Tyler and Liz

Tricks

2011-02-20T20:08:00.000-08:00

We've been working with the dogs and teaching them new tricks. They really catch on pretty quickly. Here are all the tricks they've learned so far. The first video is of Malfoy and the second is Reggie.

Munich, Germany

2010-10-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Tyler and I had a wonderful trip to Germany. I think it is fair to say I had a better trip than he did because while I spent the majority of my days touring, he had to work. He worked many hours with long trips to and from the location. Besides the time difference he was pretty exhausted most of the trip. I was able to experience many wonderful things. My favorite day was Friday when I was able to share the city with Tyler. Munich is the home of the largest and olderst Cookoo clock called the glochenspeil. It goes off three times a day, and people come from all over the world to watch it perform. It was interesting, but also very long and repetitive. The city has many beautiful fountains everywhere. German's also love their dogs, some say more than there children. They sometimes take their dogs to restaurants, but leave their children at home.We saw wiemerieners all over the city, and this made up homesick to play with our dogs. In the main plaza their were many entertainers including, painters, mimes, human statues, and musician. I enjoyed walking around and seeing all the local talent. I had the opportunity to go to the Dacho holocaust camp. It was really sad, but I think anyone in the area should try to go. The part that scared me was that even today the gas chambers can be operational in five min. That is just asking for trouble. The city is known as Hitler's city. We were able to see were Hitler's soldiers were sworn into the S.S.and where he gave his first speeches. The food was exceptionally good. The doner Kabob is basically a pork burger, but is cooked unlike pork in U.S. Their is a big garden that is many miles long. It is also known as a nude beach. Luckily it was overcast the entire time we were there, so we were able to enjoy the gardens without the scenery that is usually only naked men. We had a great trip, but we were really excited to return home. We bought ourselves two pint mugs, because drinking is so big over there. There was really much to see and do.

Summer

2010-08-09T21:26:00.001-07:00

We've had a busy summer. We've both been working, just finished up our summer school, went to Idaho for a family reunion, and working on the house and yard. Our garden has done much better than we ever thought it would. So far we've picked 50 jalapenos, 40 banana peppers, 40 cucumbers, 8 pumpkins, and a bunch of tomatoes and green onions and still have many more on the way.

The before picture of our garden in March

Pictures of the garden yesterday

The first banana pepper of the season

Cucumbers...

Pickles. These are two of 25 jars we made.

Apricot Jam

20 lb watermelon that we picked too early

Idaho

We made a deal that I got to dunk her in exchange for a little shopping spree.

Testing out their new dog house

Attending Liz's jam session

Party of the century!

2010-05-09T20:07:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful time this past weekend in Midway Utah for Katresha and Landon's wedding. It was so perfect. She was a beautiful bride, and we had a blast before hand with the Veazie twin's Katresha's younger sisters. I stayed at her house with her parents and four sisters. It was a party and a half. Poor Dristina made 415 cupcakes that were delicious.

Her family was so perfect I felt so loved and if it wasn't for me wanting to come home to tyler I could have stayed there all summer. The reception was at their house in Midway where they have a little island. It was beautiful. Katresha and I spent several hours gluing fishing wire to rocks to use as anchors for the lighted lilly pads they looked so good when we were finished. There was a couple times I thought the canoe would flip. Good thing it didn't because the water was freezing and her hair was already done for the wedding. It was also a big reunion for some of our friends from Virginia. Ashley, Trish and her two kids, and Katrina, Sonja and her new husband David all came to the wedding and it was great to see everyone. I was so impressed by myself for the present I made. Last weekend I was at my sister in-laws house and I saw a personalized clock and I knew that's what I wanted to make for my wonderful friend. It was a heavy task and taking the clock apart was no easy feat but the end product was outstanding. Right now you can see that the bottom is not completely lined up but the background is really busy and you can't tell.
I couldn't help but say how beautiful the area was I was in Midway right next to Park City is where the Olympics were help. One of their neighbors has a pet Zebra and I thought that was hilarious. Overall I am so happy that I was able to be apart of the wedding and see my friends after such a long time. I am very happy for them.

