My husband...

...the cook?

Yeah. You read that right. And it took me 6 months to learn about it!!
Last week, I told Mike he was in charge of making tacos on a night I had to close at work. See, I added taco's the the menu because Mike has just been bugging me (endlessly) to cook a little more red meat and a little less chicken. The reason we've been having so much chicken is due to the fact that I don't like red meat. A taco here and there, an the occasional steak and a hamburger if I have no other options. But other than that, I only cook with chicken (lets face it, raw red meat makes me gag, raw chicken doesn't). So I gave Mike Tuesday for tacos.

Boy was I surprised when I came home to find the table made, food set out and everything ready to go!! And the tacos were amazing...I had three. Yeah. Wow. The night after that, when I came home, he had a steak in some marinade, and he cooked it up while I made my rice pilaf. YUM!! While we were dog sitting at his parent's over the weekend, I didn't even cook!! Mike took great pride in the steak-strips he made, with corn and potatoes. So much pride, he had me take a picture.

YUM!!!

I also snapped some cute pics of the dogs

Mike napping with company: Streak, Riley and Chewy (Katie was UNDER the bed)

Chewy and Riley, the puppies

I have more pictures of a sunset but the photo uploader is being stupid, so I'll have to post them later. Some exciting things to look forward to: Mike and I are both going to Utah in 3 weeks!! I'm excited for our first vacation out of the State :)

Hi

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it?? Oops. So sorry. 

So, what have we Bice's been up to? Well, not a lot. I have some cute pictures of Riley from the last month...

Sleeping with daddy

A very large lap dog

Sleeping with mom while she's sick

Loverly dog!!

 I guess every time Mike's parents run into Riley's ex-owners, they always ask about him, as if WE aren't taking care of him. Excuse me? No. We love our dog!! He's never locked in a kennel too small for a dog his size, he gets to run a play in our back yard and gets to play with his new BFF, Streak, when we leave him with Jan and Jeff. Yeah, it kinda of angered us and then Mike had a dream where they actually tried to take him away, since he's been behaving so much better since we got him. Thankfully, it was JUST A DREAM! We had a little problem with the trash can last week but other than that, he's wonderful!!

Last Saturday, I got to attend Tyler's first track meet. I'm so proud of him!! (And shout out to Ryne, who danced in a dance competition that day too...my brothers are so cool!!!)

100 meter

4x2

Pole vaulting- highest was 7'6"

Fallin' with style and a smile :)

Other than that, not much has been going on. I got to put in for a part time job at the NEX (no pay raise, but I'm guaranteed 20 hours a week!!) It's the electronics specialist job, so if I get the job, I'll be doing lots of research and maybe posting some of my findings on here.

Mike's hounding on Man Power and JobConnect and we're hopeful he'll have some work before next month, even if it's just temp. 

We also swallowed our pride and applied for food stamps. We got them, and we're grateful that the system is there. Our case worker LOVED us because she said we didn't know what we were doing. I take it as a complement meaning: you people aren't here to milk the system, you're here because you really need help.

We also decided to sign another lease. Our landlady promised she'd send someone to spray the stupid elm trees next door so hopefully, we won't have as bad of an infestation as we did last summer. -.-

That's all from us!! Hope all of you are doing well!!

murder?

Yeah. I know it's a harsh word. But we kinda killed Odin. Mike totally spaced that we had a fish and turned the heat all the way down when we staid at his parents for 2 days dog/house sitting.
And this morning...Odin was belly up.
It was kinda cute how Mike couldn't bring himself to be the one to scoop him out of his bowl and flush him. So, I did it. I wonder if this is the start of a trend...?

Our Expanding Family

HA!! 

No. I'm not pregnant. Fooled ya there didn't I? But keep reading, it's still good news!!

A lady that Jeff work's with and her husband were looking to get rid of their dog. If they couldn't find anyone to take him they were going to SHOOT HIM. How horrible is that?!?
Anyways, this news came about when Mike decided that a dog would be a good way to keep from from craving being a mommy and we said, hey, we'll take him!

