It was just one year ago that we made our trip out here after Mark accepted his job. The first few months were rough, being separated while I finished school, being in a ward where we felt so out of place, but now everything feels as it should be.
If we haven't said it enough, we love living here. We love our new ward. We love our neighborhood. We love our jobs. We just love Michigan!
Even though I sometimes complain about the lack of mexican food, I can't complain about anything else! And I have officially survived my first of many winters!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Just plain bad luck?
So we went camping this weekend, we've been planning this trip for about a month now. So many things seemed to go wrong.
First, the day of our camping trip, the campsite calls us (while I'm at work, and Mark was with me) to tell us that the campsite is flooded and will be closed this weekend. I was really looking forward to that site, they had swimming and fishing not far from the camping area. Mark goes to the library and books us at another nearby campsite.
Our new campsite has only port-a-potties, gross and filled with spiders (I'd rather pee in a bush than in there!), and has NO running water! The potable water pump didn't work.
After meeting up at dinner in Toledo, with Paul and Melina as they made their trek cross-country, we go to Wal-Mart to get Mark a 1-day fishing license. I arrive to the sporting goods section at 8:45 pm. A store attendant came to the counter at.... 9:30. Several other people were waiting for someone too, and they wandered around the store continuously asking when someone was going to come to Sporting Goods. Not only did we wait 45 minutes (missing the sunset and our opportunity to make s'mores), but no one in the entire store knew how to issue Fishing Licenses...
So we head to Meijer. We arrive at sporting goods, only to find out they close their section at 8pm. I guess we have to get up earlier to get the license before we go fish.
We get to our campsite at around 11, way to late to build a fire so we just head to bed. There was a HUGE spider sitting right on the zipper into the tent, even Mark was afraid to go near it. We wake up and have breakfast and head to Meijer again to get that darned fishing license. The meijer we went to this time has Sporting Goods open until 9pm! If we had gone there first this problem could have been averted.
We didn't get to fishing until 11:45, all the fish were gone. Mark got his line tangled in a knot, then it got stuck in a tree,... we left around 1:30, with no fish to show for our trip.
We go for a walk that afternoon and Mark got eaten alive by mosquitoes so we turn around. We took a nap in our tent and see like 15 spiders crawling on the outside of the tent, we flicked them all off one by one, outside we realize they weren't spiders, they were ticks!
Mark and I put on pants and shoes (instead of shorts and sandals), and spray down in bug spray. We're reading our book by the fire and notice a tick on Mark's lap. We think nothing of it.
A few hours later, just crawling into our sleeping bags to play games and read some more, we notice another tick has attached itself to Mark's calf. Neither of us knows what to do so we call:
Rebekah (the only person we know in the medical field), no answer.
David (our go-to look up things on the internet, maps, e-mails, addresses, phone numbers), no answer.
Doug (the only person we know how has had a tick before), no answer.
Rachel (goes camping frequently) FINALLY AN ANSWER! She suggests we pour on Olive oil and use tweezers. No such luck.
We call Mark's parents, and they suggest submerging the sucker in olive oil for a few minutes.
While waiting Rachel sends phone numbers to the nearby hospital.
"We're sorry, we're not allowed to offer medical advice over the phone, but you can come in".
Finally at 11:30 Mark is Tick free, and we search the tent for any more.
What an experience! We have never had so many bad things happen to us on 1 camping trip!!
We're just grateful we arrived home to our house untouched with new bloomed flowers (that we didn't know we had) and yummy strawberries in the garden.
Overall, a good week end :)
First, the day of our camping trip, the campsite calls us (while I'm at work, and Mark was with me) to tell us that the campsite is flooded and will be closed this weekend. I was really looking forward to that site, they had swimming and fishing not far from the camping area. Mark goes to the library and books us at another nearby campsite.
Our new campsite has only port-a-potties, gross and filled with spiders (I'd rather pee in a bush than in there!), and has NO running water! The potable water pump didn't work.
After meeting up at dinner in Toledo, with Paul and Melina as they made their trek cross-country, we go to Wal-Mart to get Mark a 1-day fishing license. I arrive to the sporting goods section at 8:45 pm. A store attendant came to the counter at.... 9:30. Several other people were waiting for someone too, and they wandered around the store continuously asking when someone was going to come to Sporting Goods. Not only did we wait 45 minutes (missing the sunset and our opportunity to make s'mores), but no one in the entire store knew how to issue Fishing Licenses...
So we head to Meijer. We arrive at sporting goods, only to find out they close their section at 8pm. I guess we have to get up earlier to get the license before we go fish.
We get to our campsite at around 11, way to late to build a fire so we just head to bed. There was a HUGE spider sitting right on the zipper into the tent, even Mark was afraid to go near it. We wake up and have breakfast and head to Meijer again to get that darned fishing license. The meijer we went to this time has Sporting Goods open until 9pm! If we had gone there first this problem could have been averted.
