Wednesday, December 31, 2008

one year anniversary

Its official! We've been married for one year. Its kind of crazy. A year seems like a long time but it has flown by. Im a lucky girl. We went to Spokane for an anniversary trip this weekend. We stayed at the Oxford Suites and went shopping and ate at fabulous restaurants. It was a lot of fun. And a much needed vacation after Christmas with the entire Bowman family (36 for Christmas dinner). We drove back on Monday, our anniversary, and after 8.5 hours of driving through a snowstorm, we finally made it to butte and decided to stay with my Gram. I know that once you hit butte youre only like 77 miles from Bozo, but after 8.5 hours and lots of snow, we just couldn't do it. We got back to Bozo on Tuesday morning at 10. So last night we had our romantic dinner. I bought a replica of the top of our wedding cake, since we didn't get to save it. Get this. Wedding cakes are like $4/slice. We got the double top tier that serves at least 8 people (I think an 8" cake with two layers) for $12. By my calculations, I probably paid $32 for the top at the actual wedding. I know my next career: cake baker! J/K. But it was really nice, and Luke bought me a diamond wedding band to match my engagement ring. It is gorgeous!! I really wanted one but was having trouble finding one when we were ring shopping and I didnt' want to pay for one so I just got a plain band. Luke surprised me with the diamond band. I love it! It looks so good. I got him a pair of sweats, how lame am I? I definitely got the better end of the deal.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

"Family Fun Night" @ FBC

Tonight, instead of regular activities, we had Family Fun Night at church. All the families decorate gingerbread houses (make from graham crackers), and they are judged in three categories. This year's categories were Most Montana, Best Gingerbread House Theme, and Most Creative. Our "Family" consisted of us, Alicia, and Holly. Alicia and Holly are our age and just fun girls to hang out with! I remember Alicia from growing up. She was from Superior, which isn't too far from Thompson Falls, and we used to play sports against eachother. By "we" I mean our schools, because we all know I dont have an athletic bone in my body. Here are a few pictures of our creation.



We were the unofficial winners. We were judges, so we didn't feel like we could win in good conscience. However, several people told us that we should have won, including one of the other judges. I think the elk antlers were what put us over the edge. However, the logs were also a high point. We were just graham cracker house building fools. Yay for our family!

Decorated for Christmas

This year we broke out the christmas decorations again,but it was more exciting because its our first christmas together as a married couple. And its the first year they were set up at the 310. The past two years the decorations were up at Luke's house with Okey and Dwayne and Lizzie. Heres some pictures of the tree, and my artistic use of $2 garland.


Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Kindness of Strangers

Last night was a rough night. My car wouldn't start and Luke finally had to come rescue me. He does not get excited about coming to rescue me, mostly because he can alwasy start my car and I can't. I can understand how that would be annoying, having to drive across town to start my car. . .

Anyways, after he got the car started I went to get gas. This was not a good experience. I couldn't get the first pump to work (I think due to operator error) and this old lady in the van behind me was laughing at me. {this is not the "kindness of strangers" part} When its -10 and the person in front of you is obviously having problems, wouldn't it be better to help, rather than laugh? Thanks a lot lady! Then I went to another pump, figured out my operator error, but it was broken. It would only pump like .1 gallons per click. So I asked this guy at the pump next to me to help me. He couldn't figure it out either, so when he was done pumping, he pulled up so I could take his pump, since it worked. Then he waited to make sure it worked for me. Yay for nice strangers in black trucks who are helpful in the below freezing cold. Gold star for him.

Dont worry, my adventure continues to Wall-E world for an oil change. I waited for what seemed like forever, but I made friends with a nice girl in the waiting room. We exchanged cards and she's going to call me about some nutrition supplement thing she sells. Poor thing had been there even longer than I had.

Oh, and later I burnt my thumb making caramel corn and had to sit with my thumb in a bag of frozen peas for like an hour and a half before findnig the ice pack in the freezer and going to bed with it. Needless to say, I did not want to get up this morning. Staying in bed seemed like a much better option.

Monday, December 15, 2008

fricken (below) freezin!

As I type this it is -5 degrees in Bozeman. And that is a balmy -5 compared to like -20 this morning. I had a dentist appt at 7 am and I couldn't get my car to start so I ran the 2.5 blocks to the dentist. I ran not because I was late but because it was so cold out that I didn't want to freeze to the sidewalk if I went too slowly. Then I ran the 2.5 blocks home where luke was able to start my car. The suby doesn't like cold weather, so Im going to start parking her in the garage.

Speaking of the garage, We have new neighbors! Its exciting. Kenny and Katie are about our age and have two little kids. Emily and her friend live below them and are like 18 or 19. This is their first apartment. The amazing thing is that I have everyone trained that I get the spot under the carport. But now I'm going to park in the garage and let kenny and katie take the carport and then luke and emily and her friend can fight for the other three spots. With our old neighbors it was a free for all and if you were lucky you got home first and got to park in the carport. The garage was completely out of the question due to all the junk they had stored in there. Now that I'm the top dog I get to make some rules. Or else I'm just getting major respect. Either way, I dig it. I've lived there long enough for some perks.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Winter Wonderland

Winter has arrived in Bozeman. We've had little bits of snow so far, and then last night it snowed 2-3", making all the trees look beautiful. Its supposed to snow again this afternoon.

We have been busy lately (big surprise). Friday was a birthday party for our little buddy Colby. He turned 5 and had a batman birthday party. Luke and I made the top 4 friends list. I know you're all jealous. Saturday I had play practice and quilting and Luke studied. This is the last week of his semester and it will be nice for him to have a few weeks off. Last night we went to a holiday open house for awhile. It ws nice to visit with friends.

This thursday is my work's "4th Annual Charity Open House." We invite all our clients over for food and drink and fun. Its always an adventure, and this year will be no exception. Right now we have 25 people RSVP'd. I dont know how we'll fit them all in the office!

Were looking forward to Christmas at the cabin with my family and Luke's mom. Christmas dinner is in butte with ALL my mom's family. Right now there are 32 people planned for dinner.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

I Passed my Test!!!

Good news! I passed my national massage exam! I am so thankful. I studied so hard for that test. Its such a relief to be done. I almost dont know what to do with myself now that I dont have to study any more. Luke is pretty happy too, because now he has his wife back.

We had a good thanksgiving in Kalispell with Vicki. It was nice. Very relaxing. We stopped in Thompson Falls on the way to see my parents. Its not exactly on the way, but close enough not to pass up the opportunity. My mom knew we were coming but didnt' tell my dad, so he was very suprised and excited to see us. It was nice to be home for just a few hours. And my mom was happy that I brought back some more stuff. Some clothes and lots of fabric. Luke wasn't happy about that after our black friday shopping because it took up lots of room in the truck and we were running low on room.

We had a blast shopping. We got most of our christmas shopping done. We just have a few more things to get/make. We set up our tree on Sunday and I wrapped some presents so it looks really nice in our house.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Fun Weekend with the Fam.

This weekend my parents were in town for the last home game for bobcat football. They stayed on Friday night and we went out to dinner with my parents and my brothers. We had a blast. It was just a lot of fun. Everyone was on their best behavior and we were telling stories and just having fun. It was really nice. Then we hung out at our house for awhile and scott and mark left. Were all goign to be together at christmas too, so that will be fun.

On Saturday morning my parents and luke and I had breakfast with bob. That was nice too. My dad and bob razzed eachother about their bobcat/grizzly rivalry. And talked football. Of course.

I spent all day yesterday studying for my big test. I took almost 20 practice tests. I am consistently getting in the 70s & 80s percentile-wise. I need a 70% to pass. On saturday night I was sooo stressed about my test, but after all my studying yesterday I feel much better about it. Phew! The test is coming up in like 9 days. yikes!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Where's Rachel Ray when we need her?

