Too Young

Matt got a phone call that nobody wants to get. His friend who is 31 and has been friends with Matt since Jr High died. It is hard to see someone you love cry.
Know I had only met this guy once, but Matt and him were inseparable before we met. Jerome (his friend) was on a different path than Matt so they did not hang out a whole lot, but still talked. I was not quite as sad as Matt since I did not know him that well, but it hit home.

I am 31 and 31 is way too young to die. I know when I turned 31 I thought wow I am old, but when you think of it in terms of a life ending, it is really young. Then I thought, that would leave Patrick motherless. Can you imaginge at the age of 13 losing your mother? Kind of sad to think.

After thinking this I gave Patrick a big hug and told him I am glad he is my son. He did look at me like I was crazy, but I siezed the moment. That moment could have slipped by and I would have missed it. Life is way too short and for some it is shorter than others.

School

What I miss about school....
The end of the semester in December. That means that we were heading into Christmas and I did not have school for 2 sometimes 3 weeks. While I was working at Big Brothers Big Sisters I didn't have to work that week if I did not want to so that meant a 2 week break.
So now that I have joined the working world and no longer have the Christmas break I am thinking "what the hell did I do?" why did I ever graduate???
I am finding it pretty hard to stay motivated this week (hence the writing on my blog, I am doing it at work). It took me a while to think about it, but I am usually done with school and enjoying the break. Why would anyone ever graduate?
The working world is not all it is cracked up t0 be. I think in my next life I will never grow up. (no I don't believe that I will have 2 lives)

Pets

Who would have thought that I would have been one of those people who are so attached to their pets? How do people get that attached?

Last night about 11PM Bogie decided he needed to go out. Well I did not want to go with him so I let him out leaving the door open. He had 3 tags on him. One with his name, one from his rabies shot and one from the pound for his city registration. These tags jingle pretty loudly. So he is outside and I can here him jingle. The jingle gets a little quiter so I call him name. I can here him but barely so I figured he has stopped to do business and that he should be coming back inside soon, which he normally does.
He never comes inside. Behind our house is an alley so I run out there and yell his name, he does not come, I look down the alley and there is no Bogie, just some guy at the end of the alley in the street. It is not like Bogie to not come when I call him. So I run inside to the front door. Sometimes he waits at the front door for someone to let him in. No Bogie.
So I get my shoes on and run out into the alley yelling his name. No jingle, no bogie, nothing. So I run to the end of the alley and around the block yelling his name. It is windy and cold and I am yelling pretty loudly.
When I get back to the other end of the alley I think I am going to have to wake Matt up to have him help me. I am scared and sick about loosing Bogie. I get to the back door and there is Bogie sitting on the steps. He is scared and shaking and thinks he is in trouble. He would not let me stop petting him because he thought he was in trouble. But it was a little scary!
How did I become one of those weird animal people who go crazy over their dogs?

Laundry

For those of you who were in Awe...
Yes, Matt does laundry and quite well I must add.

October 11 2008

I know most have you heard about it, but here is my story about Saturday October 11, 2008


It had been so nice in Burley up to that point and for some reason it was freezing that week. There was talk of a snow storm coming our way. Matt moved to Burley that weekend. He loaded stuff in his truck. His dad told him not to wait, just get on the road. Well he makes it with out a problem. It is still freezing and he keeps saying it is supposed to be warmer here!

The next morning, which was Saturday we wake up to snow. Not just a little skiff of snow, there was a lot of snow.

Patrick had Saturday school so I bring him and everywhere I drive I am burried. It is snowing so think and fast. It was snowing like it did on Christmas eve last year. We are thinking that in time this snow will stop so we go get breakfast and plan to go to Twin Falls. We got on the freeway and it is horrible. You cannot see and there is traffic bumper to bumper and we are all going 35 MPH. So we get off at the next exit and go home. It snowed this way throught the night and into the morning. There were 15 to 18 inched (the amount depended on where you were) of snow that fell that day. By the end of the week we were having 70 degree weather and the snow had all melted and we have not had any snow since then. It was a little crazy.

We were told that Burley will get freak storms like that or drop into a really cold temp for a few days then back to mild temps and nice weather. It was a little weird.



Patrick standing in the front yard Saturday night. All of this snow was from one day and it was still snowing when we were out there.









Matt shoveling for the 100th time


Snow coming down


The next morning.

Cell Phone

Matt decided to wash his cell phone yesterday. Now Matt is the best at washing clothes. He always hangs up what needs to be hung up and washes my nicer clothes separate. He has never shrunk or ruined anything and always empties his pockets.
Well yesterday he did not.
So we went to Altell to get him a new phone. He was quite angry. His phone was expensive and it was going to cost even more to get a cheapy one since we are just beginning our contract. We get there and the girl tells us that the price is full retail price and the cheapest on they have is $150. This phone has no features. Then she tell us that we can go to Wal-mart and buy an Altell prepaid phone and they can hook it up. They just happen to have one for $25.
This put Matt in a better mood, so to Wal-mart we went. There was the $25 phone along with other phones that were better, but so much cheaper than they would have been at Altell. We bring this cheap no frills $25 phone back to her and in a matter of minutes Matt has a new phone. He lost all of his contacts, but he has a new phone.

Now I had no idea that this was even an option. I wanted to share with you all so you don't go to the cell phone dealer and pay an outrageous amount for a phone. Go buy they pre-paid phones!! At least with Altell this is an option.

Band

Patrick has joined band. Now this is never what I imagined my son being interested in, but I am glad to see him get interested in something. Right now he is learning the percussion. At the concert he played the triangle and the bells. He has a trumpet and will soon be getting private lessons. So the next concert he should have more of a part in.

They had a concert on Thursday. I am a bad mom and did not bring my camera so I had to use my phone to get pics. Here is one of the pics.

