November!

{This was originally written shortly after Thanksgiving. I meant to post it then but was waiting on uploading pictures of our Christmas decorations to include them...which I didn't get around to until this morning and they're just quick snaps from my ipad. Sorry for the delay!}


And I thought that October went by fast! Where the heck has November gone?! Seriously though? I suppose it's a really good thing because we're that much closer to the end.

So I got a new position at work, and I think that it has definitely contributed to the speed. I was promoted to the rewrite team at Liberty Mutual and have been in training most of the month. I really like it so far. It's a new challenge and a new skill set. I was really excited when I got the news because they only had a few openings, and it was pretty competitive. Training has been okay, kind of boring, but it's been a day shift so I can't complain. My regular shift in the evening will start again this week.

The other BIG piece of news is that we traded in Wesley's Mustang for a freaking Mercedes!! He is like a giddy little boy still every time we go somewhere. It was only sad for two seconds when we reminisced about all of the good times in the Mustang. If you talk to Wes he'll say that that car is the only reason I started dating him. Which is totally untrue, but a lot of drives and important life talks happened in that car. Like when we first decided to get married. And let's not forget the many drives across the country in that puppy. But the reign of the stang is gone and we've entered into the world of Mercedes owners. The Mustang was getting old and was probably on the verge of some major problems. Not to mention the stellar job it does in the snow...not. The boy needed a new car and he was feeling left out since I got my Jeep. ;) Yes it's probably a bit extravagant, but he loves it and it's an early Christmas/graduation/we're almost done with law school almost a lawyer present. If anyone deserves it, Wes does. And my promotion couldn't have come at a better time.

It's hard to believe that winter is already upon us. I know technically it's still fall, but we've had several snow storms that have convinced me otherwise. I am begging and praying for a mild winter. Or at the very least, something mild in comparison to last winter because I really don't think I can handle the gloom and the cold and the depression again.

In happier news it was Thanksgiving this week! We had a small dinner with our friends Eric, Cambria, their two boys, Will and Finn, and their friend, Jordan. It was very pleasant and tasty of course. I was in charge of the potatoes and rolls and also brought a pumpkin roll. The Graham's have been in Indiana even longer than we have for med school, but Eric will also graduate in the spring. We love hanging out with them and their boys who are quite possibly two of the cutest boys ever. Will tells the funniest stories and cracks me up with his very vivid, active imagination.

After dinner we crashed. Wes fell asleep at like seven since we'd gotten up early to participate in the craziness to pick up the Xbox One. Spoiled man. I Facetimed with my family. It was so so good to see everyone and catch up for a moment. Of course I had to get more than teary eyed by the end of the call. I miss them all like crazy and hate that I have to miss stuff like the holidays. If I'm already crying on Thanksgiving I don't want to think about Christmas. But these will be the last holidays that we're apart like this! Thank goodness.

The rest of the weekend has been spent just hanging out. We decorated for Christmas! I'm rather excited about all of our decorations. What with our homemade tree, new nativity and growing Christmas village plus my newest ceramic piece it's feeling a lot like Christmas.

Our Christmas Village from Grandma Anderson. 

And one in the light. I just need to get a better (white) table runner for it.

Our first Nativity from Shannon! Not the best picture of it, especially with our kitchen in the background, but it is a beautiful set and I love it.

And the center piece.

I love the way this penguin piece turned out. He's so cute!

And of course our Diet Coke tree :)

And that about does it for November. It's amazing just how good life is and how I have so much to be grateful for. It's easy for me to see the negative sometimes and what's not going my way but that's just life. And for the most part mine is pretty darn great. I have THE most wonderful husband a girl could ask for. My parents and family are the most loving and thoughtful supportive bunch and I have excellent friends. I'm grateful for my job and what it enables us to do. I'm so thankful for my musical abilities and the great joy I receive from creating and listening to music. (New songs are up on soundcloud in case you missed it with more in the works) I'm grateful for my health and the miracle of life. I could go on and on as usual but I will refrain from my long winded tendencies inherited from my father ;) to end with a few last things. I'm grateful for the chance to be better every day and my Savior that makes that possible. I'm grateful for His love and the love of my Heavenly Father. I would be much more of a basket case without Their love and the knowledge that my prayers are always heard and answered in time.

