New Family Members...

Well folks, the rumors are true! Yesterday we went out and bought 5 more hermit crabs-- making a total of 11!

We now have (in order of when we bought them--oldest to newest):

1. Sid
2. Jeff
3. Leopold (Leo)
4. Rocky
5. Squirt
6. Monty
7. Spike
8. Brock
9. Tarzan
10. Jane
11. Jinx.

We also have purchased a much bigger tank (20 gal Long) to fit everyone in, as well as a climbing log, the hidy hut we already had, some live plants, a new water and food dish, and new sand. Our date night this past weekend consisted of shopping for and setting up the new Crabitat while watching a movie Friday night, and we decided to buy the additional 5 crabs while doing so. We purchased them together Saturday afternoon- planned on 4, but ended up getting 5. It really was a blast! =)

Most people think we are crazy because we are so obsessed with the crabbers, but the truth is that they need to be taken care of just like any other pet or family member. The pet store does a horrible job of taking care of them, and they are overlooked because they are not popular pets. Not to mention that we can't have any other animals in our apartment right now, so those we have now make us very happy. They are fascinating creatures with amazingly different personalities. They are much like people, or any other pet-- stubborn, shy, outgoing, adventurous, not-so-adventurous, etc., and WE LOVE THEM!



We also have a pet beta fish named Flint. We actually got him from some neighbors who didn't want him anymore, poor guy. He's beautiful though, and we love him too!

One year down, Eternity to go...

We met on July 20, 2008. We started officially dating August 20, were officially engaged November 1, and married December 20, 2008--5 months after actually meeting, and 4 months after starting to date. We've known each other for 17 months now, and we've been married a year of that...holy cow! I can't believe it's been a whole year since Shaun and I tied the knot. This year has passed by so quickly!

To celebrate our success in making it a whole year, as well as a reward for getting through the tough semester, we treated ourselves to a 9 day, 8 night trip to IRELAND. It was pretty much AMAZING! The weather wasn't the best, but that didn't stop us. Keep reading to find out more about what we did...

IRELANDIRELANDIRELANDIRELANDIRELANDIRELAND
After a 2 day flight delay and about 20 hours of traveling and waiting in airports, we had finally made it to Dublin. The exchange rate for money was ridiculous! On top of losing money in the exchange we thought we had, everything was really expensive in Dublin because there are so many tourists.

DAY 1: When we got out of the airport we rode the bus to City Centre where we THOUGHT our hotel was. After walking around for about 2 1/2 hours in the cold, wind, and rain we finally hailed a cab and found out we were on the wrong side of the city...Not even close to the hotel! We finally made it though, and quickly learned the bus routes we would need to take if we wanted to go anywhere.

There was so much to do, and so little time (and MONEY). Here are random pics that don't really relate to particular events:



DAY 2: The first full day we visited the Kilmainham Gaol (Jail) and the Guinness Store House.



DAY 3: New Year's Eve was spent touring the Christ Church Cathedral and the Viking Museum. (We would have done more, but we slept in late, and then took the wrong bus. We ended up in the middle of nowhere for about an hour walking around until we finally found another bus to take us to the right place.)We watched London's New Year events on TV...I know, we're exciting! It was a great show though. :) We just got tired of walking around in the snow with nothing to do for a few hours, and got too bored to wait around for the bells to ring at Christ Church.



DAY 4: No buses, no taxis, and too far to walk...the Irish take their holidays very seriously! We walked a little ways to a little mini-town where almost nothing was open. We went to a convenience shop or two, then found a small cafe for brunch (which had AMAZING food, by the way), and came back to the hotel by 12:30ish. Spent the rest of the day being lazy and sad that we couldn't do any sightseeing. It was nice to have a day to relax and rejuvenate for the rest of the week though.



DAY 5: The Book of Kells and Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the National Museum of Ireland were all checked off of our list. (The Book of Kells and the National Museum did not allow photography.)We walked by Dublin Castle on our way home, but didn't have any desire to tour the place.



DAY 6: We found a bus to take us out of town! We went to a small town called Cashel to see the Rock of Cashel (a castle from the 11th-15th centuries) and Hore Abbey (an old abbey from the 13th-14th centuries). It's amazing that parts of buildings that old can still be standing now!



DAY 7: We took a bus from Cashel to Cork to Blarney to see Blarney Castle and to kiss the Blarney Stone. [According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery)--to learn more about the stone, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blarney_Stone). After Blarney, we went back and walked around Cork for a while waiting for the bus to take us the 4 hours back to Dublin.



DAY 8: This was our last day to look around, but we didn't do much. We walked around the city and found souvenirs, then went down to the bay and back for a nice, long walk, then headed back to the hotel early evening. We were worn out from all of the excitement, and had packing to do.




DAY 9: We had to come home... I have mixed feelings about being back. It's nice not to have to eat out every meal though. We were getting sick of "take away" and restaurant food.

