Two Years Later...

I am just a few short days of being blogless for two years.  I actually can't believe it's been that long!  Since we have started some new ventures in life, I am finding it harder to keep in touch with people I used to see all the time, so I am going to try to blog more often to stay in touch with old coworkers and friends.  We'll see how it goes...I can give no guarantees!  Although now that I'm done with school, writing isn't SUCH a chore.

So a quick update on the past two years to bring everyone up to speed.  A lot has happened!  I am going to post pictures where possible, but we got a new computer semi-recently, and I haven't put in the effort to transfer our photos yet.

On March 4, 2011, Bryan and I officially closed on our first house.  It is a dinky thing, but we got a great deal and have been happy with it; much better than renting!  Before we moved in, we scraped down the popcorn ceilings, re-textured the ceilings, painted every surface (walls, ceilings, doors, doorjambs, molding), installed pot lights in the living room and kitchen, replaced most of the light switches and outlets, got new carpet installed, and CLEANED.  I have to give most of the credit for this to Bryan, my dad, and really a lot of our family.  I did what I could, but much of it was stuff I couldn't do, and I was wedding-crazed anyway!

On March 19, 2011, after exactly sixteen days of intense house work, Bryan and I got married.  Our day was wonderful.  We had so much fun with our family and friends, we couldn't have asked for a better day! 
 

We left the day after the wedding for our honeymoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  We had an amazing time!  San Juan is a beautiful city, and we really enjoyed relaxing and sightseeing. 


Fast forward to June 11, 2011--Bryan graduated from Western Oregon University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Admin - Finance.  Woohoo!  Also, our niece Jasmine's first birthday.  Side note.
 



Okay--next.  I'm sure I am skipping things, but oh well!  On July 24, 2011 Bryan and I brought home our first baby, Charlie.  And by baby, I mean dog.  But he is our baby.  He was two years old and some change when we got him, and he is arguably the cutest dog EVER. 


Sophie, the German exchange student who lived with my family when we were in high school, and her boyfriend, Lukas, came to stay with us for TWO MONTHS of the summer.  It was so awesome having them here!!!
 

I'm going to jump ahead to January 10, 2012 when our first nephew, Jack, was born. 

In the Interest of Keeping the Slightest Bit Updated

Hello there.  I have been having a hard time blogging because almost everyone who reads my blog sees me regularly, so I don't feel the need to take the time writing out what I am telling you all every day.  BUT because I have updates in other areas of my life, I figure I can squeeze in a few minutes to tell about them.

In the wedding world, we mailed out our invitations a week and a half ago, which felt GREAT!  They were a major stressor in my life so I was glad to see them go.  As of today's mail, we officially have 78 people attending, which is crazy!  I am honestly excited that that many people actually want to come.  I feel like I am burdening people with my wedding and that people are going to have an awful time; stupid I know, but I guess I just want it to be really fun and I'm nervous about things going wrong!  I also had my final dress fitting on Saturday and my dress is great!  It fits perfectly and looks awesome.  There are still tons of little things to be done, but the most daunting tasks are accomplished, which is good.  My bridal shower is in less than two weeks (February 5th), and that is going to be fun!  I'm really excited for the FUN part of the wedding to start.  =)

Most of you probably know, but for those of you who don't, Bryan and I bought a house a few weeks ago.  We found out we were qualified (which completely shocked us, since we both work part time) and we quickly made an offer on a HUD repossessed home in Albany.  It is really small (956 square feet) but it will be perfect for us and it is OURS!  We are excited to be putting money into an investment instead of throwing it away on rent every month.  We have been having some complications with the paperwork, and were getting really nervous about the outcome.  Our realtor called us today, however, and let us know that he finally heard from the agency who does the HUD selling and they said we will receive a signed contract no later than Friday!  So after that, we have to get an inspection, and hopefully can get the ball rolling on closing since our locked-in interest rate expires on February 24th.  The house needs a little work, but I am looking forward to working on it and think it will be fun (minus the paying for it part).  I would post a picture of it here, but I don't have one, and the listing isn't on the real estate site anymore!