{insert clever and witty title here}

October. Where it's gone, I do not know.

Here are the highlights:

General Conference weekend - always uplifting, relaxing, and motivating. It's also sad for me in some ways. Mainly because of all the memories and traditions that surround those weekends twice a year. It's another specific reminder of how much I miss my family.

We got callings at church. Wes is teaching Gospel Principles, and I'm teaching Relief Society.

Grandma Anderson came for her annual visit as she trekked across the country. She treated us to dinner at Legends on campus, and we enjoyed her company and gave her a place to sleep for a night. We talked sports, current events, family, and Christmas. I always like hearing old stories and about Wes' Grandpa - I wish I could have known him. Grandma also came bearing gifts! It was just our nativity set that we didn't have room for and another addition to our Christmas village, but it felt like Christmas since it was a bunch of things for the holiday.

We're not coming home for Christmas this year. A tough decision and I'm a bit sad about it but also excited to experience a new kind of Christmas this year. It just means I get to look forward to graduation that much more when family will come to us!

Wes had fall break. We're a quarter of the way through this last year! It was a pretty uneventful week for Wes while I worked all week. We did hangout with our friends, and we also went to dinner at Tippecanoe Place, which is an old mansion in downtown South Bend that has been turned into a restaurant. It was fun to be able to tour the house, but to be honest the food wasn't worth the price so it was a little bit of a let down. But still fun to say that we've been.

Here's a picture of the place that I took last year as we drove by:

Autumn is in full swing with the leaves changing and the cooler air. It's actually been quite pleasant. And my dad keeps me informed of all the weather forecasting as he is my personal weatherman all the way in Utah. ;)

I've been working on painting some ceramic holiday pieces like this cutie:

And this for Thanksgiving:

I've also been writing some new music and revisiting some old stuff. I broke out my recording equipment this week and some good things are coming. I hope to produce some Christmas favorites this year as well. We'll see how ambitious I am.

I got to FaceTime with all of my nieces and nephews in their costumes at my parents' Halloween party. I miss my kiddos! They all looked so cute, and I can't believe how much they've changed since I last saw them. And that's probably about as much Halloween-y we'll get this year since I have to work and Wes will be studying for a test at 8:30 am the next day in Michigan. Party animals right here! ;)

We've been watching Downton Abbey as it airs in Great Britain with Baley and Ryan. We still miss Matthew and Sybil from the show but it's a good season so far.

I've also gotten hooked on Gilmore Girls. Netflix keeps us company when we're apart, and when we're together we dream of life after law school. And that pretty well sums up the month! Some more good things are ahead in November.

Indiana

We left Utah on a rainy Saturday morning, early. Both Wes and I had just finished up work the day before, and Wes had school on Monday and I had to be back at work. The drive across the country is never as fun, if you can even use that word to describe it, at the end of the summer, and we were dreading it that much more having two cars! But we were equipped with walkie-talkies and audio books and so it wasn't that bad. The plus side was not having to worry about cramming all of our stuff into the mustang since we have my jeep now.

We front loaded the first day and made it half way through Iowa. I got a speeding ticket in Wyoming, but it's really Wes' ticket. He was in the lead the whole trip and had the cruise control set at 89 mph. We were close to a town and it was around eight in the morning and I had fallen behind a little and was speeding to catch up to Wes. Of course a cop was around. Once I got to Wes, I see the cop right behind me out of no where and radio Wes to slow down. So we do. And the cop rides me for a couple of minutes. We move to the slow lane and then he decides to throw his lights on. Awesome. Wes keeps going while I pull over. He stops a mile up the road to wait for me. I'm freaking out and fuming and trying to get the sleepies out of my eyes. I was really hoping to get away with just a warning, but of course he gives me the ticket since I'm an out of state driver. He said he'd cut me a break since I was wearing my seat belt. Oh thanks officer, not.

