Ian and Kristin Groves

One Year Goes By So Fast.....

2009-08-25T21:25:00.003-07:00

One year ago today I had my miscarriage. It doesn't seem that long ago. It still feels fresh in my mind. Nothing has happened since then in terms of getting pregnant, but on a positive note, at least I can get pregnant. Ian and I have decided in the last few months that we would like to start the process of adopting. We've always known that we wanted to adopt but we thought that we have a baby on our own first. As that doesn't seem to be happening the way that we hoped, we just decided that we try for both and whatever happens first is fantastic. We have been trying really hard to get our house projects all done so that we can start homestudy.

But to distract ourselves from getting the house done, we bought a Wii. May not be the best idea because we might just play it a lot but it is soooo much fun. So, anytime you want to come over to play it, please do. Or if you want to come over to help us on the house, we would love that too!

Things That Make Me Say, "Wow!"

2009-06-30T18:13:00.002-07:00

Here are some interesting things that Ian and I witnessed on our trip up north. Not that they are completely unusual things. Other people get to see things like this often, but they were things that made us say, "wow!"

1) A bear popped up on the side of the road. He was just a small one. Ian saw him and honked the horn and the bear was startled and jumped, then he ran. It was just funny to see a bear get scared like that, just as though you sneaked up on a person. I liked it.

2) A very large, dark, and amazing lightning storm. It lasted from Quesnel to Prince George. It completely surrounded us from all sides and we saw lightning from all directions, including right above us. We enjoyed it.

3) As we were driving along the road to Prince George, we saw a fire. At first, we thought that it must have been caused by lightning, then we realized that it was a van. A van had crashed in the ditch and was on fire. We saw the people just as they had scrambled out. As we drove past the flames got bigger and bigger. I wanted Ian to stop so that we could watch but he didn't. We didn't stop to help because there were already 5-6 vehicles stopped to help.

4) We watched little Zach-i-poo graduate.

5) We went for hike to some falls around Tumbler Ridge, it is just a small drive outside of the town. While we were driving they were the coolest shadows being casted on the road. They were changing so quickly. We realized that it was really windy and the clouds were moving at an incredible rate. It made the shadows look as though they were dancing on the pavement.

I think that was everything. If I think of anymore than I will update!

I just want to end by saying this: it's a very interesting world that God has given us. I am very thankful for the new things that he gives us that makes us say, "Wow!"

Don't Even Know If Anyone Reads This.

2009-06-21T18:03:00.001-07:00

But I am going to write anyways.

So, it's father's day. It's a good day. I like thinking of my daddy and doing stuff for them. I enjoy reflecting on everything that he has done for me. I love that I have a father-in-law that I now also get to celebrate. I also enjoy taking the day to think of God, our father. These are the good things of the day.

Sometimes the day is hard though. This is Ian and my third father's day that we've been through hoping that Ian would be able to celebrate as being a father himself, but that is not the case again this year. We both know that it is all in God's timing as to when we will finally have a baby, but that doesn't always make it easy to wait for it.

We just keep praying. Praying that God will bless us with a baby and praying that in the meantime, while we wait for, that he gives us strength!

Yet again

2009-01-16T13:01:00.003-08:00

Surprise surprise! Another 6 months between blog posts! I am ashamed.

Not much to report. I (Ian) quit my job, and I don't have a new one. And I'm not exactly actively looking. I am trying to make sure that I find something I really want to do. I've had one interview, just waiting on the results of that one.

Most of all right now I am attempting to do something I've been meaning to do for a couple of years now. I've been spending most of my free time in the shop, building things. Here's a couple of links:

http://www.inkdesigns.ca

http://inkdesigns.etsy.ca

http://icraft.ca/inkdesigns

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Kamloops-BC/InK-Designs/44426223541

Take a gander at all of these links. If you're on Facebook, become a fan!

So I build furniture, toys, all kinds of things. And just because I don't list it here or on any of the sites doesn't mean I don't make it. Here's the quick list I dashed off just now:

Tables (coffee, dining room, end, tables with clocks in them, etc)
Mantles (like above your fireplace)
Toy trucks, cars, SUV's, semis with trailers, logging trucks, tanker trucks
Diggers (made of wood, for the sandbox - kids love these)
Wooden puzzles (like this)
Wind chimes (small, medium, massive)
All kinds of log stuff (see the table I built for Fran on the websites, also other stuff)
Bellows (those things that blow on the fire - they work great!)
Jewelry boxes
All kinds of boxes and cases (big, small, medium, humongous)
Lamps
Whirligigs (see the website - woodsman, gardener, surfer...)
Benches
Hutches (not the rabbit kind)

That's the short list. And seriously, there's probably like a million other things I can do too. Just ask.

Anyways, I might be updating the other blog too. If I update any blog it will be that one: http://372wood.blogspot.com

Cheerio!

Only on special occasions

2008-07-09T14:54:00.002-07:00

Might as well do a blog post on my birthday, i guess! Yes, today is my 24th birthday. Nearly a quarter of a century. You'd think i would have matured in that time. WRONG.

Here's something interesting: check out this screenshot i took:This is Wikipedia. It is one of my favorite sites because i am a trivia nerd and love to find out everything about anything and nothing. Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information. Above is the main page, but when i scrolled down, look what i saw!!

OK so that wasn't actually on the site. Oh well.

We got a new car! It is a 2008 Saturn Astra. It has been available in Europe as the Opel Astra for quite a while, and apparently it is the #1 selling car in its class in Europe (though I heard it was 2nd to the Volkwagen Golf). It is pretty sweet. A/C, cruise, CD player, RAIN SENSING WINDSHIELD WIPERS!! I don't have any pictures of it and don't feel like getting any. But yeah, we're pretty excited about that.

We went to 3 weddings in 3 weekends! That was fun (sort of). Too much driving, but it was good to see family and friends and celebrate with people. Only 2 more weddings to go this summer!

Well i'm going to go do something more fun than blogging, since it's my birthday and all. See ya!

PS: Happy birthday to Elias Howe, Clarence Campbell, Donald Rumsfeld, Brian Dennehy, Richard Roundtree, Dean R. Koontz, Bon Scott, O.J. Simpson, Chris Cooper, John Tesh, Tom Hanks, Courtney Love, Jack White, Isaac Brock, Jacob Hoggard, and Spencer Elden!

Two posts in one month??

2008-02-05T09:43:00.003-08:00

Make that three! OK, maybe this one doesn't count. But check out the other blog for a new post! Only 402 days after the last one!

I had pictures to upload but the camera batteries need to charge....and i can't find the charger.

18 days with nothing to do, and you think i'd do something. WRONG.

Three Years

2008-02-02T10:28:00.001-08:00

A Good Enough Reason to Blog

2007-11-23T19:49:00.000-08:00

well, it's been a long time. like a really long time.

i'm bored and Liz tagged us so here is a post:

Five Things About Me That You Might Not Already Know

1) i love liver. liver is so good. oh man. you wouldn't understand. i love liver so much that i order it at restaurants when i get a chance. yum.

2) the first time i ever went trick-or-treating i was 20. when i was younger we didn't celebrate halloween. i really didn't care at the time except that all my friends got to do it. all i got to do was sit in the house quietly with the lights off and do absolutely nothing for 6 hours. we didn't even hand out candy. if anybody knocked on the door, we would either ignore it or tell them we were out of candy. i don't think people bought it when they knocked at like 4pm. they just thought we were a-holes. it was alright not going out because in tumbler ridge at halloween it is generally really cold and/or snowy so i got to be warm, and my friends, because they knew i didn't get to go trick-or-treating, would take an extra bag and ask for more candy for their poor sheltered friend. i've been trick-or-treating once. i was a pimp.

3) i'm a published musician. i don't know if that's the right way to say it. anyways, i wrote and recorded 9 songs in bible school and 3 later on that were made available for a limited time on cd. the original "pressing" became 1/5000th platinum in the first month of sales according to CRIA standards. the cds were recorded with my band, The Asian Liberation Federation. i wrote or co-wrote all of the songs as well as sang and played guitar, bass and drums on all tracks (with the exception of bass on one track). the debut album is entitled "Spoon" and the later recording was an EP called "Lost Tracks". they are no longer available in their original form, however a special edition "Spoon+1" was released and can be made available upon request. the band has no current plans for a reunion tour, so everyone can stop asking.

Hi! It's ME!!

4) I have an intense phone phobia. I hate calling people. I love to talk, but i hate calling people. I'm a receptionist.

5) I'm allergic to everything. Dust, pollen, ragweed, grass, cats, dogs (i have 2), rabbits, horses, cows, ferrets, chinchillas, hamsters, guinea pigs, "hypoallergenic" animals (go figure), perfume, soap, lotion, shaving cream (i do still shave my legs), anything with a specific smell (i do still use deodorant), fiberglass, and a lot of other things i can't think of right now. When we played Scattergories last week, one of the categories was Allergies. The letter was E. As in EVERYTHING.

We will tag..............

Jade, Jael, Jan, Jerrilyn, Dakota. Wow. 4 from the same family. That's gotta be worth something.

We're busy!!!!!

2007-09-22T20:11:00.001-07:00

puppy puppy pupster

2007-07-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

Here is my dogs:

Star Struck Child

2007-07-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

For Canada Day, Ian, our friends, and I had a little party at my friends Matt's house. We spent time out in the back yard because it was a nice day. Next door to Matt is a little boy about 9-10, I'm guessing. This little boy has a trampoline in his yard so he can just hang out by the fence and talk to us. He came over to our yard and even played some darts. This whole time, he didn't really notice me there because I would only be outside for short periods of time as I was making dinner for everyone.

Later, we were eating dinner and this boy was back on his side of the fence. I was all done eating and talking to the group and the boy looks at me and says, "Your face looks really familiar." I looked at him trying to think of where I would know him and I just shrugged my shoulders. "SPIDERMAN!!!", he yells. My friend Talitha says to him, "She isn't Spiderman." I say to him, "I like Spiderman, and I like watching Spiderman." He replies with, "No, you look just like the girl in Spiderman." (Awww, sooooo cute that he would think that.) I said to him, "Thank you. Maybe I should color my hair red and call myself 'MJ'." He told me that I definitely should.

I thought that it was so adorable that he thought that I looked like Kirsten Dunst. I don't think that I have ever been told that before.

Pupdate II

2007-06-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

We have changed Toby's name. Her name is now Rudi. We had to change it for reasons that I will explain later. Just thought that I would let you all know. Do not call her Toby.

