An Emotional Day

Today my brother Adam left for Guatemala. He flew out of Laramie and goes straight to the Guatemala MTC.

The airport was a very emotional experience. I'm not sure if it is the raging pregnancy hormones in my body, but I had a hard time containing myself both today and last night when he was set apart.

I think that it was almost harder to watch him fly off, than to take him to the MTC ourselves, but I don't have anything to compare it to--so who knows?

Our family dynamic is going to change dramatically and while it may take us a while to realize that he really IS gone, we will miss him--a lot!

The whole fam--ready to see him off (this was prior to tears--from everyone).

A solo shot of the missionary.

Elder Wyo boarding the plane (it was the best I could do from the waiting area).

A Wedding!

We traveled down to southern California for the wedding of Ronnie's sister, Alisa. I had quite the trip, lost baggage, a lost massage, no boarding pass--but all of those stories can come later.

We wanted to congratulate the happy couple and put up a picture to prove we were there! (Sorry for the quality--it wasn't until the end of the day that I noticed the HUGE smudges on my lens!

Alisa and Alex: the happy couple!

The Harry Potter Bandwagon

I'm jumping on it.

As is everyone else in this country, I am currently reading the last Harry Potter book. More accurately, I should say that just as everyone else is finishing the last Harry Potter book, I opened its front cover.

I purchased it the day it came out--and then it sat for five whole days, untouched. I had LOTS of things to do and knowing how I tend to act (ignore everything else until the book is done) I had to be forceful with myself.

But me being a slow starter is not the reason for this post.

Harry Potter is interrupting my Internet joy.

The number one thing I do with extra time online is blog surf. I just can't do it right now and it is killing me. Every Single Blog I have looked at this morning has referenced reading Harry Potter (I suppose my blog is now on this list), finishing Harry Potter and then without warning--BAM--gives something away. I have learned three things I didn't want to know yet, and it makes me sad.

So I beg of you--if you have finished reading, just don't say anything until I am done.

Easy enough?

What I do when my husband is out of town

Ronnie flew to California last Saturday, so I have been kicking it by myself this week. (Alisa, his sister, is getting married this Saturday and I am flying out on Friday.)

While we are gone, my mom is hosting the N Family Reunion and Adam is giving his farewell talk, so we have several people staying at our house. Hence, I feel the need to have the whole thing spotless before I am gone.

So, I have done the following:
Organized the guest room (even the closet so I won’t be embarrassed when someone opens it.)
Unpacked the office stuff and bookcase
Started and completed my sister-in-law’s wedding guest book
Watched Love Comes Softly—the third, fourth and fifth movies (Hallmark channel productions)
Watched the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice
Finished ALL of the laundry
Deep cleaned the entire house

Today and tomorrow I have to make several wedding and graduation cards, organize my stamping stuff (oh the horror) and keep the house clean.

But the upside is that I get to watch WHATEVER I want on television.

Sweet.

The Junk Cabinet

Several times I have talked about my love of planning and all things organized, but I have a confession to make.

I have a junk cabinet.

That’s right. It’s not just a junk drawer, but a three-drawer Sterilite container that contains all the things I would “like” to file.

Look! I can appear organized, and not actually know where anything is!

My intention of this 3-drawer system was to semi-sort everything, and then go through the drawers and file things away as necessary.

The filing never happened.

Before you lose all faith in me—the drawers are at least categorized. We have Warranty Information/Instruction Booklets, Keepsakes, and The Bottomless Drawer of Crap.

A few days before we moved to Laramie, I buckled down and went through Every. Single. Drawer. I was pleased to throw away or shred two-thirds of what was in there, but since the filing cabinet was taped and secured, I did not get around to filing.

Which brings us to my next problem—I HATE to file! I hate it at work and I hate it at home. But, I know it is a necessary evil—so I force myself to stop crying and buckle down.

I have always filed things into categories such as food, utilities, recreation, jewelry, furniture, tithing, school expenses, cell phones, gas, car repair, etc. And most of the time the folders were empty.

But I would now like to share with you my miracle way of filing. (I learned this online—I’m sure from a blog a few months ago, but can’t find it now, so if you know the original author give her a humongous hug and let me know who she is so I can shower her with praise and gifts!)

