Fireman video

So...last semester when Max was in the fire academy they made a video throughout the program. Then they showed the completed video at graduation. We finally got access to it so her it is for your viewing pleasure.

Max is the one in the fireman gear...good luck recognizing him.

V-day

We had such a fun Valentine's day. We chose to celebrate on the Saturday before v-day so we could spend more time together. It started with a church meeting I needed to go to. It was really interesting but I was just so eager to be home with my Valentine. I was ready to leave during the first talk when Elder Oaks spoke of cutting down church meetings to spend more time with family. I stayed though. When I got home Max had the table set with a beautiful breakfast of cream of wheat and strawberries and toast. I was so hungry that I didn't take a picture and I didn't even notice the strawberries laying in a heart pattern. I'm a monster.

Anyway it was a healthy and delicious breakfast after which we showered and got ready to go mini-golfing. On our way we stopped by Ikea to make a simple return but we ended up walking through the whole store which is somewhat interesting but over stimulating. When we got back to the car we were pooped and still hadn't minigolfed. So we just sat there for awhile then crossed the freeway to Boondocks.

We decided to mini golf because we did so on our prom and our honeymoon. I was going to add those pictures but they are in a photoalbum elsewhere back before the digital camera days

So here are a couple from this weekend.

After the mini golfing we came back to dress up for our hot date. Max went out to clean up the car so I could decorate for our special evening.

We went out to Texas roadhouse which is one of our favorite restaurants. The rolls are to die for. Even when we called ahead we still had to wait over an hour to be seated. Crazy! Luckily we are very patient people and we can have fun together in any situation! anywho it was delicious and worth the wait. Apparently there was some high school dance that night so there were a bunch of kids all dressed up in the prom attire. Our waitress asked us if we needed to hurry to get to the dance. We took it as a compliment because we are pretty sure we don't look like high schoolers.

So we ate and ate...

Then we went to our own personal and intimate dance...

When Max was cleaning the car I had set up lights, candles, and food to create our own prom in our living room.

And some of the food...yeah..this picture doesn't capture the ambiance.
And we were too full to eat any of it.

Then there was some dancing and good music...

Then...thanks to Ikea..we fell asleep early....lame

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Here is my Valentine Bouquet.

Paintball??

3 blog posts in one week....That's a record for me...I think this means I probably need to spend more time on my homework...but I don't want to...I'm graduating... (PS i'm not just ignoring my homework, I have a lot lighter load this semester so I'm taking advantage of the extra time).

Anyway...Saturday morning our home teacher called us to invite us paintballing in 20 minutes. We were still in bed and anything that was going to get us out of bed did not sound one bit appealing. However...Max got excited and started to convince me that it would be a "once in a lifetime kind of thing"... "think of the pictures we can show our kids"..."we'll only be there for an hour or so"... "I don't think paintballs hurt" Seeing his determination I finally gave in.

Keep in mind that I am pretty much blind with not much depth perception I always dreaded laser tag birthday parties because I would lose....dramatically.

So we get there and the first group of people we see are a whole gang of older men in matching army uniforms with very expensive gear. We automatically assume this is how they often spend their weekends and we don't stand a chance of survival...we then sign a waiver saying the paintball company is not responsible if we die or become permanently blind...great.

We gear up and get ready to go in...I'm about to pee my paints. We get two rounds each game and I just hid most of the time but the sad part is they have to get the whole team out to win so I either had to try and shoot everyone on the other team...which wasn't going to happen...or surrender myself...which as it turns out is VERY painful.

After the first game I was nearly in tears and quit for the day or for the rest of my life...Paintball is not for me.

Max had a little more fun and did a lot better seeing as he has stealth moves and eagle vision..

So here are the pictures for our posterity however I don't believe they are worth the pain we had to go through..

I was going to take pictures of the welts we had on our bodies but they were mostly all over our rumps so I'll spare you that image.

Guess who's graduating???

It's me...it's really me! After 7 years since I graduated high school I will be a college graduate!! I just found out that I was accepted for summer student teaching which is going to take place at a year-round school in Salt Lake.

The summer student teaching program is only for people that would not be able to teach in the Fall. I applied because Max will be finishing his paramedic certifications at the end of July and we are going back to Oregon to work! So... come fall we will be back in our homeland...if everything goes according to plan. But I do know for sure that I'm graduating in August!!!!!

I never thought this day would come...and honestly it still hasn't... 6 more months!

Also, this is my last winter in Utah...for the time being at least! That is reason to celebrate!

I love him because...

I've been working on this post for awhile now because I just love my husband so much and I am amazed everyday at how lucky I am to have him in my life...

I love him because...

He is beautifulHe was a beautiful baby...therefore he will make beautiful babies!

he is a great daddy...

