We finally finished painting!!!

So we started painting our house in the beginning of this month and we finally finished painting last night. We painted our bedroom, the dining room, hallways, kitchen and living room. It was quite the task, but it's finally done. So we're excited. In the future we'll be painting our bathroom and Kevin's mom's room, but for right now we're happy with how everything looks.

I love California

Hello from sunny beautiful California!

We flew to LA to spend Christmas with my parents and we have been having a great time!! Yesterday we did our Christmas shopping. Then last night we went to this cajun restaurant in Downtown Disney. The food was okay and the service was horrible, but it was great to spend time with my parents. This morning we went to my old ward. It's been a long time since I've been there so it was really nice to see everyone that I grew up with. It was kind of weird seeing some of the kids that I grew up with married with kids! It just seems like yesterday that we were teenagers. But it was good to see everyone. Then Kevin and I had lunch with one of my good friends from high school and her husband, also a friend from high school. It was really nice to see them. Then we went over to see the couple that Kevin lived with while he was going to chiropractic school. It was great seeing them and spending time with their family. So so far it has been a great vacation. Tomorrow we are celebrating Christmas (Tuesday it going to be a busy day with us flying back to AZ, so we thought it would just make things easier if we celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve, instead of on Christmas). It's been the first Christmas being home since 2000, so it's been long overdue.

Hope you all are having a great holiday season and that we always remember the true meaning of Christmas...the birth of Christ.

Ahhh...a vacation!!

Well to celebrate our anniversary, Kevin and I got a hotel in Scottsdale for the weekend. The main reason was so we could finally have some time just for the two of us. We had an awesome time! We didn't have a schedule. We didn't have any chores to do. We could do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted to. It was pure heaven. Yesterday we drove around Scottsdale. We did some window shopping, went to Kevin's favorite store--CostCo. We went and played a round of minature golf and drove the go karts. We went to Cold Stone for some ice cream...it was like 50 degrees and we were getting ice cream...crazy I know! Then last night we went to this fancy fancy restaurant that Kevin's boss gave him a gift certificate to. We felt a litte out of place, but we had a great time and the food was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!! But it was great just to spend that much alone time with Kevin...not having to worry about anything. We'll have to do this more often. We need that time for just the two of us. Can it be our anniversary every weekend? :)

Four Years

So yesterday was our four year anniversary! It's really hard to believe that we've been married for four years. It's gone by so fast! How thankful I am to have Kevin in my life! I couldn't imagine life without him. Six years ago I never thought we would be where we are now! But how glad I am that Kevin and I wrote while I was on my mission. If it wasn't for those letters, I don't think we would be where we are now! Things in our life happen for a reason. I love Kevin!!! He's the cutest thing in the planet!!!!

Welcome to our Kitties...Izzy Munksgard

So right after we got married we knew that we wanted to get a kitten. We only wanted one. We went to a local cat shelter. We saw Addie. We really wanted her. While we were looking at Addie, Izzy was right there meowing, demanding attention. We soon learned that Addie and Izzy were best friends. We didn't want to split them up, so we decided to bring both of them home with us. Izzy is our scaredy kitty. He'll jump at any sound. He hates being picked up, but he is an absolute sweetheart. He is a glutant for attention and can never get enough petting. When we first brought him home we named him our alarm clock because every morning around six he would start meowing. I can also call him by name and he'll come...most of the time. He does what we have named the "Izzy Flop". While you pet him, or anytime really, he'll just FLOP right down next to you...and I mean flop hard! He is so cute. We love him!!

Addie "Princess" Munksgard

So Addie is our Princess. She has always been a shy, sweet kitty...but definately is Daddy's girl. She is very soft, and has a little bump on her nose, that is very cute. When she gets in one of her moods she runs around the house making this cute little noise. She is an absolute doll! We wish that she would let us pick her up and hold her, but she doesn't really like that. But we love her all the same.

Annie Munksgard

When Kevin went down to stay with my parents while going to a study group for his National Boards test, one of my brother's friends brought a 5 week old calico kitten to my mom's house, because he knew my mom was the "cat lady". My mom named her Annie after me. Annie wouldn't stop meowing. My mom named her that because I was a very fussy baby. And the only place where she was happy was sitting on Kevin's shoulder. I was talking to Kevin on the phone while she was on his shoulder, and all I heard was her meow and that was it. I knew that we had to have her. I was driving down that same weekend to spend Kevin's birthday with him, and when I saw her it clenched the deal. So we brought her back to Fresno with us. She was so tiny! But it was soon evident that Annie would be Kevin's little girl. We have countless pictures of Annie cuddling with Kevin. They are very cute. While we were in Fresno, she would wait in the kitchen, by the door to the garage and meow until Kevin would come home. She loves her daddy! She is a very sweet kitty. We ove having her!

