It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Another year has flown by and so many things have changed for us. We are finally starting to feel settled in here. This is the first city where Josh and I have both really enjoyed living in. Sorry Cedar, you were not cutting it for us. In the last year we have found adventure, made new friends, and finally started to create a home. The apartment we are in right now is small, but works for us.

It looks like Josh and I will be here for a little while so we have began to play with the idea of buying a home in the area until he is done with school. Since he still has a little while to go in his undergraduate program and then plans to continue into a masters program we will probably remain in the Salt Lake Valley for the next three years or so.

In August, Josh and I celebrated our second anniversary. Although a lot of this anniversary was spent driving home from his brother Jonathan's wedding in Reno we were able to have a little time together. It wasn't the most romantic of anniversaries, but it was great to see everyone nonetheless.

In October, I celebrated my twenty-third birthday with a trip to Ohio. This was the first time Josh met his nieces and nephew. We spent ten days there and were able to do a lot of fun fall things. Josh fell in love with Audrey and Hannah. It took him a few days to warm up, but after he realized those little girls are unbreakable he started to feel much more comfortable. For the next week Josh toted around those girls everywhere. Liam had grown so much and it was hard for me to come to terms with the fact he is in first grade. Hannah is the most content baby I've ever met. I am pretty sure she didn't cry once the entire time we were there. Audrey is the wild one, but definitely the life of the party. Her mannerisms and personality always kept the days interesting.  Here are some pictures of our adventures while we were there.

Josh and I enjoying hot apple cider at the pumpkin patch.

Liam riding a pony.

Josh and Audrey picking raspberries at a farm near my sisters house. She wasn't the best at the collecting party, but she had the snacking part down pat.

Audrey in her Minnie Mouse dress that she wore every day we were there.

And, like I said, he loved Hannah.

While we were there Lindsay also took our family photos. She is new to the world of professional photography, but is it something she has always enjoyed, and something I thing she is very good at. Below are a few of my favorites.

If you are in Cleveland and need a wedding photographer she is AMAZING. Here is a link to her website: lindsayhoftyzer.com

We are looking forward to the holidays and spending time with family in Canada. We will be spending 8 short days there so I can be back in time to get my wisdom teeth removed and back to work after the new year.

We are so grateful for this last year and everyone who was involved in it. We appreciate you all so much and are happy to have each and everyone in our lives. Thank you for an awesome 2013 we can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for us.

Summer is almost over?

The summer is coming to an end and Josh is about to start school again. I can't believe it is the end of July already. Time has really flown past us this summer. Josh took summer classes at SLCC and worked as an intern for Zein Medical Technologies. He really enjoyed his time there, although short, he gained a lot of experience through them. He is going into the right profession that's for sure. His summer classes didn't permit much fun to happen this summer, but I'm sure in the end it will all be worth it.

Come the fall he will be entering into the University of Utah's Mechanical Engineering Program which he is very excited to see and end to the long road that is college. He was recruited for a job at Abercrombie Kids which he will keep come fall semester. He started yesterday and really seems to enjoy working there so far. I was a little surprised that he decided to work there because he doesn't own one article of Abercrombie clothing, but he is a worker. He struggled last year with the idea that he wasn't financially contributing to our little family, so I think this will allow him to work here and there while staying on top of his studies. I tell him every day that his major is a full time job, but alas this is what he wants.

I am still with Stevens-Henager and lots of changes have happened around here, but all for the best. I have yet again started toying with the idea of what to do as my career, and I'm still so unsure. I'm a planner and that will never change. I want to pursue something I love, but I still and unsure what I love. Eventually I will get a masters in something.

We are anxiously awaiting our trip to Reno, Nevada for Jon and Sam's wedding as well as our two year anniversary. I can't believe it has been that long already. Where does the time go? We have no plans for our anniversary this year. I was hoping to do something with Josh, but with Jon's wedding on August 9th and our anniversary the next day it was impossible to not have to spend the day driving home from Reno. Maybe next year we will be able to slip away for a couple days...

Change is good, right?

So there is going to be a little change to what I am blogging about. I've been thinking a lot and who really reads a blog about someone's life... no one. I put things into cyber space for nobody to read. Originally I started this blog to keep in touch with family who are far away, and that is something I still want to do. So I have decided to create new blog, something where I can really express my interests and passions. This is not the place to do that.

As our family beings to grow and change I will continue posting here, but for me this just isn't enough. I have a passion for writing and lets face it Josh and I just aren't interesting enough to write about everyday. Life is happening all around us so I have decided I'm going to write about the things I love, the things I hate, and everything in between. Since this is so broad and I could be writing all day every day I have decided my loves and hates are going to be limited to wedding and event trends.

Why weddings and events? Well, everyone loves a good party, and I am no exception. I love getting a group of people together to celebrate something happy. I guess you could say that my brother-in-laws wedding really has inspired me to break away from the norm and do something I really enjoy. For the first time I have no idea where this is going to go. I guess you could say that this is the no plan-plan which is so not like me. Every day is a new day and every post is going to be about something different.

Keeping you posted...

Kasi

March Madness

Life is stressful, let me tell you! The last three months have come and gone faster than you can snap your fingers. We have had a lot of ups and downs since moving to Salt Lake. Mostly ups, but life is a roller coaster moving us along. January held a lot of first times, and February was a little more stable, but March is a little crazy.

January: Josh started school at the U. He had a hard time getting into the swing of things, but he seems to be on the right track now. I on the other hand had a hard time getting into the ebs and flows of my new job. Now don't get me wrong, I love my job, but it is a lot different than my last position.

