OnE BIG cRaZy SuMmEr!!!

June: We bought our house in Mountain Green! It was so funny! When we were bidding on the house after the bank made a bid Travis said I'll go $1 over that.......and guess what.......We got it! I told him he should have said 1 penny over (that would have been funnier!) The house had been empty since November and had a couple of projects that HAD to be done : ) First on the list buying new appliences. At first this sounded like a lot of fun until the DRAMA with the oven began!
July: Our kitchen was set up for a 48 inch stove! Not something you can pick up at Home Depot or Sears! lol. After some help with research (with help ; )we ordered one that we thought would be best from a company out of Italy....... For those of you who don't know this Europe has a totally different electric system! Most standard ovens in the U.S. need a 220 outlet.........Well our little foreign oven required a 240! We had to hire an electrician to fish a line up and rewire a new outlet! (Still more DRAMA!) We also learned that because the double convection oven on the stove had such a high voltage..we had to tile behind where the oven would be. (to be continued......)
In between all of this....WE SOLD OUR HOME IN SYRACUSE IN 5 DAYS!!! We were so excited. It really made us feel like we had made the right choice in taking such a big risk! (Big risk, big return right?) What made it even better was that they wanted to close in under 30 days! (the husband was getting ready to be deployed.) It was such a weight off of our shoulders to have that taken care of! We were sad to leave so many good friends, but were so excited for the new adventures that lay ahead!
JULY TRIPS! I love the 4th of July in Grantsville! It is definitely my favorite holiday! I love hanging out at my Aunt Leila's watching the parade with the fam. Travis is getting used to the idea that I insist that everyone in our little family have special outfits that are saved for the 4th! (It makes it so much fun and the pictures turn out cuter : ) We hit the carnival at the park for a bit and loaded the car up for...............DISNEYLAND!
The night of the 4th we drove to Primm Valley Resort and watched the fireworks from our Hotel Room. The next day we were suprised by a 6 a.m. phone call from my fam saying they were at our hotel waiting to have breakfast. They decided to leave at 11:00 at night! On the 5th we stopped in Redlands to visit Trav's Uncle Bud and Aunt Nancy where we were given a very descriptive tour of Redlands! We finished off the evening at Disney Land with my family. WE SPENT A TOTAL OF FIVE DAYS THERE! Needless to say Trav and I were all Disneyed out!
At the end of the moth we were able to go to Colorado Spring for our Niece Reagen's birthday! Austin loves to play with his cousins! What made it even more special was that Trav's brother Rob met us there with his son Rob so we were able to spend time with them as well!
MORE OVEN DRAMA! We've rewired, tiled..........now we had to install an emergency shut off valve because the stove is gas!
August: THE OVEN WAS FINALLY INSTALLED! If it didn't make my kitchen look even more amazing I probably would have kicked it by now! I love that I can be cooking pancakes on one side of the stove and Trav is on the other cooking eggs AND WE NEVER BUMP INTO EACH OTHER AT ALL! Even though it was huge drama this summer I LOVE IT! I LOVE MY HOUSE! AND I LOVE MOUNTAIN GREEN! It is so beautiful here! (please remind me that I said this when it snows!) I can definitely say this house is far better than any dream house I could have thought of! I am so LUCKY to have such a wonderful husband who takes such good care of us (and who spoils us just a little!)
We are definitely sad that the summer is over! We had so many exciting things happen and had so many fun experiences. With that said we are hoping that next summer is a little calmer so we can just relax and enjoy!

MISTAKE and DELAY!

SO.................I just spent about 35 minutes updating my blog so that everyone could see al of the fun things that we did this summer! I have two blogs on my account.....A personal (this one) and one for the parents of my students. I posted to the wrong blog......Couldn't transfer the post...and in a panic to get it off before parents read it (teachers can't appear to be human lol!) I deleted it! All of my hard work gone! I am giving up for the night! Maybe I'll try again tomorrow : )

We're Moving!

That's right! ApparentlyI can't stay in one place for too long and now I've given the bug to Travis! (lol) I have moved every year since 2002!!! I am hoping that this is my last stop! Travis, Austin, and I are so excited about our new home (pics coming soon!) We found the most perfect house in Mountain Green for our little family and we couldn't be more happy with it! I know that I should be putting pictures up with this post, but it will have to wait! Our new home is beautiful and we can't wait to share it with everyone.......but I don't have the patience tonight to download pics!

Spring/Easter Craziness And A New Addition!

Our newest member to our little family (as Travis would say lol). Travis has wanted a dog for as long as we have been together. I like dogs.....but I am more of a look but don't touch kind of person. Travis was in Turkey for 3 weeks before Easter and everytime he called he would talk about the fun gifts he had picked up for Austin and I for Easter. I wanted to give him something special, and here she is. I'm not sure whether Travis or Austin came up with the name Sophie but it fit and we can't imagine calling her anything else! She is a Yorkshire Terrier and a Dachshund mix. She is expected to stay under 10 pounds. Travis has had so much fun with her and she is the perfect size for Austin! He loves to pick her up and carry her around.

