Mika

There isn't a lot to say about the perfect dog.... She's one of the best things that has ever happened to us. Sure, she destroys things sometimes, gets in the way, or is just plain annoying, but look at her face and tell me you can say no to it. Here are some pics from our life together. Nathan just took her hiking up to Stewart Falls, and while I didn't go, reports are that she had the time of her life. The video is of her playing fetch with the frisbee. She is the fastest thing you'll meet. When she's coming back to us you can see the frisbee flips up in her face and she kind of wanders around until we call her name so she knows where we are. The picture of her all wrapped up in blankets is her after we've given her a bath and she's looking forlorn and scrawny because her fur isn't fluffy when wet. I'm going to get a video of her doing all her tricks, but that'll have to wait until the next post. Here you go!

Finally

Yes, yes. Once again I am a horrible blog updater, but is that really news to anyone?

We have been super busy the whole month of August, with more than a few interesting developments in life. To begin with, just after we posted the last post, or a week before we were moving back to Utah, we got a call from our apartment complex who told us that we couldn't move in to the apartment we were promised. Apparently the current tenants were not moving out for another month and they couldn't do anything to help us move in to the apartment or any other property they owned. After many tears and great frustration we started the search AGAIN for a place to stay. It was kind of hard because we could only look at what was online until we started back to Utah. We drove back on Saturday and just stayed at my mom's place for a couple days while we started looking at places. We also stayed with Chris and Megan Bronson for a while so we didn't have to drive from Salt Lake every day to go looking. Luckily we found a place in a basement/side of a house (see pictures). We kind of fell in love with it and stayed.
In the midst of all this we decided that since we weren't going to be able to have the apartment of our dreams, we were going to get a dog. We had talked about getting a dog for a while and were both interested in doing it, but our housing wouldn't allow dogs at the time. Well, a family friend in the ward had a dog that she wasn't going to be able to take care of anymore (the husband was opposed to canines) and we jumped at the opportunity of getting a dog that we already knew and liked. Her name is Mika (mee-ka). She is the sweetest little puppy ever and we don't regret our decision for a moment, though it did make the housing search a little more complicated. She is a Cockapoo, Cocker Spaniel/Poodle mix. She is just over a year old, so she's pretty much a puppy still. She is a source of boundless energy and she certainly keeps us going. (More on Mika in an upcoming post.)

So with this place that we got, we were able to paint some of the walls. We started with little to no knowledge of how to paint and the first coat didn't look so good....but luckily I have a Dad who has re-painted our whole house many a time and we called on him for some advice. In the end everything turned out very well and now we know that in the future it is worth the extra cash to call someone else to come deal with the headache of painting. Throughout the whole month we had fun buying furniture and other things to decorate our place and make it feel like home. One other big project we did was that the backyard, while small, we wanted to have a place for Mika to run around. There was only dirt and weeds with a small cement area so we decided we would lay some sod. We got our landlord to go pick up the sod, no way were we getting that in our Miata, and pulled, tilled, and laid the sod so it looks great now. It is even starting to grow!
Unfortunately we didn't take any before pictures so you'll just have to be okay with the afters. We also don't have a camera, so iPhone pictures will have to do.

The first is of our living room. The second is the kitchen, third the bedroom, and fourth the entry hall.

Livermore Comes to an End

Internships can be weird. For a couple months they become your life. Eight hours a day, five days a week, you become totally enveloped in the working life. You work on problems that while fun are totally different from school problems. Tests go away and are replaced by presentations. Your boss doesn't care if you understand so long as everything works. And then your termination date comes and just like that you go back to the rest of life. By day lazy math student and by night lazy government employee.

The good news is that we will be coming back to Utah. Livermore is great but I feel bad that Kelcy doesn't know too many people here. Besides we're living the high life in Provo. Between the two of us we have four siblings and four siblings-in-law, two nieces, and one nephew in the Provo/Orem area. Not to mention some best friends in Spanish Fork and some parents in Salt Lake. And to top it off between family and friends we have a veritable wave of babies. Now off to make sure that Kelcy doesn't go and get baby fever...

