holidays 2009

i reeeeaaally enjoyed my holidays this year. michael got 3 weeks off, i got 11 days off. just before the holidays i wrote my 2 exams to get my license and PASSED so now i am just waiting for it to actually arrive!! we did a lot. we went tobogganing one night, played a lot of jenga, ate amazing food, shopped, celebrated, and just spend time with family and some friends!

found out 3 of my cousins are pregnant and due within 2 weeks of eachother so congrats again to them all. everyone is pregnant! seriously.

here is a collection of pictures from our holidays. we did end up getting family pictures but i haven't been sent them yet, so i will post them later.

i just realized we didnt get a picture of michaels whole family, so this is it.

What was your favorite holiday moment?

curtains

mom and breanne came to visit.. the purpose of the visit was to make us curtains and give my mom a haircut. we did more than that. we started out by heading to fabricland, did moms color and cut, made curtains, went to see new moon (which i thought was very good so go see it), and then out for dinner to red lobster!! here are some pictures of our curtain-making!

the finished product

michael helped too by putting them up, but not sure what hes pointing at here, haha.

lately i've had a desire to be a little more crafty... this helped, but i still want to do more... i am excited to be making some christmas gifts this year and maybe i'll learn to knit or something. michael is always telling me i need some hobbies (other than tv shows, haha).

On Tuesday the 24th it will be our 2nd anniversary! We are headed to Edmonton for the day to get some free dental work done so we celebrated this Saturday!! We went out for a nice dinner to Joey Tomatos. Our gift to eachother was cotton housecoats, since the 2nd anniversary you are suppose to gift something that is cotton.. first year was paper and we got concert tickets and went to see Carrie Underwood. I don't know how long we'll be able to follow the Anniversary gift guide for each year but we plan to attempt. It was a nice year reminiscing about the past 2 and even the year we dated.

We both can't even believe how fast time has gone by. I am just blown away that its been two years since our wedding day!

                                

Just Married!!

I don't think anyone realized how windy it was!! What terrible weather! We were both frozen!

Look how sweet my husband is!!

Man, I sure do love this guy!

Happy Anniversary Honey, I love you!!!

Our beautiful family

Today I was fortunate enough to learn of what our future children will look like...

Baby #1

Baby #2

Baby #3

Aren't they adorable? Especially our firstborn! And they all have great teeth, just like their mom and dad!!! (I'm totally kidding)

Find out what yours will look like here!

Also, Check out my Cousin Mindy's giveaway on her blog here!

As well as my other Cousin Kristy's giveaway on her blog here!

giveaway

Here is a little giveaway going on... check out the site:

http://www.bannerboutique.blogspot.com/

blog makeover

so i decided it was time for a blog makeover. no, i did not go back to being a brunette. this is a picture from last winter. i wanted to put up a wintery picture and this is all i had. i am so excited about the new look and even more excited for Christmas!! 


i'm excited for the music, lights, hot cocoa, tobogganing, cookie cutters, gift wrap, home decor, games, good food, and dare i say it?? snow, but most of all, for family and friends.


what are you most excited for this year?

my beautiful sisters 18th

This past Sunday was my sister, Cassandras, 18th Birthday!!! We were able to go down to Lethbridge and celebrate a little bit with her! We had fun just being silly and playing some games with Family. Cassandra has grown up so much this past year. She  has always been an incredibly hard worker, but she has become more kind, and loving. Recently I have been able to build on our relationship and I really value it. She is beautiful, goofy, and you are always guaranteed a lot of fun with her. And now that she is an adult, she doesn't quit games in the middle of them!! Happy Birthday!!

We love you Cassandra!!!

grabbing random props

my nose looks nasty here

ashley, beans (sis), me, michael (hubby), cassandra, graydon

missionary videos...

there is a new facebook group that i have recently joined. it contains little videos simplifying different aspects of the mormon faith. they are short, and very good for kids... great for those who are not of this faith and want to know a little more. you can view the group and videos HERE.

Top 10

First of all I'd like to introduce you all (I think I only actually have 2 or 3 readers) to a blog I have been following called The Meanest Mom for several months now. I don't think one of her posts isn't funny. When you get there, go to her "Best of" section. Hope you enjoy.
Top 10 Websites I use:
1. My Blog
2. The Parker Family Website
3. Google Maps
4. Hotmail
5. Online classfieds- Kijiji.... we love this website and use it often.
6. The Meanest Mom... and all the other blogs I follow.
7. The Church Website
8. Wikipedia
9. Ctv.ca, citytv calgary.... to check what time my shows are on.
10. And quite possibly everyones favorite website: Facebook 

Are there any websites you use on a regular basis that aren't on my list??