We didn't get to fishing until 11:45, all the fish were gone. Mark got his line tangled in a knot, then it got stuck in a tree,... we left around 1:30, with no fish to show for our trip.
We go for a walk that afternoon and Mark got eaten alive by mosquitoes so we turn around. We took a nap in our tent and see like 15 spiders crawling on the outside of the tent, we flicked them all off one by one, outside we realize they weren't spiders, they were ticks!
Mark and I put on pants and shoes (instead of shorts and sandals), and spray down in bug spray. We're reading our book by the fire and notice a tick on Mark's lap. We think nothing of it.
A few hours later, just crawling into our sleeping bags to play games and read some more, we notice another tick has attached itself to Mark's calf. Neither of us knows what to do so we call:
Rebekah (the only person we know in the medical field), no answer.
David (our go-to look up things on the internet, maps, e-mails, addresses, phone numbers), no answer.
Doug (the only person we know how has had a tick before), no answer.
Rachel (goes camping frequently) FINALLY AN ANSWER! She suggests we pour on Olive oil and use tweezers. No such luck.
We call Mark's parents, and they suggest submerging the sucker in olive oil for a few minutes.
While waiting Rachel sends phone numbers to the nearby hospital.
"We're sorry, we're not allowed to offer medical advice over the phone, but you can come in".
Finally at 11:30 Mark is Tick free, and we search the tent for any more.
What an experience! We have never had so many bad things happen to us on 1 camping trip!!
We're just grateful we arrived home to our house untouched with new bloomed flowers (that we didn't know we had) and yummy strawberries in the garden.
Overall, a good week end :)
Saturday, May 28, 2011
I sure am lucky!
I sure am lucky to care for such a sweet little boy. I am a nanny for a 4 month old (4 months tomorrow!) He is the sweetest little boy who always brightens my day. On Wednesday i was feeling miserable with a cold that he gave me, after his nap which was half the length it should have been, we snuggled up on the couch together, and both of us dozed in and out of sleep. Even though I only got a few minutes of sleep here or there, I felt better just snuggling with him.
We can learn so much from babies. All it takes for them to smile is someone blowing raspberries at him. He doesn't get offended easily, he doesn't care if someone criticizes him, all he wants is his food, sleep and a clean diaper. We should all try to be as happy as a baby!
We can learn so much from babies. All it takes for them to smile is someone blowing raspberries at him. He doesn't get offended easily, he doesn't care if someone criticizes him, all he wants is his food, sleep and a clean diaper. We should all try to be as happy as a baby!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The end
I can't believe it's finally here! It seems like yesterday I still had 16 weeks to go. Starting tomorrow, Mark and I make our trip to Michigan to finally begin our lives. This semester has definitely been a challenge for me. I learned so much about myself.
We look forward to what is ahead of us. Hopefully we hear back about the house soon, if we don't get it, we'll probably wait a few months before looking for another. I think we need to just focus on us for a while (after spending 4 months apart, who wouldn't?).
Let's see, in the 5.5 years I've lived here, I've had 1 job, 5 residences, 14 roommates, and about a million friends! I thought I'd be looking forward to this time, but I really am going to miss it here. I know for sure I'll be missing my favorite taco place, but I think more, I'll miss my friends that have made me feel like I have family close, even though they all live a lot further!
Thanks to all who have helped us out during the past 4 months, and me personally in the past 5. years!
We look forward to what is ahead of us. Hopefully we hear back about the house soon, if we don't get it, we'll probably wait a few months before looking for another. I think we need to just focus on us for a while (after spending 4 months apart, who wouldn't?).
Let's see, in the 5.5 years I've lived here, I've had 1 job, 5 residences, 14 roommates, and about a million friends! I thought I'd be looking forward to this time, but I really am going to miss it here. I know for sure I'll be missing my favorite taco place, but I think more, I'll miss my friends that have made me feel like I have family close, even though they all live a lot further!
Thanks to all who have helped us out during the past 4 months, and me personally in the past 5. years!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Back in CA, sadly
Yes, it is true, I am back in California. It was hard for me to leave because this summer was the best summer ever. It was like we were newer newlyweds again! I didn't have to work, and on his days off, we'd go exploring and find new adventures and making new memories. During the 2 months we: Went to the Ohio zoo, went blue berry picking, went to the Detroit temple, went camping, went fishing, went swimming LOTS, went to new restaurants, I loved it all!
Luckily I get to go back home this weekend, I leave on Friday night, and come back Monday morning. This month here in California has just been crazy. As if being apart isn't hard enough, a whole lot of other stuff has come up. For a while there I didn't know where I'd be living, thankfully I've got some great friends here who have been willing to take me in. A special thanks to the Tanigawa Ohana. I loved staying with them for these past two weeks, and I will miss them when I move out tonight!
