ZOOdles of Fun!

I started my job last Monday and I think it's pretty dang awesome. I can't wait to get into my real job, but as for now, I'm trying to absorb as much training as I can. It's been a challenge waking up at 6 a.m. every morning, so needless to say, I've been exhausted and am a little behind on the blog.

A couple Saturdays ago Eric and I went to the zoo with Karrie and Austin. Eric's school had a great deal of a $5 admission fee instead of the normal $11.50 per person. It was well worth the cost (the discounted cost)!! I can't remember loving a zoo all that much, but I am now a lover. The 4 of us were so tired after walking around for hours. We were like little kids dragging our feet out of the zoo because we couldn't handle walking any further. Can you say out of shape? Or maybe just the wrong choice of shoes.

FYI, as of last Spring-ish, Eric decided he loves giraffes. We couldn't get an awesome picture with the real thing, so this is his new friend.

He likes to ride hippos, in case you didn't notice.

The craziest thing happened. We went to see the chimps but they were too far away to really see, so we left. All of a sudden we heard the chimps making that monkey noise that they do. We ran to see what was going on, and the chimp on the right was hitting the chimp on the left. We left again thinking it was over, but then we heard all the chimps going crazy. It was so loud like they were dying or something! We booked it back and Eric opened the door just in time for us to see this guy on the right literally pounding on the other one like a punching bag, over and over again. It was an intense fight. Then a baby chimp came to console the one getting hit. So precious! Definite highlight of the day.

I feel sorry for this gorilla. He had no friends in his cage. He was just chilling with his leg crossed, watching the people watch him.

We got to the cheetahs just in time to see them eat. They're the fastest land animals. Did you know that they whip their tail in order to turn while they run? If their tail isn't working properly, then they won't survive in the wild.

Me and Eric!

We hit up the tigers just in time to see them eat too! It was a day of great timing.

Don't mind them. He's just getting his butt cleaned.

I guess Eric doesn't believe in zoom because he was reaching his arm out to take a million pictures of this guy. He almost bit Eric's hand!! It is a pretty cool pic, though.

And yes, we saw the birds just in time for their feeding too! I think this is the first time I've held a bird. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.

He probably thought we were going to feed him, but we didn't.

This is Kansas City's main attraction, Nikita. They must have trained her because she kept doing a back flip, swimming in a circle, and repeat.

The zoo is lots of fun! Anyone who visits us next summer just might be coming with us...

cRaFtY

My awesome mother-in-law sent me a package last week with supplies to make a Halloween wreath. She must have been thinking about how much Eric loves candy corn and how much I love crafts because this wreath has the best of both worlds! If you like it, I'd be more than happy to tell you how to make one of your own!

You'd be surprised at how long it takes to glue the candy corn onto the wreath. Luckily, I am still in my last week of freedom before work so I got started right away. After many hours, here is the finished product:

When Eric saw a picture with only the candy corn, he wasn't too impressed. He thought the wreath needed a little something extra to make it complete. We went to the store and found this little bear. I think he is the cutest little thing (his outfit says BOO)!

I'm glad I got to do this project because our Halloween decor is a little meager. We don't have a door hanger yet, so for now our new wreath has a home on our fireplace.

Changes

It's true. I finally got a job. Though, it seems kind of weird to say FINALLY. I had only been looking for a few weeks.

Here's how it went:

1. Monday: I contacted our ward's employment specialist and he told me about a couple jobs at the company he works for.

2. Tuesday: I e-mailed him my resume so he could send it to the right people.

3. Friday (the following week): I interviewed for 3 hours (they like to get all the interviews done in one day).

4. Monday: I got a job offer.

5. Tuesday: I accepted the job offer.

I'm a firm believer in things happening the way they are supposed to happen. I had interviewed at other "crap" jobs and just wanted them for the sake of getting a job. This was the only job that I was actually excited about and thought would be a good fit for me. I know that we are so blessed for having this opportunity. Everything worked out so perfectly, there was no way I could have turned down the job.

Starting this Monday I will officially be working my first "big girl job." I will be working for Cerner--an IT and Healthcare company. Yes, I get an actual salary! And yes, I will be getting benefits!!

For 12 weeks I will be part of a training program. Six of those weeks will be in a classroom setting and the rest will be spent working on a company project. At the end of the training program, I will be placed based on what jobs become available along with my skills and interests. If there isn't a good match at the time, I will be put on another 5 week project and then get placed after that.

I am getting really excited about working again and making something of myself. I've had a little too much of the home these past couple months. I'm a little nervous, but I'll finally be at a job where I can use my brain. THANK GOODNESS!

As for some other changes, I dyed my hair all by myself last week. Eric was a great assistant by cleaning up my splatters :) The good news is, it looks pretty dang good. All for 5 bucks!! Gotta love being on a budget!

