For the past month or so the local newspaper has been advertising a Cooking School. After asking around and hearing that's it's vendors set up for you to walk around, then they do presentations at the end of a few recipes showing you tricks and what not. Well, Hello, I totally need that (it's ok to admit I need help in the kitchen, I admit it daily!) Anyway, I convinced a friend to go with me, then Darin decided he wanted to go as well, so we bought out tickets for $10.00 and this past Tuesday we went. I was so excited to go and get some great tips and ideas! We got our lil goodie bags, walked through the booths, and we had about a half hour to wait before the presentation.

The presented 10 yummy & easy recipes. Things like Freezer berry jam, Asparagus Tomato Salad, Jimmy Dean Maple Breakfast Casserole, Orange Chocolate Tart, Mushroom Clafouti, Chicken pot pie, Angel Hair Pasta w/ Chicken & Artichokes, Romaine Caesar Salad, Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins, Zesty penne sausage & peppers. They cooked each dish in front of us and at the end of the show gave them away to someone.

There were TONS of giveaways, Jo won a Free Cookbook! They gave other things away like bags of Groceries, misc baskets from the sponsors, and so on.

We had a fun night, it was a little to long, I wish it had started sooner, so we would have gotten home earlier, towards the end it seemed like it dragged on a bit. but all in all it was some fun good times! I would recomend it to anyone who had the chance to go.

Here's a few pics of our goods!



Our bag of goodies we got when we got the show!




The bag of goodies we each received from the Sponsors. The magazine are filled with yummy recipes!




This is the recipe book that Jo won! 5 ingredients or less, we think this win was fate!!!

The new ride

We were beginning to have a few problems with the Mountaineer, so we started looking and discussing getting something new a few months ago and we finally found something that we both liked (we are opposites, ya know) and Darin fit comfortably into (darn that height)! This is what we decided on, 2010 Dodge Nitro! We are in heaven and love it! It's very fun to drive. We did lose our third row of seats but having only used them once in over 2 years we aren't too overly concerned about it. We gained Heated seats, Remote Starter, Sunroof, Sirius Radio for a year, Vehicle controlled Hands free phone, and a few other fun features like that. The color is a really pretty blue, but it's also very hard to describe. Isn't it funny how excited we get over something like getting a new car, just love it! For the record, yes, Jo's dad is very disappointed in the Dodge purchase, however he is proud we didn't stoop low enough to buy a Chevy. Darin is overjoyed and bragging about the fact that he didn't have to twist Jo's arm on getting the Dodge, she was a ready and willing participant!



Sweet new ride


The back of the new ride



Hidden storage in the very back



The very back



The front seat



The back seat

Getting to know Barkley

Our new addition, Barkley is fitting in great! Here are a few things we have learned in the week we've had our lil guy.

- Barkley loves to play, yes we know he is a puppy, but he welcomes any chance he gets to play, and he DOESN'T tire easily.

- Barkley loves attention, and although we are trying to divide it equally between the two, he doesn't understand why.

- Barkley is Darin's dog through and through! He hears Darin's truck coming up the driveway, the excitement begins to build and from there, Darin has a neverending Shadow all evening!

- When he is just sitting his lil teeth poke through his lips kind of like a buck tooth look, and it's simply adorable!

- When he runs he lil ears bounce up and down with his body, and again simply adorable!

- He loves to go on walks, do believe this is his favorite part of the day!

- He loves to wake up about 2am and bark, at what you may ask, well at himself in the mirror on the dresser that he can see when sitting at the foot of the bed.

- For the most part Barkley is potty trained but doesn't love to use the pet door to go outside, we are working at this, and lucky for us, Scotty loves the pet door so he helps with this issue.

- Barkley LOVES squeeky toys, and is not into destroying the squeeker, he does however know how to squeek them.

We are all adjusting well, it's taking a Scotty a bit longer, but he is coming around and enjoying the company. Enjoy a few pics!



Notice the teeth!



Scotty & Barkley sleep together as well!



Scotty & Barkley play together!



We are pretty sure, he has forgotten how small he really is, as he can't even begin to open his mouth big enough to get it around this bone, but he continues to try day in and day out, due to, yep, Scotty does it!



Barkley & his squeeky toy




Darin, Scotty & Barkley. All my boys!

And the name is......

Thanks for all the input and votes on the name of our newest addition! We are so excited to add him to our family! I will post more pics later but for now wanted to get the word out about the name we chose, and that won the votes!

The winner is.....