Not Really

2010-03-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to clear something up. In the last post I slipped the line in "Liz is pregnant". Its not really true. That last post took me two hours to write (pictures take forever to upload!) and I wanted to see if anyone even reads our posts. It turns out some people do. Sorry if we caused any unnecessary excitement.

2010-03-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since our last post. We've both been busy working, going to school, working on the house, and watching our shows. Here are some things that we've been up to.
In February we went to the Broadway musical "Fiddler on the Roof". Liz had a blast. Here is a picture that I feel captured the night pretty well.

Next we have a few pictures from Liz's birthday dinner at Outback Steakhouse. It was pretty cool. Liz wanted steak for her birthday. It was a Saturday at lunch time and we tried 3 different places but none of them opened until dinner. So we thought we'd try Outback and of course it was closed until dinner too but as we were walking away the manager of Outback saw us and offered to call some other restaurants for us to see if they were open. After he called a few and had no luck, he told us "Well looks like you're eating here". So he took us in and sat us down. We were the only ones in the restaurant. He cooked us a couple of steaks and when he found out it was Liz's birthday, he gave us a couple of slices of different cakes. Then at the end he wouldn't accept our money, that was a good day. Below is a picture of the birthday girl showing off her new pearls.

And here we have a picture of a happy man about to be a very happy man when he finds out his steak dinner is on the house.

We've also done a little yard saling. Here is a picture of the dogs laying on their new $10 special bed. Yes we use a Lowes 5 gallon bucket for their water dish, they are a couple of water buffalos! We used a little dish before that and we were refilling it 4 times a day.

The last 4 months we have been working in the backyard. We've put up a fence around our backyard (thanks to Patrick), a fence around our garden, and an electric fence around everywhere and everything that the dogs are not supposed to go, dig up, chew up, scratch on, tinkle on...etc. Holy smokes, if they are not specifically told (yelled at and beatin') to leave something alone, it is fair game in their minds. People keep telling me that it is just a phase and that they will grow out of it, for their sakes it had better be.

When we first put the electric fence up, I preached to Liz that if I was going to put my dogs through getting shocked that I had to get shocked myself. So I went outside and put up a few feet of the fence. I hooked the wires up to the fence and plugged it in. I touched the fence with my arm, anticipating a little shock. Nothing, I could barely feel a tingle. Then I realized I had my shoes on and wasn't properly grounded, so I took off my shoes and socks so that I was properly grounded. I touched my arm to the fence again and let out a loud scream. I couldn't believe it! It hurt pretty bad and it was like the wire grabbed on to me. After that I looked over to see the neighbors all staring at me. They were outside having a barbecue friends over. Liz and I were so embarrassed all we could do was laugh. Then Liz touched it with the same reaction.

Below is a picture of our garden that we just finished today. It is 650 square feet of unadulterated gardening pleasure!

Our crops will include 3 types of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, watermelon, pumpkin, jalapenos, bell peppers and banana peppers. We also just bought a little black walnut tree that we are very proud of.
We've recently begun taking the dogs to the dog park which is a blast to watch. We were a little nervous to take them at first because they tend to play pretty rough with each other but they both had a lot of fun. Here is a picture of Reggie picking a fight with the wrong dog. This was just before Reggie got tossed on his back by this big fellow.

The rule of the dog park "Sniff or be sniffed".

Reggie eye-balling some sweet great dane booty!

Here are the prisoners trapped inside their electric fence. Reggie has touched it 5 times that I've seen and Malfoy is up to probably 20 (he's dumb as a rock!). Liz is pregnant.

This last week when I was out working on the farm, I found a little dog outside of our fence. Being the sucker that I am, I took the little fellow into my arms, named him Bobo, and made him part of the family for a few days, just until we found the owners. After posting various ads, we came to find out that the dog was a french bulldog and that they are worth a pretty penny ($800 - $1600). We even had one lady offer to buy him off of us. Fortunately/unfortunately we found the owners and had to say goodbye to little Bobo. He was a hilarious little buddy that snored like a rinosaurus.

Holiday Recap!!!