All in all it could have been worse and I just ended up with a $60 ticket, a bruised ego, and a smug husband. Okay I'm exaggerating about Wes being smug, he very well could have been ticketed as well, but he did comment that I now have two tickets on my record and he's still squeaky clean. ;) I was mad but I got over it once we got to Nebraska. Then all thoughts turned to how much I hate Nebraska. It's way too long. And I was also paranoid about getting pulled over again.  We still pushed it, because as Wes will tell you each 5 mph that you can go faster is another hour off of the trip, and didn't have any more encounters.

Until the next day in Illinois. But it wasn't with cops. It was with the toll road. We totally spaced getting cash for the tolls. Because they only take cash. Which makes no sense. But that's Illinois. And we have to stop every so often and pay another few dollars. For both cars. Ugh! We were able to take a voucher basically for the first two that let us pay online later but that's the most that you can pay online. So we stopped at a gas station that thankfully had an ATM. Now it was Wes' turn to be upset - this is the kind of stuff that ticks him off. We eventually made it home that day around two in the afternoon.

Our adventure wasn't over yet because then came the unpacking, cleaning, and organizing our apartment that hadn't been inhabited for three months. Thank goodness the Indiana summer hasn't been very warm, so the mustiness and bug situation wasn't nearly as bad as last year. Though our bathroom door was so swollen it wouldn't close and there was some kind of mushroom/fungus growing out of the carpet and the door jam by the bathroom. There was a leak from the ac in the apartment above, but that's all been taken care of now.

Time is a very strange thing. Once we got back, it felt like we never left South Bend. The only evidence that we had gone home were the memories in our heads because time keeps moving forward whether you go along with it or not. And time has brought us our third and final year at Notre Dame. Oh my goodness! We are so close! And I am ready for the time to speed by. But not too fast that we can't have a little fun and really make the most of our time left in South Bend.

So back to the grind we go. Wes jumped right back into school. It's going to be another good semester for him. And I'm back at the call center. But it's good. I feel a renewed motivation and have some good things to work towards. A pay raise can do that for you. It's back to the late hours, but I'm already used to it again.

We were released from our callings in the Plymouth Branch and so we are back in the Notre Dame ward. We're sad to not see our friends down in Plymouth anymore, but are excited to make new friends.

We had a great summer. We have been so blessed with how well things have fallen into place. And we will continue to have a great year. Now that the sadness has worn off, I'm excited. I'm excited to plow through these last few months and make the drive across the country one last time. I'm glad to be back in our apartment with all of our stuff. I missed my piano and my guitar! I've taken a hiatus from songwriting, but I'm feeling that itch inside me to start again. And most of all I'm glad to still have Wes by my side through everything. He's the reason why I'm Indiana, and it has been, and will always be, worth every second.

Thanks for reading and following along, and most importantly thanks for your love and support! So here's to another school year with a new look for the blog and more adventures and stories from Anna and Wes!

UTAH

We got back from Manhattan on Thursday afternoon. Unpacked to repack everything in the mustang, did laundry, bought some snacks and went to bed by eight. Got up at three and drove straight through from Indiana to Utah. We've gotten to know I-80 really well. We made it Friday night around eleven that night to the Harward's and began our summer!

I went right back to work on Monday. Liberty Mutual was good enough to let me transfer to a local office for the summer. What a blessing! I really enjoyed my time in the Riverton office. I met a lot of great people and continued to work hard at my job. It was also nice to work a regular nine to five shift and no weekends for a few months.

Wes started his job at the firm the following week. He absolutely loved working at Stoel Rives. The work, the people, the paycheck, everything! I loved being able to see his excitement and hear it in his voice as he would tell me what he could about his work. I am so happy that he loves what he has chosen to do professionally.

He worked in the Chase tower downtown Salt Lake, and I visited him on occasion to meet up for dinner and stuff. We got to go to several different firm activities and sponsored events such as dinners, a Real Salt Lake game, and a concert at Dear Valley. It was nice to get a taste of the future that we will have with this firm.

