Deer Hunt

(Travis wouldn't sit still for a decent picture.)

The last two weeks has been deer hunt mania at our house. Opening weekend we went up to Flaming Forge where we always hunt. This year we went up a day early to get everything ready and to sight in the guns. While target shooting, a shell got jammed in Trav's rifle. Fortunately, Trav's dad brought up some of his other guns and let Trav use his rifle to hunt. Opening morning, Trav's mom and aunt saw the biggest buck they had ever seen up there and his dad was the only hunter with them at time. He grabbed his replacement gun and took aim. Unfortunately he didn't pull the hammer back so the gun didn't fire. By the time he shot again the buck was gone. It sucks because if he had had the rifle he's used to he would have gotten him. Later that day, right before dark, Trav's aunt saw some more deer on a hillside across the street from where we parked. Trav's dad sped over there and went off the rode through a field to get as close to the deer as possible. We eventually came to a fence and had to stop but had that fence not been there I am convinced we would have driven right up the mountain to the deer. There was one buck but his horns were barely bigger than his ears so he didn't want to shoot him. If Trav or his cousin Cole (who has never gotten a deer) been with us they probably would have shot. So the only time we saw any bucks Trav's dad was the only hunter in sight. The next two days we didn't see anything. There were hardly any doe either. It must have been a really bad winter or something. We didn't see any other hunters with deer hanging or in their trucks either. I am proud to say that I went out with them everytime except one morning. This is rare because I usually stay at the trailer and sleep in. I'm not too fond of waking up before dark and sitting out in the cold. I also proud to report that the entire Jensen clan was only fifteen minutes later than planned getting out every morning. For those of you who don't know the Jensens that is quite the feat. We were disapointed we didn't get any deer but we had a lot of fun. I have now added deer to my list of things not at Flaming Gorge. After several summers of boating I have already come to the conclusion that there are no fish there either.

The next weekend Travis and Cole continued their quest for deer. This time they drove up to Strawberry for the day. They didn't have any luck at Strawberry either though but Travis got to spend some quality time with his cousin, dad, and grandpa.

What Do You Think?

So, Annabelle has always reminded me of a meerkat, especially when she "sits pretty." What do you think?

Summer 2008 at a Glance.

Wow!! What a whirlwind.

I can't beleive that summer is already over. It sure has been packed full of fun and a few big life changes. Here's a quick run down of the highlights of our summer.

-Moved away from Logan and into a room in my inlaws basement.
-Started new jobs.
-Went to Tampa, Florida for a week to visit Trav's brother Cody who performs at Busch Gardens. Our hotel was right on the beach with gorgeous views. We got to play at Busch Gardens which is super fun and I highly recommend. The combo. of cool rides and exotic animals is a perfect mix for me. We also spent a day at Disneyworld which totally kicked my butt. It's definitely not for fat girls. We also got to go to Sea World which was a first for me. I loved it even though it poured for half the day. All in all it was an amazing trip. (photos to come)
-Bought a house!!
-My sister Amanda got married!
-Two trips to Flaming Gorge. My inlaws have property in Manila so it's a common vacation spot for us. My favorite is the pancake breakfast at the senior citizen center on Labor Day. I also love the light parade and fireworks. It really marks the end of summer.
-A bunch of home improvements and yard work. Ok I didn't do a ton of yard work but had good intentions of doing it. I'll have to post some before and after pics of the work we've done on our house.
-Got totally addicted to the olympics and basically did nothing but watch for two weeks straight (which really set back my home improvements.)

Well, that's it in a nutshell. It definitely was a whirlwind but a lot of fun. I will be posting some pictures as well so you can get a sneak peak of our fun summer.

Here it is!!

Here are some pictures of our new house. Try to ignore the awful bunny wallpaper and the gross carpet. It is going to be a work in progress. We are so excited to have a home of our own. Now starts all of the hard work. Master Bedroom
1/2 of our super sweet walk in closet
Master Bath . This is going to be Trav's.
2nd bedroom. Someday there'll be a baby in it.

Family Room Fireplace
View to kitchen and dining from family
Bathroom. This is going to be mine
Upper landing complete with a laundry shoot.
Loft that we will eventually turn into a third bedroom when we need it. Front with my first ever garage.
Living Room
Dining Room
Kitchen with more cabinets than I've ever had.
It also has a pantry for my Diet Pepsi.