In the meantime Kelcy and I have discovered that we are book addicts. We've been demolishing books at a rate of one or two a week. And we're not talking some pansy speed reading tear through the pages reading, but rather a read out loud to each other until we fall asleep reading. So we've been collecting a small library here in Livermore to go along with the large library we have in Utah. It's got me thinking about getting a Kindle or something.

Pros: I can't stand clutter. If you buy enough books (probably about 30) it would pay for itself and everything thereafter would be cheaper. Also think of the extinct frogs living in the rainforests. The Frogs!

Cons: You don't have the book to put on your shelf. Also it's a sizable upfront purchase.

If anyone has experience with a Kindle or whatever please let me know what you think. Thanks.

Mobster Lifestyle

This past week has been a really busy one, which only kind of explains why we haven't posted on our blog in a long time. We had our California reception on the 26th of June and then my mom stayed for a couple of days after that. Mom and I drove into San Fransisco, which was a little scary for me because I'm just getting good at driving Nathan's manual car and didn't know how I'd handle the infamous hills of San Fran. Turns out the way to Ghiradelli square, which is where we went, is along the shore line and there weren't really any hills to get there. Unfortunately they don't let anyone tour their facilities anymore, they just have some shops and a little exhibit about a couple steps of chocolate making, but we had a good time anyway and got some good chocolate to share with everyone.
A couple days later we went to visit Nathan's friend Jeremy in Berkeley. Berkeley was a really fun town, all artsy-fartsy collegey kind of town. There are also lots of hills. We had a little trouble finding this building in which we were to meet his friend, but we did in the end. We were planning on going downtown by bus, but we were informed that the last bus would get us downtown, but with no way of getting back up and we weren't about to climb all those hills back up to the car. If you don't know Nathan's car, you should know that it has two seats. And we had three people. Jokingly someone said that they would ride in the trunk and I thought, I'm fairly flexible and skinny, maybe I can fit. So we tried it. It was kind of fun for me to see if I could fit, but Nathan was really nervous. I fit fairly comfortably, it was just dark and hot. I convinced them that I'd be fine and they shut me in, much to Nathan's discomfort, and we ended up driving about ten minutes to a parking space a little ways from the pizza place we were heading to. It was an interesting ride, and really not all that bad. At least now I know that if I'm kidnapped and forced into a trunk, which most all trunks will be larger than Nathan's, they won't have to break my legs or anything to fit me in. I wonder if Nathan and Jeremy felt like mobsters who were taking me to the boss or something.

Bazookas?

I don't know if anyone else has seen these signs.... I'm a little unsure what they're supposed to mean. Do speeders get gunned down? Have a missile launched at them? I see this sign every time I drive to pick Nathan up from work and I always wonder what it really means. I'm almost tempted to speed and find out.

So umm I'm married and happy

So it has come to my attention that I may or may not have sounded grumpy in my last blog post. Just to clear everything up Nathan is not grumpy. The wedding itself was great. We had friends and family there. And how can you not be happy about having your best friend in your life forever and ever? Kelcy cried a little bit, and if I were a crier I'm sure I would've as well. After waiting for so long I could hardly believe that it was happening.

And I had a blast at the reception as well. So I'm sorry if I came across as grumpy. Having Kelcy in my life has made me like 578 billion times happier than before. And now that we're married and I get to spend even more time with her it's even better. And I love her to death. And because I know people really only care about pictures here is a teaser.

So umm we're married =)

It's been awhile since I've written so I guess I'm up again. And this week I have some news that might actually merit a blog entry; just in case you haven't heard I am totally married. In particular to the cutest girl in the world, aka Kelcy Molyneux Perry. Our photographer hasn't gotten the pictures to us so I can't post any here, but we'll be sure to put them up as soon as we get them. And thereafter plaster them all over facebook. And thereafter mail them out to all our friends. And thereafter deliver them door to door in our neighborhood. Just so that everyone knows that we are married.

The reception was kind of cool. To be honest that was the part of the day that I was probably least looking forward to. Not that I don't like parties. But I don't really like being the center of attention. And I like even less being on display at the center of attention. But it turned out to not be bad at all. It did rain on us. So half an hour before the reception was to start we were scurrying around moving all the tables from the outside to the inside. Kelcy and I, along with our parents, remained outside under the overhang to greet people. Kelcy was clearly the star attraction, but I refrained from making a fool of myself during any of the conversations.