I am Thankful For:

I have a lot to be greatful for. I took a little while this weekend to think about what I am really greatful for. First, I am grateful for my loving husband. He is such a support to me and I feel so blessed to have him in my life. Next I am grateful for friends and family. Michael and I both have a lot of great family members and friends, and they offer us a lot of support and love. I am grateful for the gospel. Im grateful for a living prophet and temples. So many other things in the church that I am thankful for but I won't list them off. I just am very blessed to have it in it my life. I also feel so blessed that Michael and I share it with one another and that we were able to be sealed to one another for eternity. I am grateful for our home, and work so we can eat and pay the bills. I am so thankful for Michael's schooling and that he is able to learn which will someday give him a career!!! I am so thankful for where I live. So close to the mountains, so close to family. We are just very blessed in our lives. 


What is one thing you are thankful for?

a 2 hour drive

I just found out I got a job!! I start Thursday after my theory exam (for my hairstylist license) and I will be working Mon-Fri!!! The salon is called Curious. I will be working at their location at North Hill Mall for 3 months and then transferring to their new location south and west of COP and working there!!!

This weekend was the long weekend and we are able to take a TWO HOUR DRIVE to Lethbridge, our hometown. What a difference from 5 hours. My dad and the kids went to Echo Lake for the weekend, and my mom and Bryan went to Montana to go camping so we were able to spend a lot of time with Michael's family and Cassandra (she was left behind because of work). We played a lot of Wii, hung out at the Galt Gardens fountains and ate some REALLY good food!! I also was able to hang out with 3 of my best friends from high school. It was great to catch up and visit. Kortney just started work at Dr. Rices dental clinic and Nikki is working at Streatside (still, haha) and she plans to head up to Edmonton soon.(there nik, your on my blog)! Here are some pictures of our weekend.

My bestest friends from high school!!!(nikki, kortney, me, jessica)

The lovely soon to be Mr and Mrs Robinson (they are just so cute). Her ring is hiding but its beautiful!! Good pick Jake. By the way, they are getting married on my birthday, February 13th!!!

Cassandra and Devin and a smoke bomb.

Waiting at High Level Bridge Days (i know its not actually called that) for the bridge to be lit up. (Thats my sister Cassandra, and Michaels brother Devin, and Michael)

Michaels other brother Cameron (left), and his roommate Rob (right). Look how much Michael and his brothers look alike.

What did you do this long weekend??

Beware: Scammers

Michael and I have been posting ads to sell our Ipod Touchs (Sold). And previously have sold other things online. In the midst of this, we have recieved many e-mails and responses that have been potential scammers. We've had some experience with this in the past because we are always looking for deals on Kijiji. We have found people will try to get something from you without giving you the money as well as try to sell you something that does not exist. We have had a few close calls previously with selling and buying because we were not familiar with the stories that are sometimes told. I hate to see people I know be taken advantage of, so this post is to inform those who read this of the typical responses we have seen.
I believe this general rule more than ever: If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
This sounded like an amazing deal.

Hello,

Thanks for being interested in buying my car (2005 Honda Accord Hybrid) .
Milage: 31,230 Kms, Engine:3.0L V6 PFI SOHC 24V, Automatic Transmission, Leather Heated Seats, Air Conditioning, Cruise control, 6CD-Player, Electric Windows/Mirrors, Steering wheel controls. The car has been well taken care of, always kept in the garage. Flawless exterior/interior condition, no scratches and no dents. It has never been involved in an accident.
The price is not negotiable, $4,700.00 firm (the price may be a little low but it seems fair to me).
I am originary from UK, but I've lived in Victoria, BC for the past 24 years. Reason for selling is that I have divorced my husband and I've decided to move back to UK with my family. This Honda comes with a clear title which will be signed and notarized in the buyer's name. Have original manuals and all keys. We will use only eBay Vehicle Purchase Program to complete the sale and also the vehicle will be shipped at my expense form Victoria, Canada.
If you are interested email me your full name and shipping address in order to proceed.