It has been about a week since Luke got his wisdom teeth pulled. Unfortunately, things aren't going so well. He is still in pain and still can't eat normal food. Were still constrained to smooth foods and those that fall into the non-chewing category. This includes soup, mac-n-cheese, yogurt, applesauce, ice cream, etc. This making dinner thing is getting to be difficult. Were getting tired of mac-n-cheese and soup. And really, tomato soup just isn't the same without grilled cheese sandwiches, which require the use of teeth. Plus, we need protein. Last night Luke wanted sweet potato casserole, so I made it. Something wasn't quite right, but it was still good. I don't think potatoes are my forte, though. And chicken is pretty much out of the question, as is ham, steak, etc. We did manage some ground beef/tomato/mac-n-cheese concoction the other day. Help! Im running out of ideas. When I got my wisdom teeth out I was eating real food within a week I think. I wish there was some way I could make grilled cheese tomato soup. Like the grilled cheese part was part of the soup. I'll have to see if I can figure that out. And poor luke, all he wants is a steak!

Monday, November 10, 2008

luke's lack of teeth

Last wednesday Luke got his wisdom teeth out. He got the two top teeth out. One of them had three roots in it. Hes been doing pretty well, but hes still in pain and really tired. Its been hard for him to just lay around. Thats so the opposite of him. Me, on the other hand, would be fine with a week of laying on the couch. I'd watch lots of movies and read books and stuff. Luke was stir crazy after about a day. Luckily, its been slow for him at work lately so its not too big of a deal for him to be gone.

I have been studying like crazy for my test. I joined a website called massageprep.com. For $49 I have access to all their practice tests for a month. It has been a huge help. Best $49 I've spent. There are practice tests for the different sections and body systems, plus actual NCBTM tests that are timed so that I can practice. I did a practice test yesterday and got a 75% I think. You have to have a 70% to pass, so things are looking good. Plus, I told myself no quilting or beading or reading new books until Im done with my test, so thats some motivation to study. I have two weeks left of studying. Its going well, but I still have lots to do.

Monday, November 3, 2008

halloween weekend

We had a great weekend. Our church put on a harvest carnival on Friday night. Lots of games, lots of candy, and lots of fun. I did face painting ALL NIGHT. I swear, the 4 hours we were there felt like 10 minutes. It was just constant face painting. I got really good at drawing dinosaurs. My favorite was drawing on Colby. He wanted a mustache & goatee for his knight costume, then he wanted a bumble bee, then a heart, but I drew lips on his face and put my initials, then he wanted a pink nose like the mouse. I was running out of room on his little face! Luke took some pictures so hopefully I can post some good ones. I dressed like a ballerina, all thrown together for a whopping $0. I know you're all asking, wait, you had a tutu at your house??? I took some leftover tulle from the wedding, folded it in half, threaded my belt through it, so it was like a long puffy tulle skirt. They I had my hair in a bun and tights and ballet flats and stuff. I looked like a dork but it was kind of fun. Except people (read: old guys) kept calling me tinkerbell. Last time I checked, Tink wore green, not black and white, and she had wings. Pretty sure I didn't have wings. Oh well, nice try I guess.

Im also studying like mad for my NCBTM exam. Its on 11/26/08. Thats in 23 days.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

I have always loved Halloween. Mostly just because I always loved playing dress up. Plus, you cant go wrong with chocolate. Heres a list of my previous halloween costumes: pumpkin [4 or 5?], Miss Thompson Falls (complete with a pipe cleaner & bead tiara, and a fabric sash with Miss Thompson Falls written on it with a blue magic marker) [several years in like 1st grade through 3rd grade, plus last year], a 50s girl with a broken leg [4th grade], a skiier (it was really cold that year)[5th grade?], a cavewoman dragging a deadbeat caveman husband [5th grade?], a mime [6th grade?], a woman in a bathrobe with face cream on and a towel on her head[?], a siamese twin with Joanne [high school?], pippi longstockings [high school?], a bee [18 & 19], tinkerbell [22], jem [25], a cowgirl [25? 24?],and this year I've been debating. I've thought of: a pirate, a pumpkin, a candy corn, sarah palin, and this morning in the shower I decided I could make a ballerina costume pretty easily. I'll only need to get some white tights and a few feathers for my hair.

When I was little, my dad and his friend Larry always used to pile all of us kids: me, scott, mark, jessica, emily, greg, and mike into the back of the truck or the van and drive us around town to trick or treat at people's houses we knew. One year they dressed up like gorillas and would trick their friends. It was pretty fun. And we used to always have halloween parties for 4-H. They were so much fun. Costume contests, pinatas, games, marshmallow-caramel-rice krispie yummies... And I remember my brothers making elaborate lego contraptions for organizing and housing all their candy.

Happy Halloween! Be safe!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

studying...

There is a lot of studying going on at our house. Luke started a new class not too long ago, and I am studying to take my NCBTM exam. For all those who dont' know the acronym, its my national massage exam, that I have been avoiding taking for like a year. But the time is now. I started studying this summer and then life happened and it got pushed to the side. And now I really need to do it since I graduated almost a year ago. So the plan is to take it on 11/26 (wednesday). We'll drive to helena, I'll take my test and luke will find a coffee shop, and then we'll continue on to kalispell for thanksgiving. So Ive been diligently going through my anatomy coloring book, and the past two days I've taken my "trail guide to the body" (an anatomy book) to the gym with me and got some studying done while I do cardio. Its good to review all that stuff. I seem to be learning, and remembering lots. Besides, I told myself no sewing/quilting until I take my test. And I have several projects in my head that I want to make. Some for christmas, some for all my friends who are having babies!

Wish me luck!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

It was two years ago today...



that Luke and I met. We were introduced by Dee & Shelly Batey, friends of my parents and relatives of luke's roommate Okey. I think we were the only two people they knew that were our age, so they fixed us up. And well, obviously it worked! We didn't meet until after the Bobcat football game and then we stood in the tailgate area and talked and talked until we were the last two people left. So we hopped the fence and started our first date. We stopped at my house, his house, then went to dinner at MacKenzie River Pizza downtown, then went back to Luke's house and talked until like 10:30 or 11 pm. Our first date was like 8 hours long. I blew off my halloween plans with my friends to spend time with Luke. However, three days later I went to Theresa's house and told her I had met the man I was going to marry. I think she was extremely surprised, but was happy for me. Six months after our first date we were engaged, and eight months after that we were married. Tomorrow marks 10 months that we've been happily married. These two years have flown by and been my best ever!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Having Issues

So I was trying to blog last night and for some reason it replaced a post from a month ago. So here it is again.

This was from a week ago when my family was here. Here is my brother Scott, Colby, and Luke.

Here is my mom & dad:

And finally, Mark and Tegan (Scott's gf).

We had a blast with the fam. Hopefully we can have more family time this weekend when my parents are here for the game.

And: Congratulations to Sam & Julie for your brand new baby Hunter Sam Bechtold.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Ode to Luke

I wanted to take a post and proclaim to the world how amazing my husband is. Seriously, I dont even know where to start. He's the most wonderful, caring man ever. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know and would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it. He is always acutely aware of people's needs and finding ways to meet those needs. He is extremely thoughtful in this way too. One time he bought my friend Sara and I all these gift certificates for coffee and shopping because we enjoy our weekly coffee dates so much. He wanted to make sure that we could still have coffee and we could find more excuses to hang out. He is always helping people and looking out for them, and always selflessly. He is a giver. Luke is also extremely dedicated to everything he does. Take his job, for example, he is always thinking about work and trying to make his company better. And he is so dedicated to church and our classes. And extremely dedicated to his friends. Besides all these wonderful qualities, hes absolutely brilliant. He is so full of ideas and knowledge and patiently answers all my silly questions like: do bugs sleep?. He is constantly learning and teaching me things. And have you seen him? Hes the most attractive man I know. Sometimes I feel like I am going to burst with all the love I have for him. And he is so patient with me and always coming up with wonderful things to do for me or give to me. He loves to take me on secret getaways (i.e. my birthday or our trip to Billings in July), and he spoils me with gifts. To top it off, hes an amazing cook. Seriously, he can take leftovers and make something totally different and delicious. He knows flavors and how to combine ingredients. I love it when he cooks. And someday, he will make an amazing dad. He loves kids so much and he is so good with them. It doesn't matter if they are 2 moths, two, 8, 12, 16 or 20. He is great with them. And he has a cute tush. :) <3 U honey!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Puzzling...