Tagged

1. I hate to be touched. We went to a spook alley and I was more freaked out by them touching me than anything. I even get to a point with Matt where I have to ask him for space.
2. I have this huge space bubble and I despise when people get into it. If I sit at a table I need to be far enough away from everyone else. If there is too many things on the table as well as sitting really close I get a little claustrophobic and have to move.
3. I am a big fan of Disney/Nick teen shows. (Hannah Montana, iCarly, Suit life of zack and cody)
4. My dishes have to be put away in their correct spot and in a certain way. I get very irritated when I open the cupboard and they are in the wrong spot I get very irritated. This may not seem like a big deal, but I do not care about order on very many things. (dresser drawers are the only other things that HAVE to be put away a certain way in a certain drawer)
5. Like Jennifer, I cannot stand to not use Q-tips. I have to use one every time I get out of the shower.
6. I hate shortened names. I hate when people call Patrick Pat. I think that if a parent wanted to have their child go by the shortened name they should have just gave them the shortened name. If I wanted Patrick to go by Pat I would have just named him Pat
7. I watch reality shows. My favs are Biggest looser & John and Kate plus 8

Since everyone else had already done their tag all I have left to tag is Rachel

Houdini

Bogie had figured out how to do magic! Or he grew opposable thumbs.
The other morning about 4:30 Matt gets me up and asks me where Bogie is. I tell him he is probably under the covers. Matt tells me he is not. So I tell him he is probably in Patrick's room. So I get up and wake Patrick up. He does not have Bogie either. So I go back to our room and start ripping the covers off the bed. That little dog can bury himself pretty good. Well no Bogie. I start to yell his name, no bogie. I go to the front door (which is locked) and open it. In comes Bogie. Matt begins with oh poor Bogie you guys left him out all night! He has got to be freezing. Well he is not. His body is still warm and his metal tags are still warm and he is not shivering. That little dog has not been out that long. Well we jump back into bed with little more thought.
After Matt gets off work he calls me and I tease him about letting Bogie out while he is sleep walking. He says no it was Patrick or it was you and I tell him it must be the underwear Gnome (family joke). For the rest of the day I called Bogie Houdini.

Well as it turns out Matt had this dream that Bogie was scratching at the door and in his dream bogie says to him "let me in" so what I think happened is that Bogie scratched on the bedroom door just before 4:30. Matt has to be to work at 5:30 so he is somewhat awake. Not realizing it he lets Bogie out and goes back to bed. Well in his subconscious mind he knows he still has to let Bogie back in, hence the dream. When he realizes Bogie is gone he does not remember letting him out.

So either Matt sleep walks or Bogie is Houdini!

Long Time

It has been nearly a month since I have blogged! I have quite a bit I have wanted to BLOG, but we currently do not have internet hooked up in our house. This makes it a little harder to blog since I have to be sneaky and do it at work. I also have pictures, but I think MY camera hooked up to my computer would be a little funny. Well today is Friday and most Fridays are pretty slow so I thought I would take a minute and do a quick catch up. One of these days I will post all of the other stuff I wanted to.

Well as you all know we are all in Burley now and have been for a while now. It has not been easy though. We have had our share of fights and questions of whether or not this what we want. Or even if we want to keeping fighting the elements together. It doesn't help that we have not sold our house. It seems like all the odds are against us and that this is not the place we were supposed to land.

The odds are not little either. Patrick is struggeling with school more than he ever has. I have to help him with simple things I know he already knows. School has been in session for 4 months now and he is just barely starting to make friends. There are days Matt hates his job and wants to quit and there are days he loves his job and this town.

This town, that is a whole thing all in its own. I have lived here now for almost 6 months I just can't seem to relax or have it feel like home. Maybe because I lived in the same town for 31 years and it will never feel like home no matter where I go.
Does Anyone who has moved away from their home town have a take on that?

To top all of this off I have began to question my career choice, which has been really hard for me to deal with emotoinally. I worked too hard to get here and question it. I made a lot of sacrifices and my family has made more sacrifices. For me to question it really hurts me. But them it makes me wonder, is it just not as challenging as I had hoped? not as rewarding as I thought it would be? Or am I questioning as a scape goat? I know my family is not happy here but stay because I like my job. If I hate my job will we go home? And if we go home will we all be happy? So that makes me wonder do I question because I feel my family has already sacrificed enough for my growth and it is time for me to sacrifice for their happiness?

I don't mean to complain nonstop, but it sure feels good to get my feelings out. Helps me sort it all out a little better!

FaceBook

I love technology and the ability to communicate with the touch of a few keys.
I had a friend from a long time ago find me on Facebook. Not quite sure how since my last name is not the same. But she was a very good friend to me. I have not seen nor spoke to her in a long time. I was going through a lot of turmoil in my life and she always knew what to say to me to make me feel better. I was so excited to see her message on my facebook!

I love technology.

October

Tomorrow is October 1st
You know what that means??????
The start of the holiday season, which I love so much.

Matt's job

First I must thank everyone of the support I received by way of the comments left on my blog about being a renter. They made me laugh. Clifford I think I may go out and buy a set of bagpipes and learn to play!

But I got some good news. Matt got a job in Burley. He will be working with a plumber here doing some commercial and industrial plumbing. It will be a lot different from residential plumbing, which is what he was doing. He will be making about the same and will get at the minimum 40 hours a week. The guy he is working for got the bid for a chicken factory that is being built. As most of you know with Matt and most construction workers it is either a feast or a famine so it was nice to hear 40 hours.

Matt will be moving here and will start work on October 13. Pretty exciting. Now only if pour house would sell! We may have to rent it......

