The BIG MOVE...and the projects begin

We are FINALLY moved in to our new house!!!! We have done tons of projects to make the house our home. We took down all the popcorn ceiling, got new carpet, painted, built raised garden beds, painted, primed and painted the deck, raked the HUGE backyard, painted some more, bought some furniture (the house was a little empty going from a two bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom house), organized the garage...yeah we finally have a garage, tiled the entry way, and painted some more and then some more. We could not have done all of this without the help of family and friends. We feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful family who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty. THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!!!

Here are a few pictures of the process.....








We plan on sharing a video of the "finished" project. We have learned as homeowners the projects are NEVER finished, only breaks are taken. I also wanted to thank Jon and Benja's family. They helped as well, but I didn't have any photos to prove it. THANK YOU!

Birthdays!!! Life is something to celebrate!!!

Steve and I are exactly one week and one year apart. His birthday is February 3rd and mine is February 10th. We love celebrating both our birthdays individually and together. Usually we celebrate our birthday together with our families and separately with just the two of us.

On our actual birthday day, we will make the birthday boy or girl breakfast in bed. This year I made Steve pecan cinnamon swirl pancakes and sausage. He ate 9 pancakes and 7 sausages (I think he really liked it!!!!!...he had a tummy ache later that day). I can't wait to see what Steve makes me on Friday. We love this tradition. It is a way to make us feel special on our day.


Along with making breakfast in bed we also make each other our favorite "birthday cakes". I am not a huge fan of cake, but I love zebra cake. Steve called my mom and got directions on how to make my special cake. I am so proud of him, he did such a great job.

I made Steve's favorite cake. It sounds very 'fruity and grilie' but he LOVES it! His favorite is Funfetti Cake (made with a cup of pudding to make it moist) and rainbow chip frosting. I know I know sounds fruity but he likes it.

Our First House

We are so excited about our new home. We are busy packing and imagining how we will decorate!!!! Here are a few pictures.

We move in the middle of March. YEAH!

It's been awhile

Wow, it's amazing how quickly life passes you by. So much has happened in the last few months, it's hard to believe it's only been a "short" while since we blogged. Here are a few highlights...

• We bought our first SUV ! A beautiful black 2012 KIA Sorento. It is a great SUV that is safe, and we have already started building memories with it. We love to travel and it is a perfect vehicle for that.
• Amanda-Kate is loving her job. She enjoys the challenge of working with teenage boys and learning how to teach academics, social skills, and behavior to children with Autism. This job is teaching her patience, firmness, flexibility, and how to see people through "God's Eyes".
  
• In November we both traveled to Alaska. It is a beautiful state with bald eagles, mountains, rivers, trees, snow, and MORE SNOW. Virginia (Steve's mom) went with us. It was so nice to have Amanda-Kate and Virginia have lots of one on one time. We had fun shopping, sight seeing, and eating. Virginia and Amanda-Kate got stuck in the snow only once. We were there for two weeks! Our hotel was right next to a gorgeous river. During the time we were there we were able to watch it start to freeze over. Alaska is the prettiest state in which we have traveled to.
  
• Thanksgiving was spent with both sides of the family, eating turkey, watching football, playing games, eating some more, and LAUGHING. No matter which side of the family we visit we always leave with sore abs from laughing so much. We LOVE our family so much and are glad we are close to most of them. We get together often just to spend time, and of course laugh.
• This December was a month which made us think about Christmas in a whole new light. In our journey of trying to add to our family with children, we became more aware of Christ as a baby and not just as an adult. We have been praying for a baby to enter our lives for many years now, but during this special time of year we both realized that we were 'given' a baby already. Heavenly Father gave his only begotten Son. He entered into the world as a baby and is a part of everyone's lives who lets him in. What an amazing gift the Savior is! Through him we are able to repent and have our sorrows healed. This was a beautiful Christmas in which we tried to stay focused on the Savior and the fullness that He brings, instead of the emptiness of not having a child of our own.
• January (awesome we are almost up to date). Steve moved to a different Target store (still in the Denver area) which is right next to the Temple. He is helping out in the store until one of the leaders in the building returns from training. Then he will be placed in a new permanent store in a new position. He is doing so well in his job and he loves his new boss and co-workers already. In this day in age we feel truly blessed to not only have GREAT jobs but also LOVE our jobs. It blows us away to see how blessed we are.
  
