Family Time!!!!

I am back in Laramie after spending two weeks with my family. I suck however! I did not get a single picture but I did have a great time. My family and I did a lot of things together. My mom and I went on a run and took our dogs with us. I suck at running but it is a good work out and it was fun running with my mom. We also had slumber parties in the camper, went for motorcycle rides, planted some flowers, worked on my mom's garden, went to a bbq, had our own bbq, enjoyed time together on the 4th of July, and most importantly Eric learned how to do a real BACK FLIP. This may not be a huge accomplishment to some but for Eric it was. When Eric would do a back flip it was scary. He would bounce really high on the tramp and then totally kill his bounce when he decided to flip. This caused him to basically scalp himself. To add to this horrifying stunt he would also flip sideways. The only way I can describe this in a way that makes sense is to say that he would basically do a backwards cartwheel with no hands. It was SCARY! Seriously. But I decided that this summer would be the summer he learned how to do a proper back flip. Brandon (my brother) and I spotted Eric on the tramp. After a few spots Eric was able to do a back flip all by himself. It was a good back flip too. I was impressed with how fast he was able to learn how to do a proper back flip! Needless to say I was super proud of him and even more relieved that he would no longer be putting his life in danger every time he decided to do a back flip! My hubby is pretty much awesome!

This year while spending the 4th of July with my family it really hit me how lucky we are to be Americans. I always knew the 4th of July was an important holiday but this year it meant so much more to me. At the parade the only float that got loud cheers from the crowd was the one that had the soldiers on it. that brought tears to my eyes! Later that night my mom, my sister, my brother, and I went to the fireworks at the camplex. I was feeling pretty bad for myself because Eric had to leave earlier in the day to go back to work. I then felt so guilty for feeling bad for myself. At least my husband is alive and healthy. I thought of all the families who were celebrating the 4th of July without a loved one because they had been killed in a war or because they were currently fighting a war. These people have been killed fighting for me and the rest of our country. I thought a lot about my friend Jake Ross. He was killed just a few months ago on his last mission in Iraq. Because of him, six other people are still alive today. I thought about his wife and family as well as the families of the men he saved that day. The 4th of July is important to me but I can't imagine what it means to families who have loved ones or who have had loved ones serving in the armed forces. I am so thankful for the soldiers who fight for our freedoms. We are a very lucky nation and it bothers me that some people can't see that!

Well July is going to be a very busy month for us. We are going to Yellowstone next week, then I have girls camp, and then my cousins baby is getting blessed at the end of the month, and then my cousins homecoming is the last Sunday in July!!! I can't wait to see him! This month is going to be a fun one :) I will try harder to take more pictures!!!!!

Can You Feel The Love?!

Well June has been a pretty fun month for us! It has been a little sad too :( Jesika, Lane, and little Hayes moved away. It was bitter sweet. I was so happy that Lane was able to get a job but I was so sad that it was all the way in Idaho! It was fun living in the same town as them!

It was also our anniversary on the 10th! Yahooooo! We were pretty excited that we survived our first year of marriage. We had always heard that marriage was tough but we had no clue what people were talking about until we got hitched! But I am so happy I married the love of my life. And the lucky bugger gets to keep me FOREVER! Ha!!!!

So for our anniversary Eric gave me some beautiful orange flowers (orange is my fav color ever) and a journal. I am always saying that I need to journal more and so Eric listened and got me a journal. Now I have to use it! I got him a knife set with a pocket knife, skinning knife, and a sharpening stone. I also made him a little book of 101 reasons why I love him. Eric pointed out that I missed number 19 though. Sooo... I guess it is only 100 reasons why I love him! After we opened presents we went to Cheyenne. We ate at Olive Garden for lunch and then we walked around the mall for a while. We then went and played miniature golf. Eric won a game and I won a game. That means that we are pretty much awesome at miniature golf! After that we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. So yummy! We love steaks!!!!! It was a great day overall and I am very lucky to have him in my life.

Then a few days ago my family and I went to water world. It was a blast! My dad didn't even get motion sickness once and he went on all the rides! That surprised me seeming as how he is pretty scared of heights!!!! We all got sun burnt but we all had fun! I love it when my family come to visit us.

