Hard Core Rockers

The Used have been one of mine and Joel's favorite bands since high school, so when we heard they were coming to Spokane, we bought tickets immediately. We had a blast, I will admit I was pooped at the end of the night and basically collapsed into bed but still, fun! I haven't been to many concerts in my days and this was an interesting one... It seemed there was a prereq to have at least one of the following to get into the concert: 4 or more piercings, at least 2 tattoos, or a set of gauged ears. Needless to say, Joel and I felt extremely out of place. We enjoyed the show, The Used didn't even come on until 10:30 and the concert didn't end till 12:30. Can you say school night...I felt like a zombie the next day at work, but definitely worth it :)

Fall Festives

Fall in Spokane is simply breath-taking. Joel and I have a tradition of going to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins each year. This year we went up to Green Bluff, it is a bunch of family owned farms, there are pumpkins, apples, peaches, cherries, strawberries... anything and everything you could dream of. We picked out some super cute pumpkins (none of which got carved) Joel did cut one open to roast the seeds though. Other than that they sat on our porch looking real cute which was perfect! Here are a few pictures from this Fall season.

Pumpkin patch

Just a quick glimpse of the Halloween decorations in our home!

We're still ALIVE

I know I have been horrible about blogging lately... I could tell you how life has just been crazy and blah, blah, blah, but 'aint nobody got time for dat.' Instead I'll catch you up.

          August: 

Joel and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. I cant believe it has been four years already.  We celebrated with a picnic in Coeur de' Alene. The weather was perfect and the lake was beautiful. We had a great time! 

Elder Woodburn returned from Peru on August 16th! Hooray! 

Joel and I surprised my parents and drove down a few days early. We drove all through the night and arrived at like 2 am. We snuck around the back of the house and tapped on their window really loud and creepyish... freaked my mom out, it was great! They were so excited to see us. We spent the next few days getting everything ready for Tyler's homecoming; groccery shopping, cleaning, cooking, baking, and of course making lots and lots of "Welcome home" signs. Most would say we took it too far in that sense. Here are some pictures from Tyler's arrival! 

Note the werido on the right...he took it too far.

We are so glad he's home. He was a little awkward at first but he's back to his good old Beavis ways and we love it!

When it was time for us to go home, my mom, dad and Tyler actually caravanned with us. They came down and spent a few days down here. Tyler had some friends he wanted to see and so it worked out perfectly. We watched some movies, hiked, crafted and just spent some time getting Tyler reacquainted with life and everything he had missed the last 2 years!

We made Fall Wreath... messy crafters

Finished Product

Lucy was depressed when they left

September was my birthday month and so many friends and family made it extra special. Joel decorated the house with balloons and streamers which he thinks is pointless and NEVER does so I was super excited... and he did a great job! My parents sent me a box filled with lots of treats and prizes, I have recently become a bit of a makeup junkie (thanks to my sister) so it was a makeup filled birthday and I loved every minute. My father-in-law started the tradition last year and carried it on this year as well... he celebrates my entire birthday week! So on Friday afternoon, he brought over 7 gift bags with each day of the week on them. Every day, for a week, leading up to my birthday I got a treat, some were silly but all were thoughtful and filled with love. 25 years old, I seriously cannot believe it!!

Oh and before I forget, one of the most important events to happen during the last few months... Joel decided to leave SME Insurance. After much prayer and consideration, we decided that it was more important for our family for Joel to have a job where he can leave work at work, where he can come home at a reasonable hour and spend time with us, a job he could somewhat enjoy. That would never have been the case had he stayed. We are confident that this decision is going to be best for our future family. So, Joel is on the job hunt again... not very fun but I am sure he will find something that is a better fit soon. 

Movie and Fort

We've really had to start getting creative when it comes to date night around here. There are only like 3 restaurants in Spokane that Joel can eat at and they've gotten old real quick so we've had to resort to dates like these: 

Movie Night and a Blanket Fort! 

                                     Even Lucy liked it....

maybe a little too much!

Out of Town Visitors

      My parents dropped James off at the airport on Tuesday (he flew straight to the MTC in Manilla, Phillipines) I wasn't there obviously but I can imagine just how sad it was :( They decided what better way to cheer up then to come on up to Spokane and visit their favorite child... ME!!
      They only stayed for the weekend but since it was Memorial day weekend it was a little longer which was nice. Holly was able to come too which was wonderful! We had a really good time. My mom and I went to the farmers market in Liberty Lake which was so fun and just like old times. We had movie night and of course fit in a little shopping too. On Sunday, we also went to our old ward. It was really nice to see so many old faces. We had dinner and games with some old friends. It was a really nice trip.

Us girls, always take it too far with pictures, I promise my dad and Joel were here too... I'll show you if I can find any pictures of them :p

Best friends forever!