I feel like I have fallen behind on posting! Life has been so crazy the past 2 months it feels like we don't have a moment to think about any of it! Here is a quick update on our crazy lives!

Travis was in Turkey for a little over three weeks during March and the first part of April. I really had a hard time with having him gone! Travis was afraid that Austin would forget about him.......but when we picked him up from the base he became a total daddy's boy. I don't think Austin wanted to play with me for a week! lol. It was so much fun to watch the two of them together. Travis spoiled us all with gifts from his trip. When I get a chance I will post pics of some of the items he brought back!

Aimee: With this year being so packed with our wedding and moving I put off my ESL (English as a Second Language Endorsement needed to teach in a classroom with students who have a foreign first language) classes until the end of the year. I thought that I could take the whole first year in two months! (10 college credits) Last week I finished..barely! I thought that I was going to die most days teaching school all day and then sitting in class all night! I'm glad that it's over for the year and even more glad that I stuck with it and I am one year away from being done!

Austin: POTTY TRAINING. (Need I say more???) This has been quite the challenge for all of us! He does really well some days and then others not so well. He does really well at telling us when, we just don't make it everytime! Aside from that, his vocabulary has exploded! I love being able to talk to him and for him to talk back. The other day he was playing with Sophie and he said " Mom, it's a good puppy!" My favorite right now is when Travis and I don't get him what he wants right away he'll tell us "I'll get it!" He loves to learn people's names and he will talk about each one every night. Although....we haven't figured out where he has met someone named Debbie...lol.....he talks about her a lot! He is definitely all boy and a lot of fun!

Christmas this last year was really hard for us! I was living in Syracuse;Travis was living in Layton; My parents were in Grantsville; Trav's parents were in Layton. We hit both parents houses and did presents and dinner all in one day! All 3 of us were in bed at 8! After this experience we decided that we wanted Easter to be a little more mellow.....So we invited Everyone to our house! It was a lot of work but it was so nice to have everyone at our house! It was even more special because my Grandpa and Granma Butler came too! As an Easter gift for our guests Travis and I took Austin to get his pictures done and had collages made at Kiddie Kandids for each set of grandparents. Here are a couple of the picturees we had taken. The last 3 were used in the collage.

Wedding Slide Show! (Finally)

I know I have been a total slacker about putting our Wedding pics up! We have been caught up in such a whirlwind since the day we got married that I feel like overwhelmed! Here are a few pictures from our big day!
(P.S. 4 days til Trav comes home!)
Love you babe!

6 more days!

We are so Excited! Travis will be home this Saturday (just in time for the Easter Egg Hunt at the Base!) I am so thankful that this was only 3 weeks and not months or years! I thought that I was going to get so many things done while he was gone, and I found that as hard as I tried all I could do was keep our heads just above water! lol.
One change I made while he has been gone is that I cut my hair! (I don't have any pics yet!) Austin was gone with Tyson for the night and I decided that I didn't like my hair anymore! I had seen a style I really liked on VH1, took it to the salon, and off came my hair! I like it a lot, but am still getting used to it!
We miss you Trav and can't wait for Saturday!

We Love You Trav (daddy)

Travis left for Turkey with the Air National Guard on Friday! Austin and I are totally at a loss with out him! Poor Austin just can't work with my poor wrestling skills. Travis is much better at it than I (I guess I'm not much of a challenge for him!) He was pretty upset when he realized Travis wasn't getting back in the car after he strapped him in his seat at the air field. As for me, even though Austin keeps me busy I am so bored with out Travis! I am so used to being able to talk to him as much as I want and when I want! (AND NOT AT ODD HOURS!) He will be back in a few weeks.........Angie, if you are reading this, I know that I am being a baby about this! lol.

And if you are reading this Travis, WE LOVE YOU AND CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR SAFE RETURN!

Tagged
Thanks Gentri.
Here are the 8s:
Rules:1) Post Rules on your blog
2) Answer the six "8" items
3) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment

8 favorite TV shows:
FRIENDS
Desperate Housewives
House
Bad Girls Club (i don't know why!)
Daily 10
Psych
Law&Order SVU
Project Runway

8 things I did yesterday:
Took Austin To Heidi's
Taught 5th Grade
Took class and faculty pictures
Took a nap with Austin
Made Dinner
Got flowers from Travis! (he was late)
Took a long bath
Ate Popsicles in bed lol

8 things I look forward to:
Having our house back in order!
Travis being home from Turkey
Our first family trip to Disneyland this summer!
The temperature being over 80!
Finishing my master's one day!
Having another child (one day!)
Being able to use our Lagoon season passes this summer (and only having to drive 15 minutes to get there)
Playing ball outside with Austin this summer!