Kind Regards,
Lisa Burton
Usually they will offer a larger amount than asked for (asking price 300)
hello Mrs , my name is Ejas wenty
i will like to no if your item is still available for sell , i will like you to get back to me asap because i want to buy it for a child of my brother wich currently travele to wset africa for some holiday so pls i will like to pay you amount of $450 for the item including the shipping cost to west africa, and if that is okay you can get back to me with your paypal id so that i can make the payment to you asap because the onlly way i can paid you is paypal so pls hope to here from you soon and here is the shipping address bellow
Name.....David Jonson
Address....36 Ijikoyejo Street Ijeshatedo
City...........Surulere
State..........Lagos
Country.......Nigeria
Zipcod.........23401
so that is the address and here is my email address bellow (ejas_w200@yahoo.com)
And usually they will have it sent somewhere international.
I am buying this item for my son that went on a research to Africa and i will be paying you via PayPal instant auction Payment, so do get back to me with the final cost plus shipping via Canada Post Parcel Air Mail International to number 14 Arakale street , City:Akure, State: Ondo, 23434 Nigeria, so do get back to me with the final cost plus shipping and also send me your PayPal email id or you send me a payment request to marleychris002@gmail.com, so that i can transfer the full funds for you as soon as possible I await your response asap, Best Regard

Another thing to be aware of is that sometimes the deal will look very legitimate. Once we even got an e-mail from "paypal" saying as soon as we sent the ipod, the money would be sent. Michael was suspicious and called paypal and they said "Don't EVER send ANYTHING until you are paid first". I think if you are selling something, sell it local and get cash for it. 

I hope whoever reads this can maybe even share it with others, so these thief's will have to look for other sources of income. Do you have any experience with people like this? Let's hear about it. 

The main event: Calgary Zoo

We recently had some friends from Edmonton come to visit, The Bennett's. They came on Friday afternoon with their adorable daughter, Bailey. We took a walk to the river and enjoyed the nice weather. That night we rented a movie and ate junk food. Saturday morning we went to the Calgary Zoo. It was beautiful weather outside. A couple of my favorites were the monkeys (all of them), the gorillas (there was a baby one and I was able to get a video of it so check it out below!!), I also enjoyed the dik dik's (weird name hey?) which I had never seen or heard of before and you can check them out by clicking on the name. Michael really enjoyed watching one type of bat that had the head of a wolf and all of us were amazed at it's wings. He also liked the male Gorilla. It was a great day and we got some good pictures too. We were able to play some N64 with them (the guys competed in Mario Golf) and all of us played the Rayman Raving Rabbid Wii games. Its nice to not only compete with Michael, because he always wins. It's also nice to have him lose to someone, haha! We really enjoyed playing with their little girl and just visiting because we don't really have any friends in Calgary yet.

This weekend, we might go up to visit them and our other friends in Edmonton because Michael wants to camp and the Bennett's have a backyard.... i dont know why Michael doesn't want to just stay in the house, but whatever. haha. I think we will also go to the temple in Edmonton. This week I applied to another salon and I am keeping my fingers crossed. I have also been doing some reading while Michael is at work. Michael is enjoying his work (he is doing his clinical so he is working for a year and a half but not getting paid....) and he is learning lots. Each week he moves onto a new unit in the Tom Baker Cancer Centre here and he is assigned with a new person to show him the ways.

My best friend Jessica Payne (She was one of my bridesmaids) and her boyfriend (Jake Robinson) of forever, just got engaged last week at the GRAND CANYON!! I haven't heard the details yet but I am super excited for them both and I think they are a perfect match!!

Michael's brothers (Cameron and Devin) have been in Saskatoon all summer selling security systems and are finishing up and heading back to Lethbridge this Saturday. I think Michael is pretty excited and we'll probably be taking some trips down there so he can hang out with them.

Well, that's my post for now. It's nice to get comments to so I know people are actually reading my blog. Even just say hi!!

Summer 2009

After I was done work and Michael done his school, we packed up all our stuff and moved to Calgary. We pretty much just dropped it off and left to Lethbridge for 2 and a half weeks to visit family and friends. Here are some pictures of our holidays:

Just before we moved we went to the Legislature in Edmonton and enjoyed the 30+ weather with the other hundreds of people playing in the cool water.

We went camping with Breanne and Michael's parents for a couple nights at Crandell in Waterton.
We met up with the Bennett's in Magrath at the Magrath Days Parade. These two were like children waiting for candy.
We were able to go swimming at Henderson pool a couple of times.
We hung out again with the Bennett's and their adorable baby girl, Bailey.
We went to the Parker family reunion and this is a picture of my team when we played Amazing Race.
This is a picture of us in our new home!! Breanne was able to visit for a week and it was nice to have her.
My beautiful baby sister!! Isn't she pretty?

Now it is just Michael and I. He is at school everyday doing rotations at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre from 8-4:30. I have not found a job yet because I have been procrastinating applying. Our new ward is mostly elderly people which is a huge change from the previous ward. But it is nice to have the decision to go home and visit whenever we want. I love our new place because we have a lot more room and a single garage to put storage in. Come visit if you want!! We would love to have anyone come visit!