And in a couple of weeks Eric and I will be moving! We will be happy to say goodbye to this apartment. We like the space, but not our surroundings. No more neighbor who walks outside our window everyday to puke. No more rap music thudding below our bedroom. No more Mexican kids calling out the name Eric all the time. As much fun as all that is...it's time to move on.

Better After

After our friend, Sara, introduced me to this blog, Eric and I were inspired. We went to the thrift store right away and found a ton of chairs for $5 each. The store was about to close so we made a split second decision and bought this chair:

The chair wasn't very cute when we bought it, but Eric and I saw definite potential. We wanted the makeover to be colorful in order to brighten up our living room. We had always thrown around the idea of buying a purple chair to spice up the room, so we stuck to that initial idea.

After a trip to the fabric and craft store, and a little TLC, this is now what our thrift store chair looks like:

We think it turned out awesome and we are happy with the outcome!!

PuMpKiN sEaSoN

I had been looking forward to October for weeks so Eric and I could do some fun and festive dates! With a little reminder from the parentals (thanks for the Halloween package!!), I decided it was time to carve pumpkins, even if they'll be rotten by the time Halloween comes.

I made sure to take the traditional Walker pumpkin carving picture.

Our pumpkins weren't too gutsy.

Our friends, Karrie and Austin, came over to carve with us. It was great to hang out with people other than Eric (not that I don't love him).

Eric is obsessed with holidays. I love seeing how excited he gets with holiday activities!! He's like a little boy on Christmas morning :)

These are the finished products.

Eric's pumpkin--Mario. He found a picture on the internet and then carved it without any pattern.

My pumpkin. I was very proud of myself because this is the first pumpkin I've ever carved that isn't a face. I may have accidentally cut the whole web out, but it just made it easier to carve in the end! Luckily it fit back on my pumpkin :)

Austin's pumpkin--Lebron James. I have no idea how this pumpkin turned out so great! You probably won't see anyone more focused than Austin was at carving this lol.

Karrie's pumpkin. She started off writing "BOO" and then ran into the same issue I did (the whole thing coming out). Good thing you can't go wrong with the traditional pumpkin face!

Our front door is too lit up so we had to put the pumpkins on our back deck. I love passing by them, even if we are the only ones who can see them!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

KC Royals

On September 27th, Eric and I were able to go to a Kansas City Royals game against the Minnesota Twins. Eric got free tickets from his friend from school. Now I'm no baseball fanatic, but I do know that the Royals aren't a great team. So it came as a shock when they beat the Twins (the number one team in their division) 10-8. The close score made the game pretty bearable to watch for so long!

The baseball stadium was actually really pretty! Anytime there was a good play, water would shoot out of fountains. We even got to witness a Royals player hit his first home run in the Major Leagues!!

It was fun to go out and do something outside of the house. Slowly but surely we are hitting all the sites in Kansas.

My Artist

I've always considered myself crafty and the "artist" of the family (which isn't very hard to accomplish in my family). I even took a little pride in my skills. And then one day I met Eric. We would go to Color Me Mine, and his project would always look better than mine. I eventually forced Eric to do projects WITH me so I wouldn't get jealous of his work and hate my own.

For example: This is the very first painting Eric has EVER done. Amazing right?!!

He is definitely a very talented boy! He painted this while he was on his mission and is now being rewarded for his work 4 years later because WE FINALLY GOT IT FRAMED!! And for anyone who visits us, we will have to tell you a funny little story about the date on this painting :)

I'm so glad I no longer have to look at this rolled up on the floor thinking about how it needs to be framed. And most of all, I'm really glad Eric doesn't suck at painting or else I wouldn't want it hanging up in my house. THANK YOU FOR BEING AMAZING, ERIC!

Which Dress Would YOU Choose?!!!

My beautiful sister Audrey is getting married on December 4th!! I'm a good little sister so I flew out to Florida last week to help her find a wedding dress (and because it was her birthday). PLEASE give us your opinion and leave a comment with your favorite number. Comments from anyone are welcome!! What dress would you pick if you were her??!!

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Audrey and I both got some much needed girl time this visit and decided to go shopping any spare chance we had!! This is our success story:

(Yes we take inventory on everything we buy and Audrey calculates how much money she saves on sales)

Der Bear (or Derek, as some people like to call him) even got to spend some time with us at Arigatos, my FAVORITE restaurant, when he wasn't busy escaping us to watch his boy shows.

The only complaint I have is that the foil boy wasn't the best at wrapping my leftovers. Audrey got a rose (which is appropriate because it's her middle name) and I got...well, I don't really know what it is. It doesn't have arms, feet, or a face. Audrey thinks it's Pikachu. She may be on to something.

It was an awesome trip and I'm excited to go back in December! Audrey is still trying to convince me to move to Florida. If she wins the lottery she is going to buy me a house. That may just be enough to get me there!