So, last weekend we bought a $4 puzzle at target. And its pretty much consuming my free time at home. I dont know why, Im just really addicted to it. And its taking awhile, because its kind of complex, and it has 1000 pieces. You can see how far I've gotten since Sunday night. And I still have sky and water and trees. Its going to take me some more time. The funny part is that it was luke's idea and he hasnt' done any of it yet. oh well, to each his own.

Tonight we have an awards ceremony to attend. Luke's company is getting a Bozeman Beautification award for the Snowload building they built. It should be an adventure. Luke's boss' wife said if she had to go then I had to go. Great, thanks Michelle! It's at the library, so I guess if it gets too boring we can go look at books.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Busy Bees~

We have been crazy busy! If its not one thing, its two! Last friday I got up at 4 oclock to go to Townsend with my boss (we had to be there for a meeting at 7) then we were back in Bozeman by 9:15. Luckily, Friday's are a half day. Then we had dinner with some friends Friday night, and babysat our friend Colby (4) all day saturday and Sunday morning. Taking care of a kid is fun, but its a lot of work. We had to be constantly thinking of things for him to do and how to entertain him while we cleaned and ran errands. As you might guess, we don't have a lot of toys at our house. We have two kids movies, a few stuffed animals, and some play-dough. Thats about it. And we didn't have much food either, so lunch at mcdonalds was a must. Luckily, he got a little car in his happy meal, and we went to the one on 7th so he could play. The car kept him busy. As did looking at toys at Target. But we took him to the $ store so he could pick out a toy. And since he's a boy, he picked out a gun, which shot little ping pong balls. He had fun shooting them at my dad, and then wrestling with my dad. He'll be a good grandpa. Someday. Not anytime soon. Unless Scott & Mark surprise us. ;)

I have some pictures from the weekend, but I need to download them. I'll try to do that soon.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Whew! Its been busy!

Faithful readers, Im so sorry I've been MIA all week. Its been just plain crazy around here. Last weekend was MSU homecoming. It was pretty exciting. We hit up the parade in the morning, then the game (and froze our hiney's off!!). Heres some pictures of us at the game.


The first is me and luke, obviously, and the second is me and Christel. Although, with all the layers its probably hard to tell who it is.
Little brother mark was up for homecoming, which was SO exciting. He looked so handsome in his tux with the yellow tie and blue vest. We are so proud of him for being selected for such a great honor.
That night we had dinner with my parents at what I thought was the Gran Tree, but now its "The Club", which is a sports bar. I'm not really into sports bars, so I was a little bit disappointed. Then we decided to go over to the Holiday Inn to see Mark at the Pike banquet. We got there just in time for the DANCEOFF! It was so fun. I had no idea mark could dance like that. He was moonwalking and break dancing and all kinds of stuff. Then there was a dance off between the top two - Mark, and a guy in a 3-piece courderoy suit. They were dancing so well! It almost looked choreographed! Then Mark slid through the guys legs, which was awesome. They decided the danceoff was a tie for 1st place. It was so funny.

It was a great weekend!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Best Birthday EVER!!!!

My birthday started on Friday afternoon when luke and I headed off on an adventure. I didn't know where we were going and he had the GPS unit set up so that I couldn't see it. But first, when we got in the car there was a little zales box waiting for me. What? Yes. My husband bought me BEAUTIFUL chocolate pearl earrings. They are soo gorgous. Very brownish-auburnish-fallish colored. I of course put them on immediately. We ended up in Red Lodge. We drove through Columbus and Absarokee, which is the most beautiful drive ever. I wish I would have had the camera. It was gorgeous. So many beautiful changing trees everywhere. Once we got to Red Lodge we checked into the Chateau Rouge and got a condo. The check-in lady mentioned that there woudl be 5 of us, so I knew something was up. Then Luke and I drove back downtown and walked along main street and checked out the stores. They had a really cute book store adn a fun toy store. And we got some bad coffee at a coffee shop. When we had just about finished checking things out the first guest arrived. It was.........LIZZIE! It was sooo good to see her. I miss lizzie so much. So we showed her the condo and then our second guests arrived....Christel & Kevin!!! yay! They had quite the adventure getting to Red Lodge. First, they took a little "shortcut" from Reed Point that brought them to...Columbus! and then along the shortcut they ran over a multi-tool and got a flat tire. But I was so excited to see them too! I hung out with Christel on Thursday and she gave no indication that they were coming. So sneaky! We had dinner at the Carbon County Steakhouse, which was delish! I had salmon with dill and lemon. We walked down to the Red Lodge grocery store to get ice cream, but alas, they close at 8 o'clock. what? Even the grocery store in T Falls stays open until 10. Then it was back to the condo for swimming, birthday cake, and hanging out. And presents. I have such amazing friends. Then the next morning we went to breakfast at the Red Lodge Cafe, tried to hit up the quilting shop (closed) and meandered back home. Luke did homework and watched a movie and made me dinner and I made two pies for the church pie auction. Yesterday was my actual birthday. It was wonderful too. Luke gave me a diamond tennis bracelet to match my diamond necklace that he got me for our first christmas together. Also, lots of cards, lunch with Chuck and Kathy, dinner with Okey and Bob, time with Luke....Such a wonderful day! Bob got me 4 chairs to match our "heritage" dining room table that his dad and Vicki's dad made for them when they got married. The chairs are beautiful. I love them. I want to get the table stained the same color as the chairs. Now we can put away the old table and just use the new one. Things are good! My husband is amazing. And I have wonderful friends and family. What more could a girl ask for?

Thursday, October 2, 2008

hic-cups

Last night I was sleeping really well. Until I woke up at 3 and had to pee. And somehow I managed to breathe wrong and got the hiccups. So I was laying in bed hiccuping and trying to make them stop. I thought luke was asleep but finally he told me to go upstairs and drink some water. He was probably tired of the bed seizuring every few seconds when I hiccuped. Well I tried all the tricks I could think of and nothing worked so I just decided to read for awhile. I read for a half an hour and finally was like okay, I'm just going to curl up on the couch and fall asleep and hope the hiccups go away. As soon as I snuggled in they were gone. YAY! and I could go back to bed. Needless to say, my little escapade made it hard to get up this morning.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Oy with the weather already!

Today is October 1st. And it is supposed to be 70+ degrees today. Whats up with that? October = Fall, my favorite season. The leaves are turning yellow but people are still dressing for summer. Thats not right. Last year at this time it was already snowing and raining. I dont want to be a whiner, but I'd love some fall weather. Break out the sweaters, go for a walk in the crisp air, enjoy the leaves turning red and gold, apple cider, pumpkins, harvest... Bozeman is beautiful in the fall because of all the deciduous trees. Thompson Falls is full of pine trees, so its not as pretty. We used to make my parents take us to the Power Park to enjoy leaves (and jumping in them. My parents must have thought we were crazy - lets go rake leaves for someone else!)Its been so warm that my tomatoes are (finally) growing like weeds! We still have the A/C on at work. This year has been so strange. Winter though June, the summer through september and into october. Hopefully the seasons will straighten out in the next few days and I can break out the fall wardrobe.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

One of those days...

Today is one heck of a day!!! If its not one thing - its two! My mouse on my computer at work went haywire which turned into a loong project just to get everything closed down and the computer turned off so I could plug in another mouse (which didn't work - There must be something wrong wtih the mouse adapter). Its finally working through the usb port in the front of my computer, which means I have a mouse cord draped across my desk. Oh, and before that I spilled water on my skirt (sometimes my water bottle has a hole in it) but instead of just drying, its left a stain. And the phone has been ringing off the hook with people calling worried about their 401(k)s. Elizabeth's advice: Its a cycle. Either you get out now and LOSE a ton of money, or just ride it out and buy everything on SALE! But that doesn't stop everyone from calling and bugging me. Everything is just frustrating! And super busy! Im ready to go home and collapse. But that won't happen for a looonnngggg time. I still have 20 minutes of work, then a client, then bible study. I should have read my horoscope this morning. It probably said: Stay in BED!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Eggensperger - Frazier Family

Last weekend (like 7 days ago, not yesterday) the Eggensperger family got together. It was a grand time. We played with colby, our babysitting charge, and went to dinner at MacRiver. Heres Scott, Colby & Luke. And Mom & Dad
And Marky Mark & Tegan. Just one big happy family. :)

The Eagles!

