Christmas 2008

So, I've been a slacker with this whole blogging thing. But what do you expect? I am going to school full-time, well 22 credits to be exact and still working. Needless to say the blog has been neglected. Now that I am in the swing of things for this term, hopefully it will settle down a bit. Here is our wonderful 2008 Christmas pictures that have been sitting on the computer for months now. We had a wonderful, yet unexpected Christmas at the Kelly's this year. We were supposed to be in Utah for Christmas, again this year, and the unexpected "Arctic Blast" kept us in Oregon. So we improvised. And, I got called into work on Christmas Eve after I told my boss that our trip was cancelled. It was a sad thing but I had to do it. Tom, Tracy, Steve and Sam had the traditional Tracy Kelly Christmas Eve dinner and I went to work. Once I got off work, I went back to the Kelly's and we all had yummy lemon ice and read the Christmas story. Sam and I stayed the night at the Kelly's and we woke up on Christmas morning and enjoyed a yummy breakfast together. We opened our gifts and enjoyed Christmas morning together. Sam and I then tried to venture to Hood River for the day, but the snow started coming down like crazy in Portland so we were detoured to the Jensen's for Christmas dinner. We had a wonderful time at their house with Tom and Lisa, Megan, Craig, Kathy and Don, Tom and Tracy and Steve. It was a great Christmas holiday and it was nice to spend it in Oregon this year.

Snow and sledding in Salem

Sunday morning we all woke up to a little bit of snow. Tom and Tracy's, my inlaws, ward was cancelled. It's funny in Oregon how crazy people get when there is just a tiny bit of snow on the ground. It's like the whole state shuts down. After Sam and I attended church we went over to the Kelly's for the usually Sunday dinner and when we arrived the neighbor kids were outside sledding. I took those pictures of them while I was laughing about how excited they were for just a little bit of snow. And they were sledding on it!! But as the night progressed, a lot of snow had fallen and Sam and I decided to go out and join the fun! There was about 2-3 inches and we went sledding down the neighboring streets. Tom also came out and joined us after a little while. It was so much fun, something that rarely happens in Salem, Oregon!

WOU Basektball update!

So the basketball season is getting started. The WOU wolves are 2-1 so far, pretty good! These pictures above are from a couple of the games at WOU. I am excited to see what happens this season, so far the wolves are much more refined compared to last year. With their point guard for this year transferring to PSU this summer, they are trying out a couple freshman point guards this year. It has been a big adjustment for the wolves, but I think they are doing pretty well handling that. Sam did have 22 points against Dixie, where his good friend from SLCC, Andy Palmer, plays. It was fun to see Andy, pictured above with Sam. These pictures are of Sam and his teamates right before a game last week.

Happy Halloween 2008

Sam and I had a pretty laid back Halloween this year. I had to work that night and Sam had basketball practice so we didn't make any plans. But, we did carve our pumpkin this year. Last year we did not get to it and I was pretty disappointed. So this year I made sure we did it. And I baked the seeds, they were pretty yummy. So here is some pictures of our pumpkin, and the end result, on Halloween night on Sam's parents porch. That night we went to Tom and Tracy's to watch scary movies and eat yummy food that Tracy prepared. She made sweet potato cupcakes.. they were super good! It was a fun day/night that we were able to spend with the Kelly's. (And yes, I did get my hair cut again. It was supposed to be a trim and this is how it turned out.. I'm not a fan.)

)

Tis' the season.. for WOU basketball!

The 2008-2009 WOU basketball season is about to begin. Their first game is November 5th at Portland State. This is Sam's senior year at WOU. The first picture above is of the seniors on Sam's team. The one of him is his profile picture on the WOU athletic website. The one of us was taken at Midnight Madness on October 25th. I am very excited for this basketball season and I hope his team is successful!

Backpacking to Mt. Jefferson September 8-9, 2008

We were able to go on a short backpacking trip with my father-in-law, Tom. It was so fun to be able to spend time out in the wild. I love hiking, and camping. It was a bit chilly, notice the snow, but we had fun making use of it by glaciating down the hills. Sam took a video of me glaciating.. And of course I did fall right on my bum right when he stopped videoing me.. But there is a good picture of it and the aftermath.. Sam fell too I just wasn't able to capture it! It was beautiful up there, lots of wild flowers and berries. We picked some huckleberries on our way back to make a huckleberry cobbler, thanks to Tracy! Thanks Tom for the wonderful Oregon trip!