Barkley

We got texts and Facebook comments well into the night and throughout the day as well, however we decided this morning that Barkley just fits his little personality, since when I walked out of the bedroom he started barking at me first thing this morning.

He is adjusting to us, and we are learning his personality. Scotty is adjusting well, and although not to keen on the fact that he is very playful, he is doing well with the change!

The pics below are the one most of you seen as a text, it's also the picture that the family we got him from used as their ad. The other is a pic I got with my cell, trying to show you his pretty colors, of white and a honey type brown. The family we got him from was calling him Milo, which we thought was very cute, however it didn't go with our "theme" of the ey ending. Since he didn't respond to it we weren't too worried about changing the name.

He is 20 weeks old, and pretty much full grown! Cute as a button. More to follow.




Barkley sleepin, showin his pretty colors!



Barkley

Gone but not forgotten

To some this post may seem silly, or absurd, but to us it's very serious. So please, read on, we hope you'll enjoy going over our memories with us, laughing, crying and loving on our Precious lil Karlee.
We got Karlee from a friend in Utah, we thought Scotty needed a friend to spend his days with, we all grew to love her very quickly, and we think the feeling was mutual. With Darin and I having such a hard time getting pregnant, our dogs truly are our children, and now a part of our family is now gone. It's been a week ago today that we lost our lil angel, Karlee. It was a day like every other and when I came home for lunch, I was busy doing other things, then in a hurry to make it back to work on time, the dogs wouldn't come in so like every other nice day so far, I set the dog kennel up in front of the pet door, so Scotty & Karlee could come in and be outside to enjoy the sun. After work, I had errands to run, and finally made it home about 6:30, I knew immediately that something was wrong, Scotty ran right in the house, but Karlee was no where to be found. I called for her and gave her a few minutes, and when she didn't come, I started to panic, and started searching. When Darin got home from work we went out again, the snow up to our waists, and calling and calling. Neither of us got much sleep, nor had an appetite. I am feeling so guilty, and wish I'd done things differently that afternoon. We have found out since from the neighbors that a car no one recognized was seen by our home that afternoon, and that there are other Pure Bred dogs in the area missing. We would like to share some memories with you and to help us remember her, we prefer not to think about all that could have happened, but to think that she was in fact taken from us, which we hope means that she is with someone that will take care of her,and love her definately not the way we take care of her, and love her.

I miss Karlee BOUNDING through the pet door, I swear she competed with herself each time to see if she could beat her last jump in, she normally ended up halfway into the room, in that one little leap. Then she'd shake her head and do a lil Snort, she was so proud of herself!

I hated when I would be in bed and she always had to bring her bones or rawhides to bed to chew on, I can't count the number of times I'd roll over in the middle of the night onto one of her rawhides. I feel guilty now for always getting upset with her about it, I'd love to have those rawhides back in bed with us now.

Our bed has seemed a little crowded since Karlee joined our family, well now it just feels so big, I miss the way she would snuggle between the headboard and our pillows, or the way she positioned herself on our pillows with her feet on either side of our heads, snoring softly in our ears as she slept! Oh how we miss that sound!

Darin misses her lil sneezing kisses, she'd get so close to ya you'd think you was going to get some kisses, but then she'd sneeze on you, we think in her own way that really was her kisses!

Karlee loved to go for rides, she had so much trust and faith in us, that we usually had to keep the window rolled up because she was sure that we were holding on to her, and we were sure that with 3 legs out the window, and the other halfway out, she was going to fall out and get hurt, she would get so frustrated with us for rolling it up on her! She just loved to feel the wind, we teased her that she was trying to be our "little Hood Ornament", I could never keep the windows in the car clean, because she loved to lick the windows!

The Dairy Queen here in town has cows in their drive thru, she loved going there to get Ice Cream, she was so enthralled with the cows and would just sit and bark at them. She did the same thing when we went for our ride to Medora a few weeks ago, when she seen the buffalo, she just sat and watched them, she was so interested in their every move.

A few days ago Darin was working outside with the dogs in tow, Karlee sat and shivered and wouldn't go inside until Darin went inside. She always had to be a part of the action, so afraid she was going to miss out!

Karlee loved sitting on top of the Heat Vents of our house here in North Dakota, she loved when the furnace kicked on and she got to feel the heat, she rately had to move because it was too warm, she could sit on those vents for hours, sometimes that's where she would be in the middle of the night.


