Our House In The Making

Troy has been hard at work the past couple of weeks and our house is coming along smoothly! It's been really crazy how fast things are moving!

We had planned on having a ground breaking ceremony, but we just ran out of time so Troy and I decided to just do one with the two of us one Monday night. We packed up a shovel and a bottle of Martinelli with some champagne glasses. I was actually happy that we were doing it alone and was looking forward to it all day. I was pretty dissapointed when we got there and saw that the hole for our house had already been dug out. Troy managed to forget to tell me that small detail.... needless to say I was a little bit irritated. I finally decided to just get out and shovel up some dirt anyways, even though the whole purpose of a "Ground Breaking" had been ruined. Troy had worn shorts and was getting attacked by misquitos so we had to go in the car and drink our Martinelli's. We sipped our drinks while listening to classical music on the radio and looked out on to what would soon be our home! It was quite the moment, not what I had expected but good just the same.

The celebration

Here are some pictures of the progress so far. They will begin framing this week. Thanks for all the hard work you've been doing Troy Boy! My husband is a Wizard.

Just after the cement was poured

On to the framing

The first floor is now completely framed and they are currently working on the second floor. It should be done by the end of this week! WOOOO BABY!!

School!!

If I were a young arab boy, this is what I would look like right about now. I've been pretty busy the last couple weeks because I started my semester at Weber State. IT'S BEEN CRAZY! I'm doing the summer semester to be able to graduate sooner. I have school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I go to work the rest of the week. They're trying out a new summer program where they have split the semester into two 7 WEEK blocks. Yes, 7 weeks! I'm taking 3 classes the first block and on online class the second block. 7 weeks is not a lot of time to make it through an ENTIRE course and the teachers wasted no time in dishing out the homework. After only 2 weeks of classes I had my first exam in all 3 classes. YIKES! Talk about intense! I am now on to my 2nd round of exams and I feel like I barely finished the last ones! It's been tough to keep up, but I did pretty dang good on my first exams so that made me pretty happy and made all this craziness worth it.

My first day of school at Weber was a tough one for me, I began to really questioned why it was that I felt that this is the school I'm suppose to be going to and I was really homesick for BYU-Idaho. I got lost a couple of times, my books were beyond expensive and I didn't know a soul. Weber is so completely different and it will take some getting used to. Going to school in Utah is a pretty unique experience because everyone knows about the church here, member or not, and it comes up in the class discussions often, not always in the best of ways. On my first day there were already people bashing the church in my classes and that really would not happen anywhere else on a regular basis. It's pretty interesting. A couple guys shared stories where they were able to persuade some members to change their beliefs... please.

Well after class I had had enough, I broke down, shed some tears and cursed Troy for taking me away from BYU-I! Hehe! Once I realized I was being a bit dramatic I decided I just needed to look at this as a new adventure and make the most of it. Since then things have gotten a lot better and I'm starting to actually enjoy my classes, but just for the record my heart will always belong to BYU-I! I can't wait to brainwash my children into going to school there, just so I can have an excuse to go back! I'll be back Rexburg, oh yes, I'll be back!

Well anyways, just a couple more weeks and I'll be through this first block, hallelujia! I hope I can last and that Weber doesn't confuse and corrupt me too much.

Please offer 5 hail Mary's on my behalf.

Thank you.

Our Trip To Europe

Well our trip to Europe has come and gone and it feels like it was forever ago! We left on April 22nd and came back on May 3rd and visited 3 countries during that time. It was a whirlwind of a trip, we were constantly on the go, but we loved every minute of it.

Here we go! It's gonna be a long one!


Our flights there:

We had some pretty eventful flights to kick start our trip. Our first flight was from Salt Lake to Newark, I think it was about four hours. As we were finding our seats on the plane we walked past this guy who was spitting off all these random facts and was showing off his oscar that was very worn, anyone seen the movie Rainman with Dustin Hauffman? Well this was the real life rainman the movie was based on! That was pretty cool! Next up was our 9 hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany. As we were waiting to board our flight we realized we had a very diverse group of passengers on our plane. There was a big group of orthodox jews, a big group of germans all with matching cowboy hats (returning home from Texas) and a large amount of heavy metal junkies. Apparently there was a Heavy Metal Festival going on in Germany so we were on the flight with about 5 different bands going to the same festival. These guys were all old balding guys with nasty strangly long hair, and fading tattoos all still holding on to the dream. Long story short, it was pretty much the flight from hell. I was tired and they were drunk, loud and foul. Towards the end of the flight I couldn't take it anymore and basically told one of them to shut up. DON'T MESS WITH ME WHEN I'M TIRED MAN!!!

