Our House (Pre-move-in)

This is Richard, never done this before but here are some pics of our house before me moved in:

Replaced the white fridge with a bigger, black one:
Glass shower is cool when Jena's in there, super lame when I'm in there:

The four bedrooms are back to the left:

Lots of rock in the back yard I have to shovel up and replace with grass in October (it's 115 degrees right now, give me a break!):

I'm sure Jena will want to fix my post and we will add some that show off how well she has decorated the place. It looks great! She's just really busy with school and finishes her first quarter next week! So call and congratulate her!!!!

By the way, Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried...

Jonsey Milestones

Since is has been a couple days since my last post, I thought would get back into the bloggers grove by showing some of our major accomplishments and milestones. It has been a very interesting few months and we have a lot of time and money to do all the things we want......

Exhibit A: Richard's hair. Since Richard knows I am a supreme stylist he asked me to make him look more handsome. This is what I came up with. Eat your heart our ladies, but remember he is taken. 

Never Smile At A Crocodile....

Richard finally got some time off and we had a whole day to spend together. WOOHOO!  I was so excited. We decided to spend the day at the Billie Swamp Safari. We have been wanting to go for a while and, even with the hurricane bringing in all the storms, we decided to make the long drive and hope for the best. 

It was raining for most of our drive, and it took forever to get out to the middle of the everglades, but we finally made it. Since there was still a thunderstorm going on, we had to wait for hours to be able to get in the air boat, but finally there was a break in the storm and we fought all the rest of the tourists to get a spot on one of the few boats that went out. 

We saw all kinds of animals on the ride next to the banks of the river, but finally near the end, we came around a big corner and there they were....

There were tons of Alligators! They were coming up to the  boat, and I could have reached out and touched them. One even started getting a little crazy and tried climbing in with the Chinese family in the very front. I think they got more adventure than they bargained for. 

Despite living next to the mean alligators, all the rest of the animals there seemed to be extremely happy. First there was a water turkey , dancing around on his branch....

...a BIG turtle that took time to smile for the camera....

....even some warthogs who loved getting their picture taken

But the adventure didn't stop there. We saw lot of animals back on shore, including this boa constrictor who made himself comfortable on top of my shoulders, and who kept trying to take my necklace. You might wonder where my husband was during this... I'm sure he was off taming wild animals on his own.... 

Wow, I'm so lucky to be married to such a big, brave, man. 

We Had a Great Time, And I'm Not LION

Last week I went with my great friend Breelyn and her sister-in-law to Lion Country Safari. We had a great time. As soon as we entered the gates, it was like we were suddenly on an African safari, besides the fact that there were 50 other cars and fences all around us. I have seen most of these animals at the zoo, but it's a whole different experience when they are standing just a few feet away from your car. Especially the big ones, like this rhino, who could flip us over at any moment if he decided to. 

There were tons of Zebras, and I loved them. It looked just like the discovery channel, I kept waiting for a Lion to come out of the trees and start chasing them, but they were in maximum security in their own little part of the reserve. 

My favorite part of the entire day was feeding the Giraffes. They were the cutest things I have ever seen. They have tongues that are 12 inches long and they would stick them all the way out and wrap them around my entire hand to try to get the food I was holding. Sounds kind of gross, but they really were adorable.

Our last stop was a giant cage full of parrots. They were everywhere, and they were so friendly at first. They would land on our shoulders and sit on our fingers. This one was fascinated with my hair. He kept digging into my head, like he was trying to find food in there or something. 

But then things started getting crazy when we got them a little cup full of food. They were fighting over it, and biting at our fingers when we tried taking it away from them. When they started dive bombing from the trees, it was time for us to get out of there, I managed to get this picture before we ran out. Don't be deceived by how cute he looks. 

The next day, it was off to the beautiful beaches in Fort Lauderdale. They have great shop and restaurants lining the beach. Everything is so clean and beautiful, and EXPENSIVE. 

We attempted to climb the palm trees and failed miserably...

...so we just sat in front of them instead

We stayed long enough that we were able to watch the sun set.

