HE WENT TO JAREDS!! (Okay, he did, but I'm joking!)

So, this has been a pretty good Christmas! After finally getting back to Seattle despite the snow and my subsequent emotional breakdowns (sorry Linds), I finally made it back in one piece. Michael and I spent a nice Christmas Eve together and then had a great Christmas. We went for a walk in the snow which was fun and opened presents. It was a perfect first Christmas together even though we were far from home. However, the next day got even better when Michael proposed. I think the ring was burning a hole in his pocket. He said he thought about it for 24 hours straight and even debated waking me up in the middle of the night to do it. However, he decided that was not a great idea because 1) I don't deal well with being woken up and 2) I might not remember.

Anyways, he instead decided to do it the morning after Christmas. I looked lovely in my robe and towel let me tell you (that's why we don't have pictures). I went to get coffee that morning and Michael told me I had something else in my stocking. The next thing I knew I was holding a ring and Michael was proposing. It was definitely something I will always remember. Then of course I had to go to work, haha. That night we went to a restaurant in Lacey to celebrate. Below is a picture of my fiance at dinner ...please tell me if I should be worried! I told him ....it wasn't the end of the world, just the end of his, haha.

The Holidays in Washington

Mrs. Revilla demanded that I update my blog, so this is for her. Even though I told her my life is not that interesting and I didn't really have anything to blog about. For all of you that don't know Rachel is having a baby girl!! I saw that you had it out on your blog, so I thought it would be okay to say it on mine. Haha , love you Rach! I'm soo excited for you. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. It was hard being away from family and friends on the holiday, but Michael and I made the best of it. He ended up finding out that he had to do a 24 hour shift Thanksgiving day which was no fun. However, he did manage to sneak away for dinner, so I was happy. We ended up going to his boss's house and it was nice. Everyone in the Army has been very welcoming and it was good to spend the holiday with other people. On Friday Michael and I had our own Thanksgiving feast...I cooked (scary thought). He ended up being very impressed by the meal. I made my mom's sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and the smallest turkey known to man. It wasn't as good as my mom's cooking, but I must admit I shocked even myself. Other than working, not much has been going on. Michael and I decorated our apartment for Christmas (sorry Laura, I did it the Sunday before Thanksgiving...I have no will power!!). I went out and bought a tree for $35 at Walmart. From the picture you can why it's worth $35. We also got personalized stockings to hang on our mantle. I know...we are just cute like that(you can vomit now). Well, that's my update. I know it's thrilling! Miss you guys and I will see you soon!

Thank You Mom for the Snow Man Night Light

I haven't updated my blog for awhile, so thought it was about time I did. This past week has been like a mini test for me. Michael had to go out of town for a week, so I've been on my own. I realized that I've never really been on my own...in the sense that I literally know no one in this city and have nowhere to go. Personally I didn't think that I would do so well, but I've kinda surprised myself. I know it's only a week, but I'm taking baby steps here. I realized that I'm okay by myself. I've done some things that I've never done before. For example, on Sunday I saw a movie by myself. I always looked at people strangely when they were by themselves in a movie theater, but it was pretty nice. For one, I didn't have to share my sour patch kids with anyone. I mean it's just like watching a movie by yourself at home, but in a social situation. I also got to do things that Michael wouldn't enjoy. Like watching the Hills and going to the tanning bed (he yells at me for that one). I hope to make friends soon, but for now I'm taking each day at a time and I'm doing well. Also, I would like to thank my mom for the above night light. I hoped to take an actual picture of it, but my camera wouldn't cooperate. Had I been able to you would see that it lights up my bathroom like the north star. So, for those scary moments when I hear Erica's exorcist voice in my head I have the snow man night light to make me feel better! (Yes, when we were children Erica would torment us and re-enact the exorcist while we were trying to sleep. I know, she's not right and obviously I'm still scarred.) Haha, but I am coming home in December from the 13th-21st, so I can't wait to see everyone. Thank you for following along with my not so exciting blog. I will write soon!

Seattle Adventure

Well it's been a little while since my last blog, but today we finally visited downtown Seattle! It was definitely a cool city and fun to explore. We started off at the Pike Street Market, which is basically an open air market close to the waterfront. They had three floors of different shops and all kinds of fresh produce. We even got to see them throwing fish! It took us a couple of hours to explore everything, but we had a lot of fun. After going there we continued our tourist activities and went to the Space Needle! Even though it was overcast it was cool to see the city from such a height. It was a little expensive to ride to the top, but it's something that we had to do at least once. After the Space Needle, Michael suggested we go walk around the shops. Of course, I wasn't going to shoot down that idea. I even found an H&M!!! After that the plan was to eat at a seafood place, but we ended up eating at PF Changs, ha. We were tired of walking and it was the closest thing to us. Yeah, way for us to experience native Seattle food. All in all it was a great day. It took us less than an hour to get to Seattle, so for anyone that wants to come visit we can easily make a day trip.......not hinting at anything at all. I will write soon and I miss everyone!