The Joys of Renting

Maybe the quircks that come with renting are normal, but if you have not rented in a while it may be annoying!
For those who do not know we are renting a house with the basement as a seperate unit. So we only have to share with one family. However, my complaints are huge!
I hate out landlord, he is quite a jerk. He does not care what happens in this house as long as we pay the rent on time. Getting him to fix things is a joke and he thinks he still has rights to come into the house when he wants. Yea it is lovely.
Now the family that lives below us.
First, they are slobs. By their back door is a pile of garbage sacks (not so sure what is in them), kids shoes, tool box, fishing poles, and on occasion empty beer bottles left on the porch.
Second, we rented somewhere that allows pets and has a little yard. We agreed to take care of the yard in exchange for $50 off the rent. It is a small yard so I thought piece of cake. Well the neighbors below us have a huge dog, not cute little one like Bogie, they have a huge dog. Huge dogs mean huge poop and we clean it. No they do not clean up after their own dog we get to.
Third, when we take care of the yard we usually have to pick up all of the kid toys off the yard.

all of this is nothing compared to my last complaint. They smoke. At first they would smoke outside, but right by the windows. If the window was opened it would come inside, but the smell would only last for a little while. Well they are from Arizona and it is getting a little chilly in the mornings and evenings so they have began to smoke in the house. Matt has commented that at times things from the house smell like smoke. One day I came home and our house smelled so bad. It smelt as if we had smoked in there. So I bought two frebreeze noticeables. I am not sure if any of you have used them, but they are pretty strong and you can always smell them because the smell changes. In fact we have one in our house in Idaho Falls and it is almost overpowering when you walk in.
Well I have two up and this house is much smaller than our house in Idaho Falls. Well I can't smell the smoke as bad, but I also cannot smell the Febreeze. It is as if the Febreeze is working overtime to keep the house smelling good!

However, we have began to look at houses to buy. Ours still has not sold, but we are looking non the less!

Patrick

Just a little update.......
Patrick seems to be doing better. Last week at school was a good week. He ate lunch with someone, talks to people, knows some new people and what their names are. He came home in much better spirits!
Hopefully this week continues to be the same.

Slow Weekend?

I know this my seem crazy but I long for a slow weekend. One where all you do is sit around bored. OK really I would be bored and wish we had something to do!
Well this last weekend was busy as usual. Matt was going to come into Burley and did not get off work until 8pm so I went to IF. We went to his friend's house, it was his friend's bday). Then Saturday we went to the last day of the fair. We did the normal there, looked at the booths and animals and ate. The normal foot long hot dog and scone nuggets for me, rice bowl for Matt. Then Sunday we went to Lagoon.
Now that was fun. We went with Jennifer, giving us an even number of riders. We hit every ride and then got to go back on all the rides we wanted to in a matter of 7 hours. There were hardly any lines it was great! For those who go to Lagoon, late in the season on a Sunday is the way to go!

Grease

For those of you who do not know, I am a huge Grease fan. I mean huge! I love the movie; in fact the move made me a huge John Travolta fan. I guess I am just a sucker for musicals. My nieces have the soundtrack on their MP3 players. I mentioned that I needed to buy the soundtrack so that I could listen to it on my way back and forth to Burley.

So this weekend my sister gave me a copy of the soundtrack! I listened to it the whole way home. It was so fun to listen to! I hear the songs and can tell you exactly where it plays in the movie and what is going on in the movie.

Thanks Jennifer for the great CD, it made the drive so much better.

Labor Day

Labor Day in my family is usually pretty busy. Well this year things were done last minute. We will try to go on a family trip. Well this year it was just not happening. My brother and sister-in-law were going out of town and my little sister cannot really go too far due to the complications with her pregnancy. So Jennifer invited us to hike table rock with her brother-in-law. Well last minute my brother and sister-in-law were staying in town and wanted to do something and Matt’s grandma decided to have dinner over the weekend. So the crazy weekend began.

Table rock is not the hike that is in Boise, it is much harder. Table rock is by Targee ski resort and when you get to the top you can see the Tetons. An amazing view, not so much fun as a hike. It is 7 miles up and starts out with some nasty switch backs with some nasty inclines! Well every time I hike I have to think about my breathing. Well this time we were going too high too fast and I could not concentrate on my breathing and I could not breath. I had to stop Matt and make him wait with me. Well Jennifer tells me that I probably have asthma and I should go to the DR. I struggled all the way up. Well we hit a point when Matt got sick. Apparently he get high elevation sickness. He was dizzy and very sick so we did not get all the way to the top. About ¾ mile away from the top we had to go back, however, when we got down we both said we would do it again, just prepare a little better. The views were amazing though. I can’t wait
until next year to make it to the top.

Sunday we went to Matt’s grandma’s house for dinner. Which was the relaxing part of the weekend and I was so tired that I am glad that we had that day.

Monday we went to West Yellowstone with my little brothers and older sister. That is always an adventure! First we went to Mesa Falls, it was early and pretty. On the way to West Yellowstone we stopped at some little gas station. My little 12 year old niece gets back in the car with a lazar pointer with different images. So I look at the box to see the images. One just happens to be a woman in a sexy looking pose. Kind of like the playboy pose look. Well I bust out laughing and pass the box around. Before we know it we are all laughing hysterically about it and my sister (her mom) is asking my brother-in-law did you look at this before you bought it? Looking back and telling the story it is really not that funny, but we laughed so hard about it.

We got to West Yellowstone and watched bears at the Imax, went to dinner, and then went to the shops. It was a lot of fun.

It was really hard to leave IF and go to Burley. I really miss being in IF. The weekend was a lot of fun and even though I miss I IF I am glad to be back in Burley to sleep in my own bed. I am tired and my muscles hurt! 14 mile hike, who really does that for fun?

Right Choice

I have been struggling lately. I wonder did I make the decision that I should have made? Was moving to Burley the right decisions. Patrick hates school and is not making any friends. He comes home sad. Matt is having a hard time finding a job and our house is not selling.

Friday on the way home to IF I noticed that he was really down. I told him that he was the only one in charge of himself being happy and that he needed to make the best of the situation. Apparently that was not what he needed to hear. He cried for about 20 minutes. I did not know what to do or say. I just let him cry. After a while I told him that I am going through a tough time myself and that he needed to talk about it so that it just did not build up. We talked a little more about it and what we could do to make the situation better.

I miss not having Matt with me everyday. I miss not having my family in one house. It is still really hard to stay goodbye at the end of the weekend. But our house is not being looked at as much as we had hoped and those who look at it are not interested. So that makes me wonder if I made the right choice. Did I move us somewhere that will not work for us?