BYU vs UW in Seattle 09.06.08

This was a fun trip for Sam and I to go on. We were able to go to the BYU game thanks to one of Sam's buddies who was not able to use the tickets. Scott was able to make it up to Seattle too thanks to his job. We had a blast being there and cheering on the Cougs as they beat Washington!!

10 inches... gone!

I cut my hair.. and I love it! What a great feeling to get rid of 10 inches! I did donate it to a great cause! I just thought I would let everyone know.. Thanks so much Genie! You're the best!

Miami sunrise..

We went to the beach the morning we left Miami. It was so peaceful and quiet. It was nice to spend some time there before we had to take off for Oregon.. I will miss Miami so much and I am so grateful we had the opportunity to spend our summer there!

The Last of Miami...

This is just the last of our summer pictures in Miami. We were so sad to leave but will have some wonderful memories that we will always charish. Here are just a few pictures to wrap up our summer there. Sam's manager had one of their last meetings as a pool party. I just took some picutes of the guys playing around. Then there is a picture of me and Christina, one of the girls I played with all summer, running from the beach after it started pouring down rain.. it was a sunny day! I took a picture of a frog that came knocking at my door one night while I was cooking dinner.. It scarred me! We had an opportunity to eat dinner at one of Sam's converts house. Her name is Miraya and she is Nicaraguan and made us yummy carne asada and beans and rice! It was delicious! Sam and I had the opportunity to go to the Everglades before we left. We didn't take a tour but we were able to go out into a swamp and look for alligators.. but no luck, there was just too much water because the summer is the rainy season. When you go out there during the winter you can see a lot of them swimming around because the swamp isn't so swampy! Then we were also able to go to a Marlins game.. It was awesome! We paid 12 bucks each and we were able to scoot down to about 10 rows up from the field because not many fans showed up! I guess that's how pro sports are out in Florida, no one supports them. And then there is a picture of Sam and I at the beach, our last day trip.. It was sad knowing that we were leaving all that behind to go back to rainy Oregon.. And then our last night out to dinner with Grant and Genie. It was so awesome to stay with them. Thank you so much guys for making our summer amazing!

Sam's 25th Birthday- August 17, 2008

What an awesome day we had. First to start it off we were able to borrow Grant and Genie's car, thanks to them going to Guatamala for a week, and drive down to Miami to visit 2 wards from Sam's mission. There are two pictures in there from that fun experience. It was awesome to see a couple of his converts and to go to a Spanish ward! Then we were able to drive around and see a lot of his area. I took a picture by a tree that I absolutly love out here in Miami. They are so awesome, vines grown from the branches, connect to the ground and grow roots, so you end up with multiple tree trunks. I love the vegitation out here, because of the rain that comes in mass quantities it is so green and beautiful! Then we went out to dinner at a place that is like Rodizzo's in SLC, all you can eat meat! Just what Sam loves. His friend Rhett came with us. I made Sam a chocolate cake for his birthday! It was a first for me and surprisingly it turned out pretty good.. he really liked it, or so he says! I gave him a golf driver and a new jordan hat! What a great birthday babe!

And last but not least from Key West

I just loved this picture of Sam and I on the beach in Key West. It was so fun to take off on a weekend and spend it together with family and friends.. although Brody is now a part of the Kelly family.

More favorites from Key West

So we had one discovery while we were in Key West. Taco Bell.. and not just any Taco Bell, but probably the best Taco Bell any of us had ever tasted! It was amazing.. the buritos, crunchwraps and tacos were stuffed full of meat and vegetables and it was piping hot. We all had to laugh because we at there really late on Saturday night and then again on Sunday.. it was that good. So we took pictures to remember our wonderful Taco Bell experience in Key West..
And then of course we had to go to the Key Lime store to have the famous Key^West Lime pie. I chose to get it on a stick, frozen and dipped in chocolate and Sam just had a traditional slice. It was incredible! Only the best from Key West!!