It was so nice to be able to spend two whole days just enjoying ourselves in Florida. I love living next to the ocean and I'm really going to miss this place when we leave. But I'm excited to come home and start working normal hours and spending more time with my wonderful husband. This has been a great experience for us and I am so glad we had the chance to live in beautiful Florida.

Disney World Is The Greatest Place On Earth

Last weekend we decided to take a little vacation with our friends Robbie and Viviane to Disney World, and we had so much fun. We only had one day to be there, so we left at 4:30 in the morning and drove to Orlando, and spent the day running in between rides to get in as much as 

we possibly could. We started in Animal Kingdom, then MGM Studios, and finished in Magic Kingdom, and by 11 we were completely exhausted, but I think we were able to get to every major ride and show in each park. For the fireworks we met up with my cousin Sarah and her family, and stayed with them in their hotel. It was so great to see them, I wish we would have had more time. It was not a relaxing vacation, but we had so much fun being together. Here are a few pictures.... 

Richard right before the Tower of Terror, what a baby! 

In front of the TREE OF LIFE (Right after the rapids ride...that's why were all wet.)

In MGM studios in front of "New York City" (For those of you who don't know, New York City is actually in New York, not Florida, this is just a cardboard set)

I got this picture specifically for my little sisters, look how excited I am, they had a whole High School Musical cast there and they were doing the wildcats dance, I was feeling the Disney magic.  

And finally one of the smaller animals from our Animal Kingdom safari. It was a great trip. 

Our life in Florida

Florida is amazing and beautiful but I can't wait to get back to normal life!!! AHHH We had an interesting couple of weeks. For the 4th Richard worked all day and then we went to a movie that got out later than we anticipated so we were rushing to get to the fireworks at the beach, but by the time we got there they were done (early because of the rain) and we were stuck in traffic for about an hour. Then we drove around to find fireworks and went to 3 different stores before giving up around 1 am and coming home. What a day. We both missed our families and wish we could have spent the day with them. 

Our friends Creighton and Melissa went home and we miss them like the dickens. We were the only two couples in our apartment complex and now that they are gone we are on our own. We wish them the best and hope they are having fun at home. 

A few of the guys got in a wreck at the office and Richard has had to take the car to work everyday which has really cut into my ability to go to work (since I can't find a ride). It's lucky for me it's an internship and I can take time off, but I am so tired of being stuck in my house all day long until 

Richard gets home around 10. It feels something like this picture. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I even tried taking public transportation until everyone at work convinced me I would have about an 80% chance of getting mugged, that's Florida for you. So what have I been doing lately? Well yesterday I cleaned out every cupboard and closet in our apartment, all the laundry is done, we now have a very detailed monthly budget, my Itunes is perfectly organized, I've watched a few lifetime movies, we have a blog, I've started a new book, and now I've finally run out of things to do, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Our Cruise

Me and Richard went on a cruise with APX last week, and I know that sounds wonderful, but I think it was the worst thing we have ever done together. The boat was so old and dirty, the food was terrible, the pool had mold growing in it, and the only activity was a casino full of old people. We tried to make the best of the situation until it started raining and we were huddled under a small covering with the entire office. We would have jumped off and swam back to shore if Richard wasn't afraid of sharks. 

One Year Ago

Today is my little sisters birthday, Happy Birthday Maren, I love you! Unfortunately, today is also the day that one year ago, Karen, one of my best friends moms, passed away. This picture of her, Joni, and my mom brings so many emotions. I have so much love and such a great respect for these three women, and am so grateful to my own mom and all that she has done for me. Karen, along with her amazing daughter Devri, have played a major role in my life and will always hold a very special place in my heart. I love you Devs.  

My First Posting

I can't believe that I am making a blog! I used to make fun of all the people who had one and now here I am, sitting at home, alone, typing a post. I need to get a hobby. But before I find one here is a short update of our lives: We are living in Florida, selling security systems for the summer. Richard has been doing well, he is a born salesman. I have an internship at a nearby hospital and it's great. We love Florida. I wish we had more time to enjoy the sights. The only thing we do is exercise on the beach as you can see in the picture of us. What a life.