And then Mike lost his job.

Have I ever mentioned that there is a $200 deposit for a pet in our house?!?!

But, Jeff and Jan still decided to go get the dog. They drove to Fernely today to pick him up and then announced they would pay our pet deposit for us. 

SCORE!!

His name is Riley. He is a PURE bred Llewellyn Setter and 19 months old. Yes, this dog is worth $2,500, thus the computer chip in his ear...but he is soooo loveable. The people he's been with since birth have been keeping him in a teeny tiny kennel and hardly gave him any love. He was so excited to be able to run around the house and not get yelled at. And he love to go on walks so I score again!!

I'm so excited!! Now we have a fish, and a dog!!

A picture of a Llewellyn Setter...pics of Riley to come!!

Let's throw in a couch...

So this one day at work, I was just chilling, minding my own business when a co-worker (Charil Smith) comes up to me and asks "We have this couch we don't use anymore. Would you and Mike like it?"

For free-dollars and free-cents? Well, heck yeah we would!!

No one said it would be an easy fit into our house.

We went and picked it up with the Bice's truck and help from Mike's friend Brian. 

Getting the couch into the house was a lot easier said then done.

In the end, we had to take the front door off the frame AND the legs off the couch...yeah. Wheew!!

Our other couch sits in the den and is used as a bed for guests (aka Christopher).

But here's some photo's of our couch moving fun!!!

No door...couch outside

Mike and Brian getting the couch into the house

Old couch, new room

Oops. Silly me. I don't have a picture of the new couch in the living room.

Sooo...that will just have to wait until I find my camera :)

Mike's Story

So, Mike pointed out that this blog is about us and wanted me to post this story from him...

So, he'd been working at the mine for 3 days when all this happened. He was somewhere, cleaning up something, next to these boilers that melt the line they mine down to lava. And out of the corner of his eyes he saw someone walk by. He looked up to see who it was and realized it wasn't someone but someTHING. This thing had no head, no hands or feet but was clearly walking away. Mike went to follow it and it disappeared through the wall.
Now, apparently, these "sightings" are normal. The next day Mike had to give a "ghost statement". I guess everyone does when they see things like that. The reason why, from Mike's understanding, is so they can blame the fact of the mine being haunted when things go missing...? Yeah. My question exactly.
But it was the night after that was scary for him. He could not fall asleep. Even though at the time he wasn't freaked out, it was nearly impossible for him to go to sleep. It was to the point that I was going to call my dad or his to come give him a blessing. But he asked me to read to him and my reading put him to sleep (probably because I was reading Twilight...haha).

But other than that, work is going great for Mike. He's even looking at getting a promotion to become an apprentice which would be AWESOME!! It's still up in the air if we're going to move to Gabbs or if we're going to invest in a trailer for him to live in during his four days on. IF we move to Gabbs, I'm only going on the condition that once our kids are school age, we move BACK to Fallon...or we move back as soon as I start going crazy. Gabbs is so small, it isn't even recognized as a town. Ehhh...yeah. So it probably wouldn't take long for me to start going psycho. But I want to do what's best and Mike driving almost 200 miles a day scares me so bad...I'm really, really glad he's into heavy metal; it keeps him awake on his drives.
You know what? I love that man so much. I think he likes the job and he's looking forward to moving up our there. But he dislikes that he's always crabby and we only get a few hours together from when he gets home to when he has to go to sleep. Hopefully, we'll find a solution :)

Good things come...

...to those who wait.

But GREAT things come to those who wait...
And wait.
And wait.
And wait.
And wait some more.