• We made an offer on a house and it was accepted! We are going through all the inspections and paperwork now, but it is exciting to think we will be moving into a home soon. We are tired of apartment living and are ready to start this new chapter in our lives. The house has a huge backyard and great views of both down town Denver and the mountains. We looked at many homes and this was the only one where when we walked in we could see our children running around and playing. In the backyard we pictured our kids playing hide-and-go-seek, swinging on the swings, and playing in the dirt.

Sorry that it has been so long since we blogged last. Now that we are back from Alaska, Christmas is over, and we are under contract with a house (yeah we are going to be home owners!!!) we will have more time to blog.

3 Year Anniversary!

Amanda Kate and I had our 3rd year anniversary on August 1st! We both spent the morning working since it was a Monday, but when we both got home the day got much more exciting. We decided before we go out for the evening we should open each others presents. I was so excited to give her the present. Just an FYI but the "traditional" 3 year present is leather so I got Amanda Kate 3 leather roses and a personal poem. Ahhhhh :) I had never heard of leather roses either but they actually looked pretty cool. They look just like a real rose and the best part is they never die like real roses. That is what I do not like about buying typical roses. They die one week later where as these leather roses will last forever. I got the vibe that AK really liked her present.

Shortly after she opened her present I opened mine and could not have been happier when I saw it was an authentic Terrell Davis old school jersey and a Super Bowl 32 John Elway jersey! She really knows what I like! I felt like she totally over did it but I was okay with that. In addition, we are going to the Denver Broncos season opening game on Sept 12 against the Raiders! We got seats that are about 11 rows up on the first level of the south stands. We are both way excited! It will be Amanda Kate's first Broncos game. Man, this almost makes me want to cry :)

After the amazing presents we gave each other we went out to a nice restaurant called "Vesting Dipping Grill" in Downtown Denver. This was our first time going there but we both really seemed to like it. Amanda Kate ordered Thai chiken and I had the most amazing Salmon I have ever tasted! At this restaurant they give you many dipping sauces which were delicious. After we went out and spent some time together we returned home and went right to bed because we were both exhausted from the big day.

I am so glad to be married to such a wonderful girl. She treats me very well and keeps me happy:) I hope that I do the same for her. Cheers to another great year of our eternal marriage!

Granola Recipe

I have been super busy since we returned from the family reunion. Monday will be m 12th day of work at my new job. I LOVE my new job, but I am still at that stressful stage. I am still trying to learn everything and figure out all my responsibilities; but I love that I am back in the classroom again. In my classroom I have two other teachers. They have been extremely helpful and I look forward to working with them throughout the year. I have five students and they are all so different from each other, almost polar opposites; but each one is fun and challenging. I have learned so much during my first few weeks on the job. I have studied Autism and Asperger's for several years, but I have learned more in the last few days then all my years combine in school. There are so many student's I have already bonded and feel in love with. I hope I can figure out all of my paperwork responsibilities and other duties quickly so I can focus more on the kids and less on the paperwork.

As I have been so wrapped up in my new job, I have forgotten about posting the homemade granola I made at the Calley Family Reunion. My family loved it and wanted the recipe so I told them I would post in on our blog. So family it is so late! This is an AWESOME healthy granola recipe, but I can't take full credit for it. This is a recipe that I have adopted from a dear friend of mine. She is an amazing woman and I look up to her in so many ways. I still watch her kids from time to time when her and her husband go on long trips out of town. She just had her 5th child this month! If you love to eat granola or make parfaits for breakfast you should give this recipe a try.

In an extremely large bowl, combine together:

10 cups whole oats (not quick)

6 cups nuts, seeds (almonds, pecans, sunflower, pumpkin, flax, millet, bran flakes, wheat germ, etc.) Whatever of each- equaling 6 cups.

3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

In big microwave safe bowl mix together:

2 c. brown sugar

1 c. honey- or agave nectar

1/2 c. water

Microwave on high for five minutes. It will become liquid Carmel. Watch- cause it will bubble. Remove from microwave

add:

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons vanilla

stir together and poor over oat mixture . Stir to coat. Spread granola evenly in a single layer in 3 cookie sheets. I line it with tinfoil- (a lot less mess.)

Bake 275 for 20 minutes (on all 3 racks) then rotate, and bake another 20min.

When cooled store in ziplock bags. I will also sometimes sprinkle it with cinnamon.

The recipe calls for am extremely large bowl. If you are like me and do not own an 'extremely large' bowl you can use what I use. I used a big saucer snow sled for my bowl. Don't worry I washed the sled before I used it. It worked great. (I didn't tell my family that I used a sled to mix everything together until after they had eaten it. That didn't stop them, most of them went back for seconds).

Calley Reunion Family Photos

The Calley Family
(Minus Dave's Family and Jordan)