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)