Update Central

2007-06-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, we're finally updating again!

It's been a weird few weeks. Kristin went to Edmonton for 3 weeks to finish her Dental Assisting course, leaving me to fend for myself here in the 'Loops. She made sure to stock up on food for me, which was awesome, she even made me a bunch of meals and froze them. And, contrary to popular assumption, i survived the 3 weeks on my own. Sure, i didn't eat as much and the house was a bit more messy than usual, but i made it!

The day she left i started tearing the joint apart. It's renovation season, y'all!

That's the before....
Here's the after....
As you can see i was a busy guy. Special thanks to my boss, Tod, for all of his help, and also to Troy and Jason, my peons.

This is not a picture of how it currently looks, i got a lot more done on it but haven't taken any pictures. now it has shingles on the roof and capping over the posts and the beam. also soffits. it looks very sharp.

The front of the house is devoid of siding!

i pulled off all of the siding because i got stoked for vinyl siding. then i found out that the siding we want in the color we want will take at least 6 weeks to get, because they have to actually make it.

sweet. my house gets to be ugly for 6 weeks.

it's alright, it will look good soon. very excited. also i am buying a truck, just a little one, diesel, cheap. selling my car, finally.

more pics to come. i will let kristin handle the puppy post.

ian

I've been defined!

2007-05-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

I wasn't in the mood to blog until i read Sarra's blog and found the "how will you be defined in the dictionary" quiz. I must say that technology has advanced so well to be able to describe a person using a computer and their name. and it's spot on all the time!

Ian Groves -- [adjective]: Sexually stunning

'Nuff Said

oh yeah, take a good look at this cause you won't see it again!
Current mood: Missing my wife a lot.

It's here, it's finally here!!!

2007-05-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

ANGELICA AND GAVIN ARE GETTING MARRIED TODAY!!!!!

Congrats to them.

I gotta go and get my hair did and my make-up did as well. (i do not have bad grammar, i made my mistakes on purpose).

Hopefully I will have a few pics to follow!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPP!!!

子犬....강아지....собаки младенца

2007-04-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

that's right, folks. the puppies have been born.three puppies were born, one, sadly, did not make it. the little boy died shortly after birth. he was the cutest...here are some pictures of the girls, Link and Toby. Link belongs to Devon and Toby is ours!! Toby is the one with white on her face, as well as 2 white spots, one on her back and one on the tip of her tail. they are freakin' cute.

Here's the proud father, who is unable to go anywhere near his kids for some reason. He waits patiently at the door.

Change of Scenery

2007-04-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

The only thing exciting in the lives of Ian and Kristin. Actually there have been a few things that have happened, we just didn't feel like posting anything which is too bad but that's life. Mini update: Um...I went to a wedding shower for Angelica, very fun, Ian's parents came for a week, that was wonderful to spend time with the family. My birthday was on the 23rd so now I am 23 and Ian is still a youngster. Jen and I worked together to throw Angelica a great Lingerie party/bachelorette party. Three of my nieces came to visit for two weeks and my brother and sister-in-law came to visit with the other two kids!!! Fun times had by all. If there are any of these things that you wish for us to expand on, leave a comment and we will do a full post on it. If you don't, then we will leave it as MINI UPDATE!!!!!

Now for the weather.

Knowing my luck, it's going to snow. And be cold. Seriously, just when you think winter's gone for good, she (and i say she because winter is spiteful and mean like a woman) rears her head and says "don't you go thinking you can get back to working like a maniac again." Seriously. Enough!

This is Ian, by the way. I decided to type in blue so you would know who is talking. From now on I will try to remember to change the color when I post so you don't get confused and think "when did Kristin start working for Continuous Gutters?" Or "why is Ian having problems with his lady parts?" etcetera.

It's frustrating to watch someone else type and leave all these notes about things that happen. Especially when they leave stuff out.

Example #1

We are going to be grandparents!! That's right, our little boy (Dewie) finally figured "it" out. And Ginger is pregnant. She is fat and sassy.Example #2

At work, our #1 competitor shut down. He had his 2 main guys quit and had enough so he quit. And sold us his truck. So now we are going to be twice as busy, because he referred all of his contractors to us, and also because we are the best and people would rather go from the #2 company to #1 than to the new #2 who was #3. If you catch my meaning. My meaning is I'm awesome.

Example #3

We painted our kitchen! It was an ugly yellow color. Now it is not. Pictures to follow.

In other news, our next door neighbor (the house that is not attached to ours) cut down his pine tree. Good for two reasons...1, it was dropping branches and needles in our yard. 2....

Wicked awesome view!

That about covers it. Stay tuned for more good stuff. Something exciting has got to happen in the next couple months.

Here's those pictures of the kitchen you were asking about....

Before....

and After.....

OK so we don't have a picture of the kitchen with the new color because you really don't want to see our kitchen right now. So here's the color:

Well that should keep y'all happy for a little while. In another couple months we'll post what else is going on. That's how utterly fascinating our lives are, bi-monthly posts.

See you in June.

Story time boys and girls!

2007-02-20T12:51:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been reading and hearing romantic stories of how people met, or starting dating, or how the ended up together. At first I was feeling a little jealous because though I am so very in love with my husband, our story to me was very boring. But the more I thought about it the more romantic it seemed. So I thought that I would just share that story with you!

Ian and I met at school when we were in grade 9, after his family moved here from Tumbler Ridge. My family had just started becoming friends with the Burchart family and the Groves had been family friends with the Burcharts for years and years. Ian and I were both friends with Talitha Burchart and therefore we became friends ourselves. Now back in grade 9 and 10 Ian and I were not attracted to each other at all. He was a short "stickman" as he called himself and I was quite a lot bigger than I am now. But even though we were not attracted to each other it didn't stop the fact that we were pretty good friends, good enough friends anyway that when Ian moved back to Tumbler Ridge we still stayed in contact.

I don't think that it was until after we had seen each other in Kelowna's Orchard Park Mall in grade 12 (HE WAS REALLY TALL ALL OF A SUDDEN!!!!!) that we really started to talk to each other more via MSN Messenger (I know, very, very nerdy). Ian and I could talk for hours and hours and hours with each other, it was never even about anything important, we just had fun conversation. In fact, it got to the point where if he wasn't online, I would be very sad and I found out that he felt the same way.

Then after we graduated, Ian went to school in Grand Prairie and I never got to talk to him unless it was christmas break or a reading break. It made me sad and I missed talking to him. At this point, we still were not attracted to each other yet.

Then when Talitha came back from Grand Prairie (she was also going to the same school as Ian) she had brought pictures from the Christmas dinner they had and she had a picture of really tall Ian in a suit and I couldn't help but think that Ian was starting to look pretty cute.

I was so very happy that Ian had come back home from bible school and I could talk to him again all the time. I still had not told him that I thought he was cute!

Then one day when Ian and I were talking, he mentioned playing his guitar in school and how he had a band. Like most women in this world, I am attracted to men who can play an instrument, my favorite being guitar and drums. So I remember saying to him when he was talking about being in a band, "Ian, promise me that you will never play guitar for me while dressed in a suit because I think that I would just fall in love with you on the spot."

Well that started this whole crazy thing!!! Ian then realized that I was attracted him and he had heard that I had lost a lot of weight and I sent him pictures and he thought that I was cute too!!! And because Ian and I could talk about anything, we really started to like each other. Ian was going to move to Kamloops and find a job here so that we could start dating or whatever but then he started to freak out about the whole idea and decided that he would take a job in TR and not be with me. I was very upset and Ian for this and didn't talk to him for a few weeks, but then I guess I got over it and forgave him and we were back to being friends again.

As the summer passed, Ian moved to Prince George and we still talked all the time. But our friendship was growing stronger and stronger and we started telling each other things that we didn't tell anyone else. We started to trust each other more than we trusted anyone else in our lives.

Then it happened, in April of '04, I was taking a trip up north to visit by brother Phill and his family and I was to going to make a stop in PG to finally go visit Ian. We had only seen each other once in four years and we didn't even talk, it was just a quick "hi" and "bye". I was so excited, I left really late on the bus and got to the bus depot in PG at 9:00am the next morning. And there I sat waiting at the doors for Ian to come pick me up. Butterflies in my stomach! Then there he was, he pulled up in his little Toyota Tercel, walked into the bus depot and looked right at me and didn't even recognize me!!!

I was so excited, I don't even know how I contained myself. There I was with the boy that was like my best friend and he was so good looking and I was right there with him!!! Fortunately for me, he was thinking that I was very cute too!!! We went to his house and sat on his couch at opposite ends. Ian's mom called him and he told her that I was there and she asked how I looked and I heard him day to her, "she looks really good." That's when I knew that he thought I was cute too. After a few hours the opposite end of the couch became sitting right beside each other, which led to holding hands, which lead to snuggling!!!!

Ian tried soooooo many times to kiss me when I was there as well but I couldn't handle it. I really liked him and I knew that if I kissed him, I would fall in love with him and we still lived too far apart for me to be in love with him.

That summer I couldn't stop thinking about how badly I wanted to date Ian and how badly I wanted to kiss him. I saw him a few more times with stops through PG, and nothing ever happened. Then the most exciting thing happened yet!!! Ian decided that he hated PG and that he needed to move again and he decided to move to Kamloops!!!

He moved to Kamloops on Oct 1/04. That's the day I finally got to kiss the boy that I was so very head over heals in love with!!!! Three days later we officially started dating.

From there we got married and now we are where we are now. Married and happy and still so very much in love.

I LOVE MY IAN!!!!!!

Mothers

2007-02-07T07:54:00.000-08:00

An unfortunate thing happened yesterday. A lady that I work with had her mother living with her for the past few months and over the christmas season her mother fell and broke her foot. Because her mother was quite old, she had to stay in the hospital and she was there for quite some time. Yesterday at 2:00 she received that news that her mother had passed away. She held it together at work for the last 2 and a half hours(she decided that she wanted to finish working the rest of the day). She said that she has been expecting this to happen for a week and she was prepared to say goodbye. She shed a few tears at work and we did with her. She said to me that even though her mother was old and it was her time to go that it is still hard because you only have one mom. Then she told me to go see my mom and give her the biggest hug. And that was all that I wanted to do.

I couldn't imagine life with out my mom. I feel like if I didn't have her then my whole world would just fall apart. She has given so much to all four of her kids and she loves us more than we can understand. She does so much for us even now. She is my best friend and I need her. When ever I need someone to turn to I know that she is always there. When I need support for something I know that she will always support my hopes and dreams. When I need someone to talk to she always has an open ear and an encouraging word. Mothers are the greatest blessing that God can give someone and I am thankful for mine everyday.