2009-12-26T18:50:00.001-08:00

We have been really busy this holiday season. We had a wonderful thanksgiving and Christmas. Over the last few weeks Tyler and I painted our bedroom. We both wanted to do something a little different, and I think we got the look we were aiming for. I know it is not a style many may like, but we absolutely love how it turned out. Our next ambitious project will be painting the rest of the house one room at a time. We also put up some address numbers on our house. Slowly we are making a home one day at a time. I love working on projects with Tyler it's a great time to spend together away from work and school.
With both families being within an hour we have two thanksgiving dinners. Tyler's family started a new tradition this year by going to the Tucson Country Club for dinner. The food was extra tasty and it was really nice not cooking or cleaning after the fact. My family stuck with the traditional packed house and cooking until the kitchen catches on fire.

For christmas we left the dogs in the wonderful hands of our neighbors. It is really crazy how much you can worry. They have been sick with a stomach virus called Geardia ever since we got them and after fifteen visits to the vet and several bottles of medicine they are still sick. I just hope they get better soon because it's not very good to my pocket book. We couldn't wait to get home and play with the little guys. My mom decided that because we don't have kids yet and she spent most of the Christmas money on the grandkids that she would buy some toys for our dogs. This was really nice because a couple days ago we bought extra tough dog toys and they had them ripped up within an hour.

Just in case you noticed. Yes Tyler did shave his head. I think it turned out really good.
I was offered to go back and work on Post over Christmas break that was really nice because the temps get payed desently I am still working as a nanny. I really enjoy my job. It is really fun.
This last picture is for people who don't believe it snows in Arizona. My cousin Sharon in Alaska tried to explain to me what a real Icicle looks like.I would just like to show her that I have seen them before. If you look closely in the following picture you might see one.
Over the Holidays we also had the chance to see some old friends at a wedding. It was the Saturday before our 2 year anniversary and we were getting ready to celebrate in Bisbee we wanted to walk around some shops and go through some tours. Tyler's friend John called and said he had just realized that Tyler never got an invitation, but he was getting married that morning. So, we changed our plans and headed to Tucson. We had a great time. John and his new wife will be living here close to us in a couple weeks because he just got excepted into the Captains training course on base. It will be nice to have some more friends close by.
There was one part of the Christmas that was not fun. That was last night we were sitting on the coach at my moms house and I spilled an entire glass of water on our new laptop. It started working again a couple hours ago, but I am really nervous to see if it stops working again. To bad we didn't buy a warranty.Today we spent the afternoon helping my brother move. It was nice because there were a lot of people to help. The holidays were really nice, but it was really nice to be back home, and play some games and watch a couple movies. My mom got us Planet Earth for Christmas I haven't seen them and I am excited to watch them.

Real Smart

2009-11-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

Not to be crazy dog people and do a lot of posts on them but we thought this was pretty funny. So the dogs like to try and get stuff off the kitchen counter but they're too small to reach anything for now, and pretty much yelling at them and tying them up hasn't deterred them a bit from doing it. So yesterday we bought some little gates to keep them out of the kitchen. We thought they might jump it when they're older but that it would work for now. It took Reggie a few hours to figure out how to beat it.

Too Cold To Go Outside? Problem Solved

2009-11-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

Liz didn't want me putting up anymore pictures of the dogs but I can't help it, they're just so gosh darn cute!

Gila Valley Temple

2009-11-04T11:59:00.001-08:00

On March 18, 2010

The Gila Valley Temple is scheduled for opening. Since we try to go every couple of months the 4 1/2 hour drive one way will be cut in half. I can't wait. Hopefully we will be able to go to the temple at least once a month from now on. My birthday is March 21 what a great present.