(**Note: Many picture dates are one day off because of the time change.)

Thoughts on Marriage

Some say love doesn't work that way Some say that you can't know withing the first week of dating a person that they are "the one," and that anyone who moves that quickly won't have a chance. Some say it's stupid to get married while you're still in school, and that the guy is supposed to be graduated with a job and house, and be all set up before even thinking about marriage. Some say marriage just isn't worth it...

To those who think that way, I have news for you... IT HAPPENS! I never thought I would be one of those typical Mormon scenarios that moves quickly, but it caught me completely off guard. There were so many other things going on in my life, and one morning I had decided to swear off guys for a while so I could figure a few things out. A LOT OF GOOD THAT DID ME! Later that very same day Shaun and I discovered that we both play the upright bass, and that was it...figures. Did I ever think I would be engaged at 19 and married at 20? NOT A CHANCE! I had plans my life. I had things to do I knew I wouldn't be able to do being married (or so I thought). I was going to travel and see the world. I was going to do SO much before "settling down," and it was NOT going to be now.

It didn't take me long after meeting Shaun to realize that being married meant "settling down" in terms of not dating around anymore, but it didn't mean being boring. It didn't mean you can't travel the world, but rather that you'll have someone to do it with. Being married means having someone to come home to at the end of a long and hard day to share your grief and joy with. It means helping each other through the hard times, and celebrating through the good. It means being with the one you love for ETERNITY!

Some people call me crazy for getting married so young, but it is the best thing I have ever done BY FAR! Everyday is a new adventure. Everyday a new learning experience. I wouldn't trade Shaun for anything!

HAPPENINGS...

Well, life has been absolutely CRAZY these past few months! I don't really have any good excuses for not updating the blog except for the lack of time and energy. I'm only making myself do it now because a lot has happened recently, and I want to let everyone know how we're doing.

APARTMENT UPDATE:
To those who haven't heard, we finally moved out of the "black hole" we used to live in on October 23-24, 2009. We found a MUCH nicer apartment on the other side of town that is a 2 bed, 1.5 bath. Not to brag, but we now have a living room, COAT CLOSET, kitchen, PANTRY, LINEN CLOSET, FULL-SIZE bathroom (with a big shower/tub we don't have to bend over in to wash our hair), 1/2 BATHROOM in the bedroom, bedroom, OFFICE with a HUGE CLOSET, and my personal favorite is the HEAT/AC! (New things in all caps). It has straight, flat walls, NO mice, NO bats, and NO black mold! The landlord, Kay Taylor, is really nice too! (Example: For Christmas she left a card and box of chocolates on everybody's doorstep.) They actually clear the parking here when it snows! I know we're easy to please after our last place, but we are VERY happy with how things are at the new place.

We actually have an office now so we don't have a cramped front room because of walls lined with desks, a sewing table, and furniture. We were even able to get a nice bookshelf to make things look a little more organized! The front room feels like twice the size of the old one because it's not so cluttered. We had room for a Christmas tree this year, which totally made the season for me.

(I'll get pictures up after I clean the place. It's a little messy after getting home from our trip and unpacking everything. Not to mention I don' t remember how to use Picasa, so I'll have to talk to my sister. =] )

WORK AND WORK... I MEAN SCHOOL (is there really a difference?):
I'm still working 2 jobs as well as taking classes online (we're between semesters right now, and it has been such a nice break). Shaun is working part-time and taking classes full-time at KSU. This past semester was pretty hard on us both. Shaun struggled in his grad classes, but pulled out with good grades because of all of his hard work and time spent. We didn't really get to see each other all that much because our schedules just didn't match up to where we could. I would leave for work before he would wake up, and most nights I would be in bed before he got home from studying. We tried to remember a date night, but it was really hard with all of the work having to be done. I had a tough semester, other than not seeing my hubby, with work from 6:55am-about 5:30 or 6:00pm (sometimes later), then a quick dinner and homework all hours of the night. Repeat Monday-Friday. It was a tough semester, but we managed to make it through.

CHRISTMAS
Christmas was fun this year! I bought Shaun a new hermit crab to add to those we already have. Monty makes 6, and we're planning on getting a bigger tank and a couple more later this or next month. We love our crabs!

Christmas was at Shaun's parent's house this year. Robyn, Eric and little Charlie flew in from D.C., and on Christmas Eve everyone was supposed to come to Manhattan for dinner and games, etc. at Doug & Joan's, but everyone was snowed in in Topeka, and the roads were closed because of the blizzard happening that night. It ended up just being us and the parents. We had a nice evening. It was good to spend time with them and visit.

Christmas day we all went to Topeka for dinner (late lunch) at Eric's parent's house. It had stopped snowing for the most part and roads were opened, but we ended up pushing about 5 cars out of the snow that day. Dinner was really good, and the babies were adorable! We had a good time with everyone, and an overall great holiday!