He is super strongAnd a super modelHe loves his family and sets a great example for them.He is comfortable in a loin clothHe treats me like a queenHe makes me laugh
He always surprises meHe is a fix-it man
He never gives up on projectsHe has been my best friend for many years...His ingenuity...(his pop-tart baking stick basket)

His bendy spineHis crazy acrobaticshis dramatic abilities

his voices and impressions
he can braid corn rows.
he plays hide and seek

his smile
he is always thinks of others before his self.
he will go out of his way to make someones day

he makes friends with everyone...

he loves learning

he is the most outgoing person I've ever met

he's learning to speak Armenian with zero prodding from me

he would spend all day cleaning my grandmas house if I let him.

he tries to brighten everyone's day

he's gentle yet strong

he is confident

he enjoys chick flicks

he is a protector

he is dedicating his life to serving others

he dusts and waxes the vacuume

he has never been bored.

he makes any situation fun.

he wrestles with his family and my family

he serves faithfully and whole heartedly

he's always positive

his humility

his initiative

he takes responsibility

he writes love notes on my lunches

he works hard to support our family

he exercises with me

he is patient with me

his spontaneous dance parties

he finds interest in everything
he is very observant
he notices details

he treats my family as his own

He waited!!

He takes me to the temple.
There really is so much more that can't be put into words. Sometimes I am just amazed at how perfect he is for me and how lucky I am that I was able to get to know him and grow with him for many years before we ever spoke of marriage. I love him with all my heart and then some.

The move!

So...many of you know that we have had to spend the last couple of weekends worrying about moving. Blah...Let me preface this with telling you that this last move was our 6th move in less than two years of marriage! SIX!! I really hate moving, however I am becoming an expert. So on a cold and dreary Friday night our landlord called us saying that he found a buyer for our duplex and they want to move in to our apartrment as soon as possible. He told us that we didn't have to move because we signed a contract until August but if we stayed it was likely the buyers wouldn't buy. Our landlord had been trying to sell this duplex for several years so he really wanted these buyers to follow through so he gave us incentives to move...like a free month rent, full deposit etc. My first thought was no way, I may be graduating in august and then moving back to Oregon so I don't want to move an extra time if I don't have to. We then started looking at apartments online and realized we could be getting a much better deal. As much as we liked our duplex, that landlord was kind of aweful and cheap, he wouldn't fix anything and we were charged for every utility which is not common in Provo, usually it's only electric and gas...

Here is our precious duplex

So we started looking at houses and right away we were finding a couple we really liked where we would save a lot of money. When we told our landlord we were ready to move out he kept telling us we couldn't sign another contract until the the buyers signed the papers to take over his house. So over the next week we watched a couple houses we really liked come and go and we couldn't do anything about it. The buyers finally signed all the paperwork and we were "allowed" to look for a place to move. By this time we had decided we would move to an apartment complex that was still in our ward but the apartment wouldn't be available until February 4th. The buyers were a little frustrated because our landlord had told them we would be moved out. So basically our landlord had decieved everyone so he could get what he wanted. We told the buyers (who are incredibly great) that we could move out as soon as possible if they wanted to pay the difference for a remodeled apartment. (There were a couple remodeled apartments in the complex we were moving to but they were $50 more a month so we wanted to wait for the cheaper one that opened up in February.) They willingly agreed to pay the extra $50 from now until August. (they needed to be in the house asap for their loan to go through) We started packing that night to get ready to move in the morning.

Max and I stayed up until nearly 2am throwing stuff in boxes. then the next morning around ten oclock a million people came over to help and everything was moved over to the new house by noon. It was amazing! thanks to Jared, Lee, Jojo, Owen, Chelsey, Brian, no name, Weston, Richard, Marissa, Brad, Anna, and Buck. I know most of you wont read this but we are so grateful.

We were mostly unpacked and set up by the end of the night. Our new apartment is great and even if we were paying the extra $50 we would still be saving a ton of money.

We only gave up our washer and dryer but the apartment is still about the same size with two big rooms and the walls, flooring, light fixtures and more are all remodeled.

I'll take some pictures someday but it isn't completely organized yet so I don't want to.

Christmas Time!

We just spent over two weeks in the great Northwest! It was full of ups and downs but mostly ups. It was great to get away from the snowstorm and be in our hometown!
The drive up was nice and easy no snow or ice on the roads! We made great time. We stayed with my Red grandmas which is probably one of my most favorite places in Oregon. She took us in and took great care of us.

We decided to share some presents before we left, apperantly Max decided this when he opened his presents 2.5 weeks early the moment they were put under the Christmas tree.

He went and framed a picture that Tatevik (a girl I taught in Armenia) painted for me. I was so excited. It's been packed away for two years and now we can display it!
When we got to Oregon we kind of just hung out at my grandmas for awhile while the extended family came and went.

