Kitchen-Aid!

Two posts in one day...the world may be coming to an end. Anyways, I thought this snowy day would be perfect to break out the Kitchen-Aid to make some cookies. It worked WONDERFULLY!

Here are some pictures to document our fun of using the Kitchen-Aid for the first time...

I'm slightly slow and spent half the time trying to figure out how to get the lever to stay up. Don't worry, I finally got it.

Our finished product: Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Mr. Army's job was to stand there and look pretty. Aren't his glasses sexy? hehe.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

I believe the beginning of the Christmas season is Black Friday. I anticipate those sales all year long and then regret getting up that early, just to find out that you weren't there in time to get the one deal you wanted. This year...Rockband. Oh well, life goes on. I'll focus on what we DID get.

Mr. Army and I decided to go to Logan for the deals to see if we could get shorter lines and more opportunity for the best deals. We promised his little brother that our first priority would be the Xbox 360 package at the Best Buy. So, to ensure that we did not let Jonathan down, we woke up at 2:45am and stood in line until 4:30 to get a ticket that said we were guaranteed an Xbox. We succeeded!

This is big brother Mr. Army showing his excitement for making little J's Christmas.

Sadly, I didn't have as much success with my Black Friday deals, but since I bought a condo, my first priority was the couch. A couple of weeks ago, I went to my Body Combat class and decided it was time to get a couch...so I did!

Here is the couch and chair. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to decorate the wall, but we'll find something. Please note: I have moved the flower picture, for those that saw the Facebook picture.

P.S. Mr. Army will kill me if he ever sees that I put these on the blog.  :)

Once I had a couch, it was really time to get ready for Christmas. This is my first year having my own tree, and so it will get better every year, but here is what we have this year. Also, I included my cute "Merry Christmas" sign that I picked up at Tai Pan. I LOVE Tai Pan, and it is dangerous that there is one down the street from work, but it has definitely contributed to my cute house!

Also, this is a little late, but my brother-in-law put up my Kitchen Table and I am super excited to have it. Thanks John!

Christmas is coming! ...and I'm not a huge fan of the snow, but it looks pretty gorgeous right now. Probably because I'm sitting in my warm house knowing that I don't have to go anywhere.

And the changes are...

Well, I have had some big changes in the last week or so and it has been a bit more overwhelming that I thought it would be, but I'm loving it all.

Starting a new job and buying a house all in the same week

...can't really beat that.

New Job!

As some of you may know, I started a new job this week. I am now a  Program Control Analyst.

It is definitely a change from my last position. I am used to being the "go-to girl" in my job and now I am feeling a little useless because I can't really help out with anything at this point. I know, I need to be more patient with learning new things and a new industry.

They tell me that it will take about 9 months to grasp everything that we do in our department and how it all works together. ...I give myself 3 months and I'll figure it out.

So, if I am a little MIA for a while, I am dedicating myself to figuring out my new life that takes up 8 hours of my day :)

I did get the internet this week and don't work nearly as much as I used to; therefore, I should be able to update the blog more often. yay for that!

New House!

Well, I finally did it! I bought a condo!

I couldn't be more excited...well, actually, if I had a couch and had my kitchen table, I might be a little more excited. BUT it is kind of a dream come true. I know, that sounds a little dorky, but I love it!

If you go here, Condo Pictures you can see some pictures. I'm still moving stuff in and therefore, I will update the album once I get more situated.

Enjoy :)

Mr. Army's AIT Graduation

This post is long overdue, but I felt Mr. Army's graduation deserved some recognition. Even if it is coming a month and a half after the fact...

Well...we made it! 17 long weeks of Sunday night phone calls, letters, and counting down the time until it was over. I still think it went by faster than anticipated; Mr. Army will beg to differ.

On September 25th, Mr. Army graduated from his Advanced Individual Training (AIT) as a Combat Engineer. I am really glad I had the opportunity to be at his graduation; it is quite the experience. When I graduated from college, I never realized that 4 years of working for a piece of paper could mean so much. And after listening to Mr Army's stories and being at his graduation, I know he worked just as hard in those 17 weeks as I did in 4 years.

This is my favorite picture of the day. I'm not sure why, but the energy was overwhelming when they were marching in. Doesn't Mr. Army look serious?