My favorite in Key West

So I took a lot of pictures in Key West. These were my favorite. Sammy and Joey.. It was so cute to walk behind them and just see her hold on tightly to his first finger.. He is so cute with kids even though he says he doesn't have much patience, he really does. He will be a great daddy someday.



















This picture is of the boys all being a little goofy. The reason we wanted this picture to be taken is because there were two boys out on these rocks making hearts with their hands and we weren't able to snap a picture.. so we had these guys do it instead.. I can't believe they actually did!

And this of course is the typical Key West photo. We are standing at the Southern most point of the US and it was awesome!

Weekend in Key West

What an awesome weekend we just had. Fer, Liz, Joey, Brooke, Grant, Genie, Michael, Sam, Me and Brody all went to Key West this last weekend. We had a blast. The weather was awesome, the water was warm and we couldn't have asked for anything more. We drove down on Saturday morning, 4 hours later arrived on Key West. It was an awesome drive. The views that you were able to take in were breath taking.. The 7 mile bridge was awesome, and yes it is really 7 miles although it didn't feel like we were on it that long. Once we arrived we were all starving, so we checked into our hotel and headed to downtown. We got there around 2 o'clock and ate at about 3. We ate at this place called Cheeseburger that was really good. Michael had just been in Hawaii a couple weeks earlier and ate at Cheeseburger in Hawaii. There are only 4 or so locations.. so that was fun and really good! Then we headed off to the beach, which was a bit of a dissapointment. We were used to our sandy clean beaches that were really nice, with no seaweed and soft sand. This beach had a smell that was aweful and the beach was hard sand with lots of rocks in it. But we still had fun playing on the beach while the boys all swam in the water. We stayed there for awhile and then headed to our hotels, we were all exhausted. We woke up the next morning, Sunday and just stayed at the hotel pool all day, till about 1:30 or so. It was actually the hotel next door pool area but they said we could go over there. We drank a Pina Colada, virgin of course, and it was delicious. Then we headed to the Key Lime store and enjoyed some fresh Key Lime pie. It was a wonderful weekend and we loved spending time with our family!

Florida Girls!

I have met some wonderful people here in Florida! Jodie Winterton, Christina Noker and Rachael Jackson are the 3 girls I have met down here who have become my fun friends. This is a picture of us at the Fort Lauderdale beach on a Saturday afternoon, our usual spot that we love going to! We have really bonded and have enjoyed having eachother around!

Happy 23rd Birthday to me!

What an awesome day! First of all we stayed down at Fer and Liz's because we had been there for the 4th. Our 4th of July was kind of crazy because I flew in that morning and Sam had to work all day, from 9 to 7pm. I felt so bad for him but it was a productive day for him as well! I was picked up at the airport by Grant and Genie and we went and got ice cream with Sam. It was so good to see him after being apart that long. We got to spend a little bit of time together and then we headed down to Fer and Liz's for a 4th of July bar-b-que. It was so fun. We went swimming and ate some good food. Then I drove back up to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up Sam and we packed up for the weekend to stay down in Key Biscayne where Fer and Liz are staying. As we were driving back all the fireworks were going off and we we able to see so many from the car. It was an awesome sight! Then we made it down to Key Biscayne and we all stayed up and played cards that night. It was so fun. I was of course exhaused because I had a red-eye flight and hadn't really slept yet. So needless to say we slept in the next morning.. my birthday! We all woke up and we all headed to the beach. It was a cloudy day, but it was still warm and still beach weather. We were there for a few hours just hanging out and having fun. Then the girls, Liz, Genie and I all headed out to go get pedicures. We went to this awesome salon in Coral Gables, which is a nicer area outside of Miami. It was so fun! Then we met the boys and the kids down at a shopping center called Bayside, basically an outdoor mall with lots of fun things to do. We ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and then ate Gelato at a little Gelato shop. Dinner was awesome and the waitress embarrassed me by having me stand up infront of the whole resturaunt and they all wished me happy birthday! Wow, I was so shocked! But it was a great night and we all had fun spending it together!!

Miami Beaches!

