Once Upon A Time....

We didn't have internet in our house. Now we do, so there is no excuse for for the fact that our blog hasn't been updated in a very long time. I loved how a friend of mine updated her blog so I will copy her.

Top 10 Things That Have Happened Since Our Last Post.......

10. In June we found out that ISU decided to cancel the Paramedic program (the whole reason we moved to Poky) and we spent weeks trying to get a straight answer from anyone about what was actually going on and if/when they would bring the program back. (it isn't coming back...)

9. We were able to help Niki and Nik get engaged!!!!! We helped them find a great deal on a GORGEOUS ring and get him connected with dad so he could ask permission. Their wedding is November 20 in the Salt Lake Temple. Yay!

8.We got sod for our yard!!!! Now we have grass and it only took 3 hours!

7. Pike now weighs in at 60 pounds and is only 10 months old! We fear he may turn out to be a giant.....

6. All of my family was able to go up north to the Dworschak reservior in Orofino to play on the water. We had so much fun rying to teach Pike to swim. He didn't want any of that but liked the really shallow water. All of my little siblings a getting so big! It is starting to make me feel old.

5. My friend Brigette got her mission call and I was able to fly to Arizona to go through the temple with her! It was wonderful!

4. While I was in Arizona I got to spend a day with my brother Thor and we had SO MUCH FUN!

3. Our friend Kate who lost her husband in June has been able to stay with us most nights of the week now that she is going to school at ISU to help her avoid having to make the 30 min drive in from Downey everyday. We were even able to convert our office into a bedroom for her because we suspect that in the winter she will be spending even more time with us. It is great to have her, she loves to play with Pike when we don't have time.

2. Josh found a new degree program that he can graduate from in AUGUST. Fire Service Administration. Then on to a different school for Paramedic.

And finally....

I'm gonna be selfish and brag all about me on this one...

1. I audidioned for choir here at ISU and they were so impressed with my ability and knowledge and experience that they couldn't believe that I was not a music major! Compliments from choral directors are very few and far between so this was HUGE! I am singing in the women's choir this semester because it is all that fits into my schedule but it is AMAZING! Our director is just awesome and we have so much fun and are singing some of the coolest songs I have ever sung. I absolutly love it and am so excited to be singing again after years of only singing in church!

*Promise that things will get updated more often these days!!!!!

My AMAZING Husband-A year in recap

I just finished my last class of the semester and since going home would mean hanging out all alone without TV or Internet until Josh gets home from work around 1 in the morning, I decided I would take a few minutes (and a TON of pictures) to recap our first year of married life and to brag about my awesome man!

Check out those dimples! With a smile like that you know he has to be good for something but until we were married I didn't quite understand just what an unbelievable, multi-talented, hard working man Josh Scadden is.

A few months after our wedding Josh got the chance to show off his baking skills and made me a birthday cake for my 21st! It just so happens that he did this one all by himself, frosting and all. It was the most delicious cake I have EVER eaten (mango margarita-go figure) and so totally cute. I was blown away.

Then periodically while he was on one of his long days driving a delivery truck all over southern Idaho, a florist would show up at my office and drop off something like this. :)

This is just one of the many bouquets that I have been privileged to receive in the last year.

Along with trying his had at cake making, our access to satellite TV in our first apartment and the FoodNetwork, Josh got a few fancy ideas for breakfast....

As the fall semester drew to a close and the snow settled in, we decided we needed a Christmas Tree. Now, being from the desert that is Arizona, the idea of trekking through two feet of snow to find a tree small enough to fit in our basement apartment that was not totally scraggly did not sound appealing in the least, but that is what Josh thought needed to happen. So he decked me out in new snow boots, gloves and hat and hiked through the snow as I hung out down by the car watching, laughing and taking pictures.

Finally we did find one that would work though and Josh chopped it and hauled it down the hill to the Jeep. Once we got it home he set to the task of getting it to stand so that we could decorate it. (You see the tree trunk only had the diameter of about a quarter-the tree was only 4 ft tall- and they don't make tree stands that little. ) We had some improvising to do.

In the end it turned out a very cute, sad, little tree that tipped whenever it got the chance-but what can you say, we had a lot of fun!

Shortly after Christmas was when all the real fun began. We were gearing up for the new semester and a test with the Pocatello Fire Department AND THEN found out our landlords were moving and selling our house so we had to find a new place to live. Who was awesome enough to go out in the middle of an awful week long snowstorm to inspect homes that had not been lived in for months that were surrounded by ridiculous amounts of snow, once again, Josh- I was tucked away in my cozy little office all day.

I wouldn't feel too bad for him though, he made some time to relax and do things he enjoyed.....

like buy me a new car!
We were hypothetically looking around car lots one night and I happened to mention that this little Sunfire was cute. The next day after work I was at the bank and the dealership signing forms and driving off in my very own cute little car! What a way to bring in the new year!