So Chicago was a blast! And once again, our plane was delayed. So we arrived in Chicago at about 6 (instead of 4:45) and promptly got into a taxi. By the time we got to the hotel it was like 7:30ish so we dropped our luggage with the bellboy and my parents jumped into the cab and we drove to the United center. We were like the youngest people there, next to the 4 year old a few rows down. Glen the Eagle actually said "Welcome to the Eagles Assisted Living Tour!" He made jokes about how it was all old people, which it was. But it was fun. Here are a few pics:


Notice the awesome black line in the middle - yeah, thats a ginormous electricity cable coming down from the ceiling to the computers where they do all the sound and background designs and lights and stuff. I know almost all the old Eagles songs, which I was impressed with. I didn't think I'd know anything besides Hotel California. Which is awesome live, btw.

Friday morning we went on an architecture tour of Chicago via boat. It was pretty neat. I'll post some pictures of that later. And we did a little bit of shopping on the Magnificent Mile, which I would love to explore more (read: go shopping!) when I have the time. It was pretty fabulous.

We got home Friday night at 11:25 and I took a nap Saturday and we both fell asleep on the couch Saturday night at like 8:30. It was a whirlwind tour but really fun.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Back in the....Seattle Airport?!?!??

Hello dear and faithful readers. You may remember us posting about a month ago about our airport adventures on the way to Alaska (and home). Well, here we are again. Yesterday at 4:30 my dad called with extra tickets to the Eagles concert tonight in Chicago and said if we can get here, they're ours. Well, turns out my Mom had enough miles to fly us. So here we are, in the Seattle airport, waiting for our (Delayed, big suprise) flight to Chicago. Its quite exciting. We get in to Chicago at 5:40 and the concert is at 8, and then we fly home tomorrow mid-afternoon. Its a quick trip, but its fun to be spontaneous. When else will I ever have the opportunity to do this, ever again? Luke and I convinced our bosses to let us have the time off. We have the best bosses ever! Shout-out to Elizabeth, Jurgen & Jeremy. Its so exciting. And crazy! We promise to take some pictures to post.

love you!
kelsie

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

missing friends...

Our Friends Aaron, Sara, and Lukey have been gone since the beginning of August on debutation (basically a 3.5 month road trip). We miss them SO much. Sara and I always had coffee once a week and had girl talk and I miss that so much. Luke and Aaron always had boy time and working on cars and stuff that I dont know anything about. And Lukey is the cutest kid ever! So we miss them terribly. Yesterday they sent me a text of their view overlooking the ocean in san diego.Here is her picture:


So I sent a picture to them of the view out our back porch. Quite a contrast, huh? They're eating sushi by the beach and were eating yummy Luke concoctions while watching sister act in the mountains. I think its time for them to come home!

In other news, works been CraZy!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Ack! Im slacking!

Okay, so Im a huge slacker and haven't written since Friday. Sorry. Here's a weekend update:

I went to Billings to hear Beth Moore speak. It was really good and I'm very glad I went. My friend Tammy and I stayed with Lizzie, which was a blast. Its always good to see Lizzie. I miss her! We got to see the new house, which always has something new happening that is causing drama. Read her blog (link in the lower righthand side of ours). Apparently remodeling=drama. Heres a picture to honor lizzie, even though its from the wedding. Tammy and I also made fun of people dancing in the aisle, which probably wasn't very nice, but it was really funny.

While I was gone, Luke (the amazing husband that he is) cleaned the house and did laundry. It was like the best treat ever. Hes more of a deep cleaner than I am. And he finds places for things to go, whereas I just kind of stick them places where I can't see them so I don't know that they're not put away. But I know where everything is. And I vacuum around things, whereas luke will actually move them. But it was such a nice treat to come home to. And he let me nap almost all afternoon on sunday so that I wasn't cranky. Sunday night we had Okey and Bob over for dinner, which was nice. It was a fun adventure of "what can we make in the crock pot that we won't have to go to the store to get ingredients for?" Besides having to borrow a stick of butter from our neighbor, Andi, it went well.

Friday, September 19, 2008

A great day starts with a great morning

Who knew that getting up early could merit productivity?? I had renewed my car's license plates and been to the bank by 8:15. Whoa! I'm going to have to get up before 7 more often!

After my uber productivity, my friend Christel brought coffee to my office for me and we had a little girl time before she went to work. SO fun! I <3 Christel! Her and luke were good friends in college and now we hang out as couples a lot. Christel and I are going to start hanging out more because we both need more girlfriends. She's a ton of fun. Were already making plans for an outing for MSU's homecoming. (Luke, don't forget to get tickets!)

Last night was a One Tree Hill marathon at the Frazier household. It's our new addiction now that Secret Life is done for the season. Except I cry at almost every episode. I'm such a girl sometimes. I get it from my mom.

This afternoon I'm headed to Billings to hear Beth Moore speak with some other ladies. Im going to stay at Lizzies house (yay!) and will be back tomorrow afternoon. Luke is having guy time with Chet & his boys.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Cheffing it Up!

So, my husband is pretty much an AMAZING cook. But he doesn't believe me when I tell him. Last night he whipped up this yummy mexican fiesta. He browned hamburger and added taco seasoning, then added that to Mac & Cheese and put in some diced tomatoes and sliced olives. It sounds interesting, but it was REALLY good. I told him he should write down the recipe so we could have it again. Seriously, he's such a good cook. He always knows how to season things and how to take something and make it something totally different and tasty. He does amazing things with leftovers, which is good because I am not much of a leftovers person.He really should cook every night because he is so good at it. I wouldn't even think to add taco seasoned meat to mac & cheese. Maybe plain hamburger, but not seasoning. And I wouldn't have thought to add the tomatoes and olives. He is Pure Genius!

Also, last night was my first night of the new ladies bible study. There are like 16+ people in my "small group" but there are lots of new faces and young people. Its going to be a blast.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

An Easy Date

Last night after Luke made me dinner (SALMON from our fishing expedition) we went to Costco. It was almost like date night. Thats how boring we are! A trip to costco is exciting. But seriously, costco is fun! There's always fun things we can look at but not really afford. Like a fake fireplace with a heater in it for $600. And a treadmill for $800. And a rainshower shower head for $50. None of which we need, but all of which would be nice to have. We went with the intention of buying three things - CQ 10, protein bars, and frozen chicken breasts. We came out with those things, plus 2 books (for me), a season of One Tree Hill (for Luke), a 3-CD pack (for my massage business) and a desire for many other things. Like clothes! And a 37" TV! and cute baby stuff! And a 5 lb jar of mustard! (just kidding!)

On the way home we saw the moon sitting right on top of the mountain. It was so amazing. It looked literally like it was just sitting on top of the mountain. I have never seen it look so huge. I wish I would have had the camera to take a picture. Or even my phone.

promised photos...


This is me and the pie!

This is Teri, Me, and JoAnn when they visited last week.

This was a sunset we saw last friday, looking west from 4 Corners. I thought it was kind of pretty.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Great weekend...

Hello. Ive been slacking and not posting lately. I want to post some pictures, but my computer at home doesn't have internet so I'm always waiting for luke to bring his home. I think he should just let me use his old one permanently, but it tends to get left at the office. I have a picture of the relatives and my pie to post. :)

We had a great weekend. Friday I got a massage :) yay! and then we went to Jon & Christine's for a teen event. Were going to teach the junior high kids at church. We had our first day yesterday and it went well. The kids are really excited. And were excited too. Anyways, we played games and ate and stuff on Friday night. Saturday luke did homework and I took a nap and we had Christel & Kevin over for dinner. They are going to have a baby in May! We are so excited for them. Christel said she wanted a friend to be pregnant with and she thought of me first. Um, not this time. We told her maybe on their second kid we can be pregnant together. We have so much fun with them. We dont even have to be doing anything, we just always have lots to talk about.