Lauren

-- Ohh yeah, my coat makes me look like a snow beast.....

First Adventure: Steilacoom

Since we have been in Washington I have wanted to see the water, so Michael and I decided to take a trip to Steilacoom, a small town on the Puget Sound. Michael's brother and sister-in-law were stationed at Ft. Lewis in the early 90s and told us it was a cool city to see. Also we found out that the town was only 15 minutes away from us, so that was even better. The town was originally founded in 1854, so I figured it would have some neat history. We had lunch at a local restaurant and explored the beach....although not for too long because I wore very inappropriate shoes and got pebbles in them with every step I took. All in all it was a nice trip and it was cool that we are only a short drive from the ocean. Don't you think Michael's picture needs to be in GQ? Haha. (Also, I apologize that Michael and I only have one pose...sometimes I have a phobia of asking people to take our picture).

Lauren

EVERYTHING IS COMING TOGETHER......

So, since I last wrote we have gotten all our furniture, internet, and I've found a job!! It seems like everything is coming together. The apartment is starting to look more livable. Michael has been working a lot which has allowed me time to do some shopping. Dangerous I know.... I was in a weird mood and bought a very colorful mirror for our mantle. Everything was very white so I thought I needed to liven things up. Michael's favorite color is black, so I think it's taken him some time to get to use to the color, but he likes it now. Well to be honest I already had it out of the box and on the mantle, so I guess he didn't have that much of a choice, ha. Here are some pictures of the apartment.

Now the job kind of fell into my lap. I'm thinking that God is definitely looking out for me! The company that owns our apartment was looking for a leasing agent, so they asked me to interview with them. I interviewed this past Monday and they called and offered me a job that day. I start next Tuesday. I thought that I could still look and see what other jobs are out there, but in the meantime I have job security and something to keep me occupied. It worked our pretty well!

I'm excited that today is Friday. Michael and I still have stuff to unpack and organize, but we are also planning a trip to either Seattle or Mt. Rainer. I'm excited to see both! I'm also glad that we finally have cable and internet! It's funny how disconnected you feel when you don't have either. Thanks to everyone for your comments! I'm not sure how exciting these posts will be, but it makes feel connected to home to have you reading along. (Thanks Leanne for breaking down and reading the blog.....one step closer to facebook, haha). Talk to you soon!!

Lauren

The Big Move!

I was never sure how I felt about blogging, but decided it might be a good idea while I'm in Washington. Thanks to Ashley from Great Grabbie Designs, I can start my blogging experience off with a cute blog header. She designed Laura Frickman's blog header first, so that's how I found her. Check out Laura's blog, Loving Life As A Wife. Laura and I went to lunch one day and she got me started on this idea. I agreed that it would be a good idea to keep in touch with my family and friends. So, here it goes.....

As all of you know, I decided to move to Ft. Lewis, Washington to be with my amazing, wonderful boyfriend Michael (he's sitting right next to me sorry, ha). I realized that it would be hard being away from all my family and friends, but also felt it was the right thing to do for Michael and I. So, on October 9th, 2008 we began the 35 hour drive to Washington. Personally I felt that if our relationship could handle 35 hours in one vehicle filled with ALL my clothes than we could handle anything. Suprisingly we both made it out alive despite a snow storm in Montana, unpaved roads in the middle of nowhere, and my horrible driving. We even got to drive through the Badlands which were pretty neat.

So, now I sit in Lacey, Washington our new home. I must say that it is a beautiful state with all the green trees and Mount Rainer in the backdrop . We even can glimpse the top of it from our apartment balcony on a clear day...although those might be numbered. We moved into our apartment on Friday and even though we have no furniture it's much better than staying in hotels. I have all my clothes and shoes in one place for one....kind of kidding. The furniture comes Wednesday and we get cable and Internet on Friday. We have been stalking the local Panera and Starbucks to steal their Wi-Fi. Michael has one sweatshirt until his boxes come Wednesday and he's been wearing it frequently since it's cold here (we wash it of course). Unfortunately it's a bright blue UK sweatshirt, so our goal of being inconspicuous hasn't worked out too well, haha.

That's about it on the updates from Washington. So far things are going well and the people here have been very nice. We will get to explore more this week and I will have pictures of our apartment once we get all the furniture. Be back soon!

Lauren