Karlee was such a little Social Bug, anytime anyone came to visit she was right there, I joked often that she thought everyone was here to see her. Leaving Utah was hard for her, because she had the kids and the other dogs to be around, and we had a lot of people over to the house for Scentsy and other such things. Here, we live in the country, so we don't have as many people over, we don't know too many people with kids, and we don't get to see other dogs. But she was happy just the same, she was our Positive, outgoing girl!

Scotty is missing Karlee in his own way. He wouldn't eat for 2 days, he mopes around the house, he's back to being very nervous and shaky when we take him for a ride, he's very cuddly and lovey to us both again, it's not enough to nibble on the hand right now when we get home he has to be held for a few minutes. His trips outside are few and far between and usually only occur when he really has to and when we are close by or get on the porch with him. Each day is a little better, however the days for him are long and lonely right now. We are trying very hard to be patient with him, and be home with him as much as possible. We keep thinking that it's hard for us, it's even harder on the lil guy, he just lost his Best Friend.


Thanks for sharing, please feel free to leave us comments, and share in any memories any of you may have of our lil Karlee as well. We love you Karlee, you will remain in our hearts, and we promise to keep your memories close to us!



This is the last and most recent picture we have of Karlee, courtesy of Liz, last weekend when she dogsat for us. We will miss you sweet sister!!!



Karlee right after a hair cut, she loved going to the groomers, she really was a girly girl! Ya know how most dogs hate to get a bath, well not Karlee, she loved them, when I said bathtime she was right there, and loved to feel the warm water running over her, she was never ready for it to be over.



Brother and Sister doing what they do best, playin!



Karlee Sue and Jo



Darin and his favorite lil Santa, Karlee!



Karlee made a huge mess while left alone in her Kennel. I was so made at her that day, believe it or not, I'd love to be cleaning up her messes now!

Visit with the Noe parents

Last weekend we had the chance to meet up with Darin's parents, for a short but sweet visit. The plan was to meet in Minnesota, however due to flooding in Fargo, there was some concern about us getting through, so Darin and his Dad changed the plan, and decided to take us to South Dakota. We stayed in a small town called Watertown, South Dakota. We had dinner, checked into our Hotel, went to see the movie Bounty Hunter (very cute show), crashed at the hotel, went to Breakfast, and said our Goodbye's! It was a very short visit, but it was nice to see family, and meeting half way made the time more enjoyable for all involved! It was great to have a piece of home, without a 12 hour drive.

Here's a couple of pics of our lil getaway!




Darin and Jo



Darin and Carol Noe (Mommy and her baby boy)


Darin and John Noe (like Father and like Son)

Jo cooked, and it was edible!

Well, it's been 6 months since we moved to North Dakota, we've had our ups and downs, and we are both homesick right now and I am so missing her parent's cooking! Darin is getting bored with the same old easy stuff I am always making, he's begging and pleading with me to try new recipes. I've been asking everyone how to make stuff, so I don't get laughed at when I call home to ask my wonderful parents how to fix something! (trust me, I know they laugh)

The girls at work convinced me that I couldn't go wrong with a roast and since we have a couple in the freezer, I decided what the heck. So, a couple of Sunday's ago we got up, I put the roast in, we went to Church, we came home and I permed Liz's hair (I have a few friends that are keeping me in good practice), and we all had some roast! It was very yummy, and so very easy, I just may be able to do it again! The only complaint or bad thing is, Darin's reflux issues joined us with our meal. He got the hiccups so bad, I was worried it was going to be another ER visit, luckily they subsided and we were able to get back to and enjoy our meal! I took a couple of pictures to prove to EVERYONE I know that yes, I did cook, it not only was edible but looked edible as well!

On a side note, of this post, my mom takes Steak and cuts it into pieces, breads it, and cooks it, it's pretty good, I've been wanting some lately so I decided to try it, on the first try Darin, who is also a fan of my mother's cooking, tells me that I made it better than my mom! WAHOOOO! Couldn't be prouder of myself. He did say he would NEVER admit to saying it, so don't bother asking him about it, but I swear he said. That's two things, I'm told I'm better at making then her, and all I can say is, my momma must have taught me well!


The Roast was so tender it was falling off the bone, there was no cutting through it!




Here is the whole meal, veggies, rolls, and the Roast!

Long over due post!

I could go on and on about how crazy it's been, but at this point, it almost feels like a waste to mention. So I will simply say, that with Jo working full time again, sitting at the computer to email, blog, or facebook is not high on the priority list. I feel horrible however that this post was not done sooner. I know that I don't have to post it either, but I also know that my mom would do the same for me, if she were the bloggin' type, that is.