October

2009-11-02T18:31:00.000-08:00

This month consisted of many things. Halloween was a lot of fun. Tyler and I spent the morning painting trying to finish our porch and trim. White is much better then Pink. We then spent time together carving pumpkins. We both did a pretty good job if I must say so myself. Tyler's Skull took a lot longer to carve it was more complicated then mine. I was really excited to carve a wolf because I have always liked them since I was really little.
After the carving stopped the real fun began. Here in town there are several community Haunted Houses. Tyler had never been to a haunted house and I was eager to begin the night.
We went to four different places. Two were scary, one had potential but lacked a little the other one is another story in itself. At first Tyler wasn't scared but then once things started to jump squirm and scream he no longer wanted to be the first one to go around the scary corners. I didn't mind much. Mostly I went first with him behind me except for one place these creepers were chasing us. I got really scared and I just took of running. I did get really scared on several occasions. One Haunted House was very unusual. It was called the House of Hell once they got you in they tried to show different real life situations, murder, drugs, suicide, abortion, and abuse. All of these were acted out during the haunted house. Then when you entered the last room the lights were out they showed a video of Jesus on the cross, and then they prayed for our salvation to help us find Jesus if we were trapped in any of those situations. I must say I had never been so played in my life. Their motives were very deceiving. It was plain weird.
The day Before Halloween

My niece Destiny is in the marching band in High School. It was the last football game, anid we decided to go watch her. I was able to get some friends together from high school. I must say I had a blast. Riquel and I have been almost in separable since we were twelve. Eddie I havn't known as long. Mckay left right before we took the picture. It was great to see my high school buds on the old turf. Also that night we were babysitting for a friend of ours who went out of town for a funeral. I watch kids all the time. That's my job. Bryan wouldn't stop running off every chance he got. Up and down the bleachers, and around the snack bar.
Disney on Ice
My family all went to watch Disney on Ice a couple weeks ago. I loved it. Tyler thought it was ok. The production included; cars, tinker bell, little mermaid, and the lion king. The princess Pre-show was pretty neat also.

Third Place

2009-10-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

We took third place on our co-ed softball team. This was our first season together as a team and going into the tournament we were in second to last place. We both had a lot of fun.

Puppy Fights

2009-10-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

New House

2009-10-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

Ok so here are a few house pictures. The yard is pretty barren right now. When we first got it there were weeds all around the house and in the yard two feet high but thanks to me on the weedeater, liz raking and liz's dad on the bobcat we got it taken care of.

So this is the front of the house. The tree has just been pruned by elizabeth using her brand new pruning sheers. If you look closely near my shadow you can see Reggie and Malfoy trotting along. I had just taught them to come and gave them treats each time they did. After that they wouldn't stop following me. They want to eat all the time.

Here we have our backyard and garage/shed. At the moment it is fenceless.

Here is our family room/dining room/kitchen. Its kind of messy right now with the move and dogs. If you want to play a finding game, here are the items to find in the picture: a bag of puppy pads, a used puppy pad, Jesus, a tool kit, toilet paper and an air freshener.

New House, New Family Members and a trip

2009-10-07T19:06:00.001-07:00

Its been a little while since we last updated our blog. We have both been very busy with school, work and the very long and painful process of buying a house. We moved into our house just over a week ago. We haven't taken any pictures of it but we should post some in the next few days. I took a trip to Quebec City, Canada for three days while Liz had the privilege of closing on the house while I was gone and she did a great job. We just adopted two new members of the Nelson Family, this is Reggie and Malfoy. They are weimaraner brothers, 8 weeks old. Its hard to see in the pictures but they have light blue eyes while they are puppies and they later turn to silver.
Here are some pictures from Canada. It was very pretty. I've never been to France but I imagine it looks a lot like this.