Between my job and Wes' we stayed very busy, but we did find time to see family and friends. And golf of course. We golfed once, if not twice, every week, and often with my brother Steve and my dad. I have really learned to love the game, and I improved so much over the course of the summer! We had a blast trying out different courses all around Utah.

Some other highlights would include my 23rd birthday, Wes' 26th, our 2nd anniversary, buying a 2nd car for me, and the many summer holidays and family get togethers. Our birthdays and anniversary were pretty low key this year because of our Manhattan trip and buying a jeep liberty for me, but still another great year celebrated together!

We stayed with Wes' parents for the first part of the summer and then moved in with Cassi and Logan into their beautiful new home. We are so grateful for their hospitality and loved being able to stay with family. We were all so busy we hardly got to do much together, but it was still a lot of fun.  We just barely missed the birth of baby Shad by a couple of weeks. He looks darling from the pictures and we can't wait to meet the little guy.

We saw my family frequently as well on random weeknights and for Sunday dinners. There are several summer birthdays in the Peterson family so we had lots of celebrations and parties. I was also reunited with my cousin Becca who had returned from her mission in February!

It was just good to be home. In every sense of the word. Utah is my home. It's where I was raised, where my family still lives, and it's where I want to be. The summers at home these last two years have been such a great way to recharge my batteries. I've liked Indiana and I wouldn't trade my time here with Wes for anything, but that still doesn't make it hard for a girl from the West to be away from everything she loves and knows to be stuck in the Midwest. I miss the mountains and the dry heat. I miss the familiarity and the community. I miss my favorite local restaurants and all of the things to do. I forget about a lot of those things, except for the missing people, when I'm in South Bend and so it all comes back to me when I'm home. I'm so grateful that it's only eight months until we'll be back for good! We've never lived permanently in Utah as Anna and Wes, so I'm looking forward to that time.

The summer months always seem to go too fast. It was over before we knew it. We were able to squeeze in last bbq's and a camping trip and golf and then it was time to go...

Manhattan

It's been a little while. Time to sum up the last four months...First up, Manhattan.

That city is simply incredible. I now understand the draw and the desire to be there. Truly a one of a kind place.

We flew out on a Friday morning with our friends Baley and Ryan and made it to the city by lunchtime. Took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. Oh the hotel... It was a great location for our nonstop trip but it was tiny and old and hot and literally at the back door of the Ritz. We can all laugh about it now, but at the time it wasn't the funniest. Anyway, we dropped off our bags and headed out to explore Times Square.

I'll be honest - my first impression was "It's so dirty and it smells like cigarettes and garbage!" Hahaha but I got over that quickly and the city eventually stole my heart. And I stopped looking down at the ground and started looking up. Up to not run into people and up to look at all of the amazing buildings! It's shocking how massive they are!

So anyway, Times Square. Our first stop was Hard Rock Cafe because we were starving. I know Hard Rock is not just in NY, but this was my first time eating there, and it was delicious. I soon found out that everything just tasted better in NY. Then we just wandered around all of the stores. There is so much to see. And I am awful at remembering to take pictures. I may get around to posting some but Baley is the photographer and you should wander over to her blog to see pics. That night was all about Wicked at the Gershwin theater. Oh my goodness!!! It is worth all of the hype because it is an amazing show! Still my favorite show we saw and the highlight of the trip for me.

Saturday was spent on 5th avenue. And this was Wes' favorite day because he bought his briefcase. From Tiffany's. Very fancy :) It was fun to window shop and guess the prices of sometimes hideous articles of clothing. I kept thinking how much my sister Rachel would love to be in the fashion district! She lives and breathes this stuff. We saw Aladdin on Broadway that night.  Another fantastic show!

Sunday was spent in Central Park at the Metropolitan. A single afternoon is not nearly enough time to explore this place. Seeing the history and the art was incredible. We took a breather and then had reservations at Tavern on the Green. What a beautiful restaurant. And delicious food! And a very pleasant way to spend Mother's Day.