Last Tuesday (the 18th) Mike went up to Gabbs to apply for a general laborer job at the mine there. Every day after that, he called to check on his application. This Tuesday Mike just jumped in his car and drove the 80 miles there just to check in person. Thursday they called and said they wanted him to test and interview.
YES!!
Friday was my first day off in 8 days...and I must say it was the best day off EVER.
Mike and I went up to Gabbs with his parent's. Jan, Jeff and I waited outside for over an hour while Mike was inside testing and interviewing. And then, the foreman came out to talk to us!! He asked us, "so, if we hire him, will he be a good worker?"
Of course we gave rave reviews about him...and five minutes later the foreman came back out of the building to get in his truck and gave us the thumbs up.
So, who has two thumbs, a big ol' grin and an OFFICIALLY employed hubby?
THIS GIRL!!
Boo-yeah :)

wedding photos!!

For those of you who haven't seen them on Facebook yet, here is a teaser. Then, go view the 100+ I have posted :)

Anyways, here are some of my favorites:








Hehehe...this one is my favorite!! That's my husband, for sure!!

Ok. Have to get ready for work....

What makes a house a home...

We have internet. Kinda. I can get three bars in the kitchen from one our neighbors. Shady, I know but I was bored. I don't stay on it too long because I don't want them to figure it our and password protect it, haha.
And, since I was bored, I took those promised photos of our new house!!
Isn't it cute? We only have a 6 month lease and that's sort of a blessing in disguise because we REALLY don't want to be here too long. It's a SUPER old house and sort of a fixer-upper (in other words, we have to call the land lady once or twice a week with a problem). But it's great for starters and we're SO happy to be out on our own.

The living room is still a work in progress...except for one corner that makes me smile ever time I look at it. It's just missing a self for all our books but it's almost how I want it. It's my pride and joy right now.

We got my parent's old couch and Mike had a papasan chair, together making our furniture. I'm so thankful for the quilts Jan slaved over before the wedding because they make those two pieces perfect!

And of course our TV. We don't have cable but we do have an Xbox, lots of games and our DVDs.

Our kitchen is 100% done!!

And our bedroom Our bed is about all that fits in that room (quilt also made by Jan)

This corner is a life saver. On our first morning in the house I discovered something HORRIBLE...there are NO outlets in the bathroom. This was Mike's idea. He's so smart :)

No pictures of the bathroom...it's just a small, teeny tiny bathroom.
And no pictures of Mike's nerd room. He won't allow pictures until it's 100% which will take a while. All he has done is the computer corner; the rest of the room is full of boxes. Mike's visor for that room includes a futon couch, a card table...basically, his man cave. It doesn't really bother me. I had no idea what we'd do with that room anyways....no babies yet ♥

We're alive!!

Just letting everyone know Mike and I are alive and well. We've been married for TWO WEEKS TODAY!!! We still have yet to get our wedding pictures back but I'll post my favorites up as soon as I can.
Mike and I have happily into our house, down the street from my parents (so, we're back in the 5th ward, huzzah!!) I'll post pictures once I find my camera...it's somewhere. It's a small two bedroom, so it's perfect for us. No washer and dryer, but on my days off, I take our laundry to my parents.
Yes...my days off. I just finished INDOC and I start work at the NEX again on Tuesday. I'm super excited to be back at the Navy Exchange. It's a good place to work. Unfortunitly, I don't fit in most of the clothes I wore last time I worked there but thankfully Carolyne is losing weight and I inherited some of her "professional attire".
Right now, we're watching the BYU vs Utah game. Mike's not much of a football fan but he loves me so he'll come with me to my parent's to watch BYU games...now I just have to work on getting him to come to high school games with me. :)

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

The morning of September 11th is a blur and I really can't recall fact from fiction. After all, I was only in 5th grade (Mike was a Jr. in high school). What I know for sure is that my dad called my mom from work to tell her. And she turned on the TV and I believe she started to cry. I don't remember anything from then until I was at school. We did not go to class, we went to the flag pole out front and watched the 5th and 6th graders raise the flag to half mast and then we stood in a giant circle, holding hands, for a moment of silence. It wasn't until we got back the classroom that Ms. Lynford explained what was going on. There was also a panic in the schools that planes would crash into our school, so the then Governor of Utah (?) made an address that was broadcasted to all the schools, assuring us that we were safe. The last thing from that day that I remember is that it rained. But, there was not a single cloud in the sky. I had my first experience with YouTube after 9/11. My dad was watching video's from NYC that had been uploaded...video's filmed of the towers falling, the second plane hitting, and the victims who came from the buildings. I will never forget those images.