Anyway, that is pretty much all that has been going on.  Bryan's and my third dating anniversary is this weekend (the 30th) so we are going to go out to dinner courtesy of the Applebee's gift card my grandparents got me for Christmas.  We NEVER go out because we really can't afford it, so we are super excited!  I just have to make it through my accounting midterm before then..............yeah.

Hello? Is Anybody Out There?

Hi.  I would be shocked to find out if I have anyone out there with a vested interest in my blog at this point.  Really, it would blow me away.  You see, I have a busy life.  And when it's not busy (which it hasn't been all day today unless you count reading an entire book busy), I just don't want to write a blog.  I apologize if that offends you; it's just the way I am.  So instead of blogging about the last three months of my life, which would just take forever, I'm going to post the last three month's photos with captions.  That should be good enough, right?  I think I last left off at Jasmine's arrival (she is now three months old!)...

She was a little unhealthy at first, but after a few days we got to hold her!

Uncle Bryan loves her!

Aww...

We went to Jenna's parents lake house in Washington for the Fourth of July...here are the Hall men hanging out!

And Payton looking adorable (as always) in her swimsuit and hat!

The boys having fun tubing.

Yum!

Bryan and I camping at Cultus Lake.

Aunt Lindsey...why must you deprive me of eating?  You must realize I'm not going to smile for your pictures while I'm hungry!  (She was right...)

We went rafting on the Deschutes!

Hi, Aunt Lindsey!

In our cabana at the pool in Reno!

Awesome pool called "The Beach."

Okay, so I realized these are pretty much all of the pictures I've taken in the last three months.  Oops.  I suppose I can give a quick update on my life at the moment.  Bryan and I are getting married in SIX MONTHS!  OMG.  Really.  I think we are mostly squared away, although we are still in need of a florist and a cake baker.  We actually had an appointment with a business that does both of these things yesterday, but we went to the appointment and no one was there!  That was pretty frustrating.  So I suppose that's what I need to be spending my time finding now.  I have my first dress fitting on October 9th!  I am excited except I have yet to get motivated to exercise...ugh.  I am hoping it will come to me soon because I NEED to!!!

Anyway, my summer classes went well.  I had my first real business classes and I actually enjoyed them!  I am currently leaning towards switching from a finance major to accounting.  It will take me the same amount of time, and I think there will be more job opportunities in accounting.  I also think my brain is more wired that way, which shouldn't surprise me, I tend to take after my dad in a lot of other ways as well and he's an accountant.  I have some experience in accounting, too, from working in payroll, which will probably be helpful.  I have to make this decision in two weeks, though, so I'll have to really do my research to make my decision fast!

Since summer classes have been over, I've just been working full time at OSU payroll and doing fun stuff most weekends.  I've had a great summer so far and am not excited to start school again in two weeks!  Oh well; "only" two years left!

I'll really try to blog a LITTLE more often, especially as we get heavier into wedding planning.  We are going to attempt to start printing our invitations soon (we got DIY kits at Michaels), and I'm sure it will be blog-worthy!  

Thanks for still being my friend even though I suck at blogging!

June = Jasmine!

Is it just me, or did May not even exist?  I don't know if it's this gloomy, rainy weather that's got me confused or the fact that I've had my face so far buried in books to notice the time pass, but nevertheless...it's June!  I don't even KNOW what I last talked about or what I haven't shared, so I'm just gonna start talking and go from there.

Emma played spring volleyball.  I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't really realize she was playing until my mom told me her last game was coming up.  So...Bryan and I went to a volleyball game!  Emma did great!  It was definitely interesting.  Any 12 year old sport is, but this was especially so.  Her team is definitely learning ;)

Also, Jonny is playing summer baseball.  Emma is playing summer softball as well, but we haven't made it to a game of hers yet.  A few Saturdays ago Jonny had a two-game tournament, so Bryan and I went to the second game.  It was really fun!  It was a really sunny, warm day which was awesome!  I never realized how big Jonny is either; when you see him next to the other kids his age, he is a giant!  I suppose someone in our family should be!  He did really well for having never played before.  He got a hit all three times up to bat!

