25 things about me in honor of my 25th birthday!

Yesterday I turned 25!  Last night I had a wonderful birthday dinner with the hubby at Grimaldi's -my favorite pizza place. But instead of writing about all of the stuff I did with family and friends right now I am going to share a little about myself...how about 25 things you may or may not know about me inspired by my 25th birthday.

1. Ken and I have both have had 3 jobs in the past year!  2. I lived in Arizona for 7 years and I lived in 7 different houses during that time  3.  I am terrible about returning phone calls - sorry if I never called you back  4. I have an awesome memory and in college I would wake up to 'study' a few hours before a test and just memorize the whole book/notes - hello Dean's List  5.  I love the rain so much and it just happened to start pouring when Ken proposed in the Bahamas  6. I love dogs- I would have a rescue center in my home if Ken would allow me  7. I love scary movies and when I was little I used to fall asleep to them every night (like I was 8 yrs old falling asleep to The Exorcist...creepy, I know)  9. Hubby hates scary moves so I usually only watch them now when he is out of town, by myself   10. I love planning parties and events but I have never actually planed one that I have hosted  11. I am a homebody - I'd rather be hanging on the couch than out and about  12. I truly love shopping-I don't even care if it's shopping for me or someone else-I love it all  13. I didn't know how to do laundry until I went to college  14. I never cry (unless I'm super frustrated) and my mom always said I needed to see the Wizard of Oz for a heart  15. I do cry at funerals (like uncontrollably and embarrassingly) even if I hardly knew the person  16. One of my favorite things in the world is roller coasters - there has never been one high or fast enough in my opinion  17. My ideal vacation is going somewhere with a beach but I dislike salt water and sand and usually only go to the resorts pool and just look at the beach  18. I love doing yoga and would love to get certified to teach it someday  19. I took a surfing lesson on our honeymoon and loved every minute of it (I never fell once)  20. I was a competitive swimmer growing up and one of my biggest fears is drowning   21. Even though I am a girly girl I think I am very tough...not sure where that self confidence comes from  22.  I don't stress, at all, and it drives my family crazy because I am so relaxed about everything  23.  I used to have a phobia of wearing the same outfit more than once...I am slowly getting over that phobia  24. One of my goals is to learn to play guitar and play during worship at church - I got a guitar for Christmas 2 years ago and still have never picked it up  25.  My mom swears by the old wives tale of the pencil test to predict how many kids/gender you'll have and I am suppose to have 3 girls and 1 boy (http://pencilpregnancytest.com/ see for yourself...it has never been wrong on anyone we have done it to)

I had an awesome 24 years of life and I know 25 will be the best year yet! I would love to hear about your fun/quirky things that make you who you are. Share something random in the comment section if you feel daring enough!

Aren't you tired of posts about moving?

When Ken and I first moved to Las Vegas, we still had our house in Arizona we were renting. Instead of packing everything up and putting it in storage we decided to leave all of our furniture in our AZ house and move it when we bought our house in Vegas. Last weekend we drove to Arizona with my parents and Ken’s mom and brother met us there. We rented a moving van and packed and cleaned the house. On a side note, I was traveling the weeks leading up to our move so our house was completely unpacked!

On Saturday night, after we had packed the whole house, the six of us went to dinner at Sand Bar.  Later on that night we meet up with some friends to have one last hurrah in Arizona! It was good seeing our friends but I wish we had gotten at least one picture of us all.

Dad, Mom, Me, Ken, Karl (Ken's younger brother) & Joyce (MIL)

Here is a fun fact-Ken and my Dad were wearing the same sweater.  They were both trying to cover the logos in the pictures so no one would be able to tell. Cat's outta the bag boys!

We returned to Las Vegas late Sunday night and Ken, my dad and I unpacked the moving van.  We have been trying to tackle one room at a time when it comes to unpacking boxes. The house is a disaster! We have boxes everywhere, towels in the dining room, bedding in the living room, not enough furniture to fill up our 5 bedroom house…you get the point.  Since we have to live with this mess until we are finished putting everything away I figured I would share it with you. My last post I had before pictures….and below are during pictures. We still have so much work to do.

This is our guest room in the casita. It is the only room that is somewhat complete. Who wants to be our first guest?

