We've Survived 2 Weeks!

Well, Makayla and I have been in New Haven for almost two weeks now and we're still alive! I decided to update our blog while Makayla is at work and I'm still free. So we finally posted a run-down of our trip to Hawaii, its a couple posts down to keep somewhat of a chronological order to this, so scroll down and check it out.

Well, we still aren't sure when our things are coming. We called the movers on monday and they said they would be leaving Las Vegas with our things on Monday or Tuesday and it should be here by this weekend! But they also told us they would call as soon as they leave and we haven't heard anything yet so I guess we'll try calling them back again today. We just hope it comes this weekend because my orientation starts on Monday and there is a dress code for orientation and all the clothes I have for that aren't here yet. I don't think they'll like me wearing shorts and a T-shirt! Oh, well.

Makayla is almost finished with her second week of training at her new job as a teller at New Alliance Bank! I think she'll be glad to finish up her training. She will be working part time but with the option to work extra hours if she needs to. She also is wanting to take a few classes to get her associates degree while we're out here so she has been looking into an accounting program at one of the community colleges out here. Her employer offers tuition assistance so why not? She hopes to then transfer to a university to finish up her bachelors degree when we come back home.

We have awesome neighbors and friends here in our apartment complex so that has been nice. They have helped us a lot with things that we need while we're waiting for our things to arrive. Even last night, one of the couples in the ward who lives in our apartment complex, Geoff and Emily, invited us over to chat and watch some of the olympics because they know we have been watching them on our computer. The computer is fine, but it's usually at least a day or two old, so not as exciting. Anyways, it was nice of them to have us over. Our neighbors across the hall, Brady and Whitney Pope have been awesome. They have loaned us a ton of stuff and made us breakfast one morning. They have been life savers. So we made them dinner and brownies the other day.

Every Sunday, I think mainly in the Summer, the members of our ward who live in Whitehall (our apartment complex) get together in the courtyard for a barbeque. It is really neat to visit with each other and get to know them. We have really enjoyed that.

It's hard to get settled into a new apartment when you don't have anything to settle in. We were able to pick up some living room furniture from craig's list so that has helped. We're just glad we brought our air matress in the car with us, although I can't wait for our bed to come! Our apartment is actually a lot better than we had expected. It is plenty roomy and in pretty good shape and in a good location. The laundry room is right below our apartment in the basement so that is really nice.

We've been trying to find things to do in the area before school starts. Last week we just worked on a puzzle all week, which was a fun thing to do together. Then on Saturday we went to the park and saw Shakespeare's Hamlet, put on by a local theatre group. They call it Shakespeare int the Park. We went with the Popes and sat on a blanket on the grass. It was pretty cool and a lot of fun. We are going to try to go see The Matchmaker next week for family home evening. We'll take some lawn chairs this time if our stuff comes!

Well, I am supposed to be studying medical terminology before classes start, so I guess I'd better wrap this up. As we get settled in we are going to try to keep this updated better and post more often so our posts aren't so long! Anyways, we're doing okay and we hope everyone is enjoying what's left of your summer!

We're finally here!

Well we all made it to Yale ok! Well.... Kyle and I did, we're not sure when our things will be here but we're here and we have enough to get us through. The first day we were lucky to have my Dad, Cindy, Korahle, and Casey to be coming with us. They drove all the way to Cheyenne with us, and then headed down south to go pick up a Harley! We ended the first night in North Platte, NE. We really didn't feel like we accomplished much, but I think that that's the farthest we drove of all the days. The second day we drove by ourselves to Princeton, IL. That was a blessing because my mom got us a nice hotel room for a senior citizen discount, either that or the girl was on something because my mom didn't recall getting it for that cheap. We didn't care! But we did notice on the side of our car was a small dent and a really funny thing happened. I was driving down the road, trying to give Kyle a break and a coyote ran out of nowhere and hit US! It ran into the side of us! The dent isn't big enough to report to the insurance company, but it does have a good story behind it. So the third day we were driving and we stopped and the college football hall of fame in South Bend, IN. We were there for a couple hours and once we got on the road we realized we weren't going to make it to our goal town tonight so we were looking at the map deciding if we wanted to stop at 9:00 or at 10:00 that night. We originally said every night at 9:00 we would make sure we are stopped, but something keep telling me to go a little further that night, and this is one of the rare times I listen to my gut! So we drove until late that night and pulled up to the "Traveler's Delite" hotel that we were planning on staying at, luckily we didn't give them a reservation, because when we got there it was a bar with three rooms on the back of it. So for $20 more, we stayed at the Comfort Inn which was a really nice hotel and the lady there gave us a discount as well. Well following my gut paid off, because as we started driving, Banks that I applied to months ago started calling me. New Alliance bank called me and set up an interview for Monday and Bank of America set up a phone interview for Friday. So I was getting really excited because the things I've been worrying about for the last couple months were getting close and I almost had a job. However, New Alliance Bank called back about 15 minutes later asking if I could possibly come in today, because if they would offer me the position, I would be starting on Monday! So Kyle stepped on the gas and we didn't stop the whole day. We got to New Haven and picked up our apartment key and went straight to my interview. Everything went well and thankfully my mom gave me some clothes before I left that had some slacks in there. So I had some clothes to look good and then they were doing some research on me and kept calling me on Friday, then they offered me the job! So I actually have a job where I can bring in some income, and take one class at Yale! Well audit one class, I get to sit in on it, but I don't get credit, just a good way to keep up my French. So I'll be working 27 hours a week and because they feel bad for me because I'm putting Kyle through school, they will let me work as much as I can and after six months, they will promote me either to a full time teller or work out on the floor oopening new accounts and doing loans! Well that's what's new in our life!