2009-07-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

My Beautiful Trip to Alaska

2009-07-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

Last week was spent in Alaska with my mom as my travel companion. We had a wonderful time. We went up to go to my cousins wedding (which turned out beautiful.) We spent several days planning for her big day, and several days touring around the beautiful state. We went to the Anchorage Zoo where I saw many animals I had never seen before. Seal, Eagle, reindeer, ox, mountain goat, moose, and moose were some of the animals. It was pretty neat. We also drove to Soldotna where the wedding was held. The drive was spectacular, and I was able to see a glacier from a short distance. We had the chance to go on a day cruise around Fox Island, which was a great addition to our trip. Although I didn't see any whales on the cruise I did spot otter's in the ocean, and see lions which was pretty cool. I really missed Tyler while I was away, but that just means I will have to travel back there someday, and I don't mind that one bit. Before the cruise we visited the see life center where I was able to touch different sea life including several different star fish, and sea corral. It was an adventure of a lifetime. In Soldotna I had a live incounter with a very large moose. He was just walking in someone's driveway. They really are exstremely large animals. The sun really shines 24 hours a day. It took me several nights before I got used to that. When we arrived the first day it was 3:30 at night and the sun was bright in the sky. WIERD! The weather was perfect throughout our entire trip. I would incourage anyone who gets the chance to travel Alaska to take it. I learned a lot about the state that is only celebrating it's 50th year. Everyone we met were adventurous people who were very self reliant upon the land. It is a wonderful state that many people know little about. I am glad I was able to experience first hand the Alaska. One thing that I thought was really crazy is the amount of people. The enitre state of Alaska only has 600,000 people and 300,000 of them live in Anchorage. Their are more people in Tucson then their entire population. We were also able to spend time on the Temple grounds it was very gorgious. It was on a Monday so the Temple was closed but I was glad we were able to see it.

IT'S OFFICIAL, I'M A SUNDEVIL!!!

2009-07-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

After 10 weeks of waiting, I've finally been accepted into the Master's program for Software Engineering at Arizona State. I just added my first class and am pretty excited. When I first applied I was really excited and then after about the 6th week of waiting for a reply I started to hope that I wouldn't get accepted so that I wouldn't have to go back to school. I've also been renounced by some as a traitor and a Scumdevil since I just graduated from the University of Arizona. I do agree that I am crossing over to the dark side and look forward to it.
Liz and I have also begun shopping for our first house. Its scary and exciting at the same time because you never know what you're really getting. We may have one tomorrow or in four months depending on how things go. Hopefully tomorrow!! but we'll post it when we do.

Tombstone and Mount Graham

2009-07-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

We spent the last two weekends visiting Tombstone, AZ and with family at Mt. Graham.

At the Cemetary

Just thinkin'

Shootout at the O.K. Corral

Eatin' s'mores with Preston around the campfire

2009-06-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Recent Trips

2009-05-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

We've been slacking a little with our blogging so here is a little update of the last month or so. Liz finished up her semester at school. I went on a trip to Las Vegas for a week. Liz wasn't able to come with me because of finals. I forgot the camera most of the time that I was there except when I went to eat at a mexican restaurant with my boss. The restaurant had a couple of fake horses outside so we decided to get a few shots with them.

I did a little gambling and won $200 but lost $700. Just kidding I played a few slot machines and only lost $5. Then last week, Liz came with me to Hampton, VA. While I was out working, Liz toured the area around the hotel snapping photos. We had a hotel on the bay by a marina so she got a lot of shots of boats.

The last day we got to go to Virginia beach and play in the ocean. I buried Liz in the sand and gave her a huge body with a long crab arm.

Homemade Treadmill!

2009-04-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

Gonzo spent over twenty minutes playing on his homemade treadmill. It was funny watching him.

A Very Fun Weekend!!!

2009-03-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend we spent a wonderful time at Parker Canyon Lake. We camped, ate smores around our campfire, and hiked. It was a blast. It was a beautiful night. The sky was very dark, and we could see all the stars clearly. We really enjoyed sitting around the campfire, and relaxing. That night I was freezing. I don't like waking Tyler when he is in such a deep sleep. After shivering for a couple hours I woke him up and tried to squeeze into his one man sleeping bag. He had stolen all the heat, and my sleeping bag was not doing the trick. I didn't fit too well, but atleast I wasn't cold anymore. I think it was in the 30's. When we woke up the next morning we hiked around the lake. It was very pretty. The lake didn't look large from where we were camped, but once around the back side of the lake it seemed to never end. It was a lot larger than it looked. We have been planning this camping trip for a long time now, and it was definetly worth it.

