to rest a little bit, so I plopped down on the couch and started to watch one of my fave shows, Fraiser. Before I knew it Everybody loves Raymond came on and I stayed on the couch. I hadn't gotten anything done when Garrett walked in the door. The first thing I said was, "I'm really sorry, but I haven't started dinner yet." He just said, "That's ok because we are going out." He then informed me that he wanted to take me on a date and that we need to take a little time to focus on eachother during this busy time.... You have to understand that Garrett doesn't usually just come home from work and tell me that we need to spend time focusing on eachother! Don't get me wrong he is very romantic and we spend lots of quality time together, but usually it is me who initiates it. I was very happily surprised. So, we got ready and headed out. Our home team had given us an American Express gift card the night before since it was our last home team. :( So we used a little bit of that money for our little date. We went to Arby's for dinner and got the 5 for $5.95 deal. It was very yummy. :) Then we went to Office Depot to get some of our school supplies. This part was fun for me, but Garrett probably could have passed on the shopping. Then we went to Kathryn Albertson's park and took some pictures before the movie started @ 9:20 PM. We went and saw Hairspray...all I can say is I loved it! We were both busting up laughing! It was just so lighthearted and had a good message...we left feeling encouraged. That is rare now-a-days with movies. Plus, I love musicals...it is a secret dream of mine to be in one...I guess it isn't a secret anymore, though. :) Anyways, we just had a really good night together. It was something both of us really needed during this hectic time in our life.
This last week and this next week are weighing me down! There is so much to do before we leave that I can't think straight. I think this calls for one of my famous To-do lists.
Just to inform everyone, Garrett and I leave Monday August 13th for Portland, OR! It is coming up quickly...our lives are about to change...big time!

Anyways, here are some of the pics we took at the park on our date:

The Road Ahead

So much has happened since I have written last. Garrett and I are getting ready to go to Portland for school. We left the 13th of July to register for our classes and find an apartment. It was a very stressful weekend for me to say the least. It was also a time for reality to set in that I am actually leaving Boise! I am scared to death to leave to a place where I have no friends, none of my family, no church, no job (as of yet), and an apartment that is $200 more expensive than the one I have here.... It is a scary thing! Ever since then I have been in a state where I am basically dreading leaving. Until high school camp this last week. I went to be a counselor and ended up leaving feeling changed and refreshed. I think I needed this week way more than I knew!
The theme of the week was becoming a revolutionary for God. The speaker was awesome and brought the Word of God alive to me and God used him to speak to me. To be a revolutionary for God it is going to require risk and it is going to be scary, but it is worth it to take that chance for God. I am ready to step out from underneath the comfort of my tree and take a huge risk for God. All I have to say is Portland better prepare for a change, because God just might show up.

Last Minute Camping

Garrett and me have been so busy lately! And this next week I only had one day off and that was Sunday. Well, we were driving around Sunday afternoon wondering what to do and I blurted out, "I just want to get away from here...let's go camping!" It was so last minute and spontaneous, which is NOT like me at all! Garrett was a little hestitant at first, but we hurried home, packed up all we needed, and drove to Warm Lake! It was so much fun! I didn't have to work until 4 PM on Monday, so we spent the night and left about 12:00 on Monday. It was so nice to get a way from it all and just spent some quality time together. It was just what we needed.

Kate's Bachelorette Party

We had a great time for Kate's bachelorette party. First we all met at my apartment and got all dressed up and ready together. Of course, we added our own touches to Kate's outfit... a crown, a baton, a fuzzy orange purse, a huge belt, and some fake orange hair! haha. Then we had some appetizers and Kate opened a few gifts. Then we all headed down town to go salsa dancing. It was a lot of fun! It was a little hard for us to understand exactly what the instructor was doing, but we just had fun trying to do it right! Then we walked the down town streets as Kate had to do certain embarassing tasks in order to get a gift. It was funny to see her do the funky chicken in front of a big group and to hear her sing a random person's favorite love song! We all had a great time together! And now just 5 more days until she ties the knot!

The Lake

Garrett and myself joined the high school group at Broadway for a lake day as part of their missions trip to Boise. We had a great time! It was such a beautiful day! Garrett took me on the jet ski a couple times and almost threw my off! It was a lot of fun, though. :) I also went on a few boat rides and just laid on the dock trying to get a tan. :) Garrett went wake boarding which he hasn't done for a LONG time. He hasn't done it since I have been friends with him...so it has

been awhile. Right before he went he told me I probably will only go once and won't go outside the wake. Well, as you can tell by the picture that didn't happen! He actually did some jumps and landed them! I was very proud. :) It was a great day with the group and I am sure they needed the break from all the hard work they had done.