Lions and tigers and dingos.

The company I work for had free zoo day at the Tautphas park zoo in Idaho Falls. So as a treat to Bryce we went for his birthday. I must say I was impressed. For a town of 50,000 I was expecting far less. Like when my sister said she went to the zoo in Connecticut with Lily and there was a house cat in a cage. This was impressive. They had lots of birds... which we skipped over mostly, but also a variety of asian, african, and south american animals.
They had a real tiger.
And a gorgeous lion and lioness. He had an amazing mane.

The animals were up close and the enclosures were great at giving a variety of views. We saw maybe 100 animals and it was so awesome we might go again!

A Pharm

Bryce and I officially celebrated spring by planting a garden. We got our seeds, pots, and dirt and threw them together to create something hopefully magical. While at the garden store we found some magical seed start kit. It included little wafers which grew huge with water. We just placed our seed in and supposedly it should germinate.

This is much more fun and productive then farmville.

Rainman

(begin rant)

So, I official hate Snow. I know I speak of my hatred for Snow often... but I want it down in writing. I HATE SNOW!!!! In my last will and testament, I want it to be stated that I enjoyed my life except for the parts with Snow in it.

Now, Snow has caused no damage to me other then making me cold, uncomfortable, irritated and worrisome. But if you look at those attributes and apply them to a person; that person would not be a friend. In fact it would be the kind of thing you would have to repent and forgive about. But since Snow is only a form of water I feel that these feelings can be openly expressed without offense.

Now, Rain. Rain is my friend. I love Rain. Rain can put me to sleep, allow me to use my windshield wipers and makes everything green. Rain can be bothersome but it doesn't stick around for weeks on end, it leaves rather quickly.

I guess what the point to all this is is that Snow should get the heck out of my life so I can be warm again because heck, it is SPRING!

(end rant)

Blessings

As most of you know, I started a new job on Monday at Melaleuca as a Graphic Artist. It seems to be enjoyable thus far. I feel like I am in my element with the work they have assigned me. The fact I am familiar with all the programs is a huge bonus. The people seem young and fun and we are working on a multitude of new projects. It is fast paced and I like that. It eliminates the moments where you sit and try and think of work, which I hate.

I sit next to a girl I had a few classes with when I was a freshman. I enjoyed spending time with her in classes and I am looking forward to becoming co-workers. The management is super nice which makes the work day easier.

I just feel so blessed to get this job in what is a tough market. I really think God has been looking out for Bryce and I and just pouring on blessing after blessing. We started out in Rexburg with both of us getting jobs in the first week of being here. We hope to find ways to bless others as much as God is blessing us!

A tour of our new Apartment

So one of the benefits of being married is that you get to come home every night to the one you love... and you get to decorate that home for the one you love and make it yours. When we got married we got a ton of stuff, and a good amount of gift cards... I thank those for making our first apartment cute and warm.

We live in a nice complex here in Rexburg and we love our ward. We choose to go to the family ward instead of the student ward and I must say... I LOVE IT! I think this is one of the best wards I have ever been in. There is such a great variation in ages and experience. About a fourth of the ward are newly weds which allows us to make friends and have dinner parties. I feel really blessed to be here. Bryce and I were called as the activities commitee chairs and we look forward to getting to know even more people and plan some fun events.

So on to the tour, it isn't much but I am sure proud of it!

We decided on a Texas theme living room in honor of Bryce's mission We have the longhorns and everything!

We got our wedding pictures developed and they offer a little warmth and friendliness to our new place.
Our couch, bookcase, and dining room table were donate by my parents... my sister Cherie so elegently stated, that our couch is well used, "and has been farted on by everyone in our family." Well at least we don't have to worry about it getting dirty. :) It is suprisingly in great condition for how long my family had owned it.

The Kitchen.. not so exciting, but it does offer a lot of space.

The Bathroom, It has a subtle lighthouse theme. My Mom and I took a trip up the oregon coast and stopped at all the lighthouses along the way. I used the pictures I took for the images on the walls. I love the colors in here, anyone who knows a little about my pet peeves knows my obsession over nice bathrooms. So making this room inviting was important to me. Our washer and dryer are also in the bathroom and we have linen closets on both sides!

The entryway/hallway

The Bedroom! Thanks Ikea and Bed Bath and Beyond for making things easy!

This is one of my favorite things in the house. Bryce made this dresser as a wedding present to me. I love it! He made it out of Black Walnut, Alder, and Curly Maple. I have quite the talented husband! He also made it extra big so I could cram all my clothes inside.

So my life has gotten a little busy

So I thought I would start this entry with a cruise ship... it explains everything, you see I got married, and it turned my life into a nonstop honeymoon cruise.

Bryce and I were married December 12th in the Portland, OR LDS temple. We had a wonderful and quick 3 month engagement and are now living in the cold climate of Rexburg, ID. Marriage is wonderful if I do say so myself and I enjoy the new blessings and challenges it brings. I love our little family and the addition of my in-laws. Bryce has such a great family and I am so blessed to call them mine now! I love that are parents live close and get along. That is so important to me. Bryce loves having a little niece who adores him and he fits in well with my siblings.

Our wedding turned out beautiful. Everything was perfect and lovely. I worked so hard at making everything from my vision of the day become a reality. I was so grateful for all the people who made it possible.

I am so excited to start my new life with Bryce... thus I am changing up the name of the Blog and hopefully I won't wait so long to update it again!

Balloon Festival

The city of Driggs, about half an hour from Jackson, WY and about 50 minutes from Rexburg where I live had a balloon festival the 4th of July. My roommate Dorthy mentioned that she wanted to go, and I thought it would be a fun activity to go to... the only downside was we had to leave around 4am to get there on time.
Our intentions for going were just to see the balloons but soon we were recruited to be the balloon chasing crew for a man named Greg Ashton. At first we were a little concerned over the fact we knew nothing about hot air balloons except that they land in crazy spots and that our job was to follow the balloon and pick it up where it landed. Greg handed us the keys to his car and some gloves... he was really trusting.

There were about 12 balloons there that day, not as many as some balloon shows but enough to make it spectacular. Bryce and Dorthy held the balloon open so it could fill with air, while I had the all important job of watching, taking pictures, and turning off the fan. It was a cool process to watch. Then we carried the balloon further into the field for lift off and bid adieu to our balloon. We hopped into the suburban and followed them.

Greg landed in some family's front yard. Thankfully the kids were uber excited to have a hot air balloon land in their front yard, it doesn't happen that often. The whole neighborhood helped us back the balloon up and we drove back to the fairgrounds where we were treated to a "Wine and Cheese" meet and greet, where we had some cider and delicious cheese snacks.

It was a super fun experience. I loved how fun it was to actually be apart of the show instead of just watching. It made it all the more fun.

After we went to Victor, ID and watched a parade. It was full of candy and I thought it was good. My Design and Color teacher drove his old restored truck and it helped me to finally remember his name... Tim Tanner. I couldn't remember it for the life of me.

We visited a antique show and looked at some nice stuff. I think I want to collect porcelain dog figurines. I already have one.

We went to Idaho Falls for the Fireworks. We went with our friends Johnny & Danielle, and Andy & Holly and a few others. The wait was fun and I enjoyed socializing. It was a nice end to our extended weekend.

We also went to American Falls to visit Bryce's cousins Pat and Marshall. It was a fun visit and I loved sleeping in and just relaxing. We had some good food and great conversation.