We had a honeymoon after the reception. We just stayed in Salt Lake in a condo owned by my grandparents. This was a mini-honeymoon in precursor to our real honeymoon that we will have August when we are going on a cruise to the Bahamas. But we did a good job of entertaining ourselves. We spent some time in the apartment, but we also spent some time out in the town eating and going to movies.

And now we're back in Livermore. And for the first time in a long time I'm excited about my apartment. Not that our little flat is overly amazing, but having the chance to live in an apartment with Kelcy and develop habits for life is pretty exciting. Some of the habits will be more fun than others, like now for example we're trying to decide how we are going to partition cleaning duties. But I'm pretty excited for it anyways.

Bridals

TWO DAYS!!!! HOLY COW!!!!

I got bridals taken yesterday, which was quite a hectic day, but I thought I would let you all see a couple of my favorites from the ones she sent me. You'll just have to wait to see me in person... ;)

The Big City

OMG!!!!!!! WE'RE GETTING MARRIED IN A WEEK!!!!!!! In case you weren't aware.....

Nathan and I ventured into the bowels of the big city today. If you don't know, that is San Francisco. We were talking about things to do and Nathan suggested going to the Museum of Modern Art there, which surprised me because I didn't know that Nathan liked that kind of thing. Museums, however, are my favorite. We had a good time there looking at some interesting art pieces. They had a display of photography over the years and it was kind of cool to see actual photographs taken by the likes of Dorthea Lange and Ansel Adams. There were also some famous painters represented like Matisse, Picasso, Mondrian, Pollack, etc. I had fun sharing some of my art knowledge with Nathan and I hope he didn't feel like I talked his ear off.
On our way back to the train, BART, which you take in and out of San Fran so you don't have to deal with parking, Nathan suggested going to Jamba Juice. We looked it up on his phone and, what do you know, there was one on the way to the station. Well, we started in that direction, but couldn't find it and ended up having some wonderful pastries in a little shop. After eating we started walking back toward the train station and like three doors down from the pastry shop was Jamba Juice. I thought it was pretty ironic. Guess it just goes to show how blind you become when you rely too much on electronics to point you in exactly the right direction.
This is us on the streets of San Fran. We couldn't really find a great location for a back drop and our feet were tired so we didn't want to wander around too much.
We found an interesting photo in the museum and had to share it. Hopefully you can read what it says. It is by Hal Fischer and is titled Street Fashion, Basic Gay. Enjoy.

So this is our new apartment. It's kind of a side house on the side of a really nice house in ritzy southern Livermore, i.e. it's really really nice but kind of small. The real reason we got it is because the landlady didn't mind having us do a two month lease. Nor did she charge us an arm and a leg extra. But really we think it's pretty much the perfect house for our first two months of marriage. (Which will start in like a week and a half. Oh my gosh.)

Did I mention it was furnished? That is kind of awesome because we don't want to really buy a whole bunch of furniture then have to transport it back to Provo in August.

The only real downside is the "kitchen." We did however order a book on how to cook with a coffee maker.


Hehehe, Kelcy is hot.

This is our front door. And.....

...this is our front yard.

Anyways that's it. Life is going well. It almost doesn't seem like this whole marriage thing is really going to happen. We've waited plenty long. But it was totally worth it. We just can't wait to jump into married life and get to know each other even better.

All the small things

So, yes, I did return to Salt Lake for the weekend, where I attended my friend Becca's wedding, which was loverly. We also celebrated my Mom's birthday and it was lots of fun to see all my siblings again. It probably hasn't been too long since I saw them, but when I'm used to seeing them about once a week, it seems like a long time.

I took a bouquet of silk flowers that I made for Leah to hold, as my flower girl, and she didn't put them down the whole time she was there. It was really cute, and I just hope she can keep it in somewhat working order so I don't have to find something else for her to use. Cameron was cute as always, and I can't wait until he really starts talking, because I think that kid will have some really interesting thoughts. We like to call him the barbarian. If we left him out in the jungle by himself he would probably become the king of the jungle within the week. Sophia was as cute as can be and she now has four front teeth with which to bite. She was eating a piece of bread and making 'num' sounds for me.