Tagging

Tag...Fives

Five things I was doing ten years ago:
1. Living in Lander
2. I was in 3rd Grade
3. My best friend was Rachel Bills
4. Rode my bike everyday
5. Didn't have a care in the world

Five things on my To Do List:
1. Go to the dentist
2. Move to Connecticut
3. Find a Job
4. Go fishing
5. Relax and enjoy time with my husband

Five of my favorite snacks/food:
1. Ice Cream
2. Fudge Bars
3. Chips Ahoy Cookies
4. Chocolate
5. And my many recent random cravings

Five things I would do if I was a billionaire:
1. Pay for Kyle's schooling
2. Buy a Viper
3. Build a house
4. Become a mom
5. Invest & Travel

Five bad habits I have:
1. Getting mad for no reason
2. Stressing to much
3. Not reading my scriptures
4. Procrastination
5. Sometimes biting my nails

Five places that I have lived:
1. Lander Wyoming
2. Green River, Wyoming
3. Salt Lake City, Utah
4. North Ogden
5. Bountiful, UT

Five people I tag:
1. I only know....well I don't really know anyone to tag, I don't have friends

HAWAII!!!

So once Kyle and I were done with our 9-5 jobs, we decided to have a little fun! You see, Kyle's friends, Tyler and Janna West and their new baby Lilia, are stationed for the Airforce in O'ahu, Hawaii, so we thought we would be so kind to come and see them. It was really the least we could do. So once we got there, it was about midnight Mountain time so we were really tired and went to sleep and woke up quite early that next day. We were very privileged on this trip because since Tyler is in the Military, we got to make it to all of the cool things that most tourists don't get to see. Our first day we got to take a special Naval tour of Pearl Harbor. We got to see the Arizona Memorial, which we learned so much about. There are 7 holes on each of the sides of this memorial, and also on the top representing the 21 gun salute. And the curvature of it represents initial defeat, and the higher sides represents the overall victory. We were also able to see the USS Utah Memorial which is closed to public access because the island it is on (Ford Island) is an active Navy Base so its the "Forgotten Memorial".


After this wonderful excitement, we went to the Swap Meet, which is pretty much a huge Flee Market. We got all of our souvenirs here because everything is so cheap. We then went out to dinner at Hale'iwa Joe's. Which is a very nice restaurant. And just an FYI, Hale'iwa is a huge surfing town in O'ahu, which is the same hometown that Jack Johnson is from!