Well here are some pics to enjoy!!!

My Beautiful Flowers

Hayes!
Mom and Sister at Water World

Brandon and Kolter at Water World

Eric and I at Water World

This picture really has nothing to do with this post but I just had to put it on here! His hair seriously cracks me up! I am so sad he cut it!!!!

Oh Hello Blog!

Well a lot has happened since my last post! Life has just been a little crazy. A week before semester got out Eric and I went to Las Vegas. It was soooo much fun. I had never been to Vegas and it was an eye opening experience that is for sure. We saw a lot of interesting things. the outfits some of the girls wore were pretty nasty. Shoot some of the outfits the guys wore there were nasty! But despite all the interesting people there, there were a lot of cool things to see too! Eric and I literally walked the entire strip at least 4 times. Mainly because I did not want to have to pay for a stupid expensive taxi. The strip was insanely long! I did not realize how long it was until we started walking. But we did do a lot of neat things. We went to the Cocoa-Cola factory and tried 16 different flavors of Coke found around the world. There were some really yummy ones and some that were gross. There were 2 that we especially did not like. One tasted like mouth wash and the other one tasted like hair spray. SICK!!! We also went to the M&M factory, rode the roller coaster at one of the casinos that I can't remember, went to the shark aquarium, walked through a ton of casinos and hotels to see all the cool things in them, ate at the cheese cake factory, went to dueling pianos where they sang me a really embarrassing birhtday song when it wasn't even my birthday, rode 2 of the 3 rides that were open on the stratosphere (it was super windy up there. SCARY), ate at an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet, and played the slot machines at midnight for my 21st birthday! It was a pretty neat trip. We had a lot of fun.

When I got home from Vegas I still had a week left of school. Eric got to stay in Vegas and play Mr. Shooter Man at a gun range while I had to finish up my classes. No Fun. I was pretty stressed out seeming as how I had missed some days since we went to Vegas but it all worked out in the end because I finished this semester with a 4.0! Yahooo! It was nice finishing school because I finally had some time to deep clean my house. It wasn't messy but it wasn't spotless either. I drive Eric crazy because I am seriously a clean freak! I love having a really really clean house. I can't handle dust and dog hair very well. I love Roxy but she does cause me to have A LOT of stress because she sheds. I was raised in a house with dogs that did not shed and if they did you couldn't tell. I HATE dog hair more than anything else I think. I don't like sitting down on a couch and getting covered in dog hair. Gross. Because of that, I vacuum my floor and couches with the hand tools on the vacuum cleaner. I do this because then I know all the dog hair got sucked up. When I just vacuum normally not all the dog hair gets picked up and it seriously gets me so stressed and worked up about it that I get sick to my stomach! Eric thinks I am a weirdo but I can't help it!!!!

A few days after school got out one of my really good friends passed away. He was in the stadium and he fell through a little hole and it killed him. He fell from 4 stories so I hope he passed away quickly. They found him on the morning of the day he was supposed to graduate. His parents were on their way to Laramie when a cop had to pull them over to tell them that they had found their sons body. So sad! I had a really hard time dealing with his death but I am so thankful for my beliefs. I knew David because he was on the swim team with me. He was one of my very best friends my freshman year of college. A few people on the team do not believe in God. I don't know how they handle sad things like this. I can't imagine thinking that I would never get to see my friends and loved ones ever again when they passed away. I was comforted because I know where David is and who he is with. I wish all my friends could have the same comfort.

On a brighter note...my cousin had a perfect little baby boy 9 days ago! He is seriously one of the cutest babies I have ever seen in my entire life. I am so happy for Jesika and Lane! They make great parents and they make really really cute babies!!! I Just love the little guy so much!!! I am going to be soooo sad when they move :(

But here are some pictures from our Vegas trip!

Oooh I Love Him!

On Top of the Very Windy Stratosphere

Freemont Street Light Show

The Embarrassing Birthday Song

The Fountains

Yeah...

M&M Factory

The Shark Reef

16 Flavors of Coke

My Love

Batman!

Oh Eric!

Sweet Motorcycle

In Front of Our Hotel

Not a Fan of Sundays...