Matt is great about it and says things that make me feel better about moving here, but I know he is frustrated also. How long to we try before we throw in the towel?

All About My Husband

1- Where did you meet?
I was talking to his cousin, he was talking to my friend's friend (she really was never my friend). Well his cousin and I parted ways and the "friend" invited him over to my house and left him sitting all alone, feeling bad, I sat down and talked to him. The rest is history.

2- How long did you date before you were married?
9 months

3- How long have you been married for?
3 years

4- What does he do that surprises you?
A lot of things Matt does surprises me. Never really a dull moment.

5- What's your favorite feature about him?
His eyes

6- What's your favorite quality about him?
His boyish charm

7- Does he have a nickname for you? What is it?
Yes, many..... Ray and Robert are the 2 most common.

8- What's his favorite color?
Red

9- What's his favorite food?
Nachos

10-What is his favorite sport?
Basketball

11- Who said I love you first?
him

12- When and where was your fist kiss?
The first night we met, in my living room

13-What's your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Hike and camp

14-Do you have kids?
Yes, but just mine

15- What's a hidden talent that he has?
He can do anything, he is quite handy around the house

16- How old is he?
30

17- What's his favorite type of music?
Punk

18- What do you admire most about him?
His charm

19-What's his favorite past time?
Fishing

20- Do you think he is going to read this?
He might

I tag... Jennifer and Heather

Shoes

Sneakers

What kind of shoe are you?

Weekends

Now that the house is on the market the weekends have began to be fun again!
Matt's BDay was Thursday so I took Friday off and went home Thursday night. We went to Johnny Carinos for dinner and then Friday we had two weddings and Saturday we floated.

We used tire tubes, it was a blast. I went under the water and that was a little scary, but I am still here to tell the story so all turned out good and then Sunday we hiked up to the lower lake, which is a 8 mile round trip hike. It was fun and so nice to not have a million things to do in the house still!

ABC Tag

* A - Attached or single: Attached
* B - Best Friend: Rachel, Matt and my sisters
* C - Cake of Pie: Cake, preferably chocolate (I don't really like pie)
* D - Day: Saturday
* E - Essential Items: Flip flops and a good pair of hiking/walking shoes
* F - Favorite Color: cobalt blue
* G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Bears
* H - Hometown: Idaho Falls, ID (it will always be home)
* I - Indulgences: ice cream and candy
* J - January or July: July! It is extremely warm, the 4th is one of my favorite holidays and it is my BDay month!
* K - Kids: Patrick (William Patrick to be exact)
* L - Life is incomplete without: Happiness
* M - Marriage Date: 4/2/05 (Vegas Baby!)
* N - Number of Siblings: 5 2 sisters and 3 brothers and 2 sister in law and 3 brother in laws
* O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges
* P - Phobia or Fears: Mice, fish floping (they should not move after they come out of the water), I used to fear loosing Patrick, but as he gets older that fear becomes less, not sure why.
* Q - Quote: One day at a time
* R - Reason to Smile: oh so many... the sound of laughing kids, the warm sun on my face, but my main reason to smile is my family, Matt and Patrick make me smile everyday.
* S - Season: I love them all, but if I have to pick Fall and Summer (more fall than summer)
* T - Tag three: Jennifer, Heather, Kelsie, McKenzie
* U - Unknown fact about me: I am a big baby... I may seem tough and able to handle anything, but it is just a front. I am a big baby!
* V - Vegetarian or Not: NOT
* W - Worst habit: eating candy late at night and not washing my face or putting lotion on my face before bed
* X - X-rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds, you see so much more. Xrays are just bones..... how boring
* Y - Your favorite food: changes with my mood
* Z - Zodiac sign: Leo the lion, the king of the jungle!

For Sale

After 2 and half months of sweat and tears (Matt's sweat my tears) our house is finally on the market. We met eith our realtors (wife husband team) on Sunday to fill out all of the paper work. They will be taking pictures and posting it online tomorrow. I will have to post the MLS # when I have it. If any of you know someone who is looking for a house send them our way!

Cinderella

Look Rachel! We are both Cinderella!


You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Remember

What a great thing... Thanks McKenzie and Heather!

Remember???

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

July 23, 1977

Today is the infamous day, the day I came screaming into the world. I am not sure what time though. Today I am 29 and holding. This was the first time ever that I have been completely alone on my birthday. However, it has been a good day. I have a great family, friends and great co-workers.

Rachel called my at midnight to be the first to say Happy Bday (it was 1 oclock her time and then she sent me a text at 8:30am. She must have been tired)
Matt called me first thing in the morning and told me that he was going to call me 31, I mean 29 times that day. My mom called and my older sister called.

At work they got me cookies, because I am sucker for cookies. Everyone told me happy birthday. It was great.

Then I went through the drive through at Burgers Etc and had some ice cream and went to the park with Bogie. I kicked a ball he brought it back. The classic Bogie play.

Overall it has been a good day. Thanks to everyone who made it so good!

What I love

What I love......
Hearing Patrick's voice on the phone
Seeing Matt on Friday
Summer rain storms
Sunsets
Bogie's soft fur
Children's laughter
laughing until I cry
Watching movies all Sunday afternoon
Summer BBQ

4th of July

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I love it, everything about it.

We started the day out at the parade. Matt and I got up early and went to save the best spot on the parade route. At the very beginning, it is 4 blocks over from our house in IF, you get a lot of candy because it is the beginning, and we are done early because it is the first of the parade. We had fun and the little kids got a ton of candy!