Mom, I love you.

Two Years

2007-02-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

The Exciting Lives of Ian and Kristin

2007-01-31T21:52:00.000-08:00

Last night my boss, John, gave Ian and me tickets to the Blazers game. He has season's tickets. We went, we watched, they won 6-4 against the Prince Albert Raiders. We bought a pop and a chocolate malt. We enjoy hockey, so we had a good night. And that is all the excitement in the lives of Ian and Kristin Groves. Woot!!!

Weather!

2007-01-13T11:22:00.000-08:00

Working outside has its advantages. Fresh air, exercise, a really good tan.

Working outside has its disadvantages. Sun stroke, dehydration, sun burn, frostbite.

And lately, no work at all.

I can't work in anything colder than -5, because of the materials we work with.

Wednesday I was off because our work truck needed work. Transmission troubles.
Thursday had a high of -11.
Friday had a high of -13.
Today (Saturday), a projected high of -12.

Here's the forecast:

As you can see, for the next week (up to Thursday) there is no day where the temperature is expected to get above -5.

I am going crazy. I have lots of things to do, but i have no motivation, and as the days go by it gets worse and worse.

The only reason i'm not freaking out about money is because i am on EI to fill in the gaps. That is really nice. Especially this week. Here's my list of things to do:

Organize the computer room (bills and papers and junk are piled everywhere)
Finish building lamps (like this one only cooler)
Clean our bedroom

ok, there's not that much for me to do, but it's still something, instead of this....sitting here downloading episodes of corner gas and the office and playing little games.

and on top of it the dog is driving me crazy. he wants to go outside. until he gets outside. then he just stands there looking at me and alternating his feet in and out of the oh-so-cold snow. then he is so grateful to come back in, only to whine 5 minutes later and want to go out.

yes, yes, i've mastered the art of complaining. thanks for listening.

ian

Backup Your Blog!

2007-01-05T07:22:00.000-08:00

A lot of people have been wondering how to backup their blogs without going to every single post and downloading/printing it. Some blog sites/programs have a way to do this and Blogger is no exception. The only problem is it is a little hard to find/do.

So here's a little help...

1. Just in Case

The first thing you need to do is backup your current template. If you've made any changes or customized anything and you don't back it up, you will have to do that all over again. So...
-Login
-Go to the Template Tab in your blog
-Highlight your whole template (click where the text is and press Ctrl-A)
-Copy it (Ctrl-C or right click the highlighted portion and click Copy)
-Open notepad or word or any text editor
-Paste the contents of your template here
-Save it somewhere you know you can get it back, like the Desktop
-Make sure you can close it and find it and open it without any problems.

2. A New Template

The only way for Blogger to show all of the posts in your blog is to change to a new template that they provided (after quite a bit of searching).
I can't post it right here because it is really long so here is a link: Click here for the template
So save that file or copy and paste it to a new file.

Now paste that whole thing into your template in place of everything else.

Now save the template.

Next, go to the Settings tab, and click on the Formatting link. The first option is to select the number of days or posts. Remember what this says so you can set it back. Set it to 999 posts. That's the maximum it will show, so if you have more, you may have to manually save the rest. Sorry.

Once you've done that, republish your whole blog. This may take a while.

3. Save Away!

Now view your blog! It will show all of your posts, starting with the most recent. You now have two options.

Save it - Click File and then Save or Save Page As..., something like that. You will most likely want to have a seperate folder to save your blog, as it will have a folder for your pictures as well (it will only save the pictures that actually appear in the blog, so if you just have small versions on the blog and want big ones you'll have to do that by hand.
Print it - This will probably take a long time. File-> Print. Pretty basic.

When you're all done, just go back into Blogger, and re-paste your old template in place of this backup template. Then change your Settings->Formatting back to whatever it was. Feel free to save the backup template for future use!

There you have it. Any problems, leave a comment.

Annigiversary

2006-12-31T14:15:00.000-08:00

It's our first anniversary! YAY! We made it a year!
Also, check out 372-WOOD. Finally, an update!

Too much work

2006-12-05T21:18:00.000-08:00

Today while I was at work I was told that on wednesday (which is tomorrow), I would have to start work at 8:00 am, usually on wednesday I start at 11 and work until 7. But, we have to do some survey for the college of dental surgeons and I have to help fill things out with each client that gets their teeth cleaned, so I must be there all day.

Normally that would be okay, start at 8 and leave at 4:30 but on wednesday nights I usually assist because we book Darryl (the associate dentist whom I work with primarily) with two chairs for two assistants and tomorrow night is no different. That means that I am scheduled to work 8-6. But the way that things go, I will most likely be there until 6:30 or 7.

I really do like my job, its just that I am there WAAAAAY too often. I do work a normal 40 hour work week but the thing is is that I haven't taken any time off all year. An odd four day weekend is that most and I need a break. It seems that even though Christmas is coming soon, its not soon enough.

Then a funny little thing happened, John (the senior dentist who owns the joint) says to all the girls this morning, "Mondays are really busy, I think we should ask Kristin to come in on Mondays because we could really use her." So they had to ask me if I would. I just laughed and said, "No." They laughed too because everyone in that office knows that I would like to work less days if I could, not work 6 days a week in an office that is sucking all the life out of me!!!

I really can't wait to just become a CDA. Then I will no longer be on the bottom of the work ladder. It's really difficult to be there on the bottom and work harder and do more things than everyone else. Does this post make it seem like I am stressed out, because I am. In fact, the other night in my sleep (I do not remember this), I apparently yelled at Ian that I did not want to talk about work anymore. So I really should stop talking about it. It's just always on my mind!!!!

OK, I'm alright now.

I hope.

A New Addition to the Blamily

2006-12-01T07:36:00.001-08:00

Ok so i tried to make up a blog-related word like Liz. It didn't work.

The newest addition to our Blog Family is minusFive. Check it out if you have absolutely nothing else to do. Seriously, make sure there is nothing else to do. Make sure you cleaned your andirons and washed your hair and everything.

ian

Christmas is Coming

2006-11-21T23:04:00.000-08:00

I am so excited for christmas this year. Normally I am not excited about christmas until christmas eve. Even making presents last year for the last weeks before christmas didn't get me excited but this year I am stoked. I have started four gifts already and I love the ideas that we have for all the other gifts. I am excited about picking out lights and having them on my house all lit up.

On sunday, Ian and I and my parents went out to find a christmas tree. We pick them out a few weeks ahead of time so that you can see what they look like without all the snow on them. We will go get the tree on Dec 3. I like having the tree up all of december. Ian and I had a tree last year as well but it wasn't the same because we were not married yet so it didn't really feel like MY tree. It was just at his house.

I think that I am really excited because this is Ian and my first christmas as a married couple. We have already spent 2 christmas together but this year is different. After a christmas eve of opening gifts with my family, we get to sleep in our bed and wake up christmas morning and open each other gifts and then have a big breakfast all warm and cozy by the fire and by out beautiful tree.

I can't wait!!!!!! I am so very glad that I am full of christmas cheer this year. No more humbug.

Something Gross

2006-11-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

Wanna hear something sickening??? Well I will tell you anyway. I have NOT SHAVED my legs in over three weeks, it may even been four now that I think about it. They feel so itchy and dry, they drive me insane.

Wanna know what the most disgusting thing is??? If you looked at my legs, you would never be able to tell that there was any hair on them. Not unless you stare at them from three inches away. Or if you felt them. Ew. Shudder.

Well, I'm gonna go get rid of some unwanted hair.

Dude, Where's My Car?

2006-10-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

We took a little vacation this weekend to Tumbler Ridge...click here if you need to know where that is.

We left Thursday night, to get a jump on the 10-12 hour drive. No one likes to spend ALL day travelling. Well, i don't.

When we hit Clinton, it started to snow. It snowed and snowed until just before Quesnel, and then it was really nice, and then i was really tired so we stopped and slept at a rest stop.

We woke up and it was snowing, and we left. We hit Prince George and it was again quite nice. We got to Tumbler Ridge just before 10:30 am on Friday.

Friday afternoon it started to snow. Just a little at first, and then the full on blizzard.

This picture was taken Saturday morning at about 10:30am:

As you can see, we've got about 2 feet of snow in less than 24 hours. It still hasn't stopped, though it was forecasted to stop today. That large white object in the middle of the screen is our car...

Needless to say, we are a little choked. We're not sure what's going to happen. We were supposed to be leaving here Monday, but apparently the Pine Pass is closed, which is pretty much the only way out of here.

On the plus side, Dewie is having a blast! He loves running around chasing snowballs when we're shovelling or biting my dad's boots when he's walking. We throw him in the middle of the yard and he burrows himself out. It's awesome.

So we're supposed to be back monday, to work tuesday...but who knows if that is going to happen. Pray for a heat wave i guess.

ian

The Little Mermaid

2006-10-03T17:22:00.000-07:00

Disney's The Little Mermaid has been my favorite movie ever since I was 5 years old. When it first came out, my family did not have a VCR but my best friend at the time did. And they owned the movie!!!! So I would watch it every time I went over there.

Ten years later they brought it out on VHS again because Disney does this with their big movies every ten years or so. Anyhow, my wonderful mother bought the movie for me at the age of 15 because by this time, we were with the times and technology and actually had a VCR. Then a very tragic thing happened. Someone borrowed my movie and NEVER RETURNED IT!!! I was still crushed about this until today....

You may be asking, "What is so special about today?" Well I will tell you. Today...is...the...day...that...

THE LITTLE MERMAID CAME OUT ON DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alas, I have no money at the moment. But I get paid on thursday. And on thursday I will again own The Little Mermaid.

Ariel, I love you!!!

remember me?

2006-09-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

Lately it's not too often that i (i being Ian) write on this blog. or on any blog for that matter. but tonight i have a special subject in mind.

there have been so many posts (or at least it seems that way to me) on this blog about me. ian's great, i miss ian, etc. but we've neglected to focus on the other, more important half of this little family.

she's the only one i want to wake up with. the only one i want to fall asleep with. she puts up with my disorder, though we all know it drives her crazy. she makes me dinner even after she's had a long day at work. she cleans up after me. she gets up with me a 6am even on the days that she works at 11, just to make my lunch because she knows i won't have time to. on her days off she does the laundry, so i have clean clothes to wear for the rest of the week. without her i would be lost.

of all of the uncertain things in the world...money, jobs, homes, there is one thing that i am certain of. at night, when i go to bed, it will be with her. and in the morning, she'll be there. for the rest of our lives.

there is no one else that i love more than kristin tamara groves. my life with her gets better and better with every day that passes.

i love you kristin. more than you'll ever know.