On a random note, we cleaned our new house the night before we moved in. How cute are my Grandparents. They came over to help and they both were in our shower cleaning-my Grandma Shirley was spraying the cleaning solution and my Grandpa Al was scrubbing. I hope one day that Ken and I will have the love that my Grandparents still have today. I just love to hear stories of their early days being married and how far they have come! I truly love these two wonderful people.

A new chapter...

Last night, Ken and I got the keys to our FIRST HOME. I can't even begin to describe how I feel right now.  I am so excited to be in our home, proud that all of our saving really added up, nervous of the road ahead, grateful for all those who helped us get here, blessed that God has rewarded us, anxious to fill it with memories and love... 

I just have to thank both of our parents for instilling in us the tools needed to make it to this point in life.  Ken's parents have been a great resource for us when it comes to finances.  I know we are both so thankful for the love, support and advice they have given us along the way and know it really has made an impact on how we want to be. 

My parents have also be instrumental to Ken and I, not just in this process, but also in life.  I can't thank them enough for their generosity, love, support and encouragement.  They are always willing to drop whatever they are doing to be there and help.  They have always been my rock and a great example of how after 30 plus years of marriage (wow) there can still be love and respect.  I appreciate them more than they will ever know.

Ok...back to me! So, last night we got the keys to our house. We invited my parents and their best friends-Kevin and Londa over. Kevin is the handiest man I know and he installed a doggy door for us. Londa and Kevin are like second parents to me and I am thankful that Kevin allowed me to pay him in beer and pizza for his service! At this point all of our furniture is still in Arizona so Ken and I ended up sleeping on couches that were in my parent's garage (my dad has been holding them for us for almost two years...he was happy to have his garage space back)! I didn't get any pictures of the fun we had last night and of the handy work the boys did but I do have a few pictures that were taken when the house was put up for sale. I will make sure to post pictures once we have settled and decorated. I can't wait!

This is the front of the house. We have a cute little gate that leads to our courtyard. Don't mind the HUGE tree that needs trimming!

This is the front door and the entry way. I just love the circular entry with the columns. Ken said, the first time we saw this house, that he could imagine these columns at Christmas and how I would have them just perfect. He was right...I'm already thinking of how awesome they will be to decorate.

One of the reasons I fell in love with house was the kitchen/family room.  It is beyond big and open. I can't wait until we can have family dinners and holidays where everyone will gather in the kitchen. I wish the other half of the kitchen could be seen in this picture for the full effect. Oh yeah-see that big rectangular hole-we are without a fridge until next week-take out it is!

This is a view of our backyard.  One of the cool things about our house is that the front courtyard connects to the back (there isn't a gate separating the two). Holly can spend her days running laps around our house.  In one of the side yards we have fruit trees and I eventually be be having a garden to grow some vegetables and herbs. Yum! We also don't have neighbors on one side because we are next to a green belt. So excited for that but we have already found balls from the kids playing in the green belt (Holly will be in heaven with the balls)!

So that's our house in a nutshell. Again, I promise to post pictures as soon we get settled in.

We've moved!

Ken and I just moved to Las Vegas from Arizona and we have been living with my parents for three weeks now. While we are so appreciative of their generosity it is hard to move back home. We are newly weds (almost 2 years...we still count right?) and have a big dog and it is just plain hard not having our own space. The good news is that we are almost home owners. We found our dream home in February and should be moving in next week. I feel like our dreams are coming true and the pieces are finally coming together.

This is our new little neighborhood and our house is that
 one straight through the gate on the right!

By the way, if you have never bought a house before the process can be daunting.  Good thing my mom is our realtor and my boss is our loan officer. We are in the best hands possible. Not to mention that I believe we are suppose to be here, that this is a part of God's plan for our lives. No matter how stressful this has been we are so thankful to have each other to lean on. I couldn't imagine doing this without my best friend.  By the way, a little plug for my family, my mom is an awesome realtor and she would be happy to help you find your dream home too!

Two years in the making

So this is it...I've tried to start a blog for 2 years now but thought I never had anything important to write about. I still don't but as an avid blog reader I have decided to take the plunge and finally start my own blog.

I'll try to post updates on what is going on with the Wendtlands' and include some pictures. Hopefully it will be a great way to keep our loved ones in touch about our lives!

Thanks for taking the time to read!

~ash