This is me passing out in the Frankfurt Airport... soooo tired!

So we finally made it to Frankfurt and my bag happened to be one of the last ones to come out and we ended up missing our shuttle to Heidelburg. The worst part about it was the fact that Troy had told me a million times not to check my bag because "Something is going to go wrong". I had perfect faith in the baggage system and told him he was crazy if he thought I was going to bring a carry on bag for our 12 day trip to Europe! Well of course, it turns out that MY CHECKED BAG was the reason we missed our shuttle. Man I hate it when he's right. To top it all off the shuttles only come once every hour and when we went to take the next one it was FULL! We ended up waiting for TWO HOURS at the airport for a stinkin shuttle because of MY CHECKED BAG. I REALLY hate it when he's right.

Germany:

We finally made it to Heidelberg and it is was more beautiful than I remembered. We had an awesome time touring around with my family over there. My cousin took us around the first day and then we met up with his daughter Lara and we toured the castle and then had a delicious german meal at her mom's. It was a great time.

The second day my Uncle and Aunt took us around to all the surrounding towns and little castles and we had a great time. We were sure to stop by the super market and load up on delicious chocolate and candy. I just love Germany so much, I think it's one of my favorite places. It's SOOO beautiful, everything there is just so well kept and clean and it has such an enchanting charm, I just love it! It could just be the German in me coming through bringing me back to my roots. I have to say that the whole time I was there I missed my Mom a lot. It just didn't seem right to be there without her and I know she was probably pretty jealous that we were hanging out with her family. Speaking of her family I just have to say how incredibly sweet they were to us. They did everything they could to make sure we had a good time and were taken care of. My uncle also told me a lot about my ancestors and that was really neat to hear. I was pretty sad to say goodbye to them and hope to see them again soon!

With my sweet aunt and uncle

Paris:

We took an awesome train ride from Germany to Paris, the scenery was incredible! Once we got to Paris Troy and I had a fun time trying to figure out how to get to our hotel from the Train Station. Without the travel book my sister Charity gave me for my birthday we would have been completely hopeless, it was a life saver! Our hotel was perfect and it was right in the middle of the city by the Opera House. It was called Hotel Choiseul Opera and we would would reccommend it to everyone!

Our first destination was the Eiffel Tower, the thing I was most eager to see in Paris. It was awesome! We climbed 700 stairs to the second level and it was an amazing view! They had all kinds of fun facts to read and cool displays up there, we had a lot of fun! This thing is HUGE, in fact Troy and I lost each other for about a half hour and we were both a little worried, well I was worried, Troy was just mad! Haha oopsies!

The next day we went to the Louvre, this place was UNREAL! It is a GIANT palace and the palace alone would have been a sight to see, but it was full of some of the most beatiful and historic art. We could have been there for days, but after 4 hours I was so tired and wanted to get out. We were trying to find our way out and were having a hard time, at one point I started to panic a little because we kept thinking we'd made it to the exit, but we actually hadn't even gotten close and I needed out ...NOW!

We FINALLY got out and headed over to the Notre Dame cathedral and that was pretty cool. After that we went on a little boat tour down the Seine River, it was a lot of fun and luckily it had a glass canopy on top because it started to pour! The next day we walked through some really pretty parks and went to see the L'Arc de Triomphe and then we were on our way to to catch another shuttle to the airport to fly to Rome!

Rome:

We got to Rome after midnight and needed to take another shuttle to get to the city center. We were pretty tired and HUNGRY! One of my best friends, Elena, happens to live in Rome with her husband, Vince. They were nice enough to come pick us up from the bus station and we stayed at their place. It didn't take long for Elena and I to start reminiscing and laughing our heads off!

The next day we slept in a bit and then discovered a market near the apartment and enjoyed some fresh fruit and some italian treats. After our brunch we headed over to the Colosseum and took a tour that was pretty interesting! I learned a lot. That night we went out to an awesome pizzaria in this random little neighborhood with Elena and Vince. It was the best pizza I have ever tasted! It was a lot of fun to spend time with them and we followed up our pizza with what else... gelato!! We seriously ate it daily! SOOO GOOD!