I now have one file for each month. Every receipt, bill, and bank statement for that month is put in the folder as it is paid. At the end of the month, the folder is placed in the filing cabinet. (I keep the current month folder in the kitchen, since that is where I do most of my check writing, etc.) When it is tax time, I go through the year and grab the papers that are vital, then everything is put into a 2007 folder and the months are empty for the next year. (I actually have two folders for January and February since these months happen before my taxes do.)

In addition to the month folders, I still have folders for tithing, furniture, jewelry, and other large purchases since these are items that I want to be able to access quickly.

Seriously, I love it! There isn’t a junk drawer and everything is automatically filed at the end of the month. And lets be honest—who references all of their sorted receipts regularly anyway? I can usually remember the month that something was purchased if I need to return it and then I can find the receipt.

I apologize for the length of this rather boring post if you made it this far! If you happen to have any other miracle tips regarding corralling your household papers let me know!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my wonderful father's birthday.

He is turning the big 5-0!

I think he may be having a hard time with it--but he is hiding it pretty well.

I guess it isn't easy to turn 50 and become a grandpa all in the same year!

My dad is the greatest! He always has a story to share and finds the humor in any situation--seriously any situation.

When I drove into the driveway after a parallel parking incident gone wrong, with a big scrape down one side of my car--I was very nervous.

What did dad do? He took one look at the damage and started laughing right at me. I guess it's better than yelling, but it was a little hard to take at the time.

He is very patient and is the perfect dad for any boy or girl to follow around. He REALLY lets you help with stuff-not just watch what he is doing-even though it takes three times as long.

I love you dad! Have a great day!

Adjusting

My mother seems to think that I am not adjusting well to Laramie.

Or that I think it is weird.

Or both.

She is wrong. Dead wrong, but that hasn’t stopped her from reminding me that “Things will be different here than you are used to in Utah” or “Don’t expect things to be the way they used to be here.”

I am loving the laid-back lifestyle. Seriously. I thought that I may have issues adjusting to a few things, like the slower speed limit. Surprisingly, I have to coax myself to go the speed limit—this happened within two days of moving here.

The best part about that is Ronnie is having the same problem—and if you know him, you know that is impressive.

I’m also loving the close parking at, well, anywhere. The 10 minute drive to anywhere in town and the smiles on the faces of everyone I see.

I’m even loving the wind. (Okay, this is really only because we don’t have A/C and it makes the night bearable.)

In fact, I can only think of one thing that I don’t like.

The radio stations.

(I know all of you thought I was going to say shopping—huh? Well, you are WRONG!)

I just can’t seem to find a station that is suitable for driving. (Let’s keep in mind that the maximum drive time I have is 10 minutes and my daily drive to work is 2, so you would think this wouldn't be too difficult.)

We have what is supposed to be the Alternative/Pop station. It has actually changed names since I left town—but surprise, surprise they play the same music they played six years ago.

We have three country stations. So far I have not heard a SINGLE song that is currently on the stations in Utah. I can only take so much Patsy Cline and Kenny Rogers.

We have no less than four Christian stations—which actually have pretty good beats, if you can tune out the cheesy words.

And that is it. For reals.

After Jen’s many posts about NPR, I think that may be the only choice I have left. I like it most of the time—but I never thought I would be an ALL NPR ALL THE TIME kind of person.

Oh, help.

A Gender

I went to my new doctor last Friday. Love him. Seriously. More than my cliche doctor in Provo.

Since I was 18 weeks, he decided that he would go ahead with the ultrasound--excellent idea!

And, after not too long we found out...

We are having...

A BOY!

Yea!

Then he proceeded to tell me that he thinks he is going to move up my due date from December 12th to the 2nd.

Double YEA!

That is all.

Carissa and Shawn

Last night, Ronnie and I had the pleasure of driving to Evanston to go to my roommate Carissa's reception. She was a beautiful bride--even if she was a little late getting ready for the reception. :)

We were able to meet up with Bethany and Casey as well and it was great to see everyone!

I am so excited for Carissa and Shawn--they looked so happy together!

Bethany, Carissa and I.

Casey, Bethany, Shawn, Carissa, KaLee and Ronnie.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My wonderful mother celebrated her birthday yesterday! I won't tell you how old she is (since I would like to remain a part of the family). My dad put on a wonderful dinner and we all gathered as a family. That was so marvelous!

My mom is the greatest! I have enjoyed a true friendship with her for many, many years. Every night in high school, I would come home and tell her all about my day--even if it was already the next day. :) I look back on those conversations with fondness. They were great times to learn, share and vent.