September 11th 2001. What happened that day is the reason we went to the Middle East. Never forget that EVERYONE was 100% behind George W. Bush's choice to go to war. And, yes, the war has become something different now, but we're still looking for that bastard, Ben-laden. Those who disagree with the war, stop for a second that consider the possibility that the reason there hasn't been another 9/11 is because we've been over there. The last thing we need are thousands of more innocent lives killed.

God Bless the USA. God bless our troops and their families. Never forget September 11, 2001.

It's all down hill...

It's the morning of August 27...you know what that means?
1 week! 1 WEEEEEEEK!!!!!
I'm ready. Everything is ready. We got Mike a suit today, plus the final four dresses and a shrug.

Why am I up at 4am you ask? I've developed slight insomnia in the past month and a half. I think it started the night of Haly's birthday when I woke up around 1am and cried until about 4. (Tonight probably has to do with the Cherry Coke I had on the way home for Reno...bad, I know) But everyone else says it's nerves. Soooo...add no sleep on top of week 2 of my first round of birth control and you get: Bridezilla? No. Over the top emotions? Kinda. A zombie? YES!! Oh joy. An emotional zombie bride. That's a new one, I'm sure.

But I come bearing good news. I think I have a job. No, I'm about 98% sure I have a job. The in-laws went to the Navy Exchange out at NAS Fallon today to look for shoes for Mike and my old boss, Anita, threw an application at them and said if I filled it out, she'd hire me. I think I broke the record for job application filling out and we were back at the NEX in a heart beat. I still have to have a background check (ha) and go through the "interview" process. But I'm feeling pretty confident.

This, however, is a blow to Mike's ego. His construction job did not work out. How? Well, things tend to fall to pieces with the bosses accountant/wife takes the 55 grand the company was paid and spends it on heaven knows what, leaving her husband to work for free and by himself. Yeah. Can we say anger? Hate and discontent? Yeah...like you have NO idea.
Plan B? Reapply out at the Gabs Mine in October (he applied once but failed the test they have to take by ONE point. Yeah. ONE. So he's waiting the allotted 6 months). With this job, he'll work a set amount of days and then get 7 days off. He'll also have to drive the 45 minutes to Gabs everyday but thank goodness for the awesome gas mileage on his Honda!! Plan C? He will go to Salt Lake for 10 days to attened England Trucking INCs trucking school, finish getting his CDL and then, drive baby, drive. And, really, this is good. Mike LOVES truck driving and he's "one hell of a truck driver" (direct quote from Jan). His one worry is that he will miss out on raising our kids. I have to remind him that his dad was gone with the Navy (a lot more than Mike ever will be) and he's never once considered his dad to be an "absentee father". I'm not yet sure what path we'll go down, but I have every confidence in him to do what's best for us and our future family. Cuz, ya know, that's just the kind of guy he is.
And I love him for it

At my reception...

...ask me about my shoes.

Because they are wicked sick :)

Found them on-line, couldn't find them in Reno, so I had to order them.

And they came today!!

I bought purple laces to go with them but I'm not sure I like that color purple with the silver of the shoes, so I'll probably use the white laces that came with...and now I have a pair of random purple laces. Hmmmm...

Anyway, here's the picture of them from Converse.com
(yeah....you read that right...)




Heck yes!!

I don't know when else I'll wear them but I have them, they are mine and they make me oh so happy!!!

Kinda like how Mike makes me happy, except not as much because these are just shoes and Mike will be my husband...

IN ONE MONTH!!!!

I am bouncing out of my skin with excitement ♥

I have...

...nieces!!
(turns out they were not just a figment of this family's imagination)
...AND....an employed fiance!!! Whoooo-hoooo!!!