We have had so much fun playing at the beaches. These are just a few of the many pictures we have at the beach. We spend time at the beach whenever Sam gets a free moment. Which isn't very often, only 1 day a week. But we love it. It is hurricane season so the weather is kind of crazy and you can never predict what you are going to get when you get out there, but we have been lucky so far. I love it here, I love the weather, even the humidity doesn't bother me anymore. I love the palm trees and the sandy beaches that are so close. I love being outside and absorbing all the sun. The wild life here is so amazing too. We have seen so many unique animals crawling and flying around. It's been a blast! And what makes it even better is that we have close friends and family here too. Sam's cousins, Fer and Liz and Grant and Genie are all living here. We love spending time with them! And of course Brod and Ladd who are out here working with Sam have been an added bonus! Life in Miami is absolutly wonderful!

Portland Oregon temple trip on June 14, 2008

So this was the day that Sam left for Miami to go work for the summer and we wouldn't see eachother for 2 and a half weeks. We had a great day just being together in Portland, the temple grounds were amazing. I love that temple and how it is surrounded by all the beautiful trees and the gorgeous flowers. We had a great time. We also went to eat dinner at the Portland City Grill, and left the camera in the car. So no pictures were taken there, although even if we would have had the camera Sam wouldn't allow me to take any pictures because he gets embarrassed when I ask the waiter to take them. But all in all it was a great day that we had to spend together. And a sad goodbye at the airport. Those 2 and a half weeks were way too long, but we survived!

Florida here we come!

So Sam and I are getting ready to make the big move to Florida for the summer. Sam leaves this Saturday June 14th. I will be heading out there on July 3rd, right before my birthday! We are both really excited to get there and see the sun. The weather here in Oregon has been aweful, it feels like it's November with the way it's been. It's so cold and rainy, but what's new with Oregon, right?

1 year anniversary

We had our first anniversary on May 19th. It was a very interesting day, kinda like our wedding was! First of all, my cute husband had ordered me flowers to be sent to work before 3 because that's when I was leaving work for our date that night. Well, they never came. He was so disappointed about it because that was part of my gift. So he called the flower place and they didn't even apologize about it. They just offered to refund my money and basically said that there was a miscommunication. I ended up emailing them the next day and just explained how we were treated and how they should have at least compensated us for what had happened. So they sent me flowers the next day and the owners daughter called and apologized about the whole situation. Part of the gift I had gotten for Sam was supposed to arrive on that day, and it never came either. So we drove down to Portland and went to the Cheesecake factory, because we went there on the first day of our honeymoon. When we got there, I started feeling really sick, I have been battling this cold thing since Mother's day, and I couldn't eat my meal. It was so frustrating, nothing was going right on our anniversary! I felt so bad about not feeling good but we had decided to go shopping anyway. We went shopping and had a blast. Sam and I haven't had a chance to do that in awhile so we decided we would do it that night. So all in all, the day was pretty chaotic but we really enjoyed just spending that night together and remembering our marriage 1 year ago. This first year has been full of memories that we'll always remember. It has been the best year of our lives and we can't wait for many more!

New job for me and Sam's surgery

Well, we have had quite an interesting month of May. I started a new job at a resturaunt called J. James. It's been an awesome job for me to get. I have been able to work part time around my other full time job and make pretty good money for the amount of hours I put in. And everyone that I work with is awesome too!

Sam had surgery on his foot on May 15. His turf toe was just getting worse so the trainer and the orthopedic surgeon decided it would be best if they just did it now. Since he's in the post season. He is doing really well, recovery has seemed to be pretty easy for him. The surgery was called a chilectomy, which basically just means they shave off the large toe bone to remove the excess cartilage/bone that had formed from the chronic hyperextension of his toe. So he started walking on his foot the next day. He's doing really well. His toe seems to be doing really well. I forget sometimes that he even had the surgery done. But I think it will be a success, especially by the time next basketball season rolls around!

Kyler Thomas Kelly

Scott and Michelle had their beautiful baby boy, Kyler Thomas, on Saturday April 19, 2008. He was 10 lbs and 3 oz! We are so excited for the three of you. We love you all so much! Can't wait to come and visit the new addition to the Kelly family!