Sundays are always really hard for me. This Sunday is no different. Sundays are the days that Eric leaves me to go to work. I feel a little guilty having a pity party for myself but sometimes it is so hard to be happy!

I have a love hate relationship with Eric's job. I love that we are able to pay our bills and do a lot of fun things but I hate that in order to do that Eric and I have to spend most of our marriage seperated. When I got married I had no idea that I would soon become the lonliest I have ever been in my entire life. When I got married I had no idea how scared I would get at night! I swear every creepy person imaginable is out to get me. It doesn't help that Roxy likes to bark at things really late at night. Scares the CRAP out of me. That is why I sleep with a HUGE butcher knife in my nightstand!! When I got married I had no idea that I would get jealous of every single couple I saw. Seeing a couple holding hands on campus sometimes makes me burst into tears because I miss Eric so much. When I got married I had no clue that I would dread leaving my two cousin's homes. It is so hard leaving my cousins knowing they get to get ready for bed with their spouses and kiss each other goodnight when I have to go home to an empty house and say goodnight to Eric over the phone. When I got married I didn't know how much time I would spend sitting outside our house in my car. When I pull up to our house sometimes I just sit in my car because I have no desire going into our house all alone. When I got married I never would have thought that my dog would be my best friend. I am so thankful that I have Roxy. Even though she is a big pain in my butt sometimes, I love her so much. She is good company on lonely nights like this one! When I got married I didn't know how bad it would hurt rolling over in the morning and seeing the other side of the bed empty. When I got married I didn't know I would be cooking for one a majority of the time. It is SO hard cooking for one person. I always make way too much. Usually I just stick to Roman Noodles (super healthy I know). When I got married I didn't know the flood gates in my eyeballs would suddenly fling open. I seriously cry all the time it seems. I hate crying but I must say I am a professional at it now. I'm sure Eric thinks he has married the biggest cry baby ever. I never used to cry before I met Eric and got married but now that is the only thing Eric has ever seen me do! How pathetic I know. At first I thought I would get used to him leaving but I still haven't. It sucks!

If I would have known all of these things before I got married, I still would have married Eric. I love him so much, he is my soul mate. I just keep praying and praying that he will find a different job, a job where he will be able to come home to me every night!!

Oh How I Love Wyoming Weather....

Well it has been freezing here in good ol' Wyoming. Yesterday it was -27 degrees without the wind chill. Our water has this awesome tendency to freeze so I left the hot water running all night. When I woke up to go to the gym this morning I came across a grave discovery. Our hot water was frozen. This is the third time this winter that our water has froze!!!

Well as it just so happens, Eric is out of town for work. I called him at 5:45 this morning bawling and freaking out. He was so good and patient with me! He said that he could call a plumber and get someone out there to take care of the water. But I didn't want to have to do that so instead he instructed me on what to do. I got bundled up as best as I could seeming as how it was -34 degrees outside. I had on Eric's HUGE carharts, a flannel jacket, a winter coat, three pairs of socks, the worst snow boots in the world, and cute fashionable gloves, gloves that should not be warn in the winter. They are more suited for fall... My feet and fingers were frozen after about 10 minutes of being outside. I came back inside and stood by my electric heater for a while. I called Eric about a million times. I bet he could hardly understand me because of my frozen lungs and my sobbing. I worked on the pipes until about 8:30.

By this time I was officially frozen. I called Eric and said I can't do this anymore I am too cold. He told me that was totally fine and that he would get it taken care of. But after warming up a little bit I figured I would give it one more shot. I tried calling some people for some help but no one answered. I finally got ahold of my cousin Tyler. His car wouldnt start and the hood was frozen shut so he couldn't jump it. So our friend Ben Skinner offered to come out to my house with him and help out. They got to my place at about 9:30. We spent another two hours out in the freezing cold but eventually we got the water unthawed. BEST. FEELING. EVER.

I am so so so so so so thankful for Tyler and Ben and their willingness to come and stand out in negative degree weather for 2 hours for me! I don't know what I would do without my family and friends!!!!!! They take such good care of me while Eric is away working his butt off to support us!