Joey Munksgard

We got Joey when Addie had gotten out and we did not think that she woud come back. So we decided to get another cat. We looked in the classified and saw an ad for kittens. We called the number and made arrangements to come and see the kittens that she had. When we got there we saw four black and white kittens. We held each other them, but Joey was the only one that would allow us to hold him longer, and he was more outgoing than his brothers, so we decided that he was the one. From the first time that we brought Joey home he has been the sweetest cat. He is definately a lap kitty. He loves to sit in your lap and be petted. I don't know how we did it, but all I had to say is "Joey, come see Mommy." And pretty much every time no matter if he was sleeping or not he would come running. When he was younger he was fascinated with our DVD player. Anytime we would open or close it, he would come running to see it. But he is a delight to have. We really enjoy having him. In fact, right now he is laying right next to me being as cute as he can be.

Buddy "Trouble" Munksgard

Buddy was an unexpected one. We were okay with only having four cats. We were happy. One of my co-workers brought him home with another kitten. When they found out that they couldn't keep Buddy, my co-worker asked me if I would like to take him home. I couldn't leave a kitty homeless, so after Kevin agreed to let me take him home, I drove over to my co-workers' house and brought him home. He was just seven weeks old then. The first picture below is the day that we brought him home.

We soon learned that Buddy was unlike any other cat that we had ever had. He was VERY hyper. He thought while we were sleeping it was play time so whenever we would move our legs he would attack them. We learned that he loved playing with plastic bags, and if you swung it around in the air he would catch on to it, and you could swing both the bag and him in the air. When we moved to the house, we discovered that he LOVED water. Anytime anyone was doing dishes he would be right there trying to get his paw in the stream of water coming from the faucet. With most kitties you could squirt them with water to deter them from doing something, but it doesn't bother him. He could be wet ALL over and he wouldn't care. And so whenever we would run the shower water...guess what he would jump to the top of the shower enclosure. And sometimes he would even jump in the shower. He definately is a weird cat. He definately keeps us on our toes. He has a lot of energy, but we love having him with us...even if he keeps us from having a Christmas tree.

Buddy's New Trick...

So we decided to finally paint our house. Well, Buddy learned a new trick. He has now learned to ... climb a ladder! What will he do next? He actually walked up the rungs of the ladder. He had a good time trying to figure out how to get down from the ladder. But Kevin taught him how to climb down, the same way he went up. He's a very smart kitty. Although he can be rather a pain. He even climbed up when Kevin was on the ladder. Is he smart or what?

Ode to our Christmas Tree

So the Saturday after Thanksgiving we were so excited because we could put our Christmas tree. We've learned that with our cats we couldn't have a real tree so a couple of years ago we bought a fake one. We didn't have many problems with the cats then...but that all changed this year...when Buddy came into our family. We spent time decorating it and making it beautiful. Sunday morning when we walked out in the living room we saw what the kitties had done during the night. We decided that it wasn't worth it to put the tree back together every day, so we decided just to put it back together when we had company over...well, we soon realized that we also wanted to enjoy it and we couldn't do it this year with our cats....so we had to take it down. We were and are so sad!! So maybe some year we'll be able to have a Christmas tree up...

Before the Madness...

This was our BEAUTIFUL Christmas tree. We enjoyed it for the couple of hours that it was up before the kitties attacked it.

Our Little Monster

This was our main little problem...BUDDY!!!!! He would not leave the tree alone. The other kitties weren't quite as bad. He's our trouble maker...but he is cute....when he sleeps...LOL

Annie in the Tree

Isn't she cute?

Christmas Tree After the Kitty Attack

And this is the tree after the cats got to it....

My Thanksgiving!!!

So...I'll tell you about my Thanksgiving...

My family came out to Arizona. Thursday night we went to the USC vs ASU game at Sun Devil stadium. USC beat ASU's butt!! (Sorry any Sun Devil fans out there...). We had so much fun! It was the first time that my family has done something like this in a long time! It was great to be there as a family!! Then on Friday, while Kevin was at work, we went out for a drive through the Superstition Mountains and picnicked on the side of the road (using the table that comes with my CR-V). It was great!! We had a great time as a family!!! And the food was G-O-O-D!!!!!

Welcome to My World

Well I guess since some of my friends have created a blog, than maybe it's time for me to step into the world of blogging...it's almost 2008 for goodness sake!! So here it goes...