Then Jennifer suggested we go float a canal in Rigby, which was probably the best part of the day. We get there and the water is a lot faster and deeper than normal. There was a little drop in that caused little rapids. Well I was determined to go over it and happened to go into a little late and got to a point where there was a bigger drop. I hot a rock and scraped and bruised my but and ripped my swimsuit. Then we hit a point where we could not get under a bridge because there was too much drift wood. My little brother got his legs sucked under the driftwood, that was a little scary, but it all turned out ok. Well we get out and the plan was to have Clifford's car at Rigby lake so that we would have a car to get to the other cars. Well Matt left his truck instead and left his keys in my brothers car. So there we were at Rigby lake with no ride to the cars and no keys. Well Jennifer is talking to some girls who are driving a Lexus and convinces them to drive 2 of us to the other cars. In the end it was quite funny and I think we would all do it again with the same crazy things happening. It was the funnest part of the day for me.

We then went to the fireworks, that was pretty fun. We sat a lot closer than Matt and I normally do so that was pretty cool. However, if we did not have Boggie on a leash we would have lost him. He got scared and tried to run. It was a bit scary!

We had a lot of fun. I love the 4th of July.

New Life

I have been in Burley for a month now. I have loved the job, it has had it challenges and frustrations, but that has never stopped me. But the town of Burley, now that takes a little getting used to.
Everything is a much slower place. You go to Wal-mart and it takes forever! The cashier has to finish her entire story to the person in front of you before she will even think about ringing up your stuff. It is not just at wal-mart either. All of the businesses are that way. I sat in the Arby's drive though one time for at least 15 minutes. And all I ordered was the popcorn chicken shakers they have!
I am the minority here. At least at work I am. That has not been bad, everyone I have met has been super nice, but this is a little different for me. I guess if we had moved to a bigger city it would be the same.
It also is as if Burley got stuck in time when it comes to equality among sexes. I hear things like, my daughter doesn't need to be out cruisen, but my sons that is a different story. Trying to get them to understand that is OK to hire a woman is like pulling teeth. The still believe that affirmative action is about having a quota they have to meet (for those who don't know, that is not what AA is all about).
They are not against women working or being in the plant, but it is as if it is still believed that the woman should have dinner on the table when the husband gets home. I started going in early to go to meetings and the comment I got was, I am not sure how it will be coming in early when your family moves up here. I told them that my family is pretty self sufficient.

Other than that it has been a good place to live. The people are nice and they seem to care a lot more about their town than what is heard about. The whole stigmatizem that is stuck on Burley is really not true. Overall I enjoy the town and I think it will be a good move for all of us.

13 on Friday the 13th

The only Friday the 13^th of this year turned out to be Patrick’s 13^th birthday.

13 on Friday the 13^th….. Pretty crazy, how often does something like that happen?? Despite the superstitions that follow 13 I have to say that the past 13 June 13^th that I have experienced has been pretty great.

Which brings me to I have a teenager. There is no way I am old enough to have a teenager. He got to celebrate it for three days. On Thursday the 12^th we went to Sizzler with Gma and Gpa Bateson and then let him open his presents. He got a Ripstick, a fly rod fishing pole, some lures, and some PSP games and movies, and pants. Gma and Gpa Bateson got him Guitar Hero III, shorts and Lures.

Then on Friday we went to the museum to see the Pharaoh exhibit. While at the museum we got our names printed off in Hieroglyphs, his name looked much cooler looking than mine. Then we went to Leatherbys and had chicken strips and ice cream, which was really yummy. He then went to Blast off with his friend and got the all day pass. Then his friend spent the night at the Bateson’s, Ronda bought him a birthday cookie, since Patrick does not like cake.

Then on Saturday we celebrated with my family. It is my Mom’s and Nephew’s b-day all in the same weekend. We had cake and ice cream and Patrick got more presents. He got another pair of pants (he really needed pants) and another PSP game a gift card to CD world and some Money. He really got spoiled. Thank you everyone for all the gifts. I know he loved them all.

We then went swimming. Everything with my family is an adventure and this was not lacking the adventure. My sweet little nieces decided to dunk everyone they could under the water. It was a lot of fun… Even the super hairy ape guy made it fun and of course not to forget the sexy swimsuit. Nothing is better than a family outing.

It was a good weekend, as much as I love to see Patrick grow up it still makes me sad. I can’t believe that I have a teenager.

B-Day Pics

Fly Fishing


Guitar Hero III - Boy was that a hit. GMA and GPA B got it for him


The beloved Ripstick..... He rode it most of the weekend

Riding the Ripstick



Two Best Friends - Aren't they cute


The three birthdays we celebrated, My mom, Kolton, and Patrick

The Coveted bag


Hallie picked out this card for Patrick

Coming Home

This weekend I came back to Idaho Falls so that we could finish up some stuff on the house. Well I walked in and it was so empty, making it surreal. I spent the whole weekend cleaning and changing out knobs and painting while Matt put up sheet rock. Then I weeded the flower garden and it made me sad. I wanted to have a summer where we could hang out and I could work in the yard putting in flowers and camp as much as we could.
Now it is as if we are running a marathon. Trying to get stuff done so that we can get the house on the market. I am in Burley alone and Matt and working his but off to get the house done to be put on the market. So I had to cry for a bit.
I know all of this is for the better and I know I will love it. It just sucks right now.
However, I love my job. I have been a bit overwhelmed, it is so much to take in. I love it though, it is a big responsibility though.

Many Posts in one

So a lot has happened in the past week and a half, or however long it has been since I have posted so I am lumping them all into one.

Family Time
The Sunday before Memorial day my two sisters and I went, with our spouses and kids to Star Valley to put flowers on relatives graves. Well those who know us know that it was not only about flowers, there was so much more. I had so much fun with them. I love family time. Jennifer always has a camera, this time she did not and the whole time we kept saying "we wish we had a camera." Well first we went to Afton and ate, that was an experience, the first place was pretty full and the hostess said to us "I don't care if you go somewhere else" and walked away so we ended up at a Mexican restaurant that had one worker, one worker total! But it turned out good. Then we went to Grover and put flowers on my Aunt Linda's grave and my great grandparents. Then we stopped at my Aunt Carrol's house.... Enough said, then we went to the "scary grave sight" It was not so scary anymore and we sent the whole time justifying why it freaked us out when we were kids. Then we stopped at my Uncle Allan's house and then to my grandparents grave, that was surreal since we all viewed them as a parental figure. The best of all was when we stopped for Kelly to go to the bathroom, we went to the playground and teeter tottered. It was much more fun than it all sounds.....