Monday was our very touristy day at the Statue of Liberty, Elis Island, and Ground Zero. I am very grateful for each of these sites and what these monuments mean. It's fitting that today is 9/11.

We went to the Top of the Rockefeller that night and saw the incredible view. The city is something else at night. When I think Manhattan, that is the first picture that comes to mind.

Our final two days were a blur of more site seeing - a carriage ride through Central Park thanks to Baley's cousin, another broadway show, Matilda, more shopping, more food, Wall Street for Wes, Chinatown, Little Italy, Grand Central Station, Junior's Cheesecake, and a boat cruise around the island, not all in that order. I came away with an I heart NY shirt, two scarves and a fake Luis Vuitton from Chinatown, the cutest wedges from Macy's and two adorable Dooney and Burke handbags, and a love for the city that will never go away.

Everything about the trip was perfect, and we loved having our friends with us! I also loved watching Wes in his element. This was his third trip and he was an excellent tour guide. I know that if he wasn't married and didn't want to have a family he would most definitely be working his way to a large firm in the city. But I'm glad that I am married to him and he doesn't have to work the ridiculous hours and we can just visit this place we both love often.

The week long adventure made my feet and ankles swell up like a grandmas and Wes' heels were literally bruised from all of the nonstop walking.  This made for a welcome drive across the country where we got to sit down for a whole day.  But really. This drive from Indiana to Utah was one of the easiest and quickest things ever. But I'll save the rest of that for part two: Utah!

Life is Good

I feel like my attitude has a done a complete 180 since my last post - and it feels amazing! A lot of things have contributed to these good feelings. One obvious factor is it is FINALLY Spring in South Bend! Hallelujah! Green grass, budding trees, birds chirping in the early morning hours, bunnies and groundhogs frolicking in the backyard, and geese honking at us as they strut across the middle of the street. All except for that last thing, I am thoroughly enjoying the change in season. It means sandals and dresses. T-shirts and sunglasses. The top down and the music up in the Mustang.

Oh, and GOLF! Wes and I have been to the driving range a few times, and he's even played a few rounds. I've only been able to go once for nine holes. But it was fantastic. I got sun burnt and didn't even care because it meant I was outside doing something I've come to love with my honey! I played alright. I had some really good shots and some not so good ones. I don't think I've lost anything since last season. Maybe even improved a little bit.

The next factor is related to spring in that it's the month of April. Which means we have that much less time in South Bend and are that much closer to being in Utah - 20 days to be exact. That is music to my ears! As seen on Instagram, I've been crossing off the days on my calendar. It's great to wake up every morning and check off another day. It's not that I hate living in South Bend or anything, it's just nice to have something to look forward to that I really love. Like being home :)

And this gets better because in 12 days we will be in Manhattan. What?!! Haha, a spontaneous trip was planned with our friends on Saturday night a couple of weeks ago. And before you think that we are completely nuts and irresponsible, Wes and I have been planning this vacation for a while. We were initially thinking at the end of the summer before starting our last year of school. We really wanted our friends to be able to go with us, and after looking at the calendar, we realized August wouldn't work for all of us. So we said why not after finals? They were game and we planned a trip to NY! A couple of hours later, we had plane tickets, a hotel room, and tickets to Wicked and Aladdin on Broadway. Heck yes! We are all so excited! And as soon as we get back from our vacation we will be homeward bound. The 23 hour drive is the only downside to this whole going home thing. But we are pretty much experts now in stuffing as much crap as we can into the Mustang. We better be because we are taking both sets of golf clubs, suits and work stuff for Wes, and now work clothes for me...

That's right. I have a job for the summer! And it means employment in the Fall as well. The latest development at work has really made me so happy and incredibly grateful. My supervisor approached me at work last week after she had had a meeting with the site manager. They decided to make an exception for me and put a request in to have me transferred to a local office in Utah for the summer so I can stay employed with Liberty Mutual. She wanted to know if I would be interested. Um, of course! In less than a week, it was approved and settled. I will be working in the Riverton office over the summer and come back to my job in August. I couldn't believe it at first. It all seemed too good to be true - I even said as much to my boss, but she assured me it's really happening. I am so grateful that they would even consider this for me and feel like I'm a valuable employee.