At the Colosseum

The next day Troy and I went to the Vatican. Elena and Vince's apartment is just 2 blocks or so from the Vatican. We went and lined up in this giant winding line for about an hour. There was this lady who seemed to be looking for someone and worked her way up the line until she was right in front of us and stayed there. I figured it wasn't a big deal until next thing we knew she was lifting the rope and letting about 25 people cut in the line with her!!! NOT COOL! Turns out she was with a tour group and I have a feeling this wasn't the first time she pulled that trick. I was really annoyed at this point, but it was no use yelling at these poeple because they didn't speak english or at least were pretending they didn't. Once we got in it turned out to be a lot more expensive than we expected and there were no maps or anything to show you where you were going or what you were looking at, which also really annoyed me. Then to add to the equation the place was just CRAWLING with people! It took me some time to get over my bad mood, but I finally forgot all about it once I was able to take in some of the incredible art in the place. It was beautiful. Interesting fact: The Vatican City happens to be it's own Nation and is one of the smallest in the world. The citizens have to show their passport to the guards to get in and they even have their own currency. Who knew??

Inside the Vatican

This is at St. Peter's Chapel where the pope gives his sermons every Wednesday. It was beautiful!

That night we left on a spontaneous trip to the coast and stayed with a friend of Elena and Vince. We caught a ferry in the morning and headed to a little coastal town named Amalfi. It was the most perfect little Italian town with the homes built into the mountains! I loved it and it was fun to see the ocean! That night we had dinner at Vince's family's place and they were just the cutest people! They actually had lived in Calgary for several years so it was nice to have something in common. After dinner we drove all the way back to Rome.

On the Ferry to Amalfi

This is Amalfi! Isn't it gorgeous??

Eating Gelato of course!

Elena and I

The next day was our last day in Italy and we spent it running around seeing some more tourists spots. We went to the Spanish steps, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. It was a really fun day and we were really sad to have it all come to an end and have to say goodbye. Elena and Vince dropped us off at the bus station and we made plans for a reunion in 2012!



At the Trevi Fountain

We hopped on a plane to Frankfurt, spent the night in a hotel and flew home the next day. It was an awesome trip and we really had a blast! Thanks to everyone who helped make this trip possible for us! It was a dream come true! I sure hope we can go back someday!

*We took a lot more video than we did photos so maybe I'll post some of those another time.

Bathroom Etiquette

Alright, I just came from the bathroom at work and I happen to be a little irritated. I really hate it when someone comes in and goes in the stall RIGHT beside me when we are the ONLY TWO people in there and there are about 10 other stalls to choose from!!! This just happened to me, but to top things off this lady then proceeded to take a doo doo while humming some cheerful little song! HAVE YOU NO SHAME WOMAN?? Not cool lady, not cool at all.

A. Have some decensy to put a little distance between me and your horrible stench

B. Do not hum/grunt through a song while you're doing your business beside someone else.

C. What the HE%% did you eat last night?

I apologize for my crudeness, but you really have to put up with a lot in the bathrooms here and I'VE HAD IT!!

Me No Irregal!

Well I had my immigration interview this morning and I was REALLY nervous about it. They send you the appointment notification with a list of all kinds of documents to bring with you, a lot of it was unclear and I was really worried that we wouldn’t have what we needed and my green card application would get denied.
Troy and I woke up early to go to his office and make copies of document after document just in case we needed them. We brought everything we could think to prove that we were legit, we brought bank statements and insurance statements, our wedding album, I was even tempted to take a giant frame off our wall that had a bunch of pictures of us from our dating days! Haha I didn’t though!

We got to the immigration office at 7:30 am and there were already a lot of people there from all over the world. You walk in and a security guard asks you for your appointment notice and then you have to put all your things on a belt thing like they have at the airport and then walk through a metal detector. Haha Troy didn’t pass because he had a knife on his keys! Hahaha good one Troy! He had to take it off and go leave it in the car.

After walking in I understood why they didn’t allow knives, that place could cause anyone to panic and start stabbing everyone! It’s not what I would call warm and welcoming, the waiting area is just a big white room with chairs and the occasional government poster. The government might as well just put a giant sign on the door that says GO BACK TO YOUR OWN COUNTRY! WE DON’T WANT YOU HERE! It was scary and there was definitely a lot of tension in the room. For all I knew Troy and I were about to be separated FOR LIFE!