Ok, my nieces are adorable. They keep telling me that they "almost missed me". I guess you can't completely miss someone you've never met, ha. Bekah is the youngest (4) and she's just so cute and has this ATTITUDE!! (But it's adorable when she puts her hands on her hips and says "listen, auntie Aubrey...")
hehe I'm an auntie!!
Morgan is 6, going on 7, and is super sweet and CRAZY smart. I love both of them. However, after being woken up by Carolyne's scared Pomeranian this morning, followed by Bekah, demanding that I give her breakfast at 6:30am, I told Mike "Find us our own house...NOW"

Because....we can totally do that!!
Well, not "now" (nor can we move in there together yet) but soon!! (but....not soon enough...we now have Mama and Papa Bice, me, Mike, Jessica, Morgan, Bekah, 3 dogs here full time and Carolyne, Chistopher and Stella here part time...yes, it's crazy. And I love almost every moment) Anyways, Brother Boonie, from our ward, needed workers and Mike got all over that and the end result is employment!
What will he do you ask? Well, how to explain this...
You know those nice mobile homes? Like, the pre-built, double wides that take two semi-trucks to trasport? Well, Mike will be following the ones in Nevada to help but them on their foundations.
Yeah...who knew that would be such a high paying job?
Down side? He'll be gone Sunday night to Friday afternoon.
Up side? It's now possible for me to now go to CNA class from 8am-4pm

Wait...I'm going to take a 8am to 4pm class AND work?
Are you high?!?!
I quit the Holiday Inn Express last week.
(Carolyne quit a month ago and it kinda went all the way down to hell in a hand bag from there)
I don't want to get into WHY, because it's behind us all now...and I will NEVER stay in one ever. Kinda like how I refuse to shop at Macy's. Every time we drive by my mind screams "SCREW YOU!!"
Feels good :)

We are 37 days (!!) away from a wedding.
HUZZAH!!! ♥

Somedays...

...I plan a wedding.

A wedding, which, mind you, is almost totally done
(as far as planning goes)

Dress--needs sleeves added. Alterations appointment on Thursday
Flowers--will be ordered when Mama Bice gets home with my nieces
Bridal shower--all our planning is done, (now it's Carolyne and Jessica's problem, haha)
Place--Large Sealing room reserved, as well as the Taylor Building
Announcements--mailed as soon as Jan get back from S.C.
Pictures--Kade Schank saves the day!!
Reception--75% done, all that's left is making it all come together.

Whooo!!

My mom says I went around this the hard way. I guess she hardly had a hand in any of the planning? But this day is all about me, me, me
(oh yeah, and Mike).
So it's going to go off the way I, I, I want it :)

Other small details:
Molly Moser is my official brides maid (Jess and Carolyne are unofficial/sisterly bridesmaids)
Chris Kiker Jr is the Man of Honor (he's 9 and the only nephew)
My bouquet is going to be white roses and purple calla lilies :)

It's going to be a crazy, crazy day!!
and I can't wait!!

Engagements

Mike and I got awesome pictures taken a few weeks back by my co-worker, Katarina Olivo in the Hyde's backyard.
She did an awesome job!!

I love him...
The 3rd of Sept is so far away yet planning wise...
WAY TOO CLOSE
♥

Lately I've been...

Working...8-1 or 3 at the Holiday Inn Express
Hanging...out with Mike, his family or mine
Planning...a frickin' wedding!!

We have a date, finally. It is...
SEPTEMBER 3RD 2011, RENO TEMPLE ♥

Currently, I am...snuggled under a blanket while Mike plays COD online

Soon, I will...go to bed so I can be functional at work tomorrow.

:)

Guess..

...what.
Guess what, guess what, guess what!?!

Less than a week (6 days) until I move out of this apartment and back into the arms of Mike!!
I'm so excited!!
Don't get me wrong. I am going to miss Apartment 16.
I became really good friends with Sarah (my roommate), Wendy and Celeste.
I honestly think I will cry when I leave.