On my way home from work at the end of that week, I had several thoughts that strengthened my testimony of trusting in His timing and moving forward with faith. I had battled over the decision about summer work for weeks and weeks practically making myself sick with anxiety and worry until we decided I needed to come home with Wes and the rest would work out. Well it certainly has. If I had decided to stay in South Bend, this opportunity wouldn't ever have come up at all. They wouldn't have had any reason to transfer me. I also realized that if, when I first told my supervisor of our plans for the summer, transferring me was an option right off the bat I wouldn't be nearly as grateful as I am now. Something about having to face thoughts of the future, not knowing if I'd have a job in the fall, and going through the job hunt a third year in a row and even having to figure out what to do for the summer to stay busy and productive brought things into perspective. I know that I am loved more than I can even comprehend by my Heavenly Father. He is definitely in charge here and knows when and how to put the pieces together for me. This is a total answer to prayers and really the best case scenario for our summer. There's no way I'm responsible for any of this. Except maybe working hard at my job, but, even then, more of the credit goes to Wes for encouraging me and relying on his strength to get me there. Life is good.

Plus, we had general conference, which is always great and it was nice to have a complete weekend off to spend with Wes. Then there was Easter last Sunday with our friends. We gathered together with good food and company to celebrate our Savior on this wonderful holiday. And now it's just the final stretch for Wes with finals and then we are on our way! Oh, life is so good :) Expect an explosion of Manhattan pictures in a few weeks!!

Polar Vortex, Snowpocalypse, or Never Ending Winter. Take your pick.

So I believe Thanksgiving was the last update. That feels like ages ago! December was a great month. After finals for Wes and officially graduating from training at work for me, we got to go home! It was a glorious two and a half weeks in Utah. Our flights are never void of adventure and frustration. The flight out of South Bend was late because they couldn't find a crew...how does that even happen? But they showed up miraculously and we thought we just might make our connection in Chicago to Denver. Running through O'Hare happened just to get to the gate to find the doors closed and a less than pleasant woman tell us that the doors are locked and we can't go on. The plane was still there! It wasn't supposed to take off for another 10 minutes! And what's even more maddening is that it still sat there for another 20 minutes on the tarmac. This took us to the customer service desk to reschedule our flight. After waiting in line forever, we got to the desk and we got put on standby for a direct flight to Salt Lake that would leave in about an hour. If not we were booked for like a 5:00 pm flight that day. It was 7:00 am. As we sat at the gate for our standby flight, we felt like awful people because we were hoping and praying for other people to be late and miss this flight. Airports turn you into crazy people. It was Dec. 21 and we just really wanted to get home for Christmas. Thankfully there were plenty of spots on the flight and we ended up getting to Salt Lake earlier than if we had made our original flight. We heart flying...

The vacation was a blur of seeing family and friends, the usual Christmas activities, seeing movies, and I don't even remember what else. All I know is that it was heaven.

And then it was over. We flew home January 7th. We made it to Chicago once again but the short flight to South Bend was cancelled. We knew ahead of time thankfully so we had already made a plan to take the bus home. We came back to subzero temperatures. I think the actual temp was -13 degrees but with wind chill it was like -28. Crazy cold!! South Bend was basically in lock down the day before. You would be fined like two grand for driving on the roads. We missed the worst of the polar vortex, but still had to suffer through the bitter cold and un-bury our car from the two feet of snow on top of it. Somehow it started and we ran to the grocery store. The next few days were hard. Facing the cold and all that and I had to go back to work the next day. But more than that I just didn't want to be in South Bend.

So long, Utah.

I feel like this picture doesn't do it justice, but there seriously was two feet of snow on the mustang!