Jonny in the field

Dad teaching Jonny what to do on first base

Bryan and I watching the game and enjoying the sunshine!

Oh, Bryan's birthday!  It seems like it was so long ago, but I guess it was longer ago that I blogged!  The Sunday before Bryan's birthday, Kyle, Jenna, and Payton came down to celebrate with us.  We had a lot of fun and Bryan got a lot of awesome gifts!  He is 23 now...makes me feel like a baby!

 What did I get him...?

A new golf bag!  Yay!

Happy birthday!

Because we have a trillion birthdays in my family around that time, we also had a party the next weekend with my family.  My sister Madeleine's birthday is April 29th, my aunt's is the same as Bryan's (May 3rd), and my dad's and my sister Emma's is May 7th.  We celebrated these on mother's day, so we also were doing gifts for that as well.  It felt like Christmas!

 Dad and Emma--two of the birthdays we celebrated

Bryan and I at the party!

Bryan and I got my dad a reclining camp chair for his birthday.  He promptly fell asleep in it.  I think we did well.

A few Fridays ago, Tanner had a playoff baseball game in Beaverton.  How convenient!  Rick, Sue, Bryan, and I went up, and Kyle came to meet us at the game.  It was too cold out for Payton to come, so Jenna stayed at home.  I watched a few innings then headed over there.  I would much rather hold my niece for two hours than watch a baseball game--no offense Tanner! ;)  We had a ton of fun (I did, anyway)!  I think I can speak for Payton and say that she did, too.  She WAS wearing her I love Auntie onesie.

 Bryan loves his niece!

On Saturday the 22nd of May, we had a baby shower for Rachel at our house.  It was a lot of work but ended up being quite fun!  I actually only took one picture during the shower because I was having such a fun time.  Oops!  Rachel got a lot of great stuff, and a lot of wonderful people came even though we planned it at the last minute.  Thanks guys!

Cupcakes Emma and I made

Recognize the banner?  It is beneficial to have two girls...lol.

The onesie decor I copied from Jenna's showers.  It was too cute to resist!

Rachel getting her belly measured.  I was actually the closest on this; I am never close at all!  I guess I'm getting better?

Memorial Day weekend, we headed to the coast with Bryan's family.  We crammed seven adults and a baby into a TINY cabin, but it was so fun!  The weather wasn't awful, even though there was a little rain.  We got a solid couple of hours at the beach which is about all you can ask for in Oregon anyway!  We did LOTS of shopping in Lincoln City.  It was a great weekend!

 You can sort of sea the ocean behind us!

I love Payton's face in this picture.  And she loves her bunny!

Last week was finals week.  I had three finals, and they went really well.  I ended up getting over 100% in my math class (after the curve), so that was awesome!  I also got an A in macroeconomics, and a B+ in international economics.  I'm a little mad; I was one point away from an A!  I have really bad test anxiety and sort of panicked on the final.  Oh well, I guess a B+ is still good!  I was exhausted after this week, but I'm glad it's over!  I also worked my last shift at Grocery Outlet this week (for awhile, anyway).  I'm taking 15 credits over the summer (starting June 21st), so I won't have a lot of time outside of going to class and working at Payroll.  Also, I'm taking 16 credits in the fall so it will be more of the same!  I will probably start there again next winter; save up some extra cash right before the wedding!

Oh, and in wedding news, Bryan and I officially booked the church!  We are going to be getting married March 19, 2011 at 4 PM at the Church on the Hill in McMinnville.  It's almost only nine months away; I can't believe it!  We are in the process of setting up meeting times with a photographer and our caterer.  I am excited to get more things set in stone. 