Sleeping Alone

2006-09-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

Everyone told me that after being married for a while, you have a hard time sleeping without your spouse beside you. Well, Ian went to Lilloet on wednesday for two nights. That first night was the first time that that has been true for me. There has been three other times that either Ian or me have had to go out of town and sleep alone, and each time I wished I was with Ian but I still fell asleep really well. But this time was different. I missed him.

I missed his really warm body next to mine, keeping me from freezing ( i have been very cold the last few nights). I missed his long, comforting arms wrapped around me. I missed his sweet, deep voice talking to me about everything and anything. I missed his gorgeous brown eyes staring into mine. I especially missed his kisses. He loves kissing my neck and shoulders before we go to sleep. He always gives me little kisses on my cheek and lips. I really miss the way that he makes me feel absolutely adored. I miss my husband!

It makes me very happy that in the short nine months that we have been married, it is evident that our love is growing for each other. It pleases me that when my husband is gone I cannot sleep. I feel so blessed. I am filled with such joy!

Hair Color

2006-09-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

Angelica and I spent 3 and a half hours today dying my hair. She did foils with blonde and copper highlights and then did a dark blonde/light blond color all over. It looks really red today because the of the copper tones but the will get more golden as the days pass. She did a really good job and she is very good at her job. Everyone was impressed. It looks EVEN better in person. You should come visit me and see for yourself. Thank you Angelica, you are awesome!!! (I recommend her to everyone for all your hairdressing needs).

All Is Good

2006-09-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

I PASSED MY TEST!!!! I got 90%! You need 80% to pass. My instructor was the most wonderful, sweet woman and made me feel so comfortable and I knew all of my stuff.

I am soooooo happy!!!

90 %!!!!!!!

Nervous!!!

2006-09-07T06:57:00.000-07:00

I have several things to be nervous about in the next few days:

1) I have to go to the doctor today at 11:15 because I have been feeling sick for too many weeks now. I hate going to the doctor!!!

2) My boss is leaving at noon today and so I have to be the only one up at the front for four and a half hours!!! It should be alright I suppose, she is putting the answering machine on, so all I really have to do is take people's money and book them appointments. Not so bad I guess, but still, there is always the chance that something that is out of my control arises!!!

3) My practical evaluation at NAIT is this saturday at 1-5pm. I've been studying quite a bit and I still do not feel prepared for this and I am still very nervous that I am not going to pass for a secong time!!!

I will be just fine though. I know that God is looking out for me and that I can trust in Him to help me with my nerves. *deep breath* and I'm feeling better... kind of...

My Nephew is the Avatar

2006-09-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

Justin recently got Ian and me hooked on this show, The Avatar- The Last Airbender. It is a fantastic show. I highly recommend it.

Anyhow, the other day I was sitting here studying for my test that is coming up in edmonton this saturday, when I got distracted by the computer. (like i am right now, i was studying and now i am blogging) I was looking at pictures of Hunter and came across this one of him in the bathtub. I looked at the picture and thought to myself, "If Hunter had a blue arrow tattoo on his head, he would look just like Aang(the avatar)." So I took the liberty of drawing a blue arrow on Hunter and now he is the avatar!!! I have a picture of Aang to use as an example.

A Thank You

2006-08-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

YAY!!!!
Thank you Justin and Liz for our NEW DVD PLAYER!!!!!
The picture is oh-so clear and it is much better than our old one. AND...the remote works!!!! Hooray for no subtitles. You two make the best big brother and sister-in-law EVER!!!! Always caring for us, giving us your hand-me-downs, and making sure that we are watched out for. I don't even know how to thank you enough. Well, I will try by spending every monday with your cuter than ever son!!!
Thanks again!!
I love you guys sooooo much.

P.S. Phill and Rebekah, if you read this blog, you guys are awesome too, my thanking J & E was not to make is seem like I love them more. I love you both just as much!!!!

Updates on the House and Life

2006-08-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

Ian and I were scolded yesterday for not blogging since beginning of July, so here I am.

We have started alot of project here in the Groves' house. We painted the bathroom and the bathroom ceiling because it was an awful Lime Green!!! So that is all painted but due to tape pulling paint off the walls mishaps, there are still a few touch ups that I need to do.

Our bedroom still isn't completely finished, we are doing the japanese theme as you may remember, and we are making the ceiling look like a rice paper door affect. We bought hand made tissue paper that looks like rice paper and pushpinned that into the ceiling, now we have bought wood beams and Ian has cut a few, I just have to prime and paint them black.

In our living room, I have started measuring and drwaing lines because one wall I am going to paint 10 x 10 squares of different shades of brown/tans. And Ian has taken down our old small mantle and is now in the process of making a larger one that extends further.

This past week project was our basement. It was just FULL of boxes every where, and camping stuff everywhere, and winter stuff everywhere. There was a shelf in corner of one side of my basement, so I orginized all the camping and winter stuff on to that shelf, then I took apart all the boxes (these were from moving) and I put them under the stairs, out of the way and out of sight. Then Ian came home from work early (it was my day off) and decided to build me some shelves for a pantry beside my new little deep freeze. So we went to home depot and bought some suplies and Ian built a shelf. It looks wonderful!!! Now I have some room to store lots of food. Right now it is somewhat empty but I will get it full of wonderful things!!!

OK, that's the house. Now for Ian and me. In the beginning of June, Ian got a promotion in his job, which also meant a nice little raise. The guy who was running the truck decided to move, and so Ian got put in charge and learned lots of new things and now all of the people Continuous Gutters are happy because Ian is very good at what he does and they all respect him. I am so proud of my baby.

Nothing is really new with me, work is same old, same old. I am studying right now though because I have my practical evaluation retake on Sept 9, and there is no way I am letting myself fail this one.

So that is pretty much what is going on. Oh, other than Justin and Elizabeth got a new dining room table and gave their old one to us and WE LOVE IT!!! Thanks Liz!!!...and Justin.

Ian

2006-07-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my wonderful husband's birthday, and so I decided to dedicate a post to him. I would have done this on his birthday but I spent all day with him, doing nothing special in particular, but just being together.

This past week has been crazy. We drove to and from Shuswap lake three times, then on friday night, my cousin Shelly and her fiance Ian stayed over night at our house. On saturday, my cousin Terista got married to Jerry and we drove all the way to preditor ridge (past vernon) to go to the reception. After all the drving and visiting, my Ian was so tired, but still so happy. Saturday night (really sunday morning) when we got home from the wedding, Ian just looked deep into my eyes and told me that he is so happy to be a part of my family and that now he is my family. This blows my mind to think that the man I love more than any one else is now my family. I love being married to him!!! I thank God that Ian is in my life. I loved him as a friend, and now even more so as a husband.

I can't even express in words how happy he makes me. Its just this feeling that has no description other than pure joy. It's a joy that makes me cry when I look at him and he looks back at me and I can see that he loves me. It's a joy that makes me want to be by his side forever.

I'm just sitting here in awe and I feel wordless.

Ian, I love you.

I Hate Gutters

2006-06-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

It's not so much the actual gutter that I hate. I don't hate the look and they really are handy to have I suppose. I just hate the fact that everyone wants them due to the good economy and alot of construction. I hate that my husband works ALL the time installing said gutters on houses. I hate that I never know when he is going to come home and can never plan anything. I hate that when he comes home at night all he wants to talk about is gutters.

Don't get me wrong, I am very happy that he loves his job, but seriously, how can a stupid aluminum scrap be more important than the person you love?!!!!

My Nephew is 1!!!!!

2006-06-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY HUNTER!!!!

We love you and we are very glad that you have been in our lives for one whole year already. I love watching you grow up into a little person. I'm excited for the many more years to watch you grow up.

A Worldly Home

2006-06-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

Our bedroom. The most boring room in our house. It has a nice bed but no bed frame. REALLY old dressers that do not match. And there are no pictures on the wall. SO we decided to paint it. And that is what happened two weeks ago. Ian and I painted our bedroom Roasted Pepper.
Then we proceeded to find fabric to make curtains. Ian was not very happy about this venture but I made him go with me and in return he could go to the HOME DEPOT. We went to WalMart and Ian was the one who found very cool fabric. It is red and white with black japanese type flowers on it. As a result of the fabric, we decided to make our bedroom Japanese style as well. I am going to paint canvases with japanese writing. Words like love, happyness, etc. Ian is going to make a bed frame that is low the ground, square, and black. Our furniture doesn't match, so we're going to paint it, black.

So that will be our bedroom. For our living room, I am trying to go for an African theme. Ian got an African drum from Phil and Beka for Christmas and I went to centre the decore around that.

For my kitchen, I'm going for more of a french style. French cafe style most likely.

Our office has a nice Southern British Columbian theme. Nice blue walls. A desk with a computer. A fish tank. A painting of a schooner. A model schooner. Ahhhh yes. Good old Southern British Columbia.

Anyhow, that is all I can really think of now for decorating. This is my way of seeing the world without having to leave the comfort of my own home. I need to try get a Venice themed room. As long as it is not the basement.

Baby Fever

2006-05-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

There was a time in Ian and my very early marriage (like we have been married for so long right now), where Ian had baby fever and he wanted to have one so bad and I was all against it. I somehow managed to shake that idea out of his head and I wish that I knew how I did it to use it on myself. That's right, I have baby fever.

There are just so many women in my life who are pregnant or just had babies. And it seems that when I turn the corner some other friend of mine is pregnant. It makes me so happy for them but it also makes me incredibly jealous. I wish I could just stop this silly nonsense. I mean, I just bought a house and work is going really well but I know that now is not the time to be getting pregnant, but I still crave it so badly. It doesn't help that I have all these adorably neices and nephews that I adore. I just want one for myself. I used to babysit my nephew Hunter to get over my fever but instead he just makes me want one all the more.

Goodness, what is a girl to do?!

50th Post!!!

