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!