Now of course the fact the we had to find a new home also meant that my clock did too...

Yeah I really do have a clock almost as big as Josh and that is him hanging it in our second home in 9 months. What a trooper.

Another little gift that came along with the new home complete with yard, the new semester and the new work schedule that keeps Josh out all night and leaves me home alone was the first addition to our little family-Pike

I know Josh has already written about him but he is kind of a big deal and needed to be included. The last few months have been quite the adventure with this little (not so little anymore) guy. But I wouldn't trade him for anything.

Moving on....

In the few months that we have had our new car, we have managed to tack on quite a few miles- a few trips to Utah then Boise, my whirlwind non-stop road trip with Thor and Niki to get my mom and bring her to my dad's POST graduation in Boise, constant trips to Idaho Falls, and another trip up north to my sisters baptism-we decided that a little car with great gas mileage was definitely one intelligent purchase.

The trip to Artie's baptism was my favorite though, Josh was Superman! He got out of class at 10pm I got back shortly thereafter from Rexburg with Niki and we headed out. He drove all night after working and going to school all day. We made it to Nez Perce around 6AM.

That truck driving job gave him a lot of practice at LOOOOONG, LATE driving. That came in handy but I don't think anything could have prepared him for that drive with the dog in the backseat next to Niki who was still awake and telling stories at 3am (if any of you have seen my sister when she is sleepy, you understand)

When the big day arrived, Josh volunteered to help out with so much.....

Including taking the lady of the hour out in the new car for ice cream! (don't worry, there is a lot of trunk space)

As the year progressed, a funny little thing happened one day...

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS

and the subsequent adjusting and rehanging of the 3ft clock!

The most recent project that has dropped into our lives was the making of my first wedding cake. A favor for Josh's little sister. I'm sure you can't imagine how Josh possibly could have helped me make a wedding cake but he has his ways.

Most wedding cakes these days have the bulk made from styrofoam. Now as poor starving college students, we were not about to shell out the $60 it was going to cost to buy styrofoam from the only store in town that had it, so Josh came up with a plan.

He shifted from driving the trucks at work to loading them and every night came in contact with hundreds of cardboard boxes that were just going to get thrown out. This gave him the idea that we could use them. We could cut cardboard circles out and glue them together until the layers were as high as we needed. The only cost would be glue! Totally great plan right?

Well it worked out, but that ended up being a TON of cardboard circles that Josh traced, cut, glued and then sanded down smooth so that I could have a perfect base for this cake. I am pretty sure that if you ever need to know how many layers of cardboard it takes to get to one inch, my man has got your answer.

I was incredibly grateful for his help at the beginning of the cake process because it still took many hours for me to arrive at the perfect finished project and if he hadn't started it, it probably would not have happened.

My first (and let me just add LAST) attempt at a wedding cake.

While all of this was going on, Josh also was taking 17 credits and an EMT class that is worth 4 at UI but nothing here. He is now an Idaho State Certified EMT, he finished out the semester with b's and c's, managed to land a second job for the summer at Home Depot, put a pond with a waterfall in our yard, fix his motorcycle, train the puppy, and be unbelievably supportive of a wife struggling with depression.

In short, this has been a crazy year that there is no way I could have survived without the constant support and love of my wonderful husband. I have never met a man like him and am privileged to be called his wife.

I love you Josh!

Way to go Ferocious -Josh-

So yesterday I was watching Pike out the front window as he sat watching me in the front window when the electric company meter-man walked through the gate to read the meters on the house in front of us. (He does it from our front yard.) Pike watched him while I watched Pike to see what he would do. Pike looked about as interested in the guy as he is interested in the door mat he was sitting on. Not even a bark. Just kinda watched him go about his business. I guess we can just hope he is a little meaner to actual threats like the gas-man. On another note we found him a new friend who lives around the corner. A little boxer girl who belongs to a nice couple. Pike hasn't met the other dog yet but we hope it goes well.

Pike

So sorry to those who have seen or facebook or heard about Pike but he has taken so much of our time that we haven't had a chance to tell you all about him.

So just over a week ago, while Morgan was in Boise watching her dad graduate from POST Josh was up to something. Friday morning he skipped class and went to Downey to look at a puppy to help Morgan feel safer and calmer while he was out at work untill late at night. Pike as we have come to call him was the last one of the litter to go and with a great price and papers we could not pass him up.

Pike was born on Dec. 8 2008. His father was a large (REALLY FRIGGIN BIG) fawn boxer like he is and his mothe was a dark brindle boxer. Both were great dogs. Pike was just shy of 10 pounds when we picked him up from the breeder and has in the last week put on another 5 pounds which makes him roughly 5 times bigger than the only other dog in the family, Stanley who is Josh's older sister's 3 pound chihuahua. (They haven't met.) So far he is healthy and loving life in his new home. We have taken him to see Josh's family in Idaho Falls and as long as we can keep him out of their cat's or Stanley's food he is a good dog there too. He is almost fully house trained and his only problems are when we leave him for extended periods of time so it probably is simply down to him just not being able to hold it any more.