And obviously the most exciting news; my new niece Jasmine was born last night!  Rachel's water broke yesterday at about 10 AM.  I was at work, and figured I would stay there as long as possible.  The hospital is only a 10 minute drive from OSU.  We found out that, due to new hospital regulations, only three people were even allowed in L&D while she was in labor.  That was my mom, Josh, and his mom.  Once I knew I couldn't even wait in the waiting room up there, I wasn't so anxious to leave work.  I just wanted to be there right about the time when she was born.  I ended up being able to work the whole day, and headed over to the hospital at 5:00.  She was taking her time!  At about 7:00, she was ready to push, but there was only one doctor working and they had just taken another woman in for a c-section!  (This was to remove a 10 lb 8 oz baby...no wonder that poor woman pushed for five hours with no luck!)  So Rachel had to wait a little while.  She started pushing at about 7:30, but the baby's heart rate was dropping (as it had been earlier), so they were only having her push with every other contraction, just making sure to go really slowly.  By the way, thank goodness for text messaging during all of this!  Since we couldn't even be close by, my mom was texting me every few minutes to let me know what was going on.  Anyway, Jasmine was born at 8:15, but her cord was wrapped around her neck twice.  When she came out she was blue and motionless.  Because of this, they didn't suction out her nose and mouth before delivering her all the way and just hurried to get her out.  Stupid!  There was meconium in Rachel's fluid, so they really should have taken the time for that.  I know it was probably stressful in the moment, but because of that she ended up breathing meconium in.  She had a team working on her to help her breathe for about 45 minutes, as she wasn't crying or anything.  Once she was stable, they did x-rays and revealed she had meconium in her lungs.  They weren't sure of the amount or severity, so they brought in the on-call pediatrician.  There was debate for HOURS on whether or not to send her to Eugene or Portland, since Corvallis doesn't have a NICU.  They ended up deciding to keep her in Corvallis, and the nurse who had been with her all day decided to stay through the night just to be with her!  They were keeping a close watch on her, and decided if anything changed they would transport her.  Thankfully they didn't have to!  She has an IV of antibiotics in one foot and an IV of food in the other.  They won't let her nurse for 48 hours, which is sad!  I heard that Rachel and Josh finally got to hold her this morning, so that's great!  They had to wait for so long!  We are going to visit later today and hopefully will get to hold her as well!  I'm not counting on it due to the situation, but I would be so happy if we could.  I only have one picture on my phone my mom sent me.  I will have to post more when I can get them!

 So precious.  8 lb 7 oz 21 inches long.  I can't wait to meet her!

What? A blog?

You know, writing a blog is relatively overwhelming when it's the first you've written in a month.  I have just been so busy.  As usual.  But I thought I would reiterate in case you forgot.  

Quick recap on what's been happening:  the weekend of Easter, Bryan's cousins Jessica and Courtney and Courtney's boyfriend Myron came to visit from Boise.  We got to have a fun family day that Saturday!  On Easter Sunday my dad's parents got baptized, which was pretty cool.  Oh, and in between all of this we started spring term on March 29th.  I have been working about 34 hours a week and taking 12 credits, so it's been crazy!  I did drop a day of work since the last time I wrote though, which has been relieving.  I am still spread pretty thin but it's nice to have a little more free time!

The Halls and the Hayses

I love this picture because Kyle is shooting daggers with his eyes directly at me.  I don't know what I did!  Lol

The following weekend, we went to the wedding of a friend of Bryan's.  Bryan and I went up to Portland Friday night and stayed with Kyle and Jenna (and Payton!).  We had a good time, and the wedding was nice!  I'm racking my brain for what we did the next weekend, but I can't think of anything!  OH, on Friday the 16th, Bryan and I went and looked at a church in McMinnville as a possibility for our ceremony.  It was GREAT and is CHEAP (I mean, really.  The price speaks to me), but the church has no center aisle, just two side aisles.  Ever since then I have been trying to get over that.  We don't really have any better options for a church, but I just don't know how I feel about walking down a side aisle.  I guess if that's the worst thing we have to deal with we should be thankful!  That Sunday, my cousin Joy took these engagement photos of us.  They are great and we had so much fun!  Bryan and I love their family, so we were excited to get to go to lunch and spend a few hours with Joy, Brett, and their kiddos.  We plan to take more pictures in a few weeks, so stay tuned!

Just this last weekend, one of my sister Rachel's old roommates threw a baby shower for her.  She is due June 12th, but her doctor is thinking she will most likely deliver mid-May, so we don't have much time left!  We had a good time, and she got a lot of useful stuff!