My tomatoes are growing like weeds! I had two tomatoes all summer and now that its fall they are just growing like crazy. go figure!There are two big ones that haven't grown in like a month and are still green, and then the other plant (the one I thought would die) has probably a dozen little green ones growing. I hope they actually turn red so we can eat them.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

yucky day...

According to my computer, it is 53 degrees and cloudy in Bozeman. According to my work parking lot, its been raining off and on today. Its such a blah day. I just want to be at home taking a nap. We were quite busy last night with the relatives and then were up early (5:30) for a meeting. Im getting to where I will need toothpicks to prop open my eyes. But I still have two and a half hours of work and a babysitting adventure to look forward to. Good thing I'm having a good hair day! Its a little glimmer of sunshine in an otherwise cloudy day. And I missed my gym time because they have the water turned off to fix a pipe and trust me, nobody wants me to workout and then not have a shower;)

Also, we were invited to the 1st annual Head Start Fundraising Gala scheduled for 10-30-08. Our good friend Christel is the coordinator. It looks like a fabulous event. I am donating a massage or two to be auctioned off to help save a child's education. Tickets are $30 for individuals, $50 for couples, and a table sponsor (8 seats) is $200. Let me know if you're interested. Its a great cause.

PS- My pie was delish! I made Luke take a picture of me with the pie, so I'll post it later.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

OW

For some strange reason I have yet to figure out, I decided to RUN today at the gym. After my weights I had 15 minutes of cardio so I ran for 8, walked for 2, ran for 5. I thought my legs were going to fall off!!! My calfs burned! But I learned an important lesson to ALWAYS STRETCH before running.
kelsie

Busy!

This weekend was crazy! Luke's Dad's cousin (Joann) and her daughter (Terri) were here visiting from Kansas. We got to spend some time with them on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. And Luke's mom Vicki was here on Saturday afternoon and Sunday to visit as well. We had a full (& clean:)) house. We were able to show Joann and Terri the Gallatin Gateway Inn and pictures from our wedding, so it was almost like they were there. It was nice to just visit with them.

Sunday evening luke went to a friend's house to visit with the visiting Pastor, Jerry Thorpe, and I went to Helena to see my friend Theresa & Jon. I had a doctor's appointment Monday, so I like to go up and stay with them on Sunday night. It was soo good to see Tree. And her baby bump! They are having little Caleb Steven on February 4, 2009. I'm so excited for them! She is an adorable expecting mommy.

My doctors appt went very well. I'm doing great and won't need to go back until March. yay!

Also, I baked a pie last night. well, I made the pie (rhubarb from Ralph & Lynn's garden) last night and baked it this morning. I'll have to take a picture to post. I hope its yummy!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

It's fall!

I LOVE fall. I love that the weather starts getting cooler and I can wear sweaters and long sleeved shirts and actual shoes. I love coming home and snuggling on the couch with a good book or a movie or my husband and a blanket. I love that school starts again. I love football season. I dont love that it means its almost winter. Bozeman is in full fall mode. Its been in the 60s this week. Its so great!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

A great birthday celebration

Luke had a great birthday yesterday! He got cards from his boss & coworker, giftcards, gifts, lots of phone calls and texts, and gifts from his dad and Okey. We had dinner with Okey, Bob, and the Hamptons last night. It was a lot of fun. MacKenzie River Pizza is the perfect place for birthday dinners. The best, however, was lukes gift from his boss' son Brayton. Brayton is starting kindergarten today, and he picked out a Transformers card and a Transformers block thing for Luke. Apparently he was REALLY REALLY REALLY excited to give Luke his gift. It was this little square that looks like the square thing they put into the transformers at the end of the movie. Its kind of like a puzzle piece. But anyways, it morphs into all these pictures of the transformers. Its pretty fun to play with actually. Its 8 little boxes that are hooked to gether in strategic ways so you just fold and unfold until you get something new. I dont know how to explain this better. And Bob gave luke some ties that had belonged to Luke's grandfather. It was a fun night. And now Luke and I are the same age for about a month, after which I will resume my cougar status.

kelsie

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Happy Birthday Luke!

Today is a special day in Frazierville. Luke is 26 today! yay! This weekend we had a little surprise trip to Fairmont to celebrate (a surprise for Luke - I planned it), and dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, the Uptown Cafe. Its amazing. You get soup, bread, salad, clams maison (which I always wonder if they are in real clam shells, or just special cooking shells), the main course, plus we usually get dessert. We had chocolate mousse this time and it was delish! Swimming at Fairmont was wonderful except it started sleeting, which wasn't that much fun. Sunday night/Monday morning it snowed. So there we are at Fairmont, no sweatshirts or coats, with snow on the ground, and luke in flip flops. So we made a little stop at the Butte Plaza mall for a hoodie and a fleece. Then it was lunch with grandma, and home to clean and do homework. Plus I made chocolate chip banana bread. yummy! Last night we watched I want someone to eat cheese with. It was stupid, I wouldn't recommend it. And tonight we'll have dinner with Okey and Bob. If you want to wish luke a happy birthday, call him at 406-240-3432, or email him at luke.frazier@gmail.com.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Loss of a pet.

Monday was a sad day in the Eggensperger household. Our beloved cat, Hayley, was put to sleep. I got hayley for my 10th birthday. She was the runt of the litter, from the barn cat of a lady that worked for my parents. I named her Hayley because she smelled like Hay. (This makes sense in the world of a 4th grader.) She was a good kitty. In fact, she was hardly ever called her real name, only "kitty." She even survived one of my brothers sticking her in the microwave once. Luckily he didn't turn it on. As she got older she got more angry and really only loved my parents. Scott and Mark pretty much hated her. She got epilepsy in her old age and my parents had to give her special medication so she wouldn't have seizures. My mom took her to the vet on Monday because she had lost feeling in her back end and the vet (a friend of ours) suggested we put her down. My mom agreed because she didn't want to drag out her life when she was miserable. Poor kitty. I happened to call home on Monday after work and Scott answered the phone. Bad idea. Do you think he was caring and gentle when he told me the cat died? No. He told me first thing that "mom gave the cat the electric chair." Me: What? Scott: "She electrocuted the cat." Hes so mean. And a smart aleck. My poor mom is crying and scotts asking her if they put a little band around her head and if mom got to look through a little window at her. Hes so heartless sometimes. Alli said every time she goes home her brother tells her to say good-bye to the cat. I asked her why we got stuck with punk brothers. We have no idea.

Anyways, good bye Kitty. We'll miss you.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Alaska Photos


The entire reason for the trip: Hally & Dustin's wedding. Love these guys! And Hally looked so beautiful. The wedding was Wonderful!

Our fish before it was packed and sent.

Look! I found a Captain Jack's in Alaska. I love it! Captain Jack was actually a SHE and she packs and ships the fish to you. We got Captain Jack's Seafood Locker T-shirts with the slogan: You whack 'em, We pack 'em!

Captain John, the skipper of our boat, the Nautigirl, cutting up our fish.

Here we are with our "crew" in front of all the fish we caught. Luke caught one of the huge salmon. We also caught four of the rockfish, which are pretty much the ugliest things EVER!

This is a picture of us in our "rain suits". We thought it was going to rain on the trip, which it only sprinkled, but the suits protected us from splattering fish blood.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Flight Canceled....

We for thouse of you who have been keeping up with our airport adventures. We are currently stuck in the Anchorage Airport until about 2:30. Our flight at a 8:30am was canceled because of no flight crew. The 2:30 flight was the first flight that they could get us on so now we get home at 11:40pm Montana time. Which for this trip is par for the course.

I have to say that we had a lot of fun here in Alaska and we wouldn't have changed a thing. God is teaching us patience... We had a really sweet rebooking lady who bent the rules and put is in first class because of all the hassle and we are enjoying the comfort of the boardroom in Anchorage while we wait.

We would be happy to conduct tours of airport as we know our way around... Just give us a shout.

We'll post more pictures today or tomrrow of our adventures.