Pike found out what a cat was for the first time Saturday evening when he met Spaz, Josh's parents' cat. Josh was watching Pike getting closer and closer to the cat sniffing out the situation all the time looking back at Josh periodically with a look that seemed to say what the crap happened to that dog? ITS UGLY! Josh warned Pike to keep his distance which he did while Josh was watching. A few minutes later while no one was watching we all heard a whap followed by Pike's claws trying to gain traction on the tile while he ran away whimpering. Needless to say the cat stood its ground.

Pike's favorite trick is to get us stuck anywhere we take him. Everyone who sees him thinks he is the cutest thing and HAS to pet him for a minute. PETCO and PETSMART trips are planned out in our day to take atleast a while if he is with us.

Pike is in our opinion a great dog and will be great for us. He is smart and looks great.

Finally Here -Josh-

So this morning I took Morgan to class then went home to get myself ready for the day. I got everything done and was going to head out myself. I made a few futile steps to the mailbox just hoping to have something there but I second guessed myself and turned around. Then third guessing myself I headed back toward the mailbox hoping for something to show. After turning away again I decided that the check would at least settle my nerves and went to look. As i looked over the fence to find no new footprints in the snow outside I still looked and found that little letter I have been waiting for for some time now.

Needless to say the anticipation was killing me to the point where I had to have Morgan open it when I dropped her car off at work. Turns out I did pretty well considering it was my first attempt at any written civil service exam. I got 84 of 90 right which landed me at 23 in line for an interview. With 10-12 retirees coming up from the FD here I still feel I am in the running for a chance. On top of that I still have to get my EMT-B which will land me higher when I turn it in for 5 more test points which will bring me up to a 89 of 90 or 98.8888888888(you get the idea) percent. I hope that in six months when that goes through I will be able to be one of the next in line for an interview. Here's to hoping enough others suck it up in their interviews.

Just a rant -Josh-

So nothing yet from the Fire Department... Me and that mailman are going to have to have a serious come to Jesus talk. We will keep you posted

Keep waiting...

So to those of you who have been following closely enough to realize that yesterday was two weeks after the Fire Department test we still don't know. It was bugging Josh so bad that he began to just wish for an answer. He was so wound up after he saw nothing Thursday that he decided to "forget" the no call request and go down to Human Resources Friday if he had still heard nothing in the mail. Thursday he saw the mailman coming up the walk and was out to the mail box in seconds. When only the Ensign came he was mad, then wondered if he was going to be struck down for being so pissed off at getting a church magazine. Friday nothing but bills and insurance crap came so he went down to Human Resources to get an answer on the current dilemma he was in. Turns out they needed two weeks to process the tests and decide who to interview before they sent anything out in the mail. So now we are still waiting... until then keep praying, chanting, meditating, and whatever rituals you think could improve our chances.

The First Big Test

Well one thing is for sure for those who wanted pictures this one will probably make you stop asking. Those are canker sores in Josh's mouth. Turns out when he gets stressed they begin to apear randomly throughout his mouth. With the aproach of the first test for Pocatello Fire he got stressed out to the point that it caused all sorts of problems including the canker sores. You can see three easily there is a fourth there and one more on the upper lip you cannot see. He took the test Friday morning and got done before anyone else. He went to review and about 10 questions into his review the woman directing the class told us we had just passed the one hour mark of a two hour time limit. He finished the review and feels he did exceptionaly well and with the addition of 5 extra points for the EMT-B certification that will come this spring he is confident in getting called back for a follow up test and interviews and the like. Here's to hoping he gets one of the positions, and soon! It will help with his big red truck withdrawls. Everytime he hears a siren his head pokes up like a prarie dog and he gets kinda whiney. Anyway untill then he will just have to suck it up.

The New Place

Well Everything has gone well with the move. We were able to move to a small house A LOT closer to campus (about a block and a half away) that has a full basement for Josh's bikes and other storage as well as a garage for the motorcycle and Morgan's new car. We got her a Sunfire that will work greatly for us while it is just the two of us. Everything is going great and as soon as we get all of the burned out light bulbs replaced we will have light. It seems Josh finds another bulb out almost daily which excites him because he realizes another switch actually works. We do not have our own internet and we are skiving one of our neighbors. We just hope it stays on long enough for us to get this written and published. The house is Yellow and though it is old it is nice. There is a small bedroom for us and an even smaller 1/2 bedroom that we use for a study and maybe at some point in the distant future a nursery. Don't get your hopes up Mothers we don't have anything planned nor are going to plan anything. You can thank google and the idiots who do the street view. They did a good job of driving up and down the alleys and actually got a picture of our house. But if you move to far it takes you out front and you can't see the house.

Cookies, Clocks and Argyle Socks...