merry happy

This Christmas season Parker and I have been SO blessed and have so many good changes come. To start things off, I finished my student teaching near the beginning of December and am officially a college graduate. No teaching job offers yet, but I have been able to do some subbing and will keep doing that while I search. I was able to go back and sub for the class I student taught in during the three days before Christmas break and it was so fun. I felt like I was playing teacher because all I had to do was show up and the plans and everything were made and the kids knew me and were excited to see me. It was great pretty great :) Not to mention I actually got paid for it too.
We moved out of our teeny one-bedroom apartment and into our new home. It felt like we had been waiting and anticipating it for forever so when it finally came we were pretty ecstatic. We were able to move in last Thursday which meant we got to spend Christmas in our new house. It was a pretty good present. Also, the day after we moved in we got our new washer and dryer so we can do laundry in our own house again. Another awesome gift to ourselves ;) Parker has been off work since last Thursday and doesn't go back until the 3rd so we have been having fun setting up, organizing, and getting things for our new house. It also worked out pretty nicely that we moved in around Christmas because we were able to go and get some of the things we (okay mostly me) wanted for the house with xmas mula.

this is just the pic you get if you google our address haha

We went over to Parker's parents' house on Christmas Eve and got to dress up and act out the nativity. Everyone, not just the kids haha. Here is little Mary and Joseph/Shepard.

We were the wise men

Kung-fu Joseph haha

Merry Christmas morning Parker

 On top of moving out and moving into our new home, we also got a new puppy. We had to put our little Gibbs down because he had a heart problem. It was seriously so sad. But, even though it was awful putting him down, we got a new puppy so I could have a puppy for Christmas. We got a girl this time, so we'll see how it goes :) She is a cutie though. We named her Oakley and she is a sheltie mix. I already took her to the vet and she is healthy so that was a huge relief. She (and we) has loved being able to play outside in a wonderful fenced in yard!

Merry Christmas to me!

I love playing with my little Oakley

Oh yeah and that's another thing- it's almost January and the last week we had a couple cold days but the weather has been in like the 50s and is going to be 60 tomorrow. So crazy, but hey I'm not complaining. I don't have any pics of the house yet, but I'm sure I will put some up soon. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year!

All you need is love...

So we closed on our house and even though we don't move in for a few more weeks, we couldn't resist adding this very cute pup to our family. His name is Gibbs. I love dogs :) 

Never mind the fact that living with a puppy for two or three weeks in an apartment with Parker and I gone all day is going to be an adventure...

Happy Halloween

I'm beginning to realize that Halloween was so much more fun when I was a kid. Man, I don't think kids understand how sweet this holiday (actually all holidays) is for them. Just knock on someone's door in a costume and they give you free candy. That's the life. Anyways I made us watch a scary movie and carve a pumpkin to celebrate. And I got lots of candy since I couldn't find any caramel apple kits. We lead such an exciting life I know ;) but I like it.

life is good.

Well, pretty much over the last couple of months life has just been plugging along nicely for us. The ins and outs of our days are usually the same and consist of work for Parker, school for me, and trying to get errands and tasks done in the evenings. Busy, busy but good. Parker is loving his job, which is great. I'm loving my 3rd graders which is also great :) One  of my top funny things so far is when the students had a journal write where they had to write about something they are good at and why. The best response- "basketball. because I can spell it and play it." It happened like two months ago and I still think about it and laugh. Some exciting news (and no it's not I'm pregnant) is that we are in the process of buying a home. Nothing is official because we haven't closed yet, but it's pretty set that we will be moving in the end of December. It's exciting, but also kind of sucks because I now spend waaayy too much time on pinterest looking up ideas about how to decorate my new home and now I have about a million things I want to do and no budget or house to do them with yet. Woe is me.
Fall in North Carolina has won me over. The weather is pretty much perfect and the many trees make everything look nice and autumn-y. This past weekend we took a trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is a famous scenic route in the Appalachians. It was gorgeous. If anyone wants to come out next Fall and see for yourself, we'll have an extra bedroom by then so feel free :)

 64 oz. Barely enough to hold us over for 3 hours.

quaint little place tucked in the side of the mountain. also kind of creepy because it was deserted and rotting inside.

 took this bad boy out the sun roof as we were driving

freshly picked apples

unfortunately (?) parker's narrated video of this scene didn't record all the way. he was pretty bummed. it was definitely something. the view too i guess haha.

such a good husband

Also, we've been getting lots of time with 3 of our cute nephews and nieces. Apparently this one is the only one who would slow down long enough so Park could get a picture ;)

 who couldn't love that cute face?