Luke

Alaska Adventures: Part Deux

For the record, we didn't get out of the BZN airport until 2 oclock on friday, the time we should have been arriving in Anchorage. We ended up flying in at 9 oclock Anchorage time (11 oclock bozeman time). Needless to say, we were exhausted! Luckily Luke got us an upgrade to first class for the anchorage flight where we got personal service, blankets, pillows, and mini tv thingys. Luke watched Shark and I watched Juno.

Here is a recap of the adventures.
Friday we got up early and drove to Seward. Its about 2 hour drive. Once we got there we had a behind the scenes tour of the Alaska Sea Life Center. It was hosted by the retired post master. We saw the seals and the holding tanks and the tops of some of the exhibits. It was cool. I LOVE aquariums and zoos. Luke tolerates them for me.

Next was a frantic search for fishing licenses because we managed to forget them at the hotel. LUCKILY, its only $5 for a replacement license. Phew! Then we went to the boat to go fishing. Now, I will say that I wasn't sold on the fishing idea and I was mostly going because Luke wanted to, but I LOVE FISHING!!!! I'm completely addicted. If we cold have gone again today (Saturday), I would have. We were aboard the "Nautigirl" under the direction of catain John. It was a small boat with a little cabin and a little open back part where you fished from. We drove like an hour and a half out of the bay to the ocean where we fished. I had a lucky pink lure-thingy that looked like a fake squid. I hooked one right away but he got away and broke off my lucky pink lure in the process. SAD! Then we got into some serious fishing. It was sooo much fun. Captain John taught us how to measure our line down to 25-30 feet and then you just troll for the fish. I even put my own bait on. Once you feel the fish bite, you jerk your rod up to hook him and then "wind wind wind" as fast as you can to get him up. Captain john grabs him with a rubbery net when it gets close enough. Then they flop around on the deck or he is able to dump them in the fish holder box. Sometimes he had to hit them with a bat because they just kept flopping and floppig and flopping on the deck. There was another woman on board and the first time it was flopping on the deck we kept scooting back because we didn't want to get whacked by it. It was super fun though. I loved it. I ended up catching two 10-12 lb Silver Salmon, and Luke caught one 15 lb silver. He had another like 20 lb-er on the line but it swan under the boat and got caught in another guy's line and broke off. We each lost a few other fish, plus caught two rockfish apiece. Rock fish are pretty much the ugliest fish ever, but according to Captain John, some of the best eating. On the trip back into the dock there was serious weather and it felt like we were on a super long carnival rid. We were airborn several times. Once we got back we hung up all our fish, took our pictures, then Captain John cut them up and we brought them to Captain Jack's fish packing for packing and shipping back home. We ended up fedexing back 21 lbs of fish. yikes! I hope it all fits in our freezer. Then we trekked back to Anchorage, stopping in Girdwood for dinner at Chair 5, which was kind of a ripoff. It was very Whitefish/Bigfork/old Bozeman type.

Today, saturday, we slept really late (10:38 ish) and then walked to the open air market, but we were kind of cranky from not having eaten yet and we didn't find anything good to eat so we walked to the mall and found a coffee/smoothie place. Then we went to a few souvenir shops, had lunch at the hotel, and I took a nap while Luke went to pick up Dustin and help him get dressed. The wedding was soo wonderful. It was at this beautiful spot with a lake and huge picture windows. The ceremony was outside and it rained, but not too badly. Then we came back inside and had some hors d'ouvres and punch and stuff and danced a bit (luke danced! shocker!) and took pictures in a photo booth (I'll paste later) and just had a good time. Hally looked gorgeous and Dustin didn't look too shabby either.

Tomorrow our plane leaves at like 8:30. Hopefully we won't be holding tours of the Anchorage airport.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Bozeman Airport.... Part 2

Well... We are still here at the airport so we might as well update y'all on the status. We are now leaving for Seattle at 12:37pm. Hopefully that will be the last flight change... There is not much to do in the airport, so I have been on the phone with Shea Homes and our friend Tammy Hampton and the kids Trevor, Tyler, and Colby are coming for a visit! Kelsie decided to take some pictures with our new camera in the airport so I thought we might as well post some photos!




If anyone wants a tour of the airport we are here and ready to be your guides so stop by our hours of operation are currently from 10:20am to Noon (we need time to board the plane). We will return Sunday at 5:10pm and will be open from 5:10pm to 5:30pm then we are closed for the season...

Enjoy the pictures.

Luke

The amazing wonder that is the Bozeman airport

Its 8:13 and we're sitting in the Bozeman airport. Weve been here since 6:30. Our flight was supposed to leave at 7:55 but some yay-hoo in Butte forgot to plug in the airplane, so apparently the battery has to be plugged in to charge for a few hours before the plane can come get us. Luke told the ticket agent that it's my grandmas fault, since she lives in Butte. The agent laughed and got us upgraded to 1st class for our flight to Anchorage (from Seattle). As of now the BZN->SEA flight isn't scheduled to leave until 12:30. That will be 6 hours in the Bozeman airport. I dont know how many of you have been to the Bozeman airport, but it looks the same as it did when Luke was a kid. And there's nothing to do. At least in Seattle there are shops and restaurnts. We only have a Montana gift shop and a restaurant, which we've already eaten at. Oh yawn! I tried to take a nap, but it messed up my hair. And there's horrible elevator music playing above our heads. sick. Earlier they played the Police "every breath I take" via elevator music. Lovely. So, if anyone out there is reading this and is in Bozeman, come visit us. Were sitting behind the giant Grizzly bear. And we'll be here for like another 4 hours.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Time flies

I can't believe that TOMORROW we leave for Alaska. Weve been planning the trip to see Dustin and Hally get married for probably over 6 months and its finally here. yikes! I've been so consumed with my cervix that I haven't really thought about it. Yesterday we bought rain ponchos at target for the fishing expedition. Its only a half day. Hopefully we catch a lot and can have a little fish feed when we get back. Luke is soo excited to go fishing. Me, not as much, I haven't been fishing in probably 17 years. But as the adage goes..."When in rome, do as the romans do." So I guess being in Alaska equals fishing. And were going to go to a sweet aquarium. That should be cool. And we just got a new camera so there will be lots of pictures to post. And Alaska is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous, so Im sure that will help too!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Glacier Park adventures




Were about a week late on this post, but with everything that went on last week, I think its okay. The weekend of the 12th we went to Kalispell to visit Luke's mom. It was a blast. Luke got to play handyman. And we went hiking in glacier. Here are some pictures from the hike to Avalanche Creek. Apparently its the most popular hike in the park. Probably because its a bit on the easy side. It was a workout, but it was good. There's Vicki on the hike, Luke and I at the climax of the hike, and the sunset outside Bozeman on the way home through the sideview mirror of the truck. Random, I know, but it looked pretty. :)

Feeling like a million bucks!

Well, Im sure all two of my readers are on edge waiting to see how my procedure went. I passed with flying colors. And valium is my new BFF. Just kidding! It sure helped with the anxiety though. Luke said I was really loud and talkative. I didn't think I was being loud and talkative though. I just felt like I was a bit unstable - kind of a tipsy feeling. We saw some friends of ours there (getting a checkup from her C-section with their new baby) and apparently I announced to them AND the waiting room that I was getting my cervix electrocuted. Or tasered, as alli says.In my defense, there were like two other people in the waiting room, maybe. Anyways, it all went really well. I haven't had any pain, or bleeding, which is good. Besides being extremely tired Wednesday and Thursday, I was a champ. Prayer really does make a difference!! I feel really good now too. I feel like I have more energy since the mini operation. Life is good!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Today's the DAY!

It is 11:17 on Wednesday morning. In approximately 90 minutes I will be in the stirrups getting ready for a cervix electrocution/taser (aka a LEEP procedure). Talk about anxious! I'm sooo glad I was prescribed valium for the occasion. That whole thing with electricity and my lady parts just scares the heck out of me! This is like the longest morning of my life. I just want to get it all over with. I'm taking the afternoon and tomorrow off to recover. Luke hooked up the cable downstairs in the bedroom, so I can watch my shows all day. (And because we gave away our 51" tv that was upstairs.) And hopefully study for my massage exam because I am a super slacker!

