It's what we do....

The last month for Greg and I has been a busy one. It seems like April just flew right on by. So here are a few things that we have been doing.

• Moved into our new apartment. We LOVE it!
• Started my third term at Provo College. Almost done!
• I can successfully complete a full blood and urine analysis.
• Attended both Lila and Owen's baby blessing. We love have two cute babies to hold and love.
• Had an awesome visit from my parents. My only complaint is that it was too short.
• Went to the Sugarland concert and won backstage passes to see Julianne Hough. It doesn't seem that cool but it was my first time winning anything.
• Greg finished up spring semester at UVU and now is in his summer semester.
• We are currently obsessed with the t.v. series Chuck.
• I'm tackling the job of consistently cooking healthy dinners every night. It's been good so far, I haven't run out of recipes yet.

Theres not a whole lot that is new or exciting but we are keeping ourselves busy. We are loving the progression we are making!

Yeah...we have an apartment!!

We came ,we saw, and we conquered. Yes, that is right folks we now are the proud renters of our very own apartment. And I must admit in my eyes it is perfect. Greg and I have been searching for the last couple of weeks for the perfect apartment, and let me tell you it has not been easy. We have toured several very bad apartments and met a few very weird people living in them. At one particular apartment we were thrilled to tour it with four other couples. After the tour the owner told us and this is no joke, "Whoever can get the check to me the fastest gets the apartment." Yeah we totally just walked out of that one while the other couples rushed for the checkbooks to see who could write the fastest.

I rather enjoyed handing over our deposit today to our very nice new landlord, knowing that I would not have to look at another apartment for a very long time. Our apartment is a very cute two bedroom apartment with a lot of space, and the best part is it is right in our price range. We will be moving in about a month which gives me plenty of time sort and get rid of a lot of junk that we have accumulated.

I definitely think that Greg and I have both grown from this experience. I definitely learned to be patient. I think Heavenly Father just wanted me to wait it out a bit, because I'm sure in the future it will come in handy.

THE HUNT IS ON.

So Greg and I have the hideous task of finding an apartment. We've started looking, and most we look at are okay but not that great. I know that we'll find one, in the mean time I hate the search. And for people selling apartments, I have a few pointers:

1. A washer and dryer do NOT belong in the kitchen.

2. If you can't fully extend your body in a room, there is no way a couch will fit.

3. Just because you have painted does not mean you have "remodeled."

4. An extra drawer is not tons of extra space.

I really hope the search comes to an end and soon. I know we'll find a great one that we'll love.

Our New Nephew!!

This Valentine weekend has been a pretty eventful one for Greg and me. We had the opportunity to welcome our new nephew Owen Keith Chamberlin. He was born on Thursday morning and is the cutest little guy. He weighed 7lbs and was 19 inches long which surprisingly is the smallest baby that Karyn has had. Thursday night Greg and I went up to the hospital to enjoy smothering him with kisses. Makayla, Andrew, and Emma are so excited to have a new brother; they can't stop smiling.

For our Valentines date we went to Red Lobster (which is a favorite) and then went and saw the movie Valentines Day. It was pretty good, not bad for a chick flick.

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

This year I decided that I would make us gingerbread houses from scratch. It was really fun to decorate, not so much to make the gingerbread. I'll do it next year if someone else bakes the gingerbread!

Ours is the one in the middle, as you can see it doesn't hold a candle to the Tillmann mansion on the left.

Opening my presents from Greg! Muse tickets!

Greg and I are sporting our Christmas Eve pajamas.

I think that it is finally time that I update our blog. November and December have just flown by for us. I swear I blinked and it was Christmas. Our Christmas was perfect. Every year I am just so amazed at what wonderful families we have. We spent Christmas with Greg's family this year, and of course we had an amazing time. We ate good food, received great presents, and had so much fun spending time with family, laughing and playing games. I did get a little homesick for my Chamberlin Christmas so hopefully next year, weather permitting we will be going to Kansas.

This year Greg and I have been extremely blessed. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday that Greg Reese came into my life. He supports me in all of my decisions and overall is just an amazing man. He works so hard for our family! I love him so much! We are so grateful that we have a loving Heavenly Father, that watches over us and our families. Sometimes when we don't think we need help we still get it. He has definitely watch over Greg and I and given us great opportunities this year. We love all of our family and thank them for all their love and support. We hope that each one of you had a great Christmas! We have a wonderful year ahead of us!

Halloween Fun!

This year I convinced Greg that we should carve pumpkins. We had a lot of fun and I think they turned out AWESOME!!!
I also decided that while we were carving pumpkins I would try out this new gingerbread recipe from Kneaders. It is the best recipe ever! We will definitely be using this recipe for gingerbread houses in December. THEY STAY SO SOFT!!!
So Greg's dad decided that he would carve a tomato. I didn't believe that he could do it, but he definitely proved me wrong. He even put a candle in it! We call it Jack-O-Tomato!

Here is the recipe if anyone wants it:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup dark molasses
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. nutmeg
• 1 t. cloves
• 1 t. ginger
• 2 eggs well beaten
• 1 t. white vinegar
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a large saucepan, cream together the butter, sugar.
2. Add molasses and spices – mix well
3. Stirring constantly bring to a boil.
4. Remove from heat and allow let cool to a lukewarm.
5. Stir in eggs and vinegar.
6. Sift flour with baking soda into molasses mixture to form smooth dough.
7. Chill several hours or overnight.
8. When you are ready to bake roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with a gingerbread cookie cutter.
9. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper
10. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly brown on the edges. Do not over bake.
11. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before placing them on a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting.

Our New Car!!!

So about two weeks ago, our Intrepid decided that it wanted to die. Greg was on his way to pick me up from the airport, when it just decided that it was done. Not only did we get home at one o'clock in the morning but we were out a car. We decided together that our best option was to buy another one. I know it probably sounds silly, but this was one of the biggest decisions that we have had to make together. Neither one of us had bought a car before, so it was an adventure. I have decided that I hate salesmen, but don't worry Greg does nothing without research. After days of browsing online we spotted this gem! Today we went to the dealership thinking that we were just going to test drive it, but we ended up driving it home. We are very excited about this purchase. We now feel like we are officially adults. We went on a long car ride tonight, which is the best thing ever!! And best of all we don't have to rely on other people for rides!!