Christmas 2020

I can be a little... "Extra" on the Holidays. But I love doing these cute Christmas card photos.

Merry Christmas! From our family to yours.

6 years of Marriage

 

For our Anniversary this year we went on our first real date of 2020.

We've been laying low and waiting out this pandemic, but we decided to go mini golfing and bowling tonight- just to have something fun to do together. 

Mini golf here is cute- but more geared towards children... or drunk people. It wasn't a challenge. lol

And then we just watched movies and hung out. Winters in the North aren't very eventful.

I asked Michael what he learned from 6 years of marriage, and he said: "never get complacent and always try to watch for if your partner is in need of something."

Thanksgiving with the Smiths

 This year Michael's family traveled up and came to visit with us for Thanksgiving.

The spent 3 days with us at our new place out here. We spent Thanksgiving enjoying the food. And Black Friday exploring the town.

We didn't get many pictures of our adventure- but we did get a pretty great video...

Smith Family Photos 2020

 When we went Home for Vacation a couple weeks ago we gathered all the Family together and captured this amazing Family Photo (Thanks the Becky!) Getting a good photo with this many people is no small feat!

And here is a picture I took of Michael and his parents. You can tell where he gets his good looks from!

Family photos 2020

 Today we all met at our the GrandPerry Farm to take family photos all together

Hadlee is hardly 2 months old, and she looks like a doll.

The Farm is up for sale as my grandparents want to downsize and travel in their retirement. So no-one knows exactly how many Sunday dinners and get togethers we have left here. 

This was the first time Uncle Dillion got to hold Hadlee- and the first time in my life I have ever seen him willingly take a picture!

Happy Halloween 🧙‍♀️

 

Vote!

 Guess who voted for the first time today? 

There are so many excuses on why you're too busy or don't want to go to the polls. But none of them are a good enough reason to take this privilege for granted!
#JustDoIt #Vote #2020 
If you dont vote you cant complain about politics. 

Meeting Hadlee for the first time

Hadlee was born back in August. But because of the distance we had to travel we weren't able to be home right away. And since it is currently a Pandemic situation- we wanted to wait a couple weeks before we brought any potential bugs with us when we headed South. But today- after so much anticipation... I finally got to hold my niece for the first time! 💓

This is Michael's "Baaaaabe- Don't you want one?!" face 😅

Fall Photos 2020

Its that time of year again. Every mid-September we have to have a photoshoot to save our youth in time each fleeting year 😂

We took these down at the woodland trail again (the same place we had our photos done for the 2017 session)

I took these with my Nikon 7200, but I am less than impressed with the quality images I get with it verses the Galaxy10 phone lately. So we will probably end up taking more photos this season with the phone. Plus we need some with our 'Children' 🐕🐕🐕

Anyways, I do like how these turned out for the most part. And for once Mike grew his hair out long 😍(he's such a stud!)

 

Im officially an Auntie

 Today my sister brought another tiny person into the world

Hadlee Joe was born at 5:40pm weighing 6lbs 3 oz

She is the first Child of mine or any of my siblings- making her the first baby, grand baby, and great grand baby on both her mom and dads side. What a lucky little angel that she brings the joy, excitement, and title to everyone.

We are so blessed that the labor and delivery went smoothly and everyone is healthy and safe. Sam did so good and managed to have a drug/epidural free delivery. She is one tough little mama.

New Car! Cadillac SRX4

I'm going to miss my old car (2005 CTS) but we needed an upgrade.

We travel so much that being jammed in a sedan with all our stuff and 3 dogs for 15-hour car rides is super unpleasant. I wanted more space.

Our old car was going downhill quickly, it was 15 years old, had 130,000 miles on it, which doesn't sound like much but when a car sits for 10 years it starts to wear. 

We had slid into a curb one winter in 2016 and cracked the front, then ripped it entirely off in Texas last summer when we hit that water. Even the key was broken and couldn't be on a keyring anymore.

I was looking at a couple of different SUV's and Crossovers. 

I knew the features I wanted-

• Our next vehicle HAD to have AWD- our last car was so sketchy in the winters with its rear-wheel drive. 
• I wanted a space in the back I could make for the dogs so they were contained and safe.
• It had to have heated front seats and Bluetooth capabilities. Our last car didn't even have an aux cord port.
• It either had to have an auto-start or they had to add one because I'm not going outside in the ND winter to start my car anymore!

And then I had features that I really wanted but weren't a deal-breaker. Like a backup camera, and I'd prefer a V6 engine.

Well yesterday we decided to make a date of it and got Fro-Yo then drove around to all the car dealerships to look at cars and get ideas of what we like. We figured it would be a few weeks before we would find something we could both agree on and go in. But we stumbled upon this gem, and I fell in love.

It had everything I wanted and needed plus more! And I love my Cadillac's, but I figured I would never find one in my price range with all these features. I literally could not design a car myself more perfectly for what I wanted.

Michael doesn't love crossovers and would prefer a car himself. But he said since I wanted it so badly he would let me choose since I drive it the most. And he went down Monday while I was at work and filled out all the paperwork so I could come sign on my lunch break and drive away with it. 

New Beginnings- My Career

Today I have finished my training and am Offically an RSR for Schwan's.

Back in Utah I applied for a Route Sales Position for Schwan's home services, but unfortunately, I never heard back after the 2nd interview. 

So when we moved out here and I saw they were hiring in this location, I gave it a shot and ended up getting the job!

I always liked the idea of being an RSR because I know the company and enjoy the customer service as well as being out and about instead of cooped up inside all day.

The summer weather is so enjoyable but I know the winter will be a struggle. However, I really love this job.

When I started I was sent to Fargo for training. The company would rent me a car, and a hotel room, and send me out Sunday night, work Monday-Thursday, and then come home again Fridays.

I never used to travel alone, or really do anything alone. And now here I am traveling across the state, being independant and such. Haha.

This job has pushed me way out of my comfort zone, and into situations, I would usually avoid. But I have grown so much in such a short amount of time working here. I never thought I could do the things a job like this required- like driving large trucks, doing meetings, and traveling. Yet somehow I am doing them, and it's not as hard as I always told myself it was.

I always said I wanted my own career that I could support myself and not rely on my husband's income. Now I make almost as much as him, have my own insurance and retirement, and literally have the career I have always wanted.

I have never felt more like an independent feminist woman that putting on my work boots every day.

And I am so proud of myself for everything I have accomplished so far. 

Cheers to new beginnings and personal growth!

Michael's 29th Birthday

Today was Michael's 29th Birthday.

With the Corona-crisis our celebration was limited to the confines of our home.

I was able to go to the dollar store and a couple gas stations to collect balloons and his favorite candies. Then I made his favorite Chicken Dumpling Soup for dinner and baked him a small cake.

Although I would have liked to make a bigger event of his birthday, he much appreciated the little things that made his day special.

"My dear, sweet, amazing husband. Happy 29th Birthday! I love and cherish you. I am so glad I get to spend this life with you! Im sorry we couldn't do anything big or exciting this year, but I hope all your birthday wishes come true. When things get better I'm going to get you something nice. Never forget how much you mean to me or how perfect and sexy you are! Love always- your cute wife 😘 Amber."