Im so nervous!!!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Thursday: the NEW Friday

I think I said that my boss decided to take Fridays off during the month of August. Which is pretty exciting. Last Friday I was super productive cleaning and such. So now Thursdays are like Fridays because its the last day of the work week. YAY! We have a big weekend planned. Were going to a friend's house for dinner tonight, and then driving to Kalispell tomorrow to see Luke's mom. Were stopping in Butte hopefully for a few minutes to say hi to my 89 year old Grandma. Then we have eye appointments and hopefully a lunch date in Missoula. Then its off to Kalispell. There's some talk of hiking in Glacier, which could be cool. I'll try to take lots of pictures! We borrowed some books on cd from the library the other night, so hopefully that keeps me entertained. I tend to have a very short attention span in the car. However, in marriage class we've been discussing how women like face-to-face contact and men like shoulder-to-shoulder contact. They dont even need to be talking, just sitting together. Or for instance if Luke was working on the car I could be outside painting my nails or something but not neccesarily talking. So Im giong to try to log some serious shoulder-to-shoulder time in the car this weekend. Its always nice to take a break from life here and just spend time together and a weekend away, even if its with our families.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Secret life of the American Newlywed...

Okay, I'll admit it. Were addicted to the Secret Life of the American Teenager. LOVE IT! How do I always find these shows about high schoolers? Im such a nerd. But we always watch it. Last night we watched last week's AND this week's. So fun. Its kind of like a soap opera, in that not much happens. Its very slow to evolve. But very good. We love it. Luke thinks it should be a movie. So, will Amy and the sausage prince get married? Will the dad come back? What kind of shenanigans will Ashley get in to? We dont know! Can't wait for next week!

My massage business has doubled. Ha ha. In the sense that I had two clients last week and two clients this week, in contrast to the usual one/week. But hey, thats great! Im not complaining. Im thinking one of these days I should actually pay myself.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

A Bouquet of Freshly Sharpened Pencils

I love back to school. Theres just something about all the new clothes and new school supplies that is exciting! Im not going back to school (Thank GOD!) but when I was in Staples yesterday I was excited for all the fun new school supplies. Things have gotten so much cooler than when I was growing up. Its not just boring blue and black spiral notebooks and #2 pencils anymore. Theres all these FUN colored notebooks, folders, binders, pens, pencils, markers, clippies, paperclips, post-its... It makes me want to get an office makeover. I think this little fetish of mine comes from when I was little and I used to go to Kalispell with my dad to print the newspaper. We always went to Blake's office supplies, where there was an ENTIRE ROW of every pen/marker/pencil you could imagine. My dad would always let me pick one out. It was usually pink or purple (big surprise, huh?). Maybe Luke will get a Kelsie-style school supply makeover. I's sure he'd love it!

I was talking my friend Joanne yesterday, whom I grew up with. Her son is starting kindergarten this year. Can you imagine that someone my age can have a kindergartener? I can't even imagine having a baby at this point, let alone a kindergartener!! Its hard to believe!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Saying Good-bye

Tomorrow our friends Aaron and Sara & Luka leave for a three-plus month road trip all over the U.S. They have to be in Arkansas Sunday evening I think. Thats a long trip from the Bozone. I can't imagine a) being gone that long, b) being in the car 8+ hours a day for that long, c) being in the car that long with a 3-year old, or d) packing for that long. Wow. I get bored during a three hour car trip, so I can't imagine. I hope they have lots of books on tape. Its sad because we spend a lot of time with them. Sara and I have been having coffee together once a week for probably a year or more. Who will I get my Leaf & Bean fix from? And Luke and Aaron spend a lot of time together doing random things like working on cars and looking at guns and just being boys. And we both love the little man. Luckily they're not moving all the way across the world, but it feels like it. We will miss them horribly but wish them the best in their endeavor. And in the mean time, we're just going to have to find some more friends to tide us over.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

the Final Answer

I finally got an answer out of the gynecologist's office. I do have to have a LEEP procedure, where they basically electrically cut out the bad cells in my cervix. Yeah, that sounds like fun! Especially the part about injecting it with anesthesia stuff so that it's numb. Yuck! But I get some days off work, so thats a plus. Im going in on August 13th in the afternoon. My FNP said that it will probably help my lupus because then my body wont be fighting so hard to fix the bad cells and it can focus on other things. I wanted to do it ASAP, but she said we need time to heal from the biopsies a few weeks ago. White puts the LEEP a week before we go to Alaska. Meaning a total damper on our romantic weekend. My boss said I should get some valium before I go in so that its not as painful/traumatic. It sounds like a good idea to me! The less I remember, the better.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Weekend Pictures




The first one is at Ted's. The second one is at the Casting Crowns Concert.

great weekend!

Okay, so Im a big slacker. It was a busy weekend. Friday I wasn't feeling that great but got in a visit with my mom on her way back through town. Then I took a nap in the afternoon and felt much better. We went to the Casting Crowns concert that night with our friends Aaron and Sara, who took us out for sushi before the concert. It was a great night. Despite the girl in front of us who wouldn't sit down. We were in the 2nd row just off to the right. Great seats. Again, minus the girl in front of us who was REALLY into it. Saturday I helped with the AOII garage sale from 8-4 and luke ran errands and worked on computers. I got some great stuff. An office chair, a bunch of clothes, two printers, and Luke grabbed some odds and ends too. I was surprised, because I was picking out clothes at the end as we were boxing things up and got 4 skirts, a dress, a jacket, and 3 shirts. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Kerry, Sheree, Jen and Janna all day. On saturday night we went to Ted's montana grill with Okey, Aaron, Sara, and their son Luke. It was good. They make amazing onion rings. I had a hamburger and it was awesome. I could only eat half. Bring an appetite when you go! Yesterday we just kind of hung out. I took a nap. It was pretty chill. We went to church in the morning and it was our first time to actually attend in a month. We had been teaching 3 & 4 year olds for the past 4 weeks. Now THAT is a good dose of birth control.

My test results are in, but it must not be too bad. They're not sure if they want to do the procedure, or do more testing. Hopefully they call today with a decision.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

A Nice Surprise

Yesterday morning my mom called and she was coming through Bozeman so me, Luke, my brother Scott, and my cousin Michael all met her for lunch. It was soo nice. Its always good to see the parentals, and it was good to see Scott and Mike too. You'd think that since my brothers and I all live within a mile of eachother that we'd see eachother on a semi-regular basis. Not so much. I only see Scott when he mows the lawn at work, and I only see mark when he needs something from me. Or when we all get together with my parents. We ate at WeeBees, the new restaurant by the ridge. It was pretty good. Kind of healthy gourmet. A wee bit on the expensivo side, but it was good. And it was a nice atmosphere. We had a lot of fun laughing about Scott and Michael's river float with Michael's parents and their crew. Apparently there was a dress up day on the river. Michael & Scott and their friend Woody dressed up white trash. My aunt dressed like britney spears, my uncle like zz top, my cousin matt at elvis, and my cousin healy as something I can't remember at this moment. There were even float trip T-Shirts, and an award ceremony. Wow! Sounds like a lot of fun. But if you know my aunt, this is her to a T. I want to be like that someday. I'm always a fan of dressing up.

I still haven't heard on my test results. Hopefully today.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Hail Mary



We had TWO cRaZy intense hail storms yesterday. The first rain/hail storm happened at about 3 and caused major flooding in town. I could barely see the parking lot at work, as it was completely white, plus the rain was causing a serious river down towards Albertsons. Then we had a second crazy hail/rain storm at about 6:15/6:30, right after I got home. Was I worried about flooding? no. Was I worried about my car? no. I was worried about .... my tomatoes! I decided to try my thumb at gardening this year and planted two tomato plants in buckets. They have had a rough year with all the rain and snow and Friday's hail storm. Then yesterday's storm(s) were not good either. The hail pretty much stripped all the leaves and most the branches from the littler plant. Plus it cut off one of the two tomatoes that were actually growing on the stronger plant. Here is a picture of my two sad plants now, and of all the leaves that came off. I had to shovel hail out of the plants last night with a spatula. Sad! Hopefully they come through. I am really excited about my new gardening skills. And since summer is already half over, I dont know if replaning is really an option. But Im hoping that they are hearty. They've already survived snow and hail, so hopefully they can survive more hail.