I hope she had a wonderful day yesterday!

Love you Mom!

And a basket of...

We’re here—all in one piece and everything.

I’m happy to report that we were welcomed to our new apartment.

By a flood.

Ronnie and I have a bit of a water-curse.

EVERY place we have lived since we have been married has flooded.

I like to think that it can only get better.

Other than the torn-up carpet, we are settled and doing well. We were able to get a three bedroom apartment and even though we are only using two of them (the other was flooded), I am loving the space.

I’m sure that in a few weeks Laramie will really start to feel like home, instead of just a place we are visiting.

In job news—(I know all of you were anxiously awaiting that):

I have had two full days of training. The job entails quite a bit more than I anticipated. I don’t think it would be too overwhelming except for my boss started one week ago and also has no idea what we are doing, so after Thursday, we will just be flying solo and completely blind.

Aside from that, there is one definite perk.

The bathroom.

That’s right, I said the bathroom. Now, the building that I work in was built in 1960, it doesn’t have air conditioning and has never been updated, but the custodial staff sure does love us.

We are provided with:

Pleasant smelling air freshener.
A vase of fake flowers.
Real lotion (not that nasty-normal-bathroom kind).
A basket of complimentary feminine products.
And…
A basket of suckers, tootsie rolls, jolly ranchers and other various candies.

Yep. I said candies.

In the bathroom.
So now I ask…would you eat it? Do you think I did?

ETA: The answer is now in the comments.

The New Job or How I Have Acclimated to Utah

So I think I'm going to like it.

I'll probably have a follow-up post on that in the next two-three weeks.

It seems simple enough, I work with seemingly fun people and they are very good with the praise aspect. The girl that I was replacing got no less than three standing ovations for her work.

I suppose that means I also have a lot to live up to, but I think I'm up to the challenge.

There were a few times when I had to remind myself that I was no longer at BYU.

Like the two times when we had cocktails and cheese before dinner. That was a little weird.

Or the BYU jokes that EVERYONE pulled out when I introduced myself.

Or the fact that we wore jeans to EVERY single meeting and event.

Or the clothes that 60+ year old women honestly thought they could pull off.

All in all, I enjoyed it and have decided that Ronnie will be forced to attend every event with me from now on--it was not fun when everyone else had a spouse to fall back on, and I had to make myself the third wheel.

The Handbook

So, Monday is my last day at BYU.

They posted my job today.

Obviously, I will not be around to train my replacement.

Knowing that, I have been hard at work putting together a handbook of sorts. So far it is 13 pages long and covers the entirety of my job (I'm pretty sure). It is organized, but not too fancy.

But a problem has emerged.

How competent is my future replacement? Do I need to dummy it up, or will the person feel like I am talking to child? Have they worked at BYU before, or is this their first time? Are they anally organized like me, or a little more laid back?

For now, I've decided to ere on the side of too much detail. I have computer folder trails as well as hyperlinks to all documents. I have a step for EVERYTHING you edit when adding a new cable company. I have even explained the complexity that is our mail system.

Too much? I really don't know. So far I have made 15 additions just today. I really need to come to a stopping point, but where is it?

Let's just hope that the "new" KaLee will be anally organized, love step-by-step directions and sing my praises for the handbook.

This is starting to be like a journal

so I apologize, but we have had a lot of things going on.

We're back from the Land of the Wind.

My interview went really well, aside from the two dumbdumbdumb things that happened in the middle.

Dumb thing #1: I couldn't think of the word "employment" and it's a hard word to replace with anything else. I handled the situation beautifully by hemming and hahing until I thought of it (a good 15 seconds.)

Dumb thing #2: They asked me what my availability was the last weekend of this month. I proceeded to begin telling them about my sister-in-law's wedding until it hit me that I was talking about July and they meant June. So I recovered nicely from that one by saying, "Oh, you mean JUNE..." and then told them I was available.

I got home and was pretty sure that if they liked brunette girls with blond tendencies, I had the job for sure!

We decided to stay an extra day in Laramie so that we could hear from them about the job and then sign on an apartment if necessary.

The next day I received a phone call and the job was mine! Apparently they really liked my experience and the boss said that he felt like we would work together well. At least we know he likes a laugh.

We proceeded to sign on a three bedroom apartment.