They did a little presentation where it showed a solider of all of the wars (ie. World War I, II, and Vietnam, etc)

Being called up for his "Trailblazer Award". Only 6 out of over 200 privates in his company received this award. What a great honor. He still says it was no big deal, but it is, trust me.

Mr. Army with his "Battle Buddy". They are distantly related...somehow. From what I know, they are a lot alike. Random how they ended up in the same MOS and platoon in the army.

Mr. Army and his family, minus 2 sisters.

     Mr. Army and me...I love how when you are on base and in uniform, you are not allowed to show affection. This is why Mr. Army makes it look like I have cooties. Who knows, I just may.

Good Work Babe! I'm proud of you :)

Can You Feel It?

Changes are coming for this little Miss...get ready to hear about it!

Despite it All...

Despite the fact...work is so daunting I could scream.

Despite the fact...I've done everything as quickly as I can to close on the condo; I still must wait until November.

Despite the fact...I haven't been able to bring myself to go running in the mornings.

Despite the fact...I have to drive 80 miles to see sanity.


Despite it all...this face makes my day so much better.

Inspiration...

I am fairly certain most of my blog readers have called it quits on even checking here because, let's face it, I'm a bit of a slacker. BUT I should be having some fun blogs coming up.

As for now, I'm going to tell you about seeing my inspiration...

What I mean by that is...I have read about this girl (okay, maybe slightly blog stalked). This particular woman has the most amazing life: good husband, great gorgeous children, she's talented, and from what I can tell, insanely nice. Just over a year ago, her and her husband were in a terrible plane crash and by a miracle, they both survived. Some, if not all, are aware of who I'm referring.

After something tragic like this happens and life as you have known it changes, naturally you may feel as though you can't continue or get stuck in a sort of helpless mentality. Nie Nie is not this way. She has picked up her life and continues to work with what she has been given, loving every moment she has. It can not be easy, but her strength has helped get her through.

Every time I read her blog, I want to be a better person. I want to change my some times cynical attitude to one of a more positive nature. I worry and gripe about the things I don't have, instead of being thankful and appreciating what I do have...

Anyways, as Mr. Army and I got off the plane in Chicago for our layover to Salt Lake, we went searching for a place to put my stuff (he travels lighter than myself :) And as we sat down, my eyes glanced to the window to find Nie Nie and Mr. Nielson sitting. I instantly pull out my phone and write a text message to Mr.Army telling him how amazing these people are and their story is incredible. He just stares at me with a look of "how in the world do you know these people and why are you so excited?"

I realized, to me, they were like celebrities (you know the moment you realize that you know everything about Reese Witherspoon, even her dog's name, but she wouldn't know you from Eve?) That aside, I was so excited. This girl that I thought about almost on a daily basis and how she has inspired me more than she will ever know, was sitting 5 feet away. I debated back and forth approaching them...

I chickened out, of course. And if she were to ever find my blog, her and her husband would, I'm sure, know who I was...the girl sitting next to us, trying not to stare, but this awkward giddiness.

I'm ridiculous, but that made my day.


Read more about about Nie Nie here and here

Tis the Season...

Tis the Season for Utah Football! (yeah, I know I'm a little late at posting since we're headed into our 4th game). But I feel that I should share the struggles I had to go through to get my season tickets and how the team better start pulling it together or my trouble to get my tickets will be in vain.

The Wednesday before our season opener, I decided I should pick up Mr. Army and my tickets so that I would actually be able to go to the Thursday game. Therefore, I left my house early and headed to the U before work. Little did I realize, there is construction EVERYWHERE on campus and it took me about 20 minutes longer than anticipated, just to get to the Alumni House.

Once I get there, I'm feeling rushed; so, I quickly gather all the necessary items to pick up my tickets and jump out of the car. As soon as I stand up, my skirt decides not to join. Down the skirt goes right to my ankles. I was so focused on getting to work on time that I just picked up the skirt and held it up while still walking. I'm pretty sure that whoever saw this happen will be telling their friends for a while because, to them, it didn't even seem to phase me. It fell, I picked it up, I continued on my way...all in one swift motion.

