A Home of Our own

I know I have been doing a really poor job of keeping up with the blog, but with so muchh else going on in my world: at the end of the day I have no motivation. I also don't take alot of pictures. So I left off with the death to my jetta and will zoom forward to the following summer. In July 2009 Bryce and I bought our first house. Very exciting! We got to stay in beautiful Eagle River close to family and friends and away from the big city life and noise. Although our house is not that old it was used as a rental property for a short time so it needed lots of sprucing up. We have done alot of work on it and have a few more things to do before it feels like our very own. So here are some pictures of the outside and a few of the inside before we painted, got new floors and decorated. I spent a wonderful day with Melissa, Lindsay, Lisa, Aunt Nancy, and Summer painting my living room. Without those girls I wouldn't have known where to start, nor would I have done such a fabulous job! It turned out beautiful and I get lots of compliments on it. We also were very lucky to have Matt and the rest of the crew (even Logan) help lay down new tile in our kitchen, laundry room, garage enterance, and the front entry. It turned out absolutely amazing and people are impressed when we tell them we did it ourselves. We also layed gorgeous dark hardwood floors in the downstairs living room. I did not get pictures of the process and I still have yet to take pictures of the finished product. I should really work on it!

Death to the Jetta

In October of 2008 we had a terrible wind storm. Bryce came home from work around 7am and woke me up and said "Ray I have bad news" my automatic reaction was to ask if he got fired, and then if anyone had died, cause what could be worse then those to things? He looked at me and said "There is a tree lying on your car." I was instantly relived that everyone was fine and the world still in tact. I shrugged it off and sais its probabyly not bad cause the trees around the driveway aren't really that big so we went out and looked at it in the dark morning light. It really didn't look bad just a broken winsheild and sunroof, at closer examination when the sun was finally out and the tree cut away, my car had a dented door and the framing between the windshield and the sunroof was v'd in. An inspection from the insurance guy confirmed my fears, my car was totaled. Although I loathed the Jetta and had just made an appointment a month from then because the windows would no longer roll down I was still upset cause this meant a new car payment, but I will say I love my new car its fabulous! And the windows roll down!!!! So here are some pictures of the Jetta's death.

The Honeymoon

We sayed in Alaska for our honeymoon. We started it out with a bang by stopping off in Hope Alaska to raft down Six Mile creek, which was cold and wet, but amazing! I don't have any pictures unfortunetly cause its not the type of trip for a camera. We went down to Seward and stayed for a few days. We hiked up to Exit Glacier and were supposed to go out on a fishing trip but it was cancelled do to weather. We did stop in and check out the Sea Life Center. To our disappointment the Sea Lion refused to come out into view and hid behind a wall the whole time we were there, we did see some cool stuff and play in the tanks that were like under water gardens. After Seward we headed to Girdwood for a night and stopped at whats left of Portage Glacier on the way. In Girdwood we stayed at the beutiful Princess Hotel. before we checked in we strapped on our hiking shoes and did the Winner Creek Trail. I can honestly say I will never take the tram thats on that trail, its probably the least safe thing on the face of this planet. The day we went the door was broken and so of course would not close, so the minute Bryce pulled on the rope to make us go, the crat jerked and my leg fell right out the door. From that moment til we made it back to the side we started I was paralyzed with fear. Nothing anyone says will ever convince me that thing is safe. When's the last time the cable was changed??? After our night in Girdwood we returned to Eagle River and the next day we headed to the fair with family. And then sadly I had to go back to work.

Once Upon a Time....

I promised pictures this week and so the long painful journey from begining to present begins. We start with our wedding day August 16,2008. Bryce and I were married at The Sunset View Bed and Breakfast on one of the only sunny days of that summer. It was absolutely gorgeous! With a fantastic view of the lake throughout the whole event. We ate and danced the night away with family and friends. The cake was almost to beautiful to eat, almost and it was delicious. Everything thing turned out just as we wanted it to, especially the weather. The only bump we hit was the boat races on the lake that day, but they promised not to drive by during the ceremony. With several delayed flights from Utah Grandma Crabtree was almost unable to attend, but Lindsay saved the day by working her magic and getting Grandma to Alaska to share in our special day which meant the world to us.Noel and Lizzie were not quite ready to be in the wedding ( I wish they would've walked witht he flower girl/ring beareer train) but they were a big hit! They looked adorable in their matching dresses made by their very talented mother Melissa who saved the day and made all the dresses for the flower girls and they turned out more perfect then anything we could have found in a store. Melissa was a God send and I love her to death for doing that for me and my special day. Ema, Ellyn and Kai, with very little help from Simone did a wonderful job throwing flower pedals (and picking them up) and delivering the rings. My neice Monique was a junior bridesmaid and looked like a princess. Terry delivered a very lovely and hilarious speech and at the end Lisa read a very romantic, tear jerking poem. The day wouldn't be complete without the speeches at dinner though. Bryce's bestman Robby worked very hard on his and it paid off, the crowd laughed and at times I wanted to cry, but I made it without shedding a tear all day, even when dancing with my dad to "I loved Her First" (Bryce on the otherhand only made it the first 5 minutes of the ceromony, maybe less; I didn't see him til the end of the isle.) They were happy tears of course and they made me feel loved. We got a few good pictures and so with out further introduction here they are........