Burley
I am now a local of Burley, ID. The town is not too bad, the move sucked it was all ok until I was driving away from IF, I cried the whole way. Then we unloaded everything and everyone left and I cried for about an hour, Matt was good, he just let me cry. Then I cried off and on all day Sunday because Matt was going to leave, he stayed until the morning, then I cried today when he left. I have not cried this much in a long time.

Drivers License
I finally got it changed!! I am officially a Bateson... Thank God for small towns,.

Drivers License

So today I went in to get a new driers license, well I never got a new one after we got married. So now I need to change the name on it and I need to do it before June 12. Well I go in and I swear this lady did not listen to me I had to tell her three times what I wanted and she did not get it until she pulled up my info. Then she tells me the only way to change my name is to have my marriage license. Well I have no idea where it is and we did not get our marriage license at Bonnivelle county so they can't just pull it and she tells me that the only way to change my last name is to have my marriage license, frustrating!!
So now the search for the marriage license.

Why do have to have it changed by June 12?
Well I am taking the PHR test, which is the Professional Human Resource Certification. Just an added advantage for me. Most jobs either require it or recommend it. If I take it right out of school it is cheaper, therefore I am taking it on the 12th. My last name has to match and since it does not I need to have my drivers license changed by then.

Jackpot

This weekend we went to Jackpot to celebrate my graduation. We got there on Friday and met Matt's parents. They had gotten the room for us, and when we walked in Ronda handed us a voucher. One that she had gotten from gambling, but had never cashed out. It was for $200. She said she wanted us to have a great time so instead of gambling away the money she saved it for us. I thought that was nice and made it a lot easier to sit at a machine and play all night.

I had fun and keep winning enough to keep my playing. However, I play the penny machines and bet 10 cents per bet, so no big bets means no big wins. Now Matt keep plying the dollar slots and I keep telling him to quit playing them. Well later that night when we were about to call it quits he came up to me with a $100 voucher, he had put a dollar in the dollar slot machine and won a $100. So that was pretty cool. I sat most of the night at a penny machine called Ay Carumba. I ended up next to a girl who smoked nonstop. I was winning and having fun so I stayed.

I paid for it the next morning. I was coming down with a cold to begin with and I was really bothered by the smoke so we left pretty early the next day. I called my sister to ask her for some Benadril and she tells me that she had her allergies tested and she is highly allergic to tobacco. Since allergies are genetic I am assuming that the cigarette smoke is what killed me.

We did have fun and now we are back to reality and packing.

Graduation

Saturday was graduation. What a day!
We got into Pocatello about 8:45am and waited forever, graduation started at 10am. We walked in and I wanted my family to know where I was so I jumped and waved (like a little kid) on my way in.
We sat and waited forever. It was finally our turn, so we are standing in line and when I get up to the stage they say my name and I hear people cheer, which was a great feeling. I get to the end of the ramp getting off the stage and I see Matt taking pictures, what a great husband.

Then I have a teacher, who I adore, say to me I told you I would be here... so I hug him and tell him to enjoy retirement, now I am so thrown off I go the wrong way and end up clear outside of the chairs, which is good, my sister takes pictures and video. Then I go back to my seat and have to climb over everyone, at this time I am about 5 people behind.

Overall it was one of the best days I have ever had. I am so glad I could have walked the line and had so many people there to support me.

Graduation Pictures

Packing

Who ever thought packing would be so hard?
Maybe it is hard because we are moving away, but it has been really emotional and hard.
At times Patrick is upset and gives me an attitude about it and then at times he is willing to help and starts to pack. Then sometimes the tables turn, it it Matt's turn to be upset about moving.

I know it is not easy for either of them, but it sure is making it harder for me. I cried last night, not because I am sad to leave, I view this as my opportunity. But I cried because it makes it so hard to hear, "I never wanted to move"

We'll all be OK right?

Burley

This weekend Patrick had a state bowling tournament in Burley. It was in April that we found out that he was going, at the time we had no idea that we would be moving there. Well he bowled Saturday and Sunday so that gave us a chance to see the town
.

Since it is not a big town it did not take us too long.

I have to be there in June, and since we know the house will not sell that fast Matt will stay and sell the house. So I will be going back forth (just like last summer, and I thought we were past that!) and he may stay for the entire summer to work. I will have to get an apartment that we can all move into, which probably means a 6 month lease and then we will start looking to buy another house.

So while we were there we also looked for an apartment to rent. Now there are some real dumps and some pretty decent ones. We have not found one as of yet, but we have it narrowed to 2. We saw one of them and I will call on the other one tomorrow. The big deciding factor will be if pets are allowed or not. Who would have thought pets would make it difficult to rent.

The Call

Today when I left work I had 2 messages. One was a really weird number. So I listened to the message and it was Doug with Boise Cascade, it said "just kind of wanted to follow up with you"

So I called him back, I figured he was just wanted more info or was going to tell me they were going to pick another candidate. So I called him back and got his voice mail, he called me back within 15 minutes, he asked if it was a bad time and I said no ....

And he said, Well you did very well and we really like the way you presented yourself and would like to offer you the job.
My reply was "Really?" and then got super excited and he said that my excitement made him excited.

So Sorry Rachel, I am not moving to TX, but you can move to Burley......

I have accomplished the next to impossible, I have found a job before school ended. I guess those internships and the applying for jobs since February and all of those rejection letters have really paid off.

Now the hard part, to tell Patrick that we are moving.

Job Hunting

I had an interview Monday, at Boise Cascade, in Burley, ID

I know Burley.... Never in a million years would I have thought I would be considering moving to Burley. But I think I would love the company. I had so much fun at the interview and interviews aren't supposed to be fun. However, I am not holding my breath there were 4 of us interviewing. I know that gives me a 25% chance, but 25% is not that great when you are hoping for the job. They all probably will have more experience than me, and that is usually what kills me on getting jobs. But I am really hoping I get it.