2006-05-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

So, as some of you may know, two weekends ago I(kristin) went to edmonton to do my practical evaluation. I was gone for two nights, and though I missed Ian, I was doing okay, until I failed my practical evaluation and then I wanted to just go home and be with him and cry. I'll give more details on the failing in a sec. Anyways, tonight Ian had to go to Lilloet for one night for work, and I'm in our new house, all alone, and so sad and missing him. Point to my babble is that it sucks when you are the person who is left behind. It is very lonely. I miss you Ian! *weep weep*

Right, so further on my evaluation. The instructor that I was supposed to get was sick so I got the head instructor who was really tough on me(more so than the other instructors were on the other girls). I was nervous to begin with and I have a case of test anxiety, she did not make it better. She made me feel really awkward and uncomfortable and so as a result, I screwed up BIG time. I can't retake my practical evaluation until september which means I have to miss all the my classes that are in the summer time and finish them all next summer. I can take a few this year so I will not be gone for such a long period of time.

I am both happy and sad about all this. I'm upset because I don't get to be an assistant this year AND in 2007 the canadian dental association is making it mandatory for new CDA's to take a test in order to work in all provinces. Blah, more tests. But I am also very happy because of our recent purchase of a house, I wasn't really able to afford school, missing work, and a house. Plus, I didn't want to leave my husband for so long, especially in our first year of marriage. It wouldn't matter if I wasn't the one being left behind. I would miss Ian. I guess God does things for the best. I'm young, I have lots of life ahead of me. When I'm 60, will I really care that I had to wait 1 more year to become an assistant. No.

Speaking of work and all, it's getting late and I need sleep in order to function at my job. So g'night y'all. Tee hee!!!

~Kristin

Back in Black

2006-05-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

Just a short post to let everyone know that we are officially at our new house! We are getting settled and are close to having everything unpacked i think. Expect some more posting soon!

ian

264 Hollyburn Dr.

2006-04-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

THIS JUST IN: The mortgage was approved! We're ready to rock and/or roll. So excited.

i've decided (i'm ian by the way) to upload some pictures of our new house for all the folks who read the blog. Some of these pictures were taken by the realtor who listed the place and some were taken by Rudy Suppanz of Gold Seal Property Inspection Service. If you're looking for a good home inspector who will tell you everything you need to know, then talk to Rudy. I've got his number if you want it.

The first picture is the exterior of the house. As you can guess, our half is the one with the FOR SALE sign in the front. The tall half. The cool half. Anyways, as you can see, the exterior is finishe with stucco and wood siding. This can all be changed thanks to my wonderful ties to the exterior renovation business. We'll see. We've got a 2 car side-by-side driveway, very handy for a two car family like us (though i may be selling my car).

Next is the front yard. We don't really have much of a yard here, which is really ok with me because A) we don't have a lawnmower and B) less work for us. There are some nice little garden type things here, as well as a spruce tree, a baby apple tree and a teeny tiny rose bush.

Check out this next picture. I never really looked at the backyard, and from the house you don't see too much because it slopes down towards the back. But this is sweet. I'm seeing this for the first time too so we can all be in amazement. As you can see, there are some stairs as well as some nice flat areas which would be perfect for building, say, a gazebo. Or maybe even a pergola! I've always wanted a pergola. There are also some garden areas here. The current owner was telling us what sort of stuff we could find in the gardens, stuff she had planted. But it was all too much to remember so i guess we'll find out what is there when it all grows. First on the agenda for the backyard though is to Dewie-Proof it. He jumped through a hole in the fence at Fran and Henry's that was like 3 1/2 feet off the ground. Circus dog.

This picture is a strange view of our deck. From the roof. But we have a deck!! It's pretty nice. Initially there was a concern about insurance and the height of the railing, but that's no longer an issue. The issue now is that the pickets are 5" From apart and should be more like 4". There are several things we can do to fix that so it's all good. It's a nice little deck and has a very nice mountain view. It gets morning sun only so it won't get sweltering hot either. Perfect for barbecueing (sp?) and whatnot (I hope you're enjoying my random links. I know I am.).

The next photo is of the entrance & downstairs bathroom. That's right folks, the place has 2 bathrooms! It's incredible, i know. The entrance has some little wooden spindly thingys that i don't particularly enjoy. We'll see how long they last. The entry and bathroom both have ceramic tile floors, very classy.

Next we'll journey to the living room. Here we'll see that there's a wood-burning fireplace. This is a nice added bonus for some extra heat or added romance. Laminate floors extend from the living room at the front of the house to the dining room at the back. The kitchen, which we'll see next, has ceramic tile floors.

The kitchen, as i mentioned, like 5 seconds ago, has ceramic tile floors. The cabinets are very nicely painted and seem to be in great condition. the countertop looks pretty new too. The kitchen contains a fridge and stove as well as a dishwasher. The stove and dishwasher are 2 years old, the fridge is 5, the washer and dryer, which we won't see on this tour, are one year old (pretty cool too, a stand up model). Kristin loves this kitchen. Ian loves that Kristin loves this kitchen.

So basically that concludes the tour, simply because we have no pictures of the upstairs at all. The inspection didn't really cover anything like that and they didn't show the bedrooms in the real estate listing. Needless to say, though, we are very excited about moving in. And, we get to move in on the 29th! That means that everything has to go through very quickly, so we are still not really out of the woods. I think all that's really left is things to do with the lawyer and switching things around with titles and whatnot. Keep praying for us and thanks for sticking around for this lengthy tour of our house. Have a great day!

The Real Deal

2006-04-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

Ian and I have posted before that we had a house that we were going to buy, and then we didn't end up buying it due to misunderstandings of the seller and the buyers (us).

But now, that is all changed. Ian and I have found a house with the help of my dad and Ron VanBuren (our realtor). It is a half duplex on holleyburn. It big and perfect and has a fenced in backyard for our Dewie. It has a sundeck and even a workbench for Ian. It has appliances that are all within 1-5 years. The kitchen is perfect size for me. Our bedroom is a good size with a walk-in closet!!! And the living room is bright and cheery and has two big windows with a WOOD FIREPLACE in between.

Last night we made an offer on it and we will get it for 187, 500. Not bad for the compared prices in this town. So now all that's left is our subject tos and then we have a house, and we will have possession (hopefully) by april 29, so that we can move straight from where we live now to the new place. The owners now were going to leave in two weeks anyway.

EEP! I'm so excited. This was just another God send thing. He is just always looking out for us. Helping us find the perfect place when we were in despair about ever finding it.

So, PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Big Marital Step

2006-04-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Awwwww. How cute. A young married couple's first illness together.

This morning, Ian and I both woke up feeling very nauseous and dizzy. No one else that we now is sick like us, so it wasn't anything we ate because we have been eating at my mom's house for the last few days. I would really like to know why we are sick.

Ian called in sick today and I should have but I didn't. I went to work and felt awful. All I had the whole day was water to drink and then at about 2 I had a juice box and had a hard time keeping it down. I did though. Ian ate some crackers in the morning and then threw up. In the afternoon he ate a lot of crackers but he threw that up as well. When I came home from work, I passed out on our bed, I slept for about an hour and now I am feeling quite a lot better. I'm eating crackers right as I am typing this and they are sitting nicely in my tummy, for now. Ian is feeling worse, however. He is still in bed wishing that he was better.

Hopefully you soon will be baby!

Kristin

87

2006-04-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

Today my grandpa would have been 87. He died last year, February 2nd. He's gone but not forgotten.

ian

Silent No More!

2006-03-29T18:52:00.000-08:00

hey! it's ian! i know i haven't blogged at all in weeks, so here's some updates!

Yay!

not much is really going on. we have to move out so we are kind of looking for a place to live. we don't know for sure if we want to buy or rent, but finding affordable places to rent or buy is a challenge in this city. especially if you make a combined income of just under $50000. i am leaning towards buying, for a few reasons: 1) its our place, so we can do with it what we want. 2) we can have our dog (99.9% of the places that are out there for rent say NO PETS. the other .1% are on the north shore *yuck*) 3.) renting just stinks, because you're throwing your money away.

those are all the reasons. there is one duplex we are/were looking at but haven't actually seen yet, which is only like 130,000 (believe me, that's good for a half duplex) but it's been a real challenge to get in to look at it. also i saw this one house that is 135000 and has a nice yard so maybe that would be nice. i don't know. sometimes i panic about it, but then other times i could really care less. mostly i am just kind of looking around and if there's something that interests me then i will think about it a lot. but i'm not panicking.

speaking of work (oh, i wasn't speaking of work? whatever), i've been working a lot lately. longer days mean longer hours. it's good and bad. lots of money rolling in on payday, but i'm tired and dirty and won't get to see my wife very often. but it is a lot of fun running a machine that eats aluminum and poops gutters (for those of you who don't know, i work for Continuous Gutters, we build and install custom lengths of aluminum gutters and downpipes). in the sun all day, different location every day, what more could you want? more money. a new tool belt. ladders that work. a cow-orker who shows up every day, never hung over. a radio. that's about it.

well this has been fun, hasn't it? we've shared some laughs, we've delved deep into my personal life. good times, good times. have a great day!

ian

On My Way to CDA!!!!!

2006-03-22T19:32:00.000-08:00

Today is the deadline for having all my school work finished and being registered for my practical evaluation on April 22. I wasn't certain that I was going to finish in time but I did!!!!!!!!! I finished it all. 11 tests in less than 3 weeks. 6 months-1 year to finish this school work and I did it 4 weeks. I'm exhausted and oh so happy. The rest should be a breeze, or so I'm told. No more tests, that makes me want to sing for joy. God is good, sometimes freaks me out with last minuteness but I knew that me and Him could do it.

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts and support!

~Kristin

Tragedy

2006-03-21T17:08:00.000-08:00

My little Gilligan didn't make it.

Yesterday afternoon Gilligan was cold and he wasn't moving so I freaked out and called my mom and she said that I should take a warm face cloth and wrap him up. I did this and within a half an hour he was back to normal. Well at night at about 8:30, he again wasn't moving so I did the same thing, but after two hours he still wasn't movingand he was stiff. I put him back in with his mom and decided to wait until morning to see if anything had changed and it had not. My poor little bunny is no longer with us. Its just so silly. I know its only a rabbit, but it made me so sad, I just cried and cried and cried. I was so excited to save him and now he didn't make it. He was just so small and cute and his little eyes couldn't even open yet and his little ears were so sweet. How could I fall in love with something so small that isn't human and that I only knew for one day? Maybe I'm just crazy emotional right now.

~Kristin

More Bunnies?

2006-03-20T12:18:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was a wonderful, beautiful, sunny, and warm day. In the afternoon, Ian and I played some frisbie with some friends, then we came home. It was such a nice day that I needed to be outside more, so I fed the two bunnies that Ian and I have and decided that it was time to go get the bunny cage from my parents house and clean up the sundeck(where the bunnies were roming free). In the short 20-30 minutes that we were gone, Thomas(our girl bunny) had had 3 more baby bunnies. However, they were not all snuggled warm in the house, they were lying all over the place. We were very sad about more dead baby bunnies.