Business Endeavorers

     When we moved back to Spokane in August of last year, one of Joel's buddies from college asked if Joel would be interested in starting a property and casualty insurance agency with him. Joel knew nothing about insurance but business is definitely his thing and I think the challenge of starting a new company was intriguing to him. Getting this new company (SME Insurance Services) up and running has been more than I think any of us bargained for. Anyone who knows Joel, knows that he is an extremely hard worker and puts his full heart into everything. He has been working like crazy, staying up till 1 or 2 in the morning every night and then getting up at 7 and doing it all over again. I don't know how he does it. The business is doing pretty well they have a large company on board which should bring in a lot of leads.
     Joel has worn so many different hats throughout this adventure, I have realized just how many special talents he has. He created the company name Subject Matter Experts- (SME for short) designed the company logo and the entire website as well as created a CRM system for company use. He is such a hard worker and I feel so blessed to have him as my husband :) Below are a few pictures of the company logo that Joel designed and the finished products.

Moving Out

     Joel's parents have been kind enough to let us live with them for the second time since we've been married. We moved in with them in August when we moved back from Arizona and it was only suppose to be for a few weeks... 6 months later, we're finally moving out. I am sure they are grateful for that. We are so grateful they allowed us to live with them during this transition time in our life. It has definitely been crazy the last few months with Joel and starting the new business, but that's a post for another day!
     I started the house search awhile ago, we knew we wanted something with a backyard for Lucy which basically ruled out all apartments. Most decent houses were too expensive which left only condos and duplexes. We ended up finding a triplex we really liked. It has certainly grown on us. The area is not the best, it's pretty sketchy actually (trailer park across the street) but overall it is nice and secluded and right across the street from Winco which has been really nice.There is a tiny (and I mean tiny) backyard for Lucy but at least its something. It has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, perfect for us!
     I have loved spending the last few weeks decorating our new home. We basically sold all of our furniture when we moved up from Arizona so we've been hitting up a lot of thrift stores and garage sales which is perfect. It still needs a lot of work and there are rooms still stuffed full with boxes but the downstairs is pretty much finished so i'll include some pictures of it. I love our little home now!

Dining Room

Kitchen

Bathroom/ Laundry Room

More photos to come!

Spring Break in Utah

I recently returned from a wonderful visit with my family in Utah. Sadly, I am the only kid in my family that was left behind in Washington state when my parents made the move to Utah 3 years ago. So it makes me sad to know they all get to play together every day and I'm up here missing out. We try and visit as often as we can but still it never seems like enough.
My sweet husband agreed to give me up for a few weeks while I flew down to spend time with my parents... he had to work and wasn't able to come :( We had a whole lot of fun those couple weeks. We played hard. We went to Boondocks, mini golfing, bowling, arcade, the movies, shopping, to the delicious Cafe Rio. It was so much fun.

Sure am going to miss this stud!

One of the main reasons for my visit was to say my "goodbyes" to my older brother, James who is leaving on a 2 year LDS mission in May. I won't be able to fly down again in May due to work so with this week being Spring Break I decided this would have to do. (Plus, we could have fun and not be depressed the whole time with the thought of him leaving looming over us.) We had lots of fun together, it was so nice to spend some quality time with James before he leaves.

While I was down there visiting, I even got to go to Salt Lake City to have lunch with my best friend from high school, Lexi and her daughter. I haven't seen her in years and it was so nice to catch up. We had loads of fun at the City Creek Mall and shopped till we dropped! It was a wonderful trip the only thing that would have made it better was if Joel and Tyler were there..... 2 more years till that can happen :(

Any chance at a photo shoot we fully embraced, sorry for the photo overload!

Lunch with Lexi 

#pinkhairdontcare

Too much fun?!

25 years of marriage, still the cutest couple I know

We're gonna miss him!

We think we're cool with our stunner shades on!

Puppy Love

Time to share some Squishy Lucy Love with everyone!

Don't be fooled by that adorable face... she's naughty as they come!

Treats and Prizes for the pooch!

Nap time with Daddy!

Snuggle time with Mommy!

Lucy's Birthday toy... she had the duck's foot torn off and swallowed within
3 minutes. She then threw it up this morning... ON MY PILLOW!

Yep! She's simply adorable! We love her so much and wouldn't trade her for anything... (most days)

Love is in the Air

This year, I decided it would be a good idea to show Joel just how much I love him by doing the 14 days of love for him. So starting February 1st, and every day leading up to Valentines Day I would leave him a special treat or do something kind for him. It was a great idea but in reality, it was a lot of time, energy, planning and just plain work. I loved it, he loved it and I will probably never do it again!

So yeah, it was great! I've included a collage of some of the different treats or prizes. Enjoy!

Best Gag gift ever!

Don't get me wrong. I love Valentines Day and I love the opportunity to show my husband and the people around me how much I appreciate them but there are other less time consuming ways! Which I will partake in next year!