Tyler's Oreo Blizzard

2009-03-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a week in Virginia just outside of D.C. Overall it was a pretty boring trip. Liz stayed at home with the hermit crabs while I was in meetings during the day and wining and dining at night (well at least dining). While there I realized how boring trips can really be without my little buddy Liz there. And I did feel bad about eating out for every meal while she was home living on turkey sandwiches and mac and cheese. So last night we went out to a nice restaurant together. I've realized though that eating out gets old real quick. It's also very fattening.
My first trip out to Virginia I ate like a fat kid in a candy store and put on five pounds. So this time I had learned my lesson and ate light. I even ordered a salad 2 times which I'd never done before and found out that they can be quite delightful.
I also experienced my first real big snow storm where it snowed 12 inches the first night in Virginia. I would have gone out and rolled around in the snow but I didn't want people looking at me funny. Overall I'm not in love with traveling but its good to break up the routine and remind me how great it is to be home.

2009-02-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

We are now enjoying our new workout program in the pleasure of our home. It has really helped us find the time to enjoy staying in shape. We purchased the bowflex from the Craigslist in Tucson. It just happened to be from someone Tyler used to play soccer with at the institute. It is a small world. I just ordered my dress for my cousin Sharon's wedding in Alaska this summer. Once I get sleeves, and make alterations I will post a picture of the dress. I am exstremely excited to go to Alasks I love to travel, and it will be great to see Sharon.

2009-02-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

During this past month we have had a lot of fun. One of the closest friends that I have known since I was 12 came down not too long ago. Her and her husband are living in New York. We had a great time bowling, and then we enjoyed a barbecue at her folks house. When I asked her what we were barbecuing she said T-Bone. Little do you know that T-Bone was Riqqie's pet cow that had been around since we were little. I must say he had a well lived life, and tasted pretty good too. It was great to see them. This other picture is Tyler, and a Mastiv the dog looks bigger when he is walking. Yesterday was an amazing day. Tyler and I have been trying to get in better shape, but we both absolutely running. Sorry all you pro's. We have been going to the park, and hitting softballs. It has been a lot of fun. The only problem was I didn't have a good bat, and I have wanted one for a long time. Tyler bought me a nice bat yesterday. It is a Senergy- Easton.I have had my eye on it for a while. Although my birthday is not tell March 21, it is still me birthday present. Then we went back to the park, and hit hit hit. Ah Amazing. Also by brother was in town the other day and we were able to go out to dinner with him his wife and their son Preston. That was a lot of fun too.

Just another part of the family

2009-02-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

First off I would like to introduce you all to our small, but significant pets. We have six hermit crabs. I know there are not the normal house hold animals, but they are very funny little creatures. We had to get more because the biggest one bullies all the little ones around. So obviously we had to buy a bigger one to bully him around for a while. We often let them crawl around the room we just block off the dark places under the dressers. The first thing Tyler does every morning, and right before we go to bed is check on them. The are always tackling each other trying to see who gets to sleep in the corner. They also make this weird screechy nose when they get mad. We've only heard it a couple times.

Recent Weeks

2009-01-29T21:13:00.002-08:00

I am venturing out of my comfort zone to try entering this unknown world of blogging. I finally gave in to the questions "When are you going to start blogging?" My one concern was that I don't take that many pictures. I always forget to bring my camera. Bear with me. Recently we went shooting down in Sahuarita. We bought our own home protection security also known as a shotgun. It was great. We blew a couple things to smithereens. I (Liz) am back in school. I am still hopeing my credits will transfer, but I am done holding my breath. Starting next week I will be working at a near by elementary school doing tutoring for little tots. I am very excited. I need my kid fix untel we have one of my own. After going shooting this last Saturday we drove down to Parker Canyon Lake it's about an hour from our house. It is really pretty. Sorry no pictures. I will get better. I also recently started taking guitar lessons. I can't play anything great yet, but I am really enjoyng it. In our church calling we have both been moved around a bit. I am now second counceler in Young Womens over the Beehives there are 11 of them. Tyler is now teachers the ctr8 class with another man. He really likes it. The kids behave a lot better than the 9-10 year olds we were teaching. I hope you enjoyed our little recap of our lives. I'll let you know when the next exciting thing happens.