So we went out with a broom and shovel and garbage bags to clean up all the poop and dispose of the deceased baby bunnies. We cleaned up the first two and they were definitely dead, but the 3rd bunny kept moving his legs a little when we touched him!!! Ian and I decided that we needed to try save our little baby, so we took a tupperware container and put some shavings in it and took him inside to where it was warm. About an hour later I went to check on the bunny and he was wiggling around looking for something to eat! Our new bunny survived!!!!! We named him Gilligan ( a good survivor name).

We then decided that Thomas needed to be with her baby, so we took her inside and made her a cozy little home in a rubbermade bin and with a cardboard box where she could hide and keep Gilligan safe. This morning I saw her feeding him!!!! I am so happy that at least one baby is still with us. I show pictures of him when he is a little less ugly. He is alot cuter today than he was last night.

Also, I am bunnysitting Anyssa Gill's bunny, Cairnie. That means that yesterday morning I had 2 bunnies and last night I had 4.

It's a zoo in here!!!

~Kristin

Tests

2006-03-16T11:22:00.000-08:00

So here is the update on my tests.

I wrote them all including my final. I passed all of them except for one, dental reception. I have to rewrite this test on monday when schools are back from spring break. I will not find out the results of my final exam until that test is written and marked. I am coming very close to my deadline. That test will be written on the 2oth, received by the school by the 21st and then marked. My deadline is the 22nd of march!!!! So I better have passed that final exam, which I am thinking that I did. And if all goes according to plan, I will be done my school work and just need to go to Edmonton for my practical courses and then I AM A CDA!!!!! Oh, that sounds heavenly. My brain and body can't wait, this is taking way too much out of the two.

Well I'll try to keep you posted on what's going on in this house.

~Kristin

P.S. I got 99% on my prosthodontics!!!! (that is crowns and bridges, etc) Woot honors!!!!

Lack of Blog

2006-03-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the not blogging lately.

I've just been so busy with school. That is all I have been doing. Seriously, yesterday I left the house for 20 minutes to go to the chiropractor and that was it. The rest of the day I just stayed home and studied. My brain hurts. I have to get back to it now. I promise I will talk to you all more on the weekend because I have this weekend off!!!!

~kristin

My Strength Comes From The Lord

2006-03-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

My head is just spinning!!! I needed to come blog just to give my brain a few seconds of no dentistry. I have been doing school non-stop lately. It is tough because I feel like I cannot keep going but I know that I must persevere because I now only have until the 22nd of March to get all my tests and assignments sent in to school and marked and passed. What is really stressing me out though is that the school where I write my test has spring break not the next week but the one after that.

This all means that I have 6 tests to write and then my final all before next friday!!! I'm really stressing out about all this. I have a fear that I am not going to finish. I'm not sleeping well at nights because my mind just will not stop thinking about all the things I have to do in a short period of time. I just spend my days praying to God and studying and I know that He will see this all through. Right now my brain and test are all in His hands. I persevere because He gives me the strength to. I still need more strength though. Please keep praying for me. I need it sooooooo much right now.

Ian and I also decided not to buy a house right now. We stopped looking and trying to get mortgage stuff in order because I just could not handle it. It was too much stress with the amount of school I have to do right now. As well as, we just don't have the money right now. We are going to wait a few months to a year to find something to buy. That way I can focus on one thing at a time.

Oh....feels good to vent. My head is feeling a bit better now. Well, time for more studying, test writing, and assignment doing.

Love Kristin

We Lost It.

2006-02-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

We didn't get the house. Due to alot of confusion and misunderstandings, the house went to some other people. Ian and I are very sad about this. But we aren't that worried. We believe that God will be with us and allow us to find just what we need.

I just never realized though how emotional finding and losing a house could be. As well as all the financial things to deal with. I am just exhausted with everything I've been doing. Real life is tough. I wouldn't change my life, but I sometimes wish that things could be easier and less stressful

~kristin

HOME Hunting (as in not just a house)

2006-02-26T18:28:00.000-08:00

This is (hopefully, God willing) our new home. It is a half duplex on waddington. My father (Henry) made an appointment for Ian and me to see it on thursday. We loved it when we saw it, I especially loved it, the place felt like home instantly as I walked around it.

Funny story about this place and its previous owners. My aunt lived in THIS very house many years ago. The owner who is selling it now, I recognized when I saw her but I could not put a name to the face. Later as we were touring the house, I saw a cupboard with her kids names on it and I instantly remembered who she was. They are a quite well known family in the dentist office that I work in.

Anyways, so this house has a good size living room and kitchen, two bedrooms, one bathroom, a big rec-room downstairs, and a BIG laundry room that Ian wants to change into his new BIG shop. And the most wonderful part, a nice big, fenced yard for Dewie.

Another couple actually made an offer on this house on thursday and the owner called us to tell us about it. She said that she was holding them off until she heard from us because she really wanted us to have it! The awesome thing is, is that what Ian and dad and I were discussing what we were going to put down as an offer and it was higher than that other couple! ALRIGHT!!! So, what we really have to do now is figure out mortgage stuff (blah) and save, save, scrimp, and save for a down payment. Thank God for tax return. He he he.

We will have to see how things go. I really want this place. So please pray, pray, pray for us. I do not feel grown up enough for this. Oy vey.

~Kristin

Guess What!!!!

2006-02-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

It is only ONE MONTH UNTIL MY 22nd BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

Get prepared. Start thinking of what to get me. :)

love Kristin

Sad News

2006-02-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

We now know the sexes of our bunnies. Thomas and Isabelle have been alive and together for about 9-10 months now and Ian and I began to think that they were the same sex, until now.

A few days ago, Ian and I noticed that Thomas' fur (he is the fuzzy bunny) was all over the deck, where the bunnies live. I made a joke about maybe Thomas was pregnant, but how could that be, they have been together for soooo long and no baby bunnies. A couple days after I had said that, Ian looked outside at the bunny house and noticed something sticking out of the door. He went to look and it was a frozen baby bunny. He then proceeded to look on the internet to see if it is ok to disrupt a bunny's house to check for more baby's and how to take care of baby bunnies. So he learned that he could move the house and went and got food and bedding. He lifted the house to find 3 more babies, all frozen to death as well. He cleaned them up right away to spare me from the horrible sight.

A tragic, tragic thing. It is now a sad thought of having to split Thomas (our girl) and Isabelle (our boy) up, because they love to hang out together. But it has to be, we cannot have another tragic bunny mishap.

Get Away

2006-02-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Ian and I went to Vancouver for a little, well I suppose you could call it, a honeymoon. We went for three days, friday, saturday, and sunday.
Here is a look at our itinerary.

Friday
-we left Kamloops at about 9:00 am, after dropping Dewie off and my mom and dad's. (thanks for puppy sitting)
-we arrived in Vancouver at about 12:00 pm.
-we found our hotel at about 1:30 pm (we got lost and missed out exit and went almost ALL the way to the ferry terminal and realized that we missed it, this was my fault not Ian's)
-our room wasn't ready until 3 so we went to Metrotown Mall and walked around the whole mall
-went back to our hotel and got our room to our surprise, it was tiny. Very funny, we were not expecting that. It didn't even have a bath tub, just a shower stall. Nice place though.
-we went back to Metrotown mall and parked there, bought sky train tickets and went to downtown vancouver to go to the TALL GIRL SHOP!!!!!!!!
-I bought 5 pairs of pants!!!!
-we went to the old spaghetti factory in gas town for dinner, then walked around and saw some of the sights downtown
-then we took the sky train back to the mall and went to our hotel and went to bed

Saturday
- we woke up and got ready and walked for about a half an hour to the nearest sky train station.
- we got off at the science world main street station and had to wait an hour for science world to open
- we needed breakfast so we walked around until we found a starbucks for a coffee and a muffin(we walked between GM place and BC place)
- we spent a couple of hours acting like children in science world, learning is fun!
- we were going to go the Aquarium but after science world, we were a little touristed out
- we then went to the waterfront on the sky train and then hopped on the sea bus to Lonsdale Quay and had lunch and went shopping in the little market (we went into a games shop and found the Beanz game!!!! We didn't buy it, it is cheaper to buy on the internet)
- we then hopped on the sky train and went to metrotown mall again to actually go into stores and shop
-we only went into HMV and bought movies. Hehehehehehehehehe.
-Ian wanted to find a music store to go to so we looked in a phone book and went back downtown vancouver
-we then walked around downtown vancouver and decided that we were bored and didn't know where anything was and then went back to the hotel
-we stayed there until we got hungry and decided to go see a movie at silvercity
- there was nothing good playing so we just ate at TGI Fridays and then went to the hotel and watched some TV

Sunday
- we woke up and got ready for church
- we found the route on a map to Ian's aunt Dawn and Uncle Rae's church
- we checked out of the hotel
- we left super early and found the church but we were there an hour and a half early
- we found a Timmies and had breakfast
- after we drove around Richmond (because that is where the church is) and just saw a bit of the city
- went to church and surprised Ian's aunt and uncle and two cousins
- then Auntie Dawn took us and a 7 other people out for lunch (thanks again auntie dawn)
- then we went to ikea in richmond and spent alot of money
- then we drove home and picked up our dog

what a good trip. It's nice to just go away and forget that you have a job or responsibilities.
it is also nice to be back home.

Kristin

PS. it took me a few days to write this blog because it was alot to type and i have been trying to be a good girl and do my school work.

We need some prayer please!!!!

2006-02-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

So, there are things in life that Ian and I know that we can not do alone. We know that we need God to help us. We also need to the help of our family and friends. If you feel called, could you please pray for one or more of these needs.

1) I only have 4 weeks left to finish my school work. I have alot to do, and I have the next two weeks half off to try and finish, so please pray that God will give me the determination and brain power to study and pass.

2) I found out that Ian and I will have to move out of our condo in May due to our landlord's daughter moving back to town and needed to live here. Please pray that God will provide us with a good place to live that we can afford.

3) Ian is off work right now due to sickness and cold weather. I have off to finish school. We will not be making alot of money, and we are looking at buying a place to live in, also we have some big expenses coming up (ie. school). Please just pray that God will provide. I know that he will, but prayer for it is still in need.

Thats all that is on my mind right now.
Thanks to those who are praying for us already, we love and appreciate you, and we are praying for you too.