Our names got called and we were brought into a woman’s office, she was actually quite friendly and suddenly I wasn’t so scared of being deported until the first thing she asked me for was my license and I realized I had left my wallet at Troy’s office. DANG IT! It also had my employment card, my birth certificate and my social security number in it. OOPSIES! Luckily she was really nice about it and moved on with the interview asking us how we met and if I’d ever been involved in prostitution (I said no). It really wasn’t as scary as I thought! After a few more questions and showing a couple of documents, she said all we needed to do was bring in copies of the documents I was missing and after that we would receive my green card within 7 to 10 days. Yes, I did just say 7 – 10 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it?? Well maybe you can because you don’t know this process, but I was told this could take at least a YEAR and we had just applied in December!! I was also told that things were backed up and so I wasn’t expecting to get it anytime soon! This is GREAT news! In another 7-10 days I will not have to worry about immigration things for another two years (when I will have to go through a whole other application process for a permanent green card). I will also be able to come and go from the United States as I please and will not be trapped here! Although it’s been stressful and a lot of work, not to mention expensive, I’m very impressed with how quickly this all went!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

I got Tagged

Alright so here it is Amy! My sixth picture from my sixth folder! Aint it a beauty? I laughed when I realized this was going to be it. I performed in a show called Broadway Review in College and I was a nasty old theatre critic who sang "I Hate Musicals". This was my costume, saggy boobs, front bum and all!

Alright so the six people I tag are Suzanne, Megan, Whitney, Jessica, Cassie and Angie. Those are the only other people who have ever commented on my blog so I don't know if anyone else even looks at it to realize they've been tagged. SO there it is ladies. Go to your pictures on your computer and post your sixth picture from your sixth folder. Can't wait to see what you come up with!!

Europe Here We Come!!

Troy and I are heading to Europe at the end of the month and couldn’t be more excited about it! We were initially supposed to go on a cruise last month through Troy’s work, but I had to get special permission to leave the U.S. because I’m in the process of getting a green card and I’m not supposed to leave. Sadly that permission came the day AFTER the deadline for the cruise. I was pretty sad, but my spirits were lifted when I found out we could use the money for a trip somewhere else if we wanted! We decided there would be more opportunities to go on other cruises and so Europe was our first pick! We were able to find flights for $580 so why not?! Most of you know that my mother Waltraud (A.K.A Traudi, Voltron, The Traudster) is from Germany and her family still lives over there. Family in Germany = free place to stay and good company! So our first stop in Europe will be Heidelberg, Germany. This is the gorgeous and charming town my mom grew up in. We’ll be staying with my uncle Edgar and aunt Barbel and I’m really looking forward to seeing all my family there because it has been about 10 years! Heidelberg is an old college town and so there are a lot of fun things to do.



Our next stop is PARIS! La ville d’amour! I have been dreaming of going to France for a long long time. I’ve grown up speaking French and cannot wait to go experience the real deal. They will likely make fun of my French Canadian accent, but I’ll deal with it. So the plan is to take the train from Heidelberg to Paris. I’m really excited for the ride because it will surely be a gorgeous view. We will only be staying in Paris for two days and will be making a mad dash to try and see everything we want to. Let me know if any of you have any suggestions of the top things to go see. It’s gonna be rushed, but it’s gonna be great!

Our next destination is ROME! Italy has always been a big one on my list of places to go. Luckily I happen to have one of my best friends living with her husband in the center of Rome! We HAD to take advantage of that! Friend in Rome = Free place to stay and awesome company. I have to say that as excited as I am to see Rome I think I am even MORE excited to see my friend Elena and to meet her husband Vince. Elena has the ability to make me laugh like no one I have ever met, she has got to be one of my most favorite people in the world and I just cannot wait to see her again. It’s been a good 4 years! It’s gonna be awesome! After four days in Rome we’ll fly back to Frankfurt and fly home from there.

I wish we had a some more time, but Troy and I can’t be away from work for much longer than the 12 days. I guess I can’t complain. I’m just happy to be going and now I have the permission from the U.S. government and a brand new Canadian Passport so I can! WOOOO! Life is good!