8 favorite restaurants:
Ichiban's (Sushi)
Tsunami (sushi)
Osaka (sushi)
Melting Pot
Maddax
La Frontera
Skybox
Olive Garden

8 things on my wish list:
Travel to Europe
Get my Master's Degree
Write a book
For teachers to get payed more!
To be a good influence for my child(ren)
To be a good wife to Travis
My my life to always be as happy as it is right now!
To truly make a difference

8 people to tag: Angie Perry, Callie, Chelci, Chelsie, Juanita, Makenzie, Traci, Haley

A quick February Wedding update! (AKA One big Perry Family!)

We're married. We're back from Hawaii! BUT best of all.....TRAVIS FINALLY IS MOVED BACK HOME! The wedding was amazing! We had such a good time! We started with the Salt Lake Temple, went on to the ring ceremony and topped it all off with our reception! The day went by so fast! LOL Trav and I had to go through the drive through to eat on our way to the ring ceremony! Thank you so much for all of you that came out and supported us on our big day! ESPECIALLY those of you who (literally) travelled cross-country to be with us! We have waited so long to be married (and sealed :) ) and it made it even more special to have those we loved with us to share!

We love you all!

(I know I say this all the time, but one day when our crazy life slows down I will post more pics! Until then here is the link for our wedding picture slideshow : ) http://www.aimeeandtravis.photherald.com/

Enjoy!

Austin's Birthday!

Austin turned 2 on January 28! I can't believe how big he is! On his birthday we went ou to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Christiansen and Grandma and Grandpa Perry to Chuck E Cheese. Austin loves the helicopter ride there, but is terrified of Chucky!

On Saturday we had a big Football themed family party. We debated on the theme.......but with Super bowl so close there were just too many cute football decorations not to go that way! He was totally spoiled rotten and all of us had fun at both parties! Even though it comes with a lot of bruises and 2 year old fits, I LOVE THIS AGE! I love to hear him talk and learn new things!

We love you Austin Ryan!

I promise to get the pics posted from the party! This month has been so wild! We are getting married in 4 days, and between the holiday, Austin's Birthday and the wedding we have been running wild trying to get it all done!

Where did December go?

I can't believe that it is January!!! It has been over a month since our last post and we have a lot to share! December was a fun month for us! We started off the month with a trip to Vegas with Trav's parents. I have never had the full Vegas experience so it was a lot of fun for me! Trav's mom loves Donny and Marie so we went to their concert and sat at a table right next to the stage. Linda was literally resting her elbow on the stage! I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the concert (I had never heard any of their songs lol.) BUT I can honestly say that it was one of the best shows that I have ever been to! The best part was when Donny Osmond jumped off the stage and onto our table and started dancing. After the show we hit Caesar's and then the Palms where we took pictures in front of the Playboy club. (lol) We didn't go inside, but we took some cute pictures! (which I promise to post as soon as we find our Duo stick adapter!)
The next weekend we did our engagement photos (on the 19th). It was a blizzard outside! We thought that were going to have to cancel, but the snow actually gave our photos a unique look. We had so much fun! This was also special because we took our first pictures as a family! Austin cooperated for his portion of the shoot and as a reward he got to hang out with his Grandma (Mammy) Perry while Travis and I finished the rest of our photos. The next day we were able to proof the pictures on the computer and order our wedding invitations.
Christmas was crazy for the three of us! We started Christmas Eve day at the Perry's to make chocolate chip cookies for Santa. Then we drove to Grantsville and spent the night with my family. Christmas morning was so much fun this year! (I think that we may have spoiled each other a little too much!) We spent the morning with my parents and sisters and the drove back to Layton to have a second Christmas with Trav's family. We are truly blessed to have so many people so close to spend the holidays with! After a big Christmas dinner all of us in the Perry house went to bed early!
Our biggest news/event came in the form of a letter yesterday! Most of you know that Travis and I have been waiting for a sealing cancellation and clearance from my previous marriage to come through so that we could be sealed in the temple. We started the process at the end of July and were starting to lose hope (at least I was) that we would get an answer back by February 6. We were always planning on having a ring ceremony, but had started to plan for it to be THE wedding ceremony. When we ordered invitations we didn't even specify where we were getting married, because we were still holding out for an answer! BUT yesterday we received a letter from the First Presidency of the Church saying that our petition had been reviewed and approved!!!! We immediately called the Salt Lake Temple and reserved a time! We are both so excited that we get to be married where and how we want. This experience has made me realize how much I have taken the temple and its ordinances for granted. Having had to work so hard and wait for this has made me even more thrilled to share this Travis! Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and for those of you who kept us positive! ; )I would have married Travis anywhere at anytime, but now having the ability to be sealed to Travis in the temple has made this long engagement worth every moment!