Swaddling blankets!  I took lots of pictures while she was opening gifts and this was probably the best one...so sorry for the closed eyes!

I think that about wraps it up for now.  Sorry about the lack of photos and general boring-ness of my life, I will try to spice it up for my blog posts!  Which I will also attempt to write more often!

Tomorrow, Kyle, Jenna, and Payton are coming to spend the weekend here!  Actually Bryan and Kyle have a civil war event, so they are coming for that.  Bryan's birthday is Monday, so we are going to celebrate this weekend as well.  He is going to be 23!  So old!  ;)

Well, I'm quite overdue for a new blog post.  So I will use this time in the library on the first day of the new term to blog instead of getting ahead on my reading like I had planned to do.  Where to begin?  Last term finally ended (obviously) which was great!  I was just ready to be done with those classes.  Bryan got his tonsils and adenoids removed on Wednesday the 17th (yes, St. Patrick's day), and it was a rough time for him!  He couldn't eat solid food for a week, and he felt pretty sick and just yucky for that amount of time.  I am glad he is finally feeling better, though.  It was tough to see him in so much pain that I couldn't do anything to fix!

Last week was spring break, but I worked something like 45 hours so it wasn't exactly a break for me!  That's okay though, I didn't have anything better to do, and I can definitely use the money!  

This term I'm taking Macroeconomics, International Economics, and Math.  I would say what math but I honestly have no idea.  It's math 245, but if that means nothing to me I'm sure it doesn't mean much to you either.  My first lecture is in a little over an hour, so I guess I will find out what it's all about!  I think it will be a good term.  I like economics a lot, and math is a strong subject of mine.  I am still going to be working almost 40 hours a week though, so it will be a challenge!  It's nice to know that I can always drop some hours at work if I'm having a hard time being successful.  

That's it!  That's seriously the extent of my life right now!  Easter is this weekend, and that is sure to bring at least SOME excitement!  Now I'm going to go while I still have time to delve into the wonderful world of economics!

*In the wedding world, Bryan and I went to McMinnville Saturday to check out some possible churches for our ceremony.  We found some possibilities, but we aren't sure yet of their availability.  I will keep you posted!*

Here are a few gems to leave you with just to spice up my otherwise dull post.

Bryan changed Payton's poopy diaper *tee hee*  I wanted to include the more graphic picture, but would prefer to not get arrested for child pornography.  So you'll have to use your imagination for the poop.

"I'm going to eat you!!!"

So much has happened since I blogged last!  I have been super busy, though, and even when I've had spare time I've slept!  That's what it's come down to now.  So anyway, almost two weeks ago now our little Payton Marie was born!  And by "our" I mean Kyle and Jenna's...I didn't give birth.  Just in case you were confused.  She was born February 27th, and we spent that day in Portland visiting! 

Bryan and I with Payton the day she was born!

Payton with her parents and all her aunts and uncles!

We decorated Kyle & Jenna's house!

One of Payton's hospital pictures.  So sweet!

Anyway, that is actually about as exciting as our lives have been lately.  Nothing new in the world of the Green-Hall wedding, and Bryan and I are just about as boring as usual.  We have finals next week, and are both REALLY excited to be done with this term!

Next Wednesday, the 17th, Bryan is getting his tonsils out.  The surgery and recovery won't be fun, but we are really hoping that it will eliminate his snoring and help him sleep better!  Plus he will get rid of the sore throat he's had for about six months, so that will obviously be nice!  I will have to post an update after his surgery.  That will probably be the next time I blog, between now and then I will be STUDYING!

Oh WAIT, reverse!!  I forgot I haven't blogged about Sue's grandma shower yet.  On Friday, February 26th, we had a surprise grandma shower for Sue at work.  It was really fun, and she got a lot of cool stuff to keep at her house for when Payton comes to visit! 

The sign at Sue's desk.

Opening a gift

All of Sue's wonderful gifts!

Okay, so now that's all that's gone on in my life.  Whew!