All is well for me. It was a little crazy there for a while, but thanks to all for all of your sweet prayers!
I get to see my husband in less than 2 days!
Luckily I get to go back home this weekend, I leave on Friday night, and come back Monday morning. This month here in California has just been crazy. As if being apart isn't hard enough, a whole lot of other stuff has come up. For a while there I didn't know where I'd be living, thankfully I've got some great friends here who have been willing to take me in. A special thanks to the Tanigawa Ohana. I loved staying with them for these past two weeks, and I will miss them when I move out tonight!
All is well for me. It was a little crazy there for a while, but thanks to all for all of your sweet prayers!
I get to see my husband in less than 2 days!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
We're HERE!
Well, we're here, and we're loving it. We love exploring the area and looking at some cute neighborhoods we'd love to expand our family in!
Our ward is amazing. Since we're so close to the university, probably 80% of the ward members are going to school, which means young couples for us to play games with YAY! Elder Bednar's son is in our ward, his wife is pregnant and due in December, so we'll be meeting Elder Bednar and his wife when they come out for the baby blessing!
I leave in 2 and a half weeks to go back to Northridge, i'm not looking forward to it. It'll be really hard on us. People say it'll be worth it in the end... I sure hope they're right!
Our favorite thing here is the Library. It is 5 stories and the movie selection is awesome! We go once a week!
Our ward is amazing. Since we're so close to the university, probably 80% of the ward members are going to school, which means young couples for us to play games with YAY! Elder Bednar's son is in our ward, his wife is pregnant and due in December, so we'll be meeting Elder Bednar and his wife when they come out for the baby blessing!
I leave in 2 and a half weeks to go back to Northridge, i'm not looking forward to it. It'll be really hard on us. People say it'll be worth it in the end... I sure hope they're right!
Our favorite thing here is the Library. It is 5 stories and the movie selection is awesome! We go once a week!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Our first visit
Our first visit to Ann Arbor was perfect! We were greeted at the airport with one of those guys with the name signs who drives the really nice car. My first time in a luxury car! Our first night we were driven around town by an employee of AV Fuel. We dined with her and two others at a really nice restaurant. When we got out it was pouring cats and dogs. We got back to our hotel fairly early and went straight to bed.
The next day we met a nice couple (both employed by AV Fuel) who spent the day with us showing us even more of Ann Arbor, took us to lunch at a place famous for Ann Arborians. Afterwards we went to AV Head quarters. The office is huge and is a HUGE upgrade for Mark. That afternoon we got a company car and looked at a few apartments to see where our new temporary home will be. We also drove to Lodi (like 5 miles away) where we found a few neighborhoods that we would love to have our family! That night we went out to dinner with the Vice President of AV Fuel and his wife. They also showed us some nice neighborhoods, including their own.
The most exciting part of the trip happened that night when we got back to the Hotel. Mark and Mary who have lived in earthquake country their whole lives were now experiencing a Tornado Warning! Silly us, heard the siren, and couldn't figure out what the sound was, we had our ears pressed against the windows until the we turned the TV on and learned what the sound was! We were up until 2 when the last storm finally passed.
The next morning was just as busy looking at some more apartments. Unfortunately our first pick had already rented out the unit we wanted the most. The next was a couple hundred dollars more. We decided to go with Signature Club which we had viewed the day before.
All in all it was a great trip! We have 2 more weeks to pack everything up before we say good-bye to our first home as a married couple.
The next day we met a nice couple (both employed by AV Fuel) who spent the day with us showing us even more of Ann Arbor, took us to lunch at a place famous for Ann Arborians. Afterwards we went to AV Head quarters. The office is huge and is a HUGE upgrade for Mark. That afternoon we got a company car and looked at a few apartments to see where our new temporary home will be. We also drove to Lodi (like 5 miles away) where we found a few neighborhoods that we would love to have our family! That night we went out to dinner with the Vice President of AV Fuel and his wife. They also showed us some nice neighborhoods, including their own.
The most exciting part of the trip happened that night when we got back to the Hotel. Mark and Mary who have lived in earthquake country their whole lives were now experiencing a Tornado Warning! Silly us, heard the siren, and couldn't figure out what the sound was, we had our ears pressed against the windows until the we turned the TV on and learned what the sound was! We were up until 2 when the last storm finally passed.
The next morning was just as busy looking at some more apartments. Unfortunately our first pick had already rented out the unit we wanted the most. The next was a couple hundred dollars more. We decided to go with Signature Club which we had viewed the day before.
All in all it was a great trip! We have 2 more weeks to pack everything up before we say good-bye to our first home as a married couple.
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