Fishing

Today we went fishing. Now I know what you are thinking, me fish? And no I do not fish. In fact fish freak me out, like a snake or mouse would freak me out. They scare the crap out of me. So I go and just enjoy the weather.
Well today was such a nice day I went and read. I loved it!

I got to sit and enjoy the afternoon, not think about any homework (dead week is next week so no homework) and watch my family. I really enjoy my family. At times we fight and at times none of the three of us are talking, but at the end of the day we are all each other has. I will be so happy to have so much free time to spend with them. Matt and Patrick really are the best things that could have happened to me.

New Car

We have gotten ourselves a new car!!!

Now this is not at all what we were looking for, nor is it something I would have picked on my own, but I love it! I have never had a car this new, OK it is not a car it is a SUV and it is an American made car and it is a gas hog. But I love driving it and being above everybody when I drove.

It is almost like I am the queen sitting above everyone in my silver throne.

Here is the picture.

April??

How did it get to be April already?? Though I am not too upset about it. It just means that I am that much closer to being done with school. Since my Monday's are so nasty I have started counting down by how many Mondays I have left. I have only 4 Mondays left!

This last weekend Matt and I went to Boise. We had a great time hanging out with friends. We got there on Friday and just hung out and went to dinner at Busters. Then on Saturday we went to a natural hot springs in Cascade (85 miles past Boise). Would you know in Cascade they have a lot of snow still? I mean a ton. We had to hike into the hot springs through a lot of snow with bad shoes on change in the cold (freezing cold) and on the way back up to the car I fell. After all we were walking on pure ice uphill at this point. I bruised my knees real good. At the time it was not fun. However, looking back it was fun. Nothing like getting out of town for a little bit.

I've been tagged ........ a little about me

I've been tagged...A Little Bit about Me

ten years ago..

I was 20 years old, and lets just say my life is completely different from now, and different for the better. Patrick was 3 and cute as can be. I look back at pictures and he is always smiling and looked so sweet, but my memory tells me different. He was hell on wheels, but I would not have it any different. My personal life was utter confusions, the funny thing is, I thought it was perfect. Looking back it wasn't and I am ever so thankful for the way life turned out for me.

5 THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST: (this is my to do list for spring break)

1. Attend Tigeri meeting (a committee for school)

2. Get an oil change and car looked at (it is making a horrible noise)

3. Go to an interview with Ireland Bank

4. Get my hair cut

5. Disinfect Patrick's room

WHAT WOULD I DO IF I WERE SUDDENLY MADE A MILLIONAIRE?

I would pay off my massive student loans and invest the rest.

4 BAD HABITS: (I am sure Matt could name a million)

1. Treats, I love treats, hence the weight gain

2. I'll open a soda and not finish it, I usually only take 2 or 3 drinks out of it

3. Not putting gas in my car

4. not fully listening

5 JOBS I'VE HAD

1. ISU - HR intern

2. Monsanto - HR intern

3. Big Brothers Big Sisters
4. RS&I
5. Circuit City

Places I've Lived..

Idaho Falls, Alaska

Things I like to do....

This should not be a tough question, but it is one that I have been asking myself a lot lately. Getting through school all I have done is school work so now I must remember the things I like to do. A few things are backpacking, bike riding, camping, I am going to start scrap booking, and reading books that I want to, and I would like to start running (we'll see about that one).

TAG Rachel, and Clifford, and Heather (she needs to be tagged twice and then maybe she will do this)

Too close to home

Today I checked my email to find one from Patrick's science teacher with the subject line of letter. I first think what in the world has he done now. Let me tell you it was a shock. She had sent a letter that was basically a memo to all parents. On the bathroom wall someone had written
“I’m bringing a gun March 13, Ya’ll had better run.”
As you know, today is the 13th of march. That freaks me out a little. That is just way too close to home. Things like this have been in the news for a while now, and maybe I am a little numb to it now, but it has never hit so close to home. After reading that I called Matt, still in shock a bit, and then a million what if's run through my head. It makes me sad that our children have to live in such a world, we never had to deal with anything like this. We never had drills of how to deal with someone shooting at us at school, we had fire drills! It enrages me and makes me want to cry at the same time.

Now the school handled this wonderfully. A student reported it and the administration went to work. They have cameras that show who entered and exited the bathroom (again nothing we ever had to deal with) so the interviewed all of those people, with parents permission (no admissions of guilt). This morning they had 5 police offers and a police dog at the school. After all of the students were in their first hour the police searched all of the lockers and all open areas, no weapons were found and they offered the opportunity for parents to keep their kids home.

Since I did not check my email until 2pm Patrick went to school. Since I leave the house at 6am, Patrick rode his bike to school. I did not see the police at the school. However, I think I would have lost it if I had seen it. It is a sad day in Idaho when police are at the school when you drop your kid off.

Life is good

Today I went and picked up my laptop. It is wonderful and fixed.
It was the hard drive, Matt just happens to know the right people and we only paid $80 to buy and have a new hard drive put in, and he fixed my space bar! It pays to have a husband with a useful trade. He does a little plumbing and I get a faster hard drive, no complaints there.

As you all can see I have a count down, 58 days until graduation! Can you believe it? Me graduating with a Bachelor's degree??

And for the bag, it has become a tradition for it to show up every birthday and every Christmas. It must never die. It would not be right for the bag to not show up again. Jennifer you should not throw the bad away, tape can fix anything.



For those of you wondering, this bag has been reused among our family for three years. It has become fun, and as Jennifer said you must be special to receive the bag.

Hubby Tag

My Sister Tagged me, so here we go....


What is his name? Mathew Ryan Bateson

How long have you been married? 3 Years in April

How long did you date? 10 Months

When was your first kiss? The fist night I met him, sitting my window seat when I lived on 2nd st

How old is he? 29

Who eats more? Matt, well maybe about the same. What can I say.. I am addicted to food.