FREEDOM!

After a few long months of job hunting for Parker (and anxiously waiting for me) the hunt is finally over! Parker received and accepted an offer for a financial analyst position at Freedom Group earlier this week. The job is in Madison, NC just about forty minutes from where we live now. What is Freedom Group you ask? Well since my response is usually just "they make guns", here is a description I found online: "Founded in 1816, Freedom Group is the world's leading innovator, designer, manufacturer, and marketer of firearms, ammunition, and related products for the hunting, shooting sports, law enforcement, and military markets. As one of the largest manufacturers in the world of firearms and ammunition, we have some of the most globally recognized brands including Remington, Bushmaster, DPMS/Panther Arms, Marlin, H&R, NEF, Dakota Arms, LC Smith, Parker, AAC, Barnes Bullets, EOTAC and INTC." 
Congrats Parker! You're a top shot  ;)

The 14^th was our 1^st anniversary. Woo-hoo. We decided to go and spend the weekend exploring Charleston. I fell in love with it right away. I’m pretty sure it’s the epitome of southern charm. It has plantation homes, cobble streets, horse carriages, great food, a battery with old cannons and stuff and the beach. So great. Also, you get offered sweet tea anywhere you go. A year has gone by pretty fast, but we both agreed the first year didn't seem as tough as people make it out to be. I guess it’s just because we’re so truly, madly deeply in love ;) Here are some pics from the trip:

Here is our lovely hotel,

 with Parker entertaining the guests at the piano.

Okay that's a lie. It was just a really nice hotel Parker decided to have us take a tour of.

  I loved this building. They should put it in a movie or something. It was where we were waiting for our carriage tour. 

 what a stud

Okay, so the best best best thing we did in Charleston may have been eating out at Jestine's Kitchen. It was soooo good. Seriously. We had fried chicken with fried okra and mac and cheese. It was mouth-watering. Rachel Ray has even eaten there. The best part though was the homemade berry cobbler. It was so good that after Parker's first bite he said "this made the trip for me". It was really funny but so true.

Three reasons why I loved folly beach: dolphins, british speedo man, and this blue house:

Welp here's to our marriage. Only an eternity left to go ;)

Life has definitely changed since the last time I've posted. Here's a brief synopsis: Parker came back to Utah, we packed our U-haul and the burb' up and we made the trip across the country to North Carolina. We stopped for a day at his sister's house in Illinois so it was a nice break in our trip, but it's definitely not a drive I am wanting to make again anytime soon. It was fun getting to spend time living with the sis before I came out here and am sad to leave all my family and friends out west. That being said, I'm glad to have my husband back which has made the move a lot easier to handle. That and the fact that we got to go to beach the first weekend I was here and then again all of last week with the whole Haderlie family. It's been so fun. Parker would definitely spend everyday all day at the beach if he could, and I can't complain about that because there's nothing I love more than sitting by the ocean getting a good tan. We got settled into our new apartment and bought our first living room set together. Pretty exciting stuff. Parker's still looking for a job, but things are going well. He's had a lot of interviews and we're hoping something is going to come soon. I am going to start student teaching in three weeks so am taking advantage of the nothing I have to do. Really I don't know when in our lives we are ever going to both have nothing (no jobs, school, kids, etc...) to do, so I figure we better live it up. Well so much for the short part, but here are a few pics to spice up the post.

No picture of the u-haul, but here's us on the road.

Long weekend down near Charleston

nice sandals park ;)

We both love playing with the kiddos

new apt. loving the new couch set. take note of our class dining room table :)