Less Than a Week to Go!!!

It's official (well almost)! We're going to be homeowners. We are scheduled to close on our house on June 16th at 8:30 in the morning. I can hardly contain my excitement. Sharing one room with my entire family (me, Trav, Annabelle the dog, and Jack and Zoey the cats (Gizmo the sugar glider couldn't quite fit)) definitely gets old fast. And I am tired of mooching off of my inlaws. I can't wait to get my own space back. I think I am going to move my stuff into the guest bathroom just so I can have my own sink (I've never had that before). I want to start moving our stugg in as soon as we get the keys but Trav thinks we should wait until the weekend. I even want to just have a sleepover on the floor if we can't our stuff in but Trav still says no. Well, I'll keep you posted on how things go.

We're going to be real grownups!

So after over a month of searching for rentals that would allow our pets in SLC we were completely frustrated. Every place was either a dump, in the ghetto, or cost a ton. The good places were rented before we had a chance to drive down to look at it and the thought of paying $1100 plus a month on rent just made me sick. We decided to meet with a realtor to see what our options were. She suggested a lender and we soon found out that we could qualify for $180,000 FHA loan. So now the rush is on to find a house and close as fast as possible. We have to be out of our current rental in less than a week so all of our stuff will be going in storage and we will be staying at Trav's parents house. It has all been very rushed but definitely exciting. I have dreamed of buying a house forever and I never thought it would happen so soon. So far we have seen eight houses. We do have a favorite but we want to see a few more before we decide. Unfortunately all the houses in our price range are in West Valley City. Scary I know, but there are some nice areas. I can't wait until we can move into our own home and make it our own.

Update Update

So Travis ended up taking the job at the Utah Artificial Heart Association. The pay isn't awesome but the benefits definitely are. So he's starting his new job on June 2. Now I just need to find a job. Yikes!!! I have always been planning on staying in Logan for a couple weeks after Travis moved because I promised my boss I would train my replacement so I still have a few weeks left in Logan. We are also trying desperately to find a place to rent that will allow our pets, not cost a fortune, and not be a complete ghetto. Help!!

Update

I thought I better do a new post because I am sick of seeing that stupid ABC tag on my blog. Life has been pretty crazy for me lately. I have been the only one in the office the last couple of weeks because Amie's husband was in a pretty bad accident and has been in the hospital. Since it's just the two of us managing all of the projects it made me pretty dang busy, especially with the parade of homes coming to fast. (that's one of Amie's projects) I am also working on a project for Travis's Aunt Shelly and her friend Magna in my spare time. Magna just bought a new house and wants all new decor to go with it. It is going to so beautiful. I can't wait to see it finished. Add in the fact that we have driven back to Salt Lake for like a hundred weekends in row (I can't even remember when we last stayed in Logan on a weekend) and it seems like I am always running. With the outrageous gas prices we have to move back down to Salt Lake soon (or just not go to every family thing but let's just face it that's not going to happen). Travis has been going on a ton of interviews but nothing too promising. He's gotten a couple job offers but the pay wasn't very good. We're just waiting for a great job opportunity for him that will pay enough that we can actually afford to live in Salt Lake. (not having to fill the car up twice a week will help though.) We are also really getting into the Jazz games. Hopefully they will be able to make it past the stupid Lakers. (ha like the NBA will ever allow that)

ABC's

ABC's "getting to know you" TAG ABC's of you. Each player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Travis and my mom even though I don't get to talk to her as much anymore as I used to.
C-Cake or Pie: Pie but just barely.
D-Day: Saturday, because I can sleep in as long as I want.
E- Essential Item: Diet Pepsi. I have a pretty strong addiction.
F- Favorite Color: Pink and Pink
G-Gummi Bears or Worms: Definitely bears
H-Home town: West Bountiful, Utah
I- Indulgences: Stupid reality TV shows. I can't seem to get enough. I love them all.
J- January or July?: July is too hot and January is too cold but I pick July cause I'm sick of the cold. (I'm sure that will change when I'm stuck in this old house without AC. Yuck!)
K-Kids: Just furry ones
L-Life is incomplete without: Spending time with family. That's why we take the long drive down to SLC and back almost every weekend. Double yuck!!
M- Marriage Date: Aug.6, 2005
N- Number of Siblings: 1 older sister, 1 younger dorky brother
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges
P- Phobias or Fears: I'm scared to death of dead things and all that goes with them like cemetaries, funerals, mounted deer heads etc. and aliens of course.
Q- Quote: OMG!! (said in a really annoying valley girl voice)
R- Reason To Smile: Do you have to have a reason?
S- Season: Spring and Fall when it's not too hot or too cold
T- Tag Three: Hayley, Holly, and Jen
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I asked my husband for an interesting fact about me that other people don't really know about and he said that I sleep more than other person in the world. I disagree.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I'm definitely a carnivore.
W- Worst Habit: Saying freaking like every other word.
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: I don't have an opinion on either.
Y-Your favorite food: Italian even though it gives me a way bad belly ache every time I have it.
Z: Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