February: On the 10th Josh and I had been married for a year and a half. I know this doesn't sound like much to you seasoned veterans, but it gave us a reason to celebrate. Four days later was Valentines, which is a holiday we apparently don't celebrate in the Lund household. It was also Holly's birthday and we were grateful that she was able to come down and spend some time with us. The next day was my sister Lindsay's Birthday and because she is 2500 miles away we didn't do a darn thing, but we missed her and celebrated without her anyway.

March: Oh March, the 6th is Josh's birthday. The big 2-4. Seems like nothing, but sneaks up on a girl. I bought Josh a much needed new pair of shoes and the Walking Dead Book 8. He loves them, and if it gets him reading then I'll buy them. Since his birthday fell in the middle of the week we didn't get to do much. I made a cake and we may or may not have eaten the whole thing. The following Saturday was the real celebration. Josh and I went out to dinner with a bunch of friends which is nice because a lot of these people we don't get to see very often. Jordan spent all of spring break at our house which was great, but what do you do with two boys for 9 days? I'll tell you, you feed them... a lot.

To most people this all seems like nothing but to me it was everything. It taught me to stop stressing and let things happen, because there is nothing you can do about it at the end of the day. It also taught me to relax which is something I never do. And, most importantly, it taught me to plan a head because there are too many dang holidays between December and March and not enough time.

The World didn't End on December 22, 2012

Let me preface this by saying, this is not a post about how silly people are thinking the world is going to end, so keep reading.

Josh and I got to ring in the New Year with some AMAZING friends this year. It really made us realize just how blessed we really are to be in Salt Lake from now on. Change is scary, but change is good. We did anything and everything we could have done in Orem on New Years Eve. Kylie and Alex were in town from Oregon, and we were super excited to see them. Josh and Alex served part of their mission together when they were in Spanish Fork, and we don't get to see them nearly enough. When they get together they're ridiculous, but so much fun.

Since we have been here we have spent a lot of time with Logan and Tash. It's been great to be closer to them. In Cedar most of our friends weren't married yet so it got hard sometimes. They are so great to be around and we are so grateful to have them in our lives.

I drug Josh to Les Miserables with Logan and Tash, needless-to-say, he wasn't a fan, but he humored me, but made sure to sing everything he said for the rest of the night. We all went out to dinner at CPK, and may have had the worst service ever, good things the food was good. Then we went bowling (I told you we sis EVERYTHING that Orem had to offer).

Aside from what we did, I really like the idea of celebrating the New Year. I know that people think that it's over-rated, but I like what it symbolizes. It is putting the past year in the past and starting over fresh. We have all had rough years and years we will never forget. 2012 was a great year for Josh and I. We had a lot of changes. We had a lot of new beginnings. We had a lot of fun, and I wouldn't trade it for a thing. Now that this year has come to a close I look forward to new opportunities both at home and at work. I hope this year is better than the last.

I'll be Home for Christmas...

Christmas was a little different for us this year. Josh and I got a few days over the holiday without any friends and family around. Although, a little sad I must admit, it was a good experience for the both of us. We really don't get enough time together. We were able to make a few traditions that I'm excited to do every year. Since we weren't able to spend time with either of our families until after the holidays were over, we decided to take from both families traditions. We kept what we liked and got rid of what we didn't. That is one thing that's nice about starting your own family, you get to get rid of all the things your parents forced you to do on Christmas as a kid and make up things that you think are fun. Then, you get to force your kids into doing what you want.

Josh's family came down from Canada after the New Year and spent a few days with us in our new place. We've missed them a lot and were glad that they could take a trip to see us. Together we exchanged the gifts we weren't able to send up, or down. Josh's parents bought us a piano for our home. I am pretty sure I was more excited then Josh about this gift. Josh has amazing talents that most people don't know about, and I'm really excited for him to be able to utilize them more often.

Next year we hope to spend more time with our families around the holidays, but this year with my new job it had to be different, and honestly I really enjoyed the quite time. It's in those moments where you really appreciate the other person.

A Folk Singing Band from Salt Lake City

The bags have been packed, loaded, hauled, unloaded, and unpacked. We have officially made the move to Salt Lake City. I never thought it would actually happen to be honest with you all. I have started a new job with Stevens-Henager College and Josh will be starting school at University of Utah in a few short weeks. This is a big change for us. It’s a new town and that means a new, and better, apartment.

It took us two days to get all of our stuff situated and out of boxes, but now our pictures are on the wall and it is starting to feel like home. I still wake up in the middle of the night unable to find the bathroom—stubbing my toes along the way-- but I’ll get there… eventually. We’re sad to leave Cedar, but excited for the new opportunities ahead of us.

Christmas this year will just be the two of us, starting a new job is stressful around the holidays and we’re really going to miss our families a ton this year, but I guess that means it is time to make some new traditions. We didn’t get a lot of alone time this last semester. Josh had a ton on his plate with his classes and I was in a job that was miserable. I’m glad things are looking up for the both of us.

This New Year has so much in store for us. We have made it through a lot of ups and downs, but time has flown by, and I’m excited to see what will come of it. I can’t believe another year has come and gone. I look back and really don’t know where the time has gone. I’m grateful for all the experiences we have had and I look forward to more in the future.

Reality hit home on Friday when Josh’s little sister got in a really bad car accident. Luckily no one was badly hurt, but it really made me think about the little things in life. We have to make time for family and friends because they may not be here tomorrow. Enjoy the little things in life they pass by all too quickly.

Happy Holidays!