PS- I am supposed to get my test results back today. Say a little prayer for me.

Monday, July 21, 2008

no fair!

Well, I was so excited about going to the fair and then after the flash flood storm/freak hail downpour we ended up forgoing it for MacRiver Pizza. Which is excellent, but a little disappointing because I was looking forward to fair food. Then we played Apples to Apples. And went to Perkins for dessert, where we had the most idiotic waiter on earth! we had to ask him for creamer for our coffee like three times and then he gave it to the table behind us. Then when Christel asked about the chipper dessert he told her, then goes "so did you want the malt, or the shake?"....."or the chipper?" He was definitely a piece of work. But I haven't laughed that hard is a loonnnggg time, so it was definitely worth it.

Friday afternoon I had my colposcopy, which is like a pap smear on steroids. Whenever I go in she's like oh, Im sure we'll just look at it and we probably won't have to do any biopsies. And everytime she has to do biopsies. This time she did 3 I think. And she said that she could definitely see some changes. I asked good changes or bad changes? She doesn't think its cancer, but it sounds like I'll have to have this procedure:http://www.webmd.com/cancer/cervical-cancer/loop-electrosurgical-excision-procedure-leep-for-abnormal-cervical-cell-changes#hw28187. Yay, that sounds like fun. My test results come back on Wednesday.

Friday, July 18, 2008

the FAIR

We are planning on going to the fair tonight (contingent on how I feel after my dr. appt) with our friends Christel & Kevin. In my roughly 7 years in Bozeman I have never been to the Gallatin County Fair. I haven't even been to the Sanders County Fair since 2000. I can't believe you have to pay to get in to the fair here. That seems ridiculous (I also can't believe how much you pay to get into the Sweet Pea Festival, but thats another story). Maybe Im just small town naive. The Sanders County Fair was always free. And you only had to pay like $1 or $2 to park. And most people parked outside the fairgrounds for free. Anyways...What do you do at the fair? Obviously there is lots of yummy, fattening, carolie laden foods to eat, and 4-H exhibits to look at, but what else do you do? Im not much of a ride person (mostly because of scary Carnies and dirty rides) and I dont know what else there is...
According to the website (http://www.gallatin.mt.gov/Public_Documents/gallatincomt_fairgrounds/CountyFair/Fair) there is a petting zoo, clown, a rodeo queen pageant (I wonder if its too late to enter? you probably need a horse to be a rodeo queen though. and a cowbow hat. and some fancy sparkly shirt. and probably cowboy books. I only have a belt, so that probably eliminates my entry. Although, I would make an excellent rodeo queen.), music, and a blood drive. So maybe we'll just walk around and stuff our faces. I'll have to bring the camera with me.

Also, I think we might try to go to the library book sale tomorrow. Were suckers for books.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Our Pseudo Kid



This is our friends' (Aaron & Sara) son Luke. He was the ring bearer in our wedding. Hes like the cutest kid ever. Luke has known him since he was a baby, but Ive only known him for just under 2 years. Its so fun to watch him grow. He wanted a t-ball set for his birthday last month so we got him one. He knew we were too, so he was telling everyone that we were getting him one. It was pretty funny. I made a really fun baseball bag to carry all the t-ball stuff in too. It had a drawstring and a shoulder strap kind of like a golf bag.

This picture was taken last week. He was kind of cranky because he had just woken up and Sara and I were driving out to a meeting (My luke and Aaron were in the truck). I was trying to distract luke from being cranky so I gave him my sunglasses to wear. He looked so stinkin cute that I had to take a picture.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

massage test

I told myself that I would start studying for my national massage exam in Mid July so that I can take it in September. Last night I was true to my word and studied for an hour or an hour and a half. I am not ready at all! Good thing I started early.

In other news...I lose my office space on August 15th. Hopefully we get a new tennant who will be open to sharing an office with me. :) Otherwise I might become a traveling therapist.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Feeling like...ME!

I finally am feeling better today. YAY! I was sick of feeling like crap. See, just a fluke virus, Im not pregnant (sorry Jules!). But my friend Tree IS! yay! Im so excited for her and Jon. They are going to make amazing parents.

My friends Zach & McCall just moved to Washington and met someone at a Dog Park that graduated high school with me. I was wondering who it was and it turns out its my friend April that I have completely lost touch with. April was one of my best friends in junior high and high school so I was really excited that they met her. Hopefully we can get in touch somehow. I dont think she has a facebook.

In other news: Step Up 2: The Streets comes out today. Alli and I are going to have a long distance movie date. Im not sure when, but we will.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Long weekend...

Well, we had a pretty quiet, uneventful weekend. I was sick for most of it - whatever I have is kicking my butt! Mostly just tired and nauseous though. Today Im back at work though and hopefully I can kick this soon. We watched a lot of movies this weekend, and heres a recap:
Stop-Loss - a war movie with ryan phillipe and the step up guy. Actually good. Im not one for war movies but I liked it.
PS - I love you, Good, but I cried the WHOLE movie. Normally I just cry at little parts, but this one I cried the whole time. Luckily, luke was asleep so he couldn't make fun of me.
The Walker - with Woody from cheers. Pretty dumb. Kind of weird and dark. I wouldn't recommend it.
The American President - one of our faves! Always a good flick. :)
Picture This - new Ashley Tisdale/abc family flick. Typical high school flick. Kind of cute.
It seems like maybe we watched another movie, but I can't think of which one.

Friday, July 11, 2008

sick...

Yesterday I was sooo sick. Yucky, icky, nasty sick. I thought I was going to die. But lukey was sooo good to me. He took really good care of me and brought me liquids and soup and crackers and last night he put me to bed after I fell asleep on the couch. What a nice husband. And luckily, has has a steel immune system, so he probably won't get sick. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I was in bed for almost 36 hours straight, minus a few trips upstairs to lay on the couch. And just walking up the stairs wore me out. This morning I was fried after taking a shower and putting on my makeup. I could barely dry my hair. And now Ive been at work for a little over 2 hours and Im ready for a nap. Im thinking about grabbing the massage blanket and laying on the couch. or on the floor, that way if someone comes in they wont see me laying on the couch.

I'm so glad its the weekend!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Not a fan of sun

I think the sun is abnormally strong this year. I have already been sunburt and have spent virtually no time in the sun besides walking from my car to my office/gym/wal-mart/whatever. Take today. I just did a little errand for my boss. I walked the 20 feet to my car, drove across town, walked across the street, up to a guys porch, back to my car, drove back, and walked the 20 feet to my office. And I am SUNBURT!!! Seriously my arms are all pink and red. I dont think I was outside for more than like 3 minutes. On the one day I forgot to put on sunblock. boo. Im going to have a farmer tan for the wedding this weekend. And my finger joints are already stiffening up. Today is just the longest day...

Wedding Season


It is the season/summer of weddings! Weve already been to three weddings this summer, plus a 50th anniversary party, and we have a wedding this weekend, three in august, one in september, and potentially one in december! We've been as far south as Dallas, TX and will be as far north as Anchorage, AK. We'll make it to Geraldine, MT and potentiallly Washington. This weekend is my boss' son's wedding. She has been so wired about this for a looonnnngggg time. Looking for the perfect dress, the perfect jewelry, the perfect shoes. Its cute. Last thursday I spent my day at her house wrapping gifts, wrapping napkins, and dusting. Earlier this week I made signs for Elizabeth's gopher to use when he picks people up at the airport and hotel. Thursday I will help her to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. It will be nice when the wedding is over and things get back to normal around here. The best part however, is that she finished her cookbook in order to give it to the bride at the shower. I have been typing recipes for this cookbook since November. Its been through three rounds of edits. You could say Im a bit sick of it. Yesterday I finished the final edit and then printed it, designed a cover, and today I brought them to be bound. ahhh, relief! Typing a recipe or two doesn't seem that daunting, but when you have over 150 pages, and some pages have more than one recipe per page, its a lot.

Heres the finished product. And you better believe I made myself a copy too!