I'll start off with introducing myself. I was born in Whittier, CA in a year I would not really like to mention. I am the oldest of a family with four kids. I have two younger brothers and a younger sister; John, Diana, and Brian. Growing up I was a total TOMBOY!!! I even looked like a boy! If you don't believe me you can ask my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Rectenwald. I played as many sports as I could: baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, etc; along with the annual four square and handball tournaments my siblings and some neighbor kids had while I was going up. Along with playing sports I was an avid musician. In third grade I started playing the violin, and from then on I continued to pick up different musical instruments, until I focused mainly on the flute and the piano. Music was my life! I was in the orchestra and band in middle school. In high school I was in marching band, concert band, orchestra, and jazz band; along with any other little groups that came my way. As soon as I could get away I left for college; spending a summer at BYU, and completed my associates in Psychology at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho). I absolutely loved my time at Ricks. I miss it soo much! Send me back! After I graduated from Ricks, I went home for the summer, with the plan to attend Southern Utah University, in Cedar City, UT, in the fall. But life changes unexpectedly...and it did for me...which I am so thankful for (you'll see why in a second...). One night I went to a Relief Society sleep over. While I was there I heard a couple of my friends talk about their missions and how fulfilling they were, how amazing they were. And while I listened to them, a thought came into my mind (and wouldn't go away) that I needed to serve a mission. I knew that I needed to serve a mission. I had thought about going on one before, but this time I knew that it was what I needed to do. It just so happened that I was talking in Sacrament Meeting the following Sunday and I chose to talk about...wait for it, wait for it...MISSIONARY WORK!!! That day I made an appointment with my Bishop to start the process.

Well, two days after I decided to serve a mission (July 2, 2001) I was sitting in the Relief Society room at FHE. We were waiting for it to start. A friend of mine was sitting next to me and decided to go sit somewhere else. I teased her that no one wanted to sit next to me. Then I heard a male's voice in front of me say that he would sit by me, and next thing I knew...he sat down next to me. Who was this? you might ask. His name was Kevin James Munksgard. (Again at that Relief Society sleepover we were talking about boys---yeah...BIG surprise---well it was brought up that I should meet a Kevin Munksgard because he would be perfect for me...but I had no clue on who he was...I had heard his name a couple of times, but I had never been formally introduced to him.) So it was a relief to finally meet this Kevin Munksgard that people spoke so highly about. We started talking...we continued to talk...and talk...and talk. We clicked. By the end of the night he asked me if it would be okay if he could ask me out... (do you think I could have said no?). So the day before my birthday we went out on our first date. We went to see the movie AI. Horrible movie, but we had a great time! The next day I left for Utah for a few days. When I came back we went out again. We started talking on the phone more. We both knew that I was going to serve a mission, so we knew nothing serious could happen between us...so it turned into a friendship. More details later...

So I turned in my mission papers, and on August 25, 2001 I received my call to the TEXAS SAN ANTONIO MISSION!! I was so excited!! So for the next three months I focused on getting ready. On November 28, 2001 I entered the MTC. Boy what an experience that was!! I served in three areas: Austin (UT single's ward), San Marcos (Southwest Texas State University single & young married's branch, and San Marcos ward), and Kerrville. How I loved my mission! I had so many amazing experiences and met so many amazing people!!!

So now about Kevin... Right before I left on my mission, Kevin and I were growing distant from each other. After a month and a half of being on my mission I decided to write him a letter, with no expectation that I would receive a letter in return. Well to my surprise he wrote me back right away, which kind of scared me. So I decided to give it some time to write him back...well, I completely forgot to write him back. So a couple of months went by and he wrote me a rebuke letter asking if I had forgotten about him. I learned my lesson...he was being sincere with wanting to keep in touch with me...so from that day on I decided that I would answer EVERY letter that he wrote to me. And pretty soon we were writing every week. He became the stone I could lean upon. So it wasn't a huge shock that we started dating when I came home. Well, long story short, six months later we were engaged, and two and a half months later we were sealed in the San Diego Temple on December 13, 2003.

Kevin and I moved to Fresno, CA to start our new life together. We had an apartment a mile and a half from the Fresno Temple. I found a job as a file clerk at a local Workers' Comp Insurance office. Life started for us. Kevin stayed at home at first while studying for the tests that he needed to take to get his Chiropractic License. Finally, on October 15, 2004 two major things happened: Kevin received his chiropractic license in the mail AND we got the keys to our very first house. We were so excited! So Kevin started his practice, while I continued to work. A couple of months later I was promoted to the Underwriting Department. And a couple of months later we picked up a paper route to supplement our income. That turned into both of us having our own route. That then led to us both working as employees for the Fresno Bee (both working two jobs...not fun!). So that was life for us. Going from job to job...not having much energy to do anything else. But we got to spend time together and that was the main thing!!!!

We lived this way for about two years. Finally, in September 2006, we decided that enough was enough. Kevin really wanted to be doing chiropractic (by this time he had pretty much stopped doing anything with his practice because it just wasn't going anywhere) full-time...and that wasn't feasible in Fresno. So we started to talk about our options. We decided that we needed to move to Arizona. 1. Houses were a lot cheaper (we could get a four bedroom house for the same price as our two bedroom house in CA. 2. the cost of living was cheaper. 3. Kevin's best friend lived there. and 4. we needed a new start. So we put our house in Fresno on the market and started our plans to move to Arizona. Kevin found a position to work for a doctor in North Phoenix. Everything was set. We moved to Arizona in the end of January 2007 and we haven't looked back since. I found a job at AIG; in the Workers' Comp dept. We've had our own set of trials since we have moved here but we are grateful every day for the decision we made to move here.