We went to our home ward on Sunday which is pretty much where Max and I met many years ago.

We spent Sunday afternoon attending a wedding for a friend from our ward and high school.
We then celebrated our niece, Shadow's second birthday.

We made a trip to Powells books on a rainy day in Portland!

We got a bunch of repairs done on our car.

We slept in pretty well on most days.

Before Christmas we took a trip up to the Seattle area to visit my Brother's family. Seeing my niece, Gwenevere, for about the third time in her two year life was the highlight of the whole vacation for me. I was pleased to see that she didn't hate me and by the end of our trip she started calling me by my name instead of Max's.

While we were in Washington we had family pictures done as our Christmas presents for our parents. Here are a couple. ( I thnk these are the unedited shots)

Of course Gwenevere's favorite is uncle Dano!

This was right before she started pulling on the back of his pants and saying "Dano poopy"

Then Max was kind enough to braid our hair! Gwenevere sat surprisingly still.

Pretty Impressive...My husbands got talent!!

Grandma (my mom) came up for a day. Gwenevere worked on sewing ornaments with her.

Then back to playng with Uncle Dano!

After two days in Washington we headed back on December 23rd to celebrate Christmas with the Baertleins! I'm not sure why we didn't take pictures because I have some pretty cute nephews and a niece. I actually wasn't feeling good at all for this occasion.

So here is the story of the ER...(You can skip this part if you don't want to hear a bloody story) I was pregnant when this little vacation started but only a couple of weeks, I was at high risk of another ectopic pregnancy so I saw my doctor right before we left to check if everything was okay. It was too early to see anything in the ultrasound but he said while I was away if I started to bleed at all I sould go get some bloodwork done at the hospital. Well all day on the 23rd I was bleeding and had incredibly painful cramps. After our Baertlein family party we drove right by the hospital so we decided to stop by and see when we could come in for the blood work. Well...they were concerned because of my previous ectopic pregnancy and sent me to the ER. It seemed a little much but I guess I had to follow the doctors orders. I was given an IV and had blood drawn and had a an ultrasound done. I was there for about 5 hours. (Last miscarriage I only had to take a couple short trips to the hospital to get some blood drawn) So the results...I did miscarry but the good news is that it was not an ectopic pregnancy! The baby was in the uterus just like he should be. The hormone levels were higher than last time too so we got a little farther than last time. We got to finally leave the hospital at two in the morning on Christmas eve after waiting forever for a doctor to interpret the ultrasoud results. Anyway, this little story is a tangent however it was a huge part of our "vacation" so I thought I would add it.

So, back to Christmas break...On Christmas eve I arranged for Santa to make a house visit for my family...(yup I have those kinds of connections) It was fun to see Gwenevere's and Lexi's (My cousin Stephanie's baby) reaction. Gwenevere was nervous and Lexi just cried.

We always spend Christmas Eve night at my Grandma Roemhildt's house. He have a delicious Turkey dinner and open presents. Green Grandma always spoils us.

James Elizabeth and Gwenevere all stayed at Red Grandma's house with us so it was a fun slumber party on Christmas eve. Max read Gwenevere a bedtime story.

Then he impressed me with his etch a sketch skills....who knew??

Then I didn't take pictures for awhile. Christmas morning my dad and little brothers came over for a breakfast. My dad made most of the breakfast so we feasted on his homemade bread.

We were spoiled some more with Toy story 3, and a fancy apple slicer contraption, a rolling pin and so much more. Our family loves us.

So then we just hung out a little bit. I still wasn't feeling too great.

Later My grandma and my Aunties made a Turkey dinner. Delish!

Max got to go play Water polo with the Tigard High Water polo alumni at our high school pool. Max's younger brother Justin is currently on the team so it was fun for them to play together.

It was fun for me to watch him play again. It reminded me of the high school days when i would go to his games and oogle over him.

Max and Justin
We went to go see the Portland Winterhawks play. I don't think I had ever been to a hockey game before.

They lost but it was still fun.

Us with Brent and Lisa

Max got to go snowboarding too. I decided not to go...it really didn't sound that fun to me right then.

Oh and I guess that is the end of the pictures. But we did so much more.

We went to the Portland Temple

We cleaned my grandma's house

I played Simpson's Clue while watching the Simpsons with my little brothers

We had a lunch date with my mom.

We ate out at Home town Buffet as a family thanks to my green grandma.

Spent more time having various family parties

We spent New Years playing games with our little brothers and we all had a blast.

Lots of Sleeping in.

We headed back to Provo on Sunday January 2. Max drove most of the way bless his heart...there were some icy patches but we survived until we arrived in our snow coverd driveway. It was late and he didn't want to unpack our car from the street so we tried to plow through it. We got stuck but luckily our neighbor was outside and offered to dig us out. After a bit of digging and pushing we made it to our carport and we were home.