Visitors

On Saturday night we got some company!! Eric's mom, aunt, and grandma stopped by for a short visit while they were road tripping to nearby church sites. The local food was an added bonus, so that night we headed over to Arthur Bryant's BBQ in Kansas City. Food Network said it has awesome BBQ so we HAD to check it out.

Arthur Bryant's is the real deal BBQ place. Forget fancy restaurants. You order super fast and watch them slap on a pound of meat between 2 pieces of bread. It's kind of intimidating. And let me tell you, there is no polite way to eat this food. (I couldn't get everyone in the picture...whoops)

This was Eric's plate. He felt pretty fat for the next 24 hours. I don't think it's healthy to eat that much meat but...what's done is done.
The food was so much better than Jack's Stacks!! But my face felt SOOO greasy after leaving that place. I guess it's a small price to pay for legit BBQ.

Sunday after church we headed out to see some sites. Grandma got sick so she had to stay home. Here we are at Liberty Jail....right?

WRONG!! GPS lied to us. Apparently the little N that stands for north makes a BIG difference. So there we were in Missouri City. It's a ghetto little place that reminds me of Rathdrum, Idaho (where my high school was).

We were not about to stay there so we got out our books and GPS and tried again.

10 miles later and a few cities over WE MADE IT!! It was the very first church site I have ever seen.

It is one thing to hear about Joseph Smith being locked up in jail for 4 1/2 months and then it is another thing to actually see it. I figured, "Yeah, I could do it if I had to." But I don't think so. These men got served worse food than you would find in a dumpster (when they were actually fed), had one blanket each during the coldest parts of winter in a basement, and sat in the dark day in and day out. Talk about miserable.

After the guards fell asleep at night, friends snuck them what little items they could. It's not so easy with 4 feet of brick to pass things through.

I get bored watching TV for too long, so imagine just sitting there numb to death with nothing to do but think! I would drive myself crazy!!

I have a greater respect for the early church members and what they went through. I am extremely blessed with my life and I'm thankful for these little reminders :)

We had a fun little visit and can't wait for more visitors (hint hint).

And then there was one...

Today was Eric's first day of school!!! Look how excited he is :)

He's just growing up SO fast!! Starting his doctorate program and everything. I remember when I first met Eric he was doing his undergrad and didn't even have a major. Look how far that boy has come in 2 years! I am an EXCELLENT influence.

Even though today was Eric's first day of classes, he doesn't have any labs this week. So with all that chemistry, anatomy, and cellular something or another, he only had 2 classes today. And the great news is he is still ahead on his work! I'm crossing my fingers that that will continue once he gets actual homework and tests. Eric likes school so far. From his orientation yesterday, he is very happy to finally be taking classes that he is interested in--the body.

So it's just me at home now, and I've actually stayed pretty busy being an awesome housewife. I sent out some job applications but have yet to hear back from anyone. We'll see how it goes in that department and see what it is I'm supposed to do out here in good old Kansas. That's it for the update!

Esta Semana

When Eric and I visited Kansas in April to go apartment hunting, everyone would tell us to go to a place called The Plaza (not that Eric has any recollection of this ever happening). After being in the house for a couple weeks we decided it was time for us to check out the place where all the locals go.

The Plaza is basically a giant outdoor mall, well, more like a few streets lined with expensive stores and TONS of restaurant. We poor people go there to walk around and get some exercise. One thing I didn't know about Kansas is it has AWESOME architecture and great picture opps like here. Oddly enough, most of the cool buildings here happened to be restaurants and not stores.

Eric in front of a fountain (in the courtyard of a restaurant).

A shot of the little stores lining the street.

Me in front of a cool looking building (also a restaurant).

I'm sure we'll get some cooler pictures when I'm more in the mood for this kind of thing (unlike that day). It's definitely a place I'll be taking our visitors to go shop and eat!

As a side note: I'm working on becoming a better housewife and actually cooking some new recipes rather than what I make up in my head. Thanks to my mother-in-law giving me the recipe, I made some homemade mac and cheese!! Eric loved it :) and it wasn't even because he eats anything and everything; he genuinely liked it! Go me!

Obsessed

I am obsessed with the new look of my blog! I find myself going to it constantly even though nothing new has happened in the blogging world. The old design really bugged me. It just didn't suit my personality. I think this one suits it pretty well! So all in all, the hours I spent changing it yesterday were worth it. And yes, it took hours. I don't know why everything has to take so much time. It's a wonder how I got anything done when I had a job!! lol.

I've enjoyed these last couple weeks of nothingness. I've been working nights from home for my Utah job and Eric has been watching Harry Potter constantly. Together, we've been trying to get through Lost. I started back in May or maybe June and now we are almost halfway through SEASON 6 (the last season)!! It is so time consuming because the episodes seem to lead no where and new characters are constantly being introduced. I like it, but I am super excited to be done with it. I need a faster paced show like....Grey's Anatomy? Can't wait for my fall shows to start!