Kristin

Another Baby!

2006-02-17T13:27:00.000-08:00

Again, not a baby of mine, but a related baby. My cousin Mark and his wife Stephanie have a new little baby boy, Theo Jonathan Carroll. Here he is:Welcome to earth, little man!

-Ian

372-WOOD

2006-02-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

Brand new post at 372-WOOD !

First Dinner Party

2006-02-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

Today, after church, I was secretly hoping that the boyz would ask me if I would make lunch. But alas, they did not. We went to the Burcharts for Uncle Dave's left over meat loaf (very good), so I had to step up and ask them over, and to make sure that they came I had to bribe them with wonderful delicious STEAK!!! And it worked!!! They all came over and saw my new couches and the house with the furniture in it, and they ate. Food was great, company was fabulous. It made me feel so happy. No longer lonely. And the most fun part was that Ian and I cleaned the whole house together, so it's really clean and then we rearranged the living room and computer desk. It looks so nice and much more open and spacious. You should come over and see it some time, maybe come for dinner.

Call us, 372-9663

~KG

A Cute Picture

2006-02-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

I don't have kids to show off on this blog like some people i know, but here's a cute picture i took today of my little dependent.

In Memoriam

2006-02-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, a year ago yesterday my grandpa passed away. I just thought i would use this post to remember him. In honor of grandpa, yesterday i went to his favorite hangout, the North Shore A&W. We sure miss you grandpa!

-Ian

Apart from the World

2006-02-02T11:02:00.000-08:00

Lately I feel as though I'm not quite with it. I feel very anti-social. I am function wonderfully at work, doing a great job and acting like a normal person, but the instant that I am not at work it is almost like I'm confused about what to do. I just cannot seem to pick up the phone and call a friend and say, "hey, wanna do something?". If someone would call me I would go for sure but I can't call myself. I can't even seem to email friends from far away and ask them how they are. I really want to do it, I miss all of my friends, but even now, just sitting here, I can't motivate myself to do it.
I don't believe that this is a normal thing. Is this a physcological problem? Have I been hurt by friends and am afraid of rejection or judgement? These are questions that I ask myself but I just don't know the answer to.
Even with Ian, I feel like he doesn't want me around or that he is not attracted to me. I know that he is, he tells me all the time that is, but I feel as though he doesn't.
Perhaps this is just a self-esteem issue that I should deal with. I don't know. All I know is that I'm praying for change, 'cause this anti-socialism has GOT TO GO!!!!

KG

A New Addition to the Family

2006-01-29T07:54:00.000-08:00

I realized just now that people reading this might think that i am talking about we are having a baby. I wish. No, this is an announcement (albeit a late one) about the newest addition to the Turgeon family. That would be my mom's family, for those who aren't up on the genealogy. January 16th, 2006 brought us a new little cousin! Her name is Alisha Thi [Note: The middle name has since been changed to Tran.] Turgeon, and she was born 6 pounds 4 ounces. Apparently she was also born with a full head of hair. We're talking like down her neck and everything. My Aunt My (pronounced Mee) is from Vietnam, that would be where the middle name comes from i think, but i don't know the pronunciation. Here is a photo of the little cutie. I don't think she looks like a baby.

Boycotting

2006-01-24T21:16:00.000-08:00

So, tonight Elizabeth (our sister-in-law) was hosting a spa night for her usual tuesday night Ladies night. My mother told me that it was for anyone to come and not just for the ladies who come on a regular basis. Ian was ALL upset about this because spa night was NOT for everyone, it was JUST for the ladies. So now, Ian is boycotting ladies night. Hehehehehe. He was even to buy a wagon to bring cool things to ladies night. I guess thats just too bad.

My husband wants a baby

2006-01-23T09:43:00.001-08:00

I am only 21 years old. I have only been living out of my parents house for three weeks now and married for the same length. I have not even had the chance to start with my career for a while because I am still doing my school work. But none of this matters to my husband. He understands that I want to make some money first, and we both would like to get a house before we have kids, but that does not stop him from wanting a baby right now.

I get asked everday by Ian, "can we have a baby?". And everyday I answer, "NO!". Then he says, "I can't believe my wife doesn't want to have a baby and I do." GRRRRRRR!!!! It makes me so angry. He knows that I want kids, and he knows that we can't have them now.

Our nephew Hunter really doesn't help at all. Ian and I watch him from time to time (actually I'm babysitting as we speak, he is sleeping). This just makes Ian want a baby even more because Hunter is just the most adorable kid. BUT I JUST CAN'T GET PREGNANT NOW!!!!

So, if the mood strikes, please talk some sense into my baby crazed husband, because anything I say just gets ignored.

Another Blog?

2006-01-21T14:26:00.000-08:00

I, Ian, have started another blog. Basically it is a boring blog, with most likely infrequent updates on my woodworking projects. Mostly this is for the benefit of people who do not live near me and don't get to see all of my many projects. So enjoy!

372-WOOD

-Ian

Come on Over

2006-01-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

Ian and I are now all nicely established in our home. We have our new bed which is nice and comfy, which means that we have a guest bed all nicely done up for our guests in the guest room. We have our gorgeous couch and love seat, so we have PLENTY of places for company to sit, and comfortably. I am in my full blown 'i have my own house and i can bake and cook up a storm' mode, so if you want to come for some goodies, or for some games, or just for some laughs, feel free.

I seriously would love some company. I'm starting to feel like this place is my home, but it can still get a little bit lonely, so stop on by and cheer me up a little.

Here are some options of what we can do:

-watch movies (we have tons)
-play games (right now the tops are cranium and the beanz game)
-sit and chat (over coffee, tea, HC, and cookies/muffins/banana bread)
-eat dinner together (i need at least a few hours notice for this one)
-any other things that you can think of

So, if you are bored, or miss ian and me, or you just want to come see us or the place, I invite you to do so.
Our number is
372-9663
and our address is
76-1435 Summit Drive

more pictures

2006-01-10T16:30:00.000-08:00

More Here

married and adjusting

2006-01-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

It's really very odd to think that I am a wife and that Ian is a husband. It feels right but the thought is an odd one. I rather enjoy being married but I am still having a hard time being away from home. The second night that we were married, which was our first night here in the house, I woke up at 3 in the morning and asked Ian if he could take me home and he told me that I was home and I was very confused about that. It is weird getting ready for work here and coming back here when work is done. I love this house but it has not become my home yet. I was told that it takes year to actually get adjusted to being married and start to feel at home. I guess you need to get through a bunch of holidays. I'm praying that it is sooner than that.

I miss my mommy...and daddy...and ginger...and my old pretty room....................................
.....................................................................................................and Devon.

But I love my Ian.

Kristin

It's over...

2006-01-01T00:07:00.000-08:00

And it's only just starting.

Posted by Trent Ernst (Eye For Detail)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

2005-12-31T09:24:00.000-08:00

Today is the day!

As i write this post, it is 6 hours, 35 minutes, 2 seconds away.

And all i have left to do is burn CDs, pick up fish, wash Kristin's car, iron all the shirts, find candles...

but i'm surprisingly relaxed. i think maybe i my brain is in denial or something. maybe at around 3:57 i'll start panicking and make a run for it.

i guess we'll see!

for those of you that are coming, see you there, for those of you who can't make it, sorry, and for those of you who weren't invited, 4:00 sahali fellowship, just show up.

ian

Officially Christmas Time!

2005-12-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

Hooray!

Yesterday (the 22nd) my parents got here! Now Christmas can start. I am very stoked for this Christmas because we have some good gifts to give. It's strange that this is how i am feeling about Christmas, you know how it usually is when you're a kid, you just want presents. Now i can't wait to give presents and see people's reactions (especially the kids we're giving gifts to). only 2 more sleeps and Christmas is here! Although one more sleep and a whole day and we get to open gifts with the deVrieses. and then a sleep and church and we open gifts with the Groveses. I'm also pretty stoked about having family here for like weeks. my dad doesn't have to go back to work until the 11th of january!!!

ian

Safe Return

2005-12-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Phill and Ryan and the girls all made it back safely from Sierra Leone. (Phill is Kristin's brother, the girls are his daughters Amber Meagan and Jessica, and Ryan is their manny.) It was so great to see them again, and hear a few little stories about life on another continent. It was a little sad that Becca didn't come back just yet, but that just means that when she does come back it will be so great...i believe the hope is that she comes back with not one but TWO new babies, Kristien and Noah.

So, if you're reading this, Phill, Ryan, Amber, Meagan and Jessica, WELCOME BACK

And if YOU'RE reading this, Becca, we miss you and can't wait for you to get back here.

-Ian

The Start of Christmas Tradition

2005-12-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

It's a wonderful thing to bring two people together at Christmas time. Everyone has their own traditions, things they do with their families at special occasions. Sometimes you wonder why we do these crazy things, but now i know, and can pass these traditions on when i have a family.

Tonight we got the Christmas tree all set up and decorated it. What a great time. We put on some Christmas music (when we were almost done, but you get the idea) and just decorated the tree. It's kind of nice to be in charge, cause then you don't have to worry about moms (sorry moms) saying it's not good enough or there's too many decorations on this branch or not enough tinsel on this branch. You get to decide. Now we're just sitting here, playing Christmas music, and just hanging out. I'm eating my second dinner, Kristin's working on a Christmas gift. And this is our new tradition. When we decorate the tree, we'll sit around afterwards, sipping hot apple cider, listening to Christmas music, and just relaxing. I can't wait to do this every year for the rest of my life!
Here are some pictures of our tree. They are somewhat blurry, but you don't get the full effect of the lights and everything if the flash goes off. I've got to play with the camera's settings to get everything looking top notch. But i do like the left hand one, very artsy.

(We just realized we took the pictures without the star on top. We don't have a star yet. So just imagine the nicest star you've ever seen.)

-Ian

a t-shirt for hunter

2005-12-10T13:50:00.000-08:00

as liz requested i designed a t-shirt.
enjoy.

The Place

2005-12-09T14:09:00.000-08:00

Well, i've been moved in to the new place for 9 days now, so i figured it was time to get some pictures up here so you can all see where i live/we will live. So here they are. I just took them.

This is the exterior of the townhouse (left). Oooh, aaahh.... Not that exciting...moving on.
Below you'll see a picture of some cool mirrors that came with the place. Gotta love Ikea.