So, let's get to it! A few years ago Jo's mom started selling Avon, she enjoyed it, but then let it slide to the backburner and quit because of work and all kinds of things. Well, recently she decided that she missed it, and wanted to start it up again. So she did! So I am asking for all you to support her in your Avon buying needs. If you don't know much about the product check out her website at www.youravon.com/sharonbills I know that she is going to enjoy doing Avon again, and I know that with everyone's support and her excitement about the great products that they have, she will do great! I'm a horrible daughter and haven't placed an order yet, but I plan to very soon, and can't wait! Check out their specials and great offers!

Thanks! Much love to everyone!

Where the buffalo roam....

A few weeks ago we both had a Saturday off, so we went for a drive. We drove about 40 miles West on I-94 to a small town called Medora. It's pretty much closed right now for the winter, but it was really fun to drive around and see the old style buildings, and the town. We came across the Visitor's Center for the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and since some of the roads are still closed due to Snow, it was free to drive through and see the wildlife, views and the area. After looking around at the visitor's center and checking out the Cabin that has some actual Theodore Roosevelt belongings in it, we went for a drive through the Park. We didn't see a ton of wildlife, but a few, Darin had actually made the comment that he was disappointed because none of the buffalo were close to the road at all. We went as far as we could, then turned around and headed for home. Shortly before exiting the Park we were stopped in our tracks by Buffalo across the road. Of course, Jo was so excited to leave the house that morning that taking the camera completely skipped past her mind, so all we had to snap pictures with was the cell phone. I think they turned out okay!

We can't wait until Spring/Summer/Fall to go back into the Park, and hopefully take some friends with us. We keep hearing how beautiful it is.

Enjoy!

It all started......

...back in 2006, Jo was on the recovery from a relationship, someone she truly adored, and Darin was living his life looking for someone to share it with! We met, agreed to go out, and POW life as we knew it changed!!! We knew that first night that we were both in trouble, and it didn't take long for us to become inseperable. If you know us well, you look at our difference and think, what?!?! We are opposites! Well, it must be true what they say about Opposites attract, cuz we sure did! It was a whirlwind of a romance with short 2 months of dating before Darin proposed. A seemingly endless 2 month seperation during our engagement as we made the dreaded move from Logan to Vernal, and after an amazing trip to Las Vegas we were a Newlywed Couple! It was a small ceremony with wonderful family, and some close friends to witness the I do's, and then we had a very entertaining dinner afterwards. We will forever be greatful for those of you that took time out of your busy lifes to attend our wedding. It meant so much at the time, and as we take today to look back we want you to know that we still hold you very dear to our hearts, and appreciate your support.

At times the road for us has been rough, as we struggled to begin our life together, we had some things to work through, but as we have overcome those struggles, we have learned that if we lean on each other we have a greater strength than either of us ever thought possible!

So here's to 3 years and many more to follow! Happy Anniversary babe, I love you!!!



Although these pics were taken after only about 2 weeks of dating, they were simply just for fun, and not meant to look like engagement pictures! It was just a simple ride in the mountains, with a camera and a good friend in tow! We love & miss you Meg!



The proposal- Darin had a beautiful jewelry box made, had it engraved with Jo's name and the date, inside was a built in smaller wooden jewelry box just for rings with I Love you engraved, on the inside of that was the ring! Everyone but Jo knew what was going on, and I couldn't understand why everyone was tearing up as I opened this gift and why in the world was Darin sitting up to watch me open it? We were celebrating Christmas with Jo's family on New Year's Eve, seriously people, what was the big deal? And then she found the ring!!! Obviously, it didn't take Darin long to learn of Jo's love for jewelry, but he is SHOCKED when he opens that treasured jewelry box today and it's overflowing! Really, D Shocked why, you seen my habit back then?




Little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas, Nevada did an Outstanding job for us. The pictures, the ceremony, the cake. It was absolutely amazing!!!





Outside on the Chapel's grounds, at the gazebo, a favorite picture of ours!





Lighting the Unity Candle, during the ceremony.

For those of you who didn't know us then or wasn't able to watch or attend our wedding, I tried to attatch the video but it wouldn't work, I apologize. The officiater was amazing and had some great words to share with us. It was truly touching, and we don't just feel that way because it was our ceremony, we have been told that numerous times since the wedding! Since Jo is always looking for a reason to celebrate, and thoroughly lives it up when there is something to celebrate, we are living it up! So, it's our Wedding Anniversary, but it's also the Anniversary to our family and close friends, that you are stuck with the pair of us. As much as some of you may not like it, it's the both of us, and we wouldn't have it any other way! ;)