First Camping Trip of the Year.

This weekend we went on our annual Easter camping trip. (we decided not to go on Easter since it was so early so we wouldn't totally freeze.) We camped in Green River, Ut. Travis and I drove down Friday morning. When I got there I found my sister doing dishes and making lunch and I knew something was wrong. My mom was super sick and didn't leave the bed all day. This is definitely unusual since my mom never lets any of us help with anything. That's how we knew she was really sick. Once everyone was loaded up, we drove to Moab for the day. We did a trail called Chicken Corner. We started out thinking it was a short little trail but it ended up being a 50 mile four wheeler ride that took all day. At the end of the road we parked the bikes and took the narrow trail down around Chicken Corner. The view was awesome overlooking the Green River. After a while of taking in the view and resting our butts and thumbs from the long ride, we started back down the mountain. Since we road in caravan of 12 four wheelers we were all covered in red dust. (except for Travis who was leading) We spent the next day near Goblin Valley. We did a trail around Temple Mountain. It was a pretty fun ride too. There were all of these rusted out cars that been sitting there for at least 50 years. They trail took us to an old mine and back around the mountain. That night we headed into the Goblins. The wind was blowing like crazy which made it freezing. Once we got down into the Goblins the wind died down and it was pretty nice. We climbed and explored the Goblins until the sun started setting. The battery on my camera was dying so I didn't take very many pics that day (a learning experience since it was our first trip with my new camera and I didn't bring the charger which I got yelled at for). The next day we went up a canyon and found all kinds of cool Indian carvings and some ruins of huts and what we think was a church. I don't know how old they were but they were definitely pretty dang old. It made me feel like Indiana Jones looking for ancient artifacts. I was going to google the name of the canyon to find out what the buildings were but I have forgotten the name (oops!) We had to make the long drive back to Salt Lake that night so we headed back to camp and had a little birthday party for Travis. It was a great weekend and I can't wait for the next trip.

Check out my Slide Show!

What I Do All Day

I thought I'd share a little bit about what I do all day. Here are some pictures of two of my projects. The first house is a small remodel and decorating job we did. It's still not 100% finished but it looks 100% better. I'll have to get a before picture. The second bunch of pictures of a home I started when I was on I my internship almost two years ago. The house is almost finished and I can't wait to see it once everything is done and cleaned up. Keep in mind that it is still under construction and there aren't any lights installed. Just click play to bring up the album.

Hello!

I decided to make a blog so I would have something to do when I got home from work. I guess I could start by telling you about our little family. Travis and I have been married going on three years now. Right now we are living in Logan but are hoping to move to Salt Lake soon. We both graduated from Utah State last May. I got my degree in interior design while Travis got his in bioveterinary science. I work at the Medici Company. A design firm in Logan. The bulk of my projects are new construction. I design every aspect of the home from the ground up. Travis works at a preclinical research lab. He mostly does husbandry which is taking care of the animals, but sometimes he gets to assist in the surgeries. Those are his favorite days. He would love it if he could do surgery every single day. Travis is planning on getting a masters degree and then going to vet. school. Right now we are just waiting to see if he gets accepted to grad. school. Travis and I have three children.

Zoey is the oldest and sometimes has an attitude.

Cap'n Jack is the middle child and is as sweet as can be.

Annabelle is the baby and definitely is a momma's girl.

Ok so they're pets but they will always be my babies. Maybe someday soon we can start a real family but for now my animals will have to do.