Next you'll see our lovely and spacious living room. Unfortunately we have no furniture. Just those two cool green chairs and the table Kristin painted. Apparently we have a fireplace! We'll find out soon if it is usable though. It's full of insulation at the moment. Note the naked Christmas tree in the corner. Our first Christmas tree! Also note Fran's lovely wreath.
To the right of the living room you'll find the dining room. This is home to my computer as well. Also you'll see our poor sick fishes. Sadly four fish have died this week (A guppy, two danios, and a betta). The causes of death are yet to be determined, though it may have to do with the introduction of new guppies or the fact that the water has turned a lovely greenish color. Mmm Mmm good.

Moving on, here's the deck, off of the dining room. Soon to be (in the summer) home of dinners in the sun, etc. It's nice and big, and currently a bit of a mess, snow, empty liquor containers (not ours). We do have a lovely patio set and umbrella, and a barbecue!

Next is the kitchen. A little small, but it serves its purpose and has already been the source of a few culinary creations. It has a dishwasher!

and to the right of the kitchen, the pantry/laundry room. Complete with washer and dryer and DEEP FREEZE!
Now, before we go upstairs, there is one thing that i have to point out. It is one of my favorite things about this place. Check out these sweet stairs.

That's right, they're just hanging there! it's cool, it almost opens up the whole area. There are two sets, up and around and up to the top floor. Pretty sweet. Now here is the Master Bedroom. For some reason i just could not get a really good picture of this room. Also, i chose to take the picture on the day i am doing laundry and the sheets are off. Now you all get to see the horrible support i get when i sleep.

That's right folks, a foamie on a box spring! And I wonder why my back hurts. Pssh...

Off of the Master Bedroom used to be a small deck. Like many of the townhouses in this complex, it has been turned into a sun room of sorts. I use it for my workshop. It's nice and cool in the winter, hopefully not too hot in the summer, though something tells me i might cook in there in mid july. This picture has been censored because i am building Christmas gifts in here and the people i build Christmas gifts for may very well be reading this post. In fact i know of at least one or two that will read it for sure *cough*JUSTIN & LIZ*cough*MOM &DAD*cough* Excuse me.
And of course, who could forget the bathroom! Not much to describe here. The lino is kind of gross, but it is being replaced sometime.
And last and most certainly least (right now anyways) is the spare bedroom. Right now it is full of boxes and hidden Christmas gifts. Soon it will be home to my bad bed and a place for people to sleep if they happen to be passing through.
Well, this concludes the tour of Ian & Kristin's new place. Please remember to check under your seats for any belongings, exit to the left and don't forget to visit our giftshop! Thanks for coming!

Long Awaited Update

2005-12-06T21:54:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while, but there's much to report!

We're officially moved in to the new place (by we i mean Ian is moved in). Thanks to Angelica and Gavin and Henry, things went semi-smoothly and everything is even put away now! I'm just glad it's all over, because i hate moving. Going into it i thought "i've done this a lot, it's no big deal anymore" but now i realize that my previous moves were just so horrible and stressful that i blocked them from my memory and assumed that things went well. Anyways, it's good to be home. Now i just have to get my wife moved in.

With the approaching (approachED) winter, the gutter business has considerably slowed down. Anything below -5 is too cold to hang eavestrough, so i've been spending most of the last 5-6 days at home, with about 5 hours of work on monday. I've noticed that when i'm not working, i tend to grow more and more lazy. i went out and worked and felt great and wanted to do all kinds of stuff, and then today, i felt like sitting around doing nothing. i need to find a hobby or *shudder* another job.

Speaking of not working so much, Kristin is also on a reduced schedule lately. She calls it her "Stress Leave." I prefer to call it her "Didn't-do-enough-school-in-the-last-few-months-so-now-it's-time-
to-catch-up-and-do-nothing-BUT-school" Leave. Needless to say, the next couple of weeks should be interesting in terms of paychecks. But i'm sure everything will be alright send us money. What?

We've decided that because we really hated the idea of registering and everyone keeps asking us where we're registered, that we'd make a list of all the things we need. that list is coming soon, i promise.

i think that's about all for now. oh, here's our new address and stuff:

#76-1435 Summit Dr.
Kamloops, BC
V2E 1S2

(250) 372-9663 (That's 372-WOOD)

you can e-mail us at ian(dot)kristin(at)gmail(dot)com OR ikgroves(at)telus(dot)net

for those of you who have no idea what i just wrote, just replace the parts of the addresses in brackets with what it says (for example, (dot) = . and (at) = @ )

Peace out, y'all

Ian

My Post to Elizabeth

2005-11-27T17:44:00.001-08:00

This is my post to Elizabeth. For those of you do not know about Elizabeth she is my sister-in-law and very close to being my neighbor as well. Her and my brother JJ and my litte, sweet, wonderful, amazing, adorable nephew Hunter live just a block away from me and my parents (which soon i will not be so close *weep weep*). Now to tell you the truth, when i first met Liz, i loved her until she stole my brother by marrying him. I still loved her but come on, he was like my best friend and she took him. So after a little while of jealousy, i decided that it was time to actually make Liz feel like my sister(because i have no real sisters, I needed her). And so, i went to Kelowna as much as I could to visit with her more than with Justin and it worked, she's just like my sister now!!!! Then they moved to Kamloops and now just up the street. Now i can see her as much as i want and i love to see her. Ian does too. He's always liked Liz. She's just that fun. It ALSO helps that she has THE CUTEST BOY IN THE WORLD!!!! Man, i love that kid. And she is such a great mom. It's cute. So there you go Elizabeth! I love you

Love Kristin (and Ian)

A Sigh...

2005-11-23T18:06:00.000-08:00

so it's nearly official that NO ONE from my mom's side of the family (Mom excluded) is coming to my wedding.

sigh.

while i wouldn't say that we're all the closest family ever and we spend every joyous occasion together (actually it's the opposite, i hardly ever see any of them) i was still somehow expecting that SOMEONE would come. but alas, we picked december 31st, and that is just a bad day for everyone.

since we picked this date i've been worried. we picked it because A) it's a good day for us and B) it's a bad day for everyone else, therefore attendance will be smaller, thereby making our wedding cheaper. now for Kristin, whose family is larger than the population of my home town, it's not SO big a deal, because if one or two or five people don't show up then it's alright, because there are at least 37 other people who will come. but for me, five is my entire family!

sigh.

it will still be a happy and wonderful occasion. no doubt of that. just a little frustrating is all.

peace out y'all

ian

A Happy Shower

2005-11-14T09:04:00.000-08:00

Last night I had my very first wedding shower.

At first I was feeling really selfish about getting all these gifts and i wasn't sure how to handle the whole wedding presents thing. And it was odd to think that a shower could be for ME. My daddy kept telling me that all these people want to buy me gifts and have a party because they love me and they want to show it by sharing excitement in my life and celebrating. I kept this in mind when I walked into the church (where the shower was).

I was very excited to see ALL the ladies that showed up. We had alot of fun and i felt very loved. So many wondedrful gifts, i loved every single one, and so far NO repeats of anything. Watching the faces of the wonderful women giving me gifts, I finally realized that getting shower gifts is not a selfish thing, it is a LOVE thing. And I am definitely feeling very, very loved.

Kristin

So very sad and pathetic

2005-11-12T10:59:00.001-08:00

So, as we all know, Ian is on this BIG tool kick. All he does it talk about tools, look at tools, think about tools, and imagines all the things that he could build if he had all these tools. Well at first it made me all happy that he had an interest in something, then i got kind of sick of it (maybe a little jealous), and now I'm becoming just like him. Yesterday, all the flyers for stores came to the house and instead of me looking at the Michaels ones, I started looking at the canadian tire and home hardware flyers to find tools on sale.

Sigh....maybe i just want him to be happy with tools so i'm finding cheap ones he can buy. Or maybe...secretly....i love tools too. Huh, what?! Did I say anything?!...........

A Whole Lot to Do!

2005-11-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

whew!
Ian and i are getting pretty burned out lately. We both work so much and then when we come home we are still working. We are making our christmas gifts as you may know and so after work we go to ian's house and play in his "workshop" making all sorts of things. It's fun but its alot. On top of that, i sit there and do my school work. And now ian's moving at the end of this month so it's time to start packing and cleaning his place now. Plus we have a puppy, fishtank, and bunnies, so we spend alot of time looking after all those things (plus ian got a plant, even that takes time to keep alive). Then there are the wedding plans which i am, frankly, getting sick of. Sorry to those that we have ignored, i really miss you all and i hope that after all this craziness is over we can see you again.

Anyways, i was just venting on my life.

Talk to you all soon,

Love Kristin

Ian's Workshop Begins!

2005-11-06T13:59:00.000-08:00

So lately I've been on this huge building stuff kick, and I go to Home Depot and look at tools and stuff and wish I could have them, etc. So on Friday, I'm working on building something (I can't say what because it might be a gift for you!) and Kristin gives me the wonderful idea that we should go buy some sort of tool. Well of course I was excited! I love tools. Of course I can't afford the wonderful DeWalt tools like I use at work, but we went to Home Depot and I bought a mitre saw!
oh man so cool. so i set it up today and tried it out a little bit! wow. so exciting.

now if you'll excuse me, i have things to cut at various angles.

-Ian

Yowza!

2005-10-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

So we got to look at the place on Sunday!

Oh. Man.

What a great place! We love it. It's got laminate flooring, fridge/stove/dishwasher/washer/dryer/deep freeze, huge rooms (you could fit two full size pickups in the master bedroom), a deck, AND our own seperate closets.

So I'm pretty sure it's a definite yes that we'll be moving in there. Which is pretty exciting.

So if you don't live in Kamloops and you're passing through (after December) drop in and stay a couple nights!

But only if you don't live in Kamloops.

-Ian

Blessed With a Place to Live

2005-10-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

So my sweet and wonderful boss, who has blessed my life so much already, has this condo that he originally got for his daughter. She moved to Calgary and he has his partner's son living in there with a friend. Now the son is moving back home and the condo is empty. So my boss offered to me and ian for when we get married. He is going to get it painted and all cleaned up and it will be ready for us on Decemeber 1. Which is perfect because that is the time that we wanted to move and it takes away Ian and my stress of finding a place. We are going to go look at it tomorrow and just get a feel for what home is going to be. We are very excited about it. I'll let you all know what it looks like when we see and tell you thoughts and plans. Love you all.

Kristin.

Our First Post!

2005-10-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our little blog! So far this is the only post because we just made it. Stay tuned for more. Of course you should all know by now that we (Kristin and Ian) are getting married December 31st!

Thanks for stopping by, and keep checking back for updates.

Kristin and Ian