The second day was a little more relaxing. We went on a hike to Manoa Falls, which the Hawaiian name for this means "trickling water", and then we went on a drive with our hosts around the South Shore of O'ahu. We went to a cool little beach park and bbq-ed dinner and went boogie boarding. The third day we were a little more adventurous. We got up around 4:30 and hiked the 'Stairway to Heaven'. Its 3,922 steps to the top that was originally built for the military satellite. In the beginning they had like a wooden ladder, which would be freaky. But then they replaced those with a wooden staircase, which you can see parts of off the side of the trail you are on now. But now they have these steel steps that are so sturdy, but still a little scary since the staircase is on a ridge with drop offs on both sides. But still its very cool. We went with Tyler and his friend. Now we woke up that early because technically its trespassing hiking these stairs. They put a Rent-a-cop out there to turn people away. Normally they don't cite you, but they can. Once we got down to the bottom, the guard was talking to us, and come to find out, he hiked these stairs a week before on his day off. Well once we were done with that we went home and slept, my legs were shaking so much that all I could do is lay down. But after that we did go snorkeling and saw the prettiest fish ever! We had dinner on the beach and watched the sunset. The fourth day we decided that we would go surfing, since we were in Hawaii we might as well right? So we had really good teachers, Janna and Tyler. Of course Janna couldn't come out there with us, but she coached us from the shore. So we paddled out there and figured out that surfing takes patience. Its not like snowboarding where you can go whenever you want, you have to wait for a good wave and hopefully it will be strong enough to take you far enough to work up the courage to stand up. A couple times we would catch a wave and wait a while to stand up, and by then the wave would die out. So it ended up that we were kind of boogie boarding on surf boards. But all in all we had fun. I quit when a guy accidentally ran over me with his surfboard, and Kyle had to stay out there until he caught a good wave, because he loves to end things on a good note. So we came in and Tyler wanted to go and catch some good waves. We then went home and rested.








The fifth day was Sunday so we went to church which we got to experience how great and different church is than it is in Utah. I loved going there. Kyle was also able to help Tyler bless their new baby. We then went for a drive to Punchbowl Cemetery. This is where thousands of soldiers are buried. This was a cool experience. The sixth day we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center which was so cool. Its hard to describe but we got to experience 6 different cultures of the Polynesians. Our very favorite was the Samoan culture. Not that the others weren't fun, this is just where we stayed the longest and they had the funniest shows. But we went to get some shaved ice between going to all the villages and the night show. The Luau was sold out so we had to find dinner on our own. So we first went to Mossumoto's for shaved ice then to a Thai place right next to it. We normally wouldn't eat dessert before dinner if it was up to Kyle, but the dessert place closed before the dinner place. We then went to the night show and that was so cool seeing all the different cultures preform for us. We also got to see the Hawaiian Laie Temple, we didn't have the opportunity to go do work there but we got to drive around it. The seventh day, our last day there, we went Kayaking in the ocean. This was really fun, hard, but fun! We kayaked out to an island and back. This was pretty much the only day where I got really burned. We put sunscreen on before we went, then put it on again before we came back from the island. However one -just one- of my legs got fried. So either the sun just really likes that leg, or we forgot to put it on that leg, it's all a mystery really. But we got to come back to Tyler and Janna's house and eat an awesome dinner before we had to catch our plane ride home. It was a great trip and fun to see our friends again. We had a blast! Check out our pictures!

Yellowstone...2 months later

So I know that I never update my blog, but now that I'm out of work and school, and really have nothing to do...I think that I'll be updating it a little more. So back in May we went to Yellowstone for a little trip away. I honestly don't remember all the details of this trip, but I hope that some of the pictures will paint a picture in your head. Enjoy!

Needless to say, we saw a lot of Bears and Snow. We did see some Buffalo, but who knows where those pictures are. Sorry for all the vague info! We've included our complete Yellowstone Slide show here for your enjoyment!

An American President?

So recently I've been really curious about the two men running for our national President. I did research on Obama, went to his website and to his "former" church website. There were some things that disturbed me. I like the guy, and those of you that are going to vote for him, don't take offence, but this is just me publishing my thoughts. The first thing that bothers me is how he puts emphasis on the racial aspect of it, how he's going to be the first "African-American" President. Growing up, I grew up in Wyoming, I've learned that either you are American or you're not. I don't get the in between stuff, and I think that if Obama wants to truly represent our country, he needs to consider himself an American. I understand that he is proud of his ancestral descent, but those ties were broken a long time ago and he should represent everyone in our country. I've also looked into his religion. Really what I got from it was it was the black version of the KKK. It was a very black sight. Pro-black, some anti-white. This is straight copied from the website, "Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent, the cradle of civilization." So if Obama remains true to the native land, what does he remain to us?

Yale here we come!

Wow!!! We really are moving to Connecticut! We just recenty got this little apartment for us, the 2 bedrooms are going to be nice when Kyle has to study and I'm playing our Wii or something. But I can't believe how little it really is, and we are paying so much for it! We really wanted a different spacious and more expensive apartment, but we wound up with this one for the social life and the convienence. We also got our student loan allowance. We are allowed $47,000 a year...yes I know that seems like a lot, but after tuiton and school expenses, we only have bare minimum for rent, we are hoping that I will soon find a job out there and will be able to pay for our food and utilities, and try to pay for our rent!!! AHHHHH! But I know that these will be the best years of our lives!