For any of you that have known me for sometime, you know this is not the first time that my skirt has fallen off in public. I guess this is now my trademark...sad, but kind of hilarious.

Well, I got my tickets, made it work on time and then to the game. Unfortunately, the student ID reader said I wasn't a student and so I had to pay $10 even after paying all my MUSS fees. Lame...

My boys better make it up to me. I dropped my skirt to see them play. Now that is dedication!

The Sweetness of Baby C!

I had the opportunity of doing a "little" photoshoot for my niece Baby C while mom and dad took big sister out to a movie.

Within in the two hours they were gone, I soon discovered that this baby LOVES having her picture taken, which worked out well for me. She is one of most photogenic babies I have ever seen and she loved the flash of the camera. This resulted in a few hundred pictures (of which I will put on the photo blog soon). For now, enjoy these ones.

I just can't get enough of her! so cute!

Thanks B & A for letting me take some fun pictures!

i love family.

Though we may be weird and all very different from each other...I couldn't live without them.

Closing In...

Summer is coming to a close...BUT

Football starts in less than 2 weeks and this crazy guy comes home in 33 days! I love fall.

Fort Leonard Wood

I sent Mr. Army out for his 14 week adventure thinking that would be just that...14 weeks. Well, as we were closing in on week 8 he told me that his AIT graduation was September 25th. Hmm...that is 17 weeks, not 14. Yes, it's true. The army lied to me.

After getting over the initial shock of not having things go as planned (you would like I would have learned by now that they never do), we decided that I would make a visit during week 10 while Mr. Army had some time off in between Basic and AIT.

I headed out on the 6th not really knowing what to expect, but I was too excited to think about anything, but making it to the base. After what seemed like 2 days, I made it to Fort Leonard Wood just in time for him to get an "on post" pass for the day. Since it was on post, we had to stay on base and he had to keep in close distances to his "battle buddies". I met some of his company and took a tour of the base.

Over the course of the next two days, we tried to pack in as many "normal" things to do as possible. We went out to eat, shopping, movie, and driving...alot. Oh, and don't forget the junk food. I wish I had a picture of Mr. Army taking a bite out of each one of the dozen assorted donuts he was "really really craving".

All in all, by the time I made it home the following Monday, I had flown 2,300 miles, driven 1,000, missed a flight and much needed sleep, BUT I'd do it again tomorrow.

I was a little bit stressed when it was time for me to leave and therefore the background of the picture isn't so great, but he still looks good! He's so official :)

E + J = L 4EVER

Though this is nearly a month late, I thought I would acknowledge the marriage of my baby sister E to the lovely Mr. Lawrence.

July 27, 2009


Happy as a clam...

The Roos children. We are a good lookin' group of rejects :)One big happy family.Bridesmaids and Groomsmen

I was told I wasn't being a very good maid of honor because I wasn't following E around constantly. So, here I am, being a crutch.A few of the bridesmaids at the reception. The dresses turned out better than expected.

The polka dot wedding cake and Nascar groom's cake. Just fyi, he has decided to freeze the groom's cake and not let anyone touch it.
The first dance. My job was to load the wedding approved song list to my ipod. I downloaded the song they were supposed to dance to for their first dance, but neglected to actually put it on my ipod. We didn't realize this until about 3 minutes before the first dance. I calmly pulled E aside and said "Don't freak out...we don't have the first dance song. Any others that can be a replacement?" Thankfully she was awesome about it. I felt terrible.
The darling Noelle, displaying exactly how we all felt by the time the reception ended.

As always, more pictures are found in the photo gallery

Happy Day!

I finally decided to buy a nice photography camera and it came in the mail yesterday. In lieu of this...I started going through some of the pictures I took with my other camera. Now I have an even better camera for better photos. Enjoy some old ones, and be prepared for fun new ones! Riley J. laughing at the scary homeless man following us around.

John telling Emma she has a big head.

I guess they're kind of cute :)

Patty is convinced they never show affection. Here is proof.

Emily's favorite picture of John from the shoot.

Riley J's modeling skills.

I originally was not in love with this photo. It is growing on me.

Classic Emma.

He is probably making fun of her.

Cute baby brother.

Obviously my editing is not perfect, but I'm working on it. I love this stuff.