And now I am going crazy! My dad is coming down for work and will be taking the first trailer load with him...this weekend!

My list of things to do before we move is massive and my first day of work at UW is the 29th!

So, if you are in the area and I don't get to see you before we take off--I am very sorry. I promise I will be down a few times this fall.

The Details

So, we will be having a little Cowboy or Cowgirl and no, we don’t know which yet. Ronnie wants the gender to be a surprise. I think my planning side may just die if I have to wait. I’m due on December 12th-right in the middle of law school finals, so that should be interesting.

I haven’t felt a BIT of morning sickness (please-no one stone me), and everything seems to be going just fine.

My aunt Nat is expecting her first on December 11th—and it will be so fun to have babies so close together. If only we lived closer.

I’m sure there will be plenty of baby updates in the future, as this is my parent’s first grandchild and the first great-grandchild on my mom’s side.

In other news, we are traveling to Laramie (again) to look at apartments and hopefully find one. It will be GREAT to be there for Father’s Day! I also have an interview in the Dean’s office of the College or Business at UW—and no my dad didn’t get it for me. I’m really hoping to find a university job because Ronnie gets half-tuition the INSTANT that I begin work (not too shabby!)

I promise that Lake Powell pics and stories will make it on here in the near future but as usual, I didn’t take a single picture with my own camera, so I am relying on other people!

Speaking of little ones...

Welcome Little Allie!

My old roommate Cheryl and her husband Scott welcomed their little one, Allie Paige, yesterday.

She was a big one at 8 lbs. 10 oz. and has the most adorable little nose and chubby cheeks.

Congrats Cher and Scott!

Picture courtesy: Bethany

I apologize that this picture doesn't have a spectacular angle of the baby, since that is who all of you really wanted to see. I'm sure you will have lots to look at on Cheryl's blog soon.

And we're off!

My blogging will be non-existent this week.

The reason?

I'll be soaking up the rays at beautiful Lake Powell.

I know.

You're jealous.

Better late...

I finally uploaded the pictures from our Philadelphia adventure. We were able to see a lot of great historical sites and Ronnie got his fill--I think.

Ronnie has this awesome appreciation for all things related to the beginning of our country that I find myself trying to conjure up. Seeing a few of the places was cool, and I'm starting to develop that appreciation.

"The" Liberty Bell--I was surprised by how big it was.

A shot of the bell tower in Independence Hall where the Liberty Bell first hung.

The signing room. This looked exactly like they depict it in "A More Perfect Union."

Me outside Independence Hall.

And Ronnie outside Independence Hall. It was at this point that we realized that neither of us were in any of the pictures and we probably needed to prove we were there.

George Washington's house at Valley Forge. I liked this because they actually let you go upstairs. Most of the historic sites limited you significantly.

The outer rim of Valley Forge. This was a fascinating place to visit and I learned that no battles were actually fought here. Please tell me that I am not the only person who did not know that. It will make me feel a lot better.

We had a recommendation to watch "National Treasure" before we went, so we watched it on the flight out to Philadelphia. I think the only thing it did was to make me say things like, "Look, that's where Nicolas Cage jumped onto the roof!" and "There is no way they could have snuck up the stairs at Independence Hall without someone stopping them."

I'm glad we visited, and find myself wanting to visit the East Coast again soon!

THE DECISION!!!

We have one! I never thought this day would come!

We will be official Cowboys in August.

If you would have told me six years ago that I would be moving back to Laramie, I would have laughed in your face. Having been away from Laramie for that long, I know the transition will be weird. I’ve already prepared myself that it will not be the same (not that I necessarily want it to be.)

I finally have that sense of peace that I have been yearning for during the last three months, and what a great feeling!

My parents were so wonderful, in that they NEVER pressured us in our decision, but once it was made, they were thrilled! They will not quite have ALL of their kids in Laramie (since Adam will be leaving August 1st), but pretty darn close.

Ronnie has already been scoping out the type of boots and cowboy hat he wants and I’m pretty sure the family wants to take him to a real, live branding, so he can be “branded” or initiated whichever word you choose.

Don’t worry; it won’t include any kind of burning flesh (I think.)

We were also able to travel to Denver and be present as Adam went through the temple. That was an amazing experience. Now he just has to adjust to an extra layer of clothing!
We will be so sad to leave all of our friends and family in the Utah area, but will be sure to keep in touch!