The Newest Bartley

2012-02-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

We take great pride in announcing our newest Bartley family member ... Kong the Cat!

We got him 2 weeks ago. He fits in pretty well with us. He's still just a kitten though (about 15 weeks old), and so he drives us all nuts on occasion with his playfulness - especially at 2AM. He and Russell have become good friends and play a lot together. He's also helped Russell to overcome his absurd fear of cats.

Today he was especially naughty. He got onto the table, which isn't allowed, while I was putting on Russell's shoes and was drinking my tea. Then he got onto the counter (once again, not allowed) and was pawing at cups and stuff. So he got set down again. And then he got up there again and was eating my flowers in my owl pot. I was livid about that one. I actually spanked a cat. I never thought that would happen. But he has calmed down and hasn't been naughty since.

We acquired him off ksl.com from a girl who had gotten him for Christmas. She loved him, but her apartment was just too small for a feisty kitten. Oh, and she's not allowed to have cats in her apartment either without running the risk of getting kicked out if he was discovered. So she gave him to her sister to look after. Turns out the sisters boyfriend is allergic to cats, so she was in a hurry to get rid of him ASAP so her boyfriend would come back over again. So we got him!

Next week on the 16th we're taking him into a vet to get his shots and have him castrated. With some luck that will calm him down a bit ... I know it will for at least a couple days immediately after the surgery. Thank heavens.

The Bartley's Are Established

2012-02-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

We originally planned on turning our engagement blog into our family blog once we were married, but until my husband gives me access to that blog I'll be using this one. And now that we're somewhat established and things are calming down into a routine, I have no more excuses to neglect keeping up a blog. So, for my first entry, I'll play a little catch-up on how things have been since we got married. I'll make it brief ...

The wedding went perfectly! Everyone was happy (at least that I know of), things went smoothly, and we had fun. It was such a blessing to be able to have Russell sealed to us in the temple. That was the icing on the cake that day. For pictures you can check out Ryan's album on facebook, http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100305181410979.2506597.17803770&type=3.

The honeymoon was just as perfect. We spent 5 days on the Big Island of Hawaii. My dear Auntie Laura let us stay in her house since she wasn't going to be there. So, we flew in on Wednesday evening (because our flight was delayed by 4 hours). We had dinner at Ken's and went home in Volcano. Thursday we spent the morning hiking around Volcano National Park. We saw all sorts of rain forest, desert lava flow, the Sea Arch, and petroglyphs. That afternoon we spent in Hilo shopping, eating the best Thai food on the planet, and hiking to Akaka Falls. Friday we woke up super early and drove to the north side of the island to do horseback riding through Waipio Valley, which was truly amazing. It was a virtually untouched valley with waterfalls everywhere. It also boasts the longest black sand beach in hawaii at 1 mile long. After spending the morning in paradise, we drove to the west side of the island to Kona. We stayed int he Royal Kona Resort. Our room had an amazing view - ocean on the left, rain forest and temple on the right. We went to the hotel's luau that night, which was spectacular! I love the Polynesian dancing, history, legends, and culture. Saturday morning we went snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay. This is also the same place that Captain Cook made his foolish mistake resulting in his death. There's a nice monument there to commemorate him. Snorkeling was probably the best thing we did in Hawaii. If we're ever lucky enough to return, we'll be doing that again. Afterwards, we showered in the public restrooms, finished our Kona shopping, and moved on with our trip. We drove south and picked up a lilikoi cheesecake somewhere around the Milolii area. We continues south to the very most southern point in the United States, which was very windy. We took some pictures, talked to some fishermen, and then drove to a black sand beach. It was dark and we missed the turtles that beach there. Oh well. Then completed our ring around the island back in Volcano. Sunday morning we had breakfast at Ken's with Laura and finished our trip with shopping at Hilo Hattie's. For that album you can check it out on Ryan's facebook, http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100301025015429.2505676.17803770&type=3.

After we returned to reality, we worked for 3 weeks in Sacramento. We spent Christmas with our families. My last day at work was on the 27th, which was kind of sad because I had spent a long time there, learned a lot, and made some good friends. And then we packed up and moved on the 29th to Provo, Utah for Ryan to finish his schooling. He has 1.5 yrs left at BYU to finish up his degree in electrical engineering.

My brother Tim and his wife Tina helped us move. It was great to have the help! I don't know how we would have done it (timely) without them. And I like Tim and Tina. Their company was much enjoyed. They helped us get unpacked in just 1 day (like seriously no boxes left sort of unpacked). We then spent that weekend with Grandma up in Logan, spent the next day in Salt Lake City with them before we had to drop them off at the airport. I hope they come back to visit soon.

Since then we have been dealing with life and adjusting to merging 3 lives together, and the ups and downs of being adults. Real adults.

First we sold our car, which was Ryan's old 2000 Subaru. It was a car, but it had its problems and was going to die on us sooner rather than later. And forget about visiting our families back in Sacramento because that "sooner" would have definitely been in the middle of Nevada, somewhere like Pequop. Stressed about handling a car loan and wondering what crappy car would be within our budget, Ryan's parents jumped in to the rescue and gave us their 2006 Nissan Frontier for an excellent price. Not only did it solve our no car problem, loan issues, and being a vehicle much better than anything else would could afford, but it's also a great vehicle for the snow (much to my relief). Jeff (Ryan's dad) drove the truck out last Monday, and we thoroughly enjoyed his visit with us. We hope he can come back again soon with Evelyn. Maybe even Jordyn. Russell would love that!

We have also enrolled Russell in preschool! He's very excited to be a big boy going to school like Daddy. When I ask him what he's going to be someday he tells me, "I'm going to preschool, Mom, to be something important." Hahahaha!He goes on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9-11.

And because merging 3 lives together isn't crazy enough, we decided to throw a cat in the mix. We adopted Kong, formerly known as October, from a girl who didn't have room for him and her sisters boyfriend was allergic to him. So we got this cute little guy with all his supplies. He's black, about 15 weeks old, extremely playful and snuggly. True to cat nature, he's doing his damnedest to avert my attention from this blog to him as he's laying across my lap and over one of my arms purring. He's been a good fit for our family and has given Russell a playmate. It has also helped Russell get over his unreasonable fear of cats.

Some other things going on is our lovely landlords, the Hatch's, are actively trying to sell their house. They own the front portion of the house and we rent out the back. They decided that in their old age (he's 91 and she just turned 90), they want to be near their family in case of any health issues. She also just had surgery to remove her right breast due to cancer last Tuesday. This is also her second bout with breast cancer. She's recovering very well, all things considered (namely her age). So, depending on if they are able to sell their house, how quickly they sell their house, and who the possible next honors are, we might be moving a little sooner then we originally planned. There is one very serious potential buyer who would like to continue renting out the back. They're in the middle of figuring out what they could afford. Hopefully if they end up buying it we could just continue renting it from them. We'll keep you posted on that.

Other than that things are pretty quiet. We enjoy it here. We like our landlords, we like the area, and we've made some friends. Russell is adjusting well and I love every minute of being a stay at home mom. We do crafts, cook, and read together every day. I love how my life has turned out. It's had its share of downs over the last 4 years, but things are really picking up.

Cherry Blossom Girl

The Newest Bartley

The Bartley's Are Established