And Then There Were None...

Kids left in Mama & Papa Curtis' house, that is! The littlest duckling got married this past weekend, making Don & Jesse empty-nesters (and party animals? hehe). We drove up to Snowflake on Friday to attend the sealing of the lovebirds and it was so nice on many accounts. Nice to get away from brown Tucson to green Northern AZ, nice to spend some alone-time with my husband (long car trips together can lead to some good conversations), nice to be around family and friends, and most importantly it was nice to be able to watch Lillie and Blake become an eternal family and be reminded of how important that is. I am so happy for these two. They really are perfect for each other. And something happens when a girl puts on a wedding dress that immediately transforms her into a regal, radiant woman. Lillian looked gorgeous. Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Fish!

Shh I'm Awake

Hi again! Since I am minutes away from bed time (early mornings are rough!), this will just be a quick post to let you all know that I am still here and I have not fallen off the face of the earth. ;-) I started my new job last week and it's going well. I have A LOT of training and learning ahead of me but I am up for the challenge and I'm really excited to be working for this company. It's pretty cool walking through the halls looking at all the sweet pictures of these big time missiles that defend our country. Dan would be in H-E-A-V-E-N (he watches the Military channel every chance he gets!). My doggie is still recovering from her surgery but I think she's doing pretty well. She's supposed to be "down" for 6 weeks which means little to no physical activity, but it's so hard when she wants to play. I just try to keep her down as much as possible but I know she's bored and it makes me sad. I am so going to be one of those moms that gives in to my kids' sad faces and lets them have what they want! Haha. Well now it's 15 minutes past my 9:00 bed time so I gotta scoot! I hope to have some fun in my life soon so I can do a fun post. ;-)

P.S. As ridiculous as a 9:00 bed time sounds, I wish it were 8:00 but can't bring myself to get in bed that early. Although last week I did go to sleep at 8:30 one night. LOL

P.P.S. or P.S.S. (whatever) Does anyone watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey? I'm officially obsessed. Just curious.

A Bittersweet Time

Well, I did it. I graduated from the U of A with my degree in Business Management. I almost quit a few times along the way but I am so glad I stuck it out and came out with my bachelor's degree. I only attended the graduation ceremony for the business school rather than the big university wide ceremony and it was really nice. Here are a few pics.

This woman is my inspiration. She helped push me to go to college and finish my degree. I love you Mama!

We had a little party for me on Saturday night at our house and it turned out to be pretty fun. I got some nice gifts and lots of gift cards so I can build my closet with professional business attire.

These girls are my favorites!

Opening presents.

The loot.

I'm happy that school is over and that I have some time off before starting my new job. It's been quite a rough time ever since graduation.

One of my cousins, Celia, passed away Saturday. It is so sad to lose her. Although there was a large age difference between us, she was always there to support me. She was a great mother to her children as well as a loving daughter, sister, wife, niece, aunt, and teacher. She will be greatly missed but it is comforting that she is part of an eternal family. It is times like these that make me so thankful for the plan of salvation and the opportunity we have to be sealed to our families forever.

I've had a few health problems myself recently. I spent all day yesterday in the Emergency Room because I nearly passed out in the shower yesterday and was extremely dehydated from having stomach flu. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and had to be pumped full of IVs to re-hydrate my body. I was so dehydrated that my veins had flattened out and my blood was dark purple. They could barely get it out of me to run a blood test. My mom and Dan stayed with me there all day and I'm so glad they were there at my side. It was not a good day.

My dog had her surgery on her leg to put in a nylon piece in her knee to hold her bones together and keep them from sliding. She has a large incision wound and can't get around very well so she and I are just staying home being sick and weak together. Hopefully the future gets brighter from here. I'm optimistic about it.

Let's Go Back in Time

At work I saw the date 12/21/1987 and this is where my brain went:

• That was exactly 20 years before Dan and I got married!
• I wonder what I was doing that day (I was only 6 months old)?
• I wonder what it would be like to go back in time and watch that day, just because it was exactly 20 years before I got married?
• I wonder what Dan did that day?