My room is mostly packed. I started backing around 5:30 Friday morning because I woke up at 2am and couldn't fall back to sleep. Once Sarah was out of the room for work, I started packing.
And I'm mostly done!
Unfortunately, no amount of packing can make time go by faster. I'll still have 4 more days of work. And then have to do a MAJOR cleaning of my half of the bedroom and then clean out one of the fridges and mop the kitchen floor. And then I'll have to TRY to sleep knowing Mike is only about an hour away at his Grandma Layton's.
But Mama said they plan on getting here around 8am on Friday the 22nd
(which is a little soon seeing as I can't even begin to check out of here until 9:40. I mean, I don't have THAT much crap to load into the truck...).
But whatever! I get to see Mike that much sooner!!
Rumor has it that we'll be spending Easter weekend at the Grandparents Layton's house but I'm cool with that.
As long as I'm with Mike....

After Monday, I have no idea what life will have in store for me. I know Carolyne (sissy-in-law) is going to hire me to work at the Holiday Inn Express.
But I don't know where I'm going to live. I originally was going to stay in Haly's room but then Carolyne wanted me to stay with her so I could watch Christopher during the summer (when I'm not already working for her?). But now Mike thinks working for and living with Carolyne is a BAD idea so he might move into her house instead of me? I don't know anymore.

BUT I DON'T CARE!!

Moving back to Fallon gets me one step closer to marrying Mike. And starting our life together.
That's all I care about right now, really.

This post...

...goes out to the people who think I was dating/am engaged to Mike because of Haly or his family.

No. You could not be anymore wrong.

Yes, Haly did have something to do with me being interested in Mike. He was the elusive elder brother...when I did see him, he had that metal/goth thing going on and it was very atractive :)

And, here, this will shut you all up...

If Haly hadn't gotten so sick and passed away, the past 4 months might not have happened. Mike had been inactive since he was a teenager. It was after Haly passed away that he was all "Hey! I want to see my sister again. And I know the only way to do that..." So, he came back to the church as a result of Haly's death.

Who knows. If Haly had come home and hadn't left us here on earth, NONE OF THIS MAY BE HAPPENING. But I don't dwell on that. God has a plan. Maybe part of the reason Haly's time on earth was cut so short was so Mike and I could find each other. Honestly, I have no idea and I'm not going to try to say I know God's motives about anything.

But I thank him daily for allowing Mike being a part of my life.

And as for his family...it's a standing joke that I've spent more time with Mike's mom than he has in the past 5 years, and that's just because I was in choir!! His parents became "Mama and Papa Bice" to me my senior year, as they are to every other member of choir in the years 06-09. Mike's parents were much like any of the other parents I thought were "cooler" than mine back when I was a teenager. I'm NOT marrying Mike because I think his parents are bomb-digity. Getting to be apart of the craziness that is being a member of the Bice family is an added plus

(yeah, I'm calling it a plus...I must be as crazy as they are).

I can't begin to say everything about Mike that I fell in love with. But it had a lot to do with the fact that he gets me. We have the same kinda shaddy pasts and we both repented and came back to where we know we needed to be. When picturing my life and marrying a memeber of the church, I was sure I was going to have to "settle" and I wouldn't be able to be myself. But, with Mike, I can be. And, he makes me want to be even better. Mike treats me like I'm his everything. Our worlds revolve around each other. He's my best friend. I love him.

And I love him for who he is, not who his sister is or who is parents are.

So, to all you skeptics out there...shush. You don't know what you're talking about. Until you've seen the last 4 months from MY point of veiw, just keep yer trap shut.

Thanks :)

So I am...

ENGAGED!!
Mike asked me to marry him last weekend while I was in Fallon for Melissa Thomas' wedding.
And, oh yeah...I said yes
We are planning a Sept wedding in the Reno Temple and it's going to be FABULOUS!!

I love him, love him, love him!! I can't stop smiling because I know without a doubt that this is right and it's what I want. Did I mention I love him?

us at Lis's wedding, newly engaged