 School started the next week for Wes and we settled back into our routine. I don't think we had a single day above freezing the rest of the month. And it wasn't just the cold. It kept snowing somehow! Everything was completed buried in snow. February really wasn't much different either. It was unrelenting. Now, I'm used to the snow and cold and everything, but this was worse than I've ever experienced in my life. What made it even harder is we never saw the sun! It was just cloudy and dark. every. single. day. Oh, and Indiana doesn't know how to plow the roads. And now that the roads are finally clear the pot holes left behind are unbelievable! I've memorized my path to work to know how to avoid all of the worst ones.

Anyway, like I said despite the brutal winter, we got back into the swing of things. Wes is a rock star and is doing great in school, as usual. I had to adjust being back at work. Everything about it was different. I was done with training and had moved on to my official cubical and was taking phone calls all day. New supervisor and new coworkers - all of us new hires got put on several different teams. Now that it's March, I'm finally feeling comfortable in my role and I don't feel like I'm stupid anymore on the phone and answering customers questions about their insurance policies. I miss my friends that I made in training. I don't sit by any of them, and we're lucky if we can see each other and chat briefly on breaks or lunch. Oh, and my schedule. I hate it. Working 2-10 pm is really hard for me. I'm a morning person. I like to be productive in the morning and get the things that I have to do out of the way. My productivity goes way down when I don't go to bed until after midnight and sleep in. And then don't feel the need to do a whole lot since the only thing I Have to do is go to work. It's no good. Not to mention that Wes has school during the day. So we pretty much have opposite schedules. Sometimes it feels like we hardly see each other. But we're pushing through it.

This is my I don't want to go to work but I have to selfie.

What makes this all easier is knowing that we are once again coming home for the summer. Wes has an internship with a firm in Salt Lake that we're really excited about. I was thinking about staying in South Bend for the summer to keep my job so I wouldn't have to go through the job hunt again. But after a lot of thinking and praying and tears and vacillating and making myself sick over the decision, we decided it's best that I quit and come home, too. It would be too hard to be apart and just not worth it. And so we're coming home! It'll be just before Memorial Day. I will keep working hard at my job now to try and get rehired in the fall. And if not, I'll find another job. I'm not going to stress about that until I have to.

Now the only problem we have is that it is March 13th and there is still snow on the ground and 30 degrees. Where is spring?? Wes is dying to go golfing again. And to be honest so am I. I even bought two new golf shirts in anticipation! I'm just anxious to see the sun again. And it has shown its wonderful face a few times the last two weeks. Then it goes away and hides again. This winter has been declared the never ending winter. Or my personal favorite: the Snowpocalypse. Whatever you call it, I hope that it goes away quick. It's been hard on my car, my boots - two different pairs completely thrashed from all of the wet snow and salt - my skin, my hair, my mood, and my mind. As soon as it reaches 60 I can guarantee you'll see us with the top down on the mustang and cranking the music up loud as if it were 85 and the Fourth of July.

Enough griping about the weather though. It definitely makes you grateful for the good weather. On a more pleasant note, we went out for Valentine's Day to Buffalo Wild Wings (romantic, I know, but it's one of our favorites). It was free thanks to some gift cards we had given to us at Christmas. And then we bought 20 bucks worth of chocolate at the South Bend Chocolate Factory. I'd be lying if I said it lasted more than two days at our house... Oops :) We've got a sweet tooth. And so the single serve, microwavable mug desserts are the best and worst thing that we have discovered. haha. But really? What's better after a long day at work than a warm mug filled with chocolatey goodness that's ready in two minutes? That's right. Nothing.

This week has been Wes' spring break. I decided to be responsible and work all week and he's been bored out of his mind. I guess there's only so much studying and video games a guy can play. Hence the need for the snow to disappear so he can start golfing again. :) I know I end most of my posts this way, but it's always true: I love Wes! I love being married to him. He is my source of strength and my everyday happiness. Despite the hard stuff and the bad weather, we are so happy. Just like these cuddle bears :)

I painted this super cute Easter decoration thanks to my Christmas present from Wes and Shannon sending me the project! Another reason we need spring so I can put this out :)