Wouldn't that be so cool to go back in time and see what you were doing on a specific day long ago? Call me crazy but this fascinates me.

Gotta Get A Little Mud on the Tires

Small disclaimer: If you read my sister-in-law Kristina's blog you may get a slight double dose of the same story, so my apologies.

Saturday night Dan went with his bro Tyler and their friends Scotty, Shauna, and Gary to ride their new dirt bikes on a real dirt track and Kristina and I hung back and decided to go later since we knew the boys would stay until they closed the place down. So we just chilled at my house for awhile then took off across town to go watch our guys...what an adventure we had! First we were about 2 minutes away from getting to the exit for the track when the boys called and asked if we could bring them food. We're loving wives so of course we turned around and stopped at the closest thing we could find which was an A&W inside a gas station which obviously didn't employ the most hygienic employees. The guy making our food was a) not wearing gloves and b) hacking up a lung, so I was convinced we were all going to get the dang swine flu. (I'm happy to report none of us have it so far.) We headed back toward the track and due to some poor directions we were given, we ended up lost and going about 5 miles in the wrong direction. We finally got some good directions and started out again. We found the track! But I turned into what appeared to be the parking lot and ended up being a dead end so I drove around in circles until I found my way out again (it was really dark way out there ok?!). We finally made it!

Kristina and me after a long car ride

I got out of the car to see that my man was sporting my pink riding gear. I aptly named him "The Pink Danther." I don't actually ride, I'm barely learning how to ride a quad but we found all this pink gear at Play it Again Sports and it was super cheap so we got it for me, but Dan and I are basically the same size so it can work for him too, as long as he doesn't mind wearing pink.

It was fun getting to see the guys go crazy and do what they love to do even if it took Kristina and me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to make it there. It was a fun night and well worth the adventure.

Quick Update on Us:

I'm in my final days of school and am trying to not go crazy with all the junk I have to get done during this short period of time. After my last final on May 14th my college career will officially be over and I don't think I could be more excited. If you know me you know that school is definitely not my favorite thing but I have worked my butt off to end with a solid GPA and I will be starting a new career with Raytheon Missile Systems here in Tucson. I am really excited to begin this new chapter in my life and more than anything, I am anxiously awaiting nights with no homework!!!

Dan is currently in Las Vegas for work. He and his dad were doing a job there this morning but those lucky ducks are riding the roller coasters of Vegas tonight. I'm so jealous!

She's Worse than a Kid!

My dog that is. We have made more trips to the vet this past month than in the past year. First she had a stomach issue, which is now somewhat under control. Then she had a hind right leg issue, which the doctor seemed to think was the dog equivalent of a torn ACL, fixable only with surgery. But just this past Saturday my dog managed to add another to the list: what appears to be a broken something in her hind left leg! So now what used to be her bad leg (the right one) is the one she is depending on to hobble around our house. Not to mention I have been having a super difficult time finding a vet that I like, so it's been a lot of money spent for care that I haven't been satisfied with. But here we go again, we're trying out a new vet tomorrow to get x-rays on her legs and I'm sure we'll find out that she'll need to have surgery. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there will be a less expensive alternative but I guess this is what my portion of our tax return will pay for. So ta ta for now to dreams of a landscaped backyard, dream vacation, or new wardrobe and hello to vet bills.

Lola with her pet lion

She's lucky she has a mom who loves her! Mind you this is not her first big health issue. My mom and I spent weeks getting up at the crack of dawn to stick her with giant needles to administer IV fluids to her when she was just a baby. Poor pup, she's worse than a kid!

Welcome to the Family, Wall-E

Meet Wallace AKA Wall-E for short:

We got a pretty nice tax return this year and this is how Dan decided to spend his portion of it, a 2008 Honda CR450R. Dan let me name it so he is officially Wall-E. I have yet to decide how I want to spend my portion. Any suggestions???