The day after I got home, that is, yesterday, the iMac came. So yes, I am posting this while sitting in front of the 27 inch magnitude. We watched Avatar on it last night and it was almost as good as the 3-d.... okay, maybe not, but it was awesome. I also found out yesterday that I got the job at Jo-Ann's! This couldn't come at a better time because I was about to give up looking for a job. I'm pretty sure it'll be great to work there since I already like the manager and, well, I don't think that many sketchy people work or shop at craft stores. I'm headed there in a couple of hours to start training. I'm glad to finally have something to do during the days.

The title of this post comes from the fact that I felt really grateful for the small blessings, well, and the big ones too, that have been in my life recently. Nathan, for one. Having prayers answered in finding a job. Being able to enjoy the temple and feel God's love for me. Marrying into such a great family that has supported me and taken me in as one of their own. Being out of Utah for the four inches of snow that fell yesterday.... And of course, all the other things that I have to be grateful for in my life, like family and friends.

Farmers Market et. al.

Umm umm umm, so it's my turn to write on the blog. I guess I'm not really sure how people do this. Because I'm not really sure what's so interesting about my life that people will care. Luckily it's a blog so if you don't want to read you don't have to.

Today Kelcy and I went to the Farmer's Market in Livermore. We did rather enjoy ourselves. Livermore has a pretty cool market for a town of its size. We got some vegan bread/spread, some cherries, and the most ginormous cinnamon roll in the history of ginormous. Seriously this thing was like the size of your head. Times two. And Kelcy ate the whole thing in one bite. No joke. So be careful with your head when she's around.


Unfortunately however Kelcy has decided she doesn't like me any more and is going back to Utah for the weekend. (Ok maybe she's really going to hang out with her friend from the time she was like 5 years who may or may not be getting married this weekend.) So I'm going to have to figure out some way to entertain myself. I was thinking about learning the trapeze. We shall see.

And for all those people out there that judge others based on the size of their computers I would just like to mention that Kelcy and I are getting a new computer. A big one. Like the size of the cinnamon roll big. Any guesses which one???? (Actually my dad really did guess when I told him. Guess he knows me and my technology tastes a bit too well....) Ok since you probably aren't as intimately acquanted with my computer love affairs as my dad, I'll tell you. We're getting this one:

http://www.apple.com/imac/

27 inch version. (Seriously, the cinnamon roll was that big.) I tell myself that we're getting it because Kelcy's old computer was breaking down, it wasn't charging anymore, and it's like 16 years old anyways. Also we can use this one as a TV. But to be honest I wanted it because it's pretty. (Like Kelcy, but not quite as pretty. Ok not anywhere close to as pretty, but pretty nonetheless.)

And yeah that's about the extent of the intrigue in my life at the moment. Oh yeah, I'm getting married in three weeks. To a pretty awesome girl in fact. Ok that's it. K thx bye.

Days of California

Hey all! I decided, and Nathan agreed to go along with it, that we should start a blog. I mean, it's what every cool couple does, right? So here we are. Hopefully this blog will get more attention than I have paid to my other blog, a.k.a. little to none, because Nathan will bug me about it. Ah, the perks of having a significant other.

Today, on our second week in California, we decided to go to Big Basin State Park, home of the redwoods. I've never been to California before, so Nathan has been trying to show me around a bit. The trees were magnificent and stunning. It was kind of hot there, so we didn't do much hiking, and we had also left too late in the day to really get into any long hikes, but we walked around the granny trails for a while and enjoyed ourselves.
Then Nathan and I drove down to Santa Cruz where they have a large wharf/boardwalk that extends into the ocean. It was a beautiful beach and we walked all the way down to the end of the walk where you can see the sea lions hanging out on the planks below the boardwalk. I first saw one off the side of the boardwalk and it was just floating on its side and not really moving. I thought it was dead for a while, but we came back later and it wasn't there any more, so I guess it was still alive. We then headed into a small restaurant on the wharf and had some traditional seafood for dinner. It was nice to see the ocean right out the window while we were dining. Nathan mentioned that he felt like a true Californian.

We lazily made our way home and then Nathan showed me his "secret park" which isn't really secret, just off the beaten path. We were fairly tired by then, so we came home and here we are, sitting on the couch. Too much adventure for one day!