Who said I love you first? Matt did, to be honest with you it kind of freaked me out. I did not want to be in a relationship, but I loved him back. Kind of scared me.

Who is taller? I am

Who sings better? Neither of us should sing, However, Matt insists on having a "microphone" in the car. If I sing he will put what ever is in his hands in front of my mouth and tell me to sing into the microphone.

Whose temper is worse? We are pretty equal on the temper, which can be a very bad thing. Not to mention we are both hard headed and refuse to admit we are wrong. Makes it interesting sometimes.

Who does the laundry? I am so lucky. Matt does it all and he does it right. He separates the colors and separates my delicate cycle load and hangs up all of my clothes so that they don't shrink. Oh and he puts the clothes away, too. Not always in the right spot though.

Who does the dishes? That would be me. We do have a dishwasher though.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me, it is right by the heater vent and I freeze if I don't and that is where my alarm is. But on the weekends he jumps into the right side.

Who mows the lawn? When we fist moved into our house, me. Then I took a summer class and he did, last summer I was in Soda Springs so once again he did.

Who pays the bills? Me, but we seem to argue quite a bit about how it should be done.

Who cooks dinner? If we eat at home me, Matt has been trying to cook a little more, but he shouldn't cook. He cooked corn on the cob for an hour once. YUCK.

Who drives when you are together? Depends on which vehicle we take. Mine or his (Pathetic huh, we have my car his truck)
Mostly me though, Matt hates to drive and I hate when he drives. Seems to be a pretty mutual agreement between us.

Who is more stubborn? As I said earlier we both are pretty stubborn, we both think that we are always right.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Matt has definitely been better at this then me. After all I am never wrong.

Whose parents do you see the most? Matt's I think we see them 4 to 5 times a week. Matt does talk to them everyday.....

Who proposed? I would say Matt, but I almost want to say it was just kind of mutual. He told me to go look at rings, so I did and then he came home with his mom's old wedding ring. I got it sized and gave it to him. He looked at it, handed it back to me and said, "will you"

Who has more friends? We both know quite a bit of people, Matt does have more friends more, and he talks to his much more than I do.

Who has more siblings? Me, I have 5 siblings he has 1

Who wears the pants in the family? We both wear shorts, which means that neither of us wears the pants. We both know it is best to not tell each other what to do.

What is his favorite meal? Nachos, and his mom's tacos

What does he enjoy doing in his spare time? Anything that involves building, fishing, anything outdoors and I am pretty sure hanging out with me, he did tell me "Robbie, we are best friends. We do everything together."

what is one of his good qualities? He is very generous and friendly and outgoing and funny. He is himself always, never trying to put on a front.

What do you love most about him? How well he takes care of me and Patrick and that he is my best friend.

I tag... Clifford and Rachel you should have your mom do this.

Technology

Technology is a beautiful thing, it is amazing how depend we are on it. I say this because my laptop crashed on me. I turn it on and it tries and then turns off and tries to turn off again. We have brought it to Matt's friend, who owns a computer shop, with the hopes of having it fixed. So now I have to sit in the computer room where the desktop is. I no longer can move from room to room as I please.

The worse part about it.... What if it can't be fixed. I use it at school all of the time and having only a few months left I will not buy another right now. Only time will tell what it going to happen.

Funerals

I know an odd post, but it is amazing the perspective that funerals give a person. Matt's 31 year old cousin died a week ago and we went to Boise to go to her funeral. Her name was Jennifer and she was a pharmacist. That makes me think of my sister Jennifer, since she is also in the medical field it seemed to hit home. Just tonight I get on my friend Rachel's blog, of course she has not updated it so I get on her mom's blog and she had written about her sister being sick and almost dying. Which brings me to my point.

Life is really short, be sure to let those you love know. You never know when it could be the last time you talk to them.
My sisters (yes, even sister in law), they are my best friends and I am glad they are in my life.
My brothers, who could ask for more? They keep things interesting. My in laws, there is not enough words to describe how great they are and how much I appreciate the open arms they gave me and Patrick.
Patrick, I would be lost without him. I am happy to see him grow into a man, but boy do I miss him as a baby! and Matt, my soul mate, my best friend. He is the one who understands me best and deals with me best. I know I don't show him enough just how much I love him.

I could go on forever, but life is short.....
Embrace it and live life like there will be no tomorrow.

Snow

This morning we all woke up to quite a surprise, more snow. OK so maybe no surprise.
Well I went out to start my car at 6AM and due to the internship I am in dress shoes. Little dress shoes and snow went right down into my shoe, BRRRR.
So I went inside and changed my shoes.



As you all probably know I am in Pocatello 4 days a week. I take the bus and drive home with a group of girls Mon - Wed and then I drive us all up Thursday. Well I have this fear that I will get stranded in Pocatello. Well today that fear will be coming true. The roads are too bad and everyone else is not coming. Today that is no big deal. I can take the bus home. My fear is Mondays. I have class until 9pm and there is not a bus that goes into IF that late. In fact the last bus into IF leaves Poc at 5pm.



So reading Jennifer's blog about snow I thought I needed to share my experience with snow.... Not quite as cool as being able to use my pass to snowboard. And Jen, I am just as excited about the "world Wide Web" as you are. I love that I can have a full conversation and know what is going on with everyone and everything without leaving the house!

So here is to snow, scary or great and to the world wide web.

School ... again

Well I made it through the first week of school. OK this semester really won't be that bad except I lack motivation. I have always heard about senioridos, well I have it and bad. But I will get past it. This semester I have only 13 credits, a breeze compared to last semester.

The classes I am taking are:

• Strategic management
• Advanced Human Resource
• Ethics
• Industrial Relations
• and Business admin class (supposed to teach me how to write resumes, look for a job, etc, its really a dumb class)

I also have an internship in the HR dept at the school. My worse days are Mondays. I get there at 8am for the internship and have class until 9:45pm. Other than that it is a breeze, I am home by 2pm on Tuesday and Thursday and home by 4pm on Wednesday and no school or internship on Fridays.

Now the countdown to graduation begins!