Lately nothing huge has been going on. Michael has been busy with finals and I am so excited for him to get done because his next semester is going to be much less stressful!! I am still working, building my clientele. My mom came up to visit a couple weeks ago to go to the Britney Spears concert with me and we had a lot of fun spending time together. I wish we lived a lot closer so we could do more stuff. Easter was fun. We were invited to a small potluck at Michael's cousins house. They invited another couple in the ward and it was nice to eat an Easter dinner because we didn't have any plans. Easter Monday Michael did an Easter egg hunt for me to make it all a little more festive. It was fun to have him do that for me. We really missed being able to paint eggs with my siblings because that is what we have done all the other Easter we have been together. This weekend my Dad is coming up with my stepmom. They are coming up for some sort of meeting for my stepmom and they are staying in a hotel. Friday night we hope to go out for dinner and Sunday they will come to church with us and hang out at our place later on. I haven't seen my Dad since Christmas so I am really looking forward to seeing him!! I finished reading a 6 volume church fiction series called The Great and Terrible by Chris Stewart and I am so sad I am done now. I love to read so much and I love books that are included in a series because then they just keep going. I would definately recommend these books. I have also read The Work and the Glory books and I love them also as well as Children of the Promise and Hearts of the Children(the 2nd generation of children of the promise families). Anyways... I just really love to read so any good recommendations?? I love church fiction...

My cousin, Kristy, who has her own business doing arts and crafts and selling them is doing a giveaway right now for a super adorable blanket so check out her website www.thepinkknot.blogspot.com .

Another Move

When Michael got into the Radiation Therapy Program, he was supposed to go to Calgary after a year for the last year and a half to do his clinical portion of his schooling. We really ended up liking Edmonton, so we asked if there was anyway we would be able to stay. After a couple months, they got back to us and told us we are still suppose to go to Calgary. We will be there by mid August and for a year and a half. It will be nice to be closer to family but we have made some good friends here, we are in an amazing ward, and our location is perfect for my work and his school... (2 blocks from his school, 15 min walk for me to work). I just really don't want to move again! And especially to Calgary, haha. I've never lived there but I hope we get into a good ward. I know nothing of the salons in Calgary... Hopefully we can find a bigger place to live for a cheaper price, haha!!

So a girl I work with and me wanted to start going to Aquafit because I went with my mom when I lived in Lethbridge and I really liked it. So the girl I work with brought some friends and I brought my friend Nicole and now we have been going every week... so far so good. I have been able to convince a bunch of other friends to come as well, and hopefully they show up. It's once a week for an hour and the deep water and shallow is at the same time so we can choose which one we want to go to. Michael goes to play basketball every Thurs so it's nice to be able to go out with just girls and visit and get a work out. Also, Michael and I have been going to the gym every Monday... It's been going well. I have never been the work out type but its been nice to be active a couple times a week and I want to try to do it more!!

My Next Post

Lately we haven't been up to a lot but some people keep saying I haven't posted anything new. I have been borrowing the Gilmore Girls seasons from a friend and I have been pretty hooked. I never used to like them but it kind of grows on you. Michael and I are ward missionaries and we are starting to do Share My Gospel with ward members where we teach members about how to be better missionaries and we commit them to invite someone to meet with the missionaries. We are pretty excited to start working with some people and to be in contact with investigators. Michael has been playing basketball with the ward lately and he was in a tournament last Saturday! He hadn't played in a while so he was sore afterwards but his team won! For Christmas we got a bread maker so I have been making some loaves of bread, which my mom wanted me to post pictures of! This week we are heading to Lethbridge to welcome Michael's brother home so we are looking forward to seeing family and getting away from school and work. Also, his sister Jody is heading to New Zealand for about 2 months so we will say bye to her. So here are some pictures mostly for my mom to see, haha. 

Starting a Blog!

Well after reading Mindy and Kristy's blogs for a while, I have decided to start my own. When I got my computer, Michael said the only way I could have it is if I kept a journal on my computer and he says a blog will do. We take a lot of pictures and so I will probably post pictures often and I will try to keep everyone updated. I think it's also just for family to see what we're doing. Hopefully I can get some people to read my blog every once in a while. Recently, we've just been getting back into a routine. Michael is starting a new semester and I am back to work. Not much else is going on with use right now. Michael's younger brother Devin gets home from his mission in Hawaii at the end of this month so we are looking forward to heading down to Lethbridge to welcome him home. I know Michael is definitely looking forward to it. We celebrated Michael's 28th birthday today. Well we don't really have people to celebrate it with so we just ate some ice cream (he didn't want a cake) and we went to Galaxyland at West Ed Mall on Friday kind of to celebrate. I can't believe I have been with him for 3 of his birthdays already and in only 2 more he will be 30!! I have such an old man husband!! haha This is a picture of Michael and I at West Ed on the Balloon Ferris Wheel.