We're Back!

***WARNING, this is an ultra long post!

Wow where do I begin?? So much has happened since my last post, I'm not quite sure where to start. First things first, we've moved back home! And while I'm so excited for what lies ahead for us, I'm honestly sad to leave Vegas behind. The past 3 years have been full of adventure for Ryan and I. For starters, it was the first time I had lived away from my family, which for those of you that really know me know that this is not an easy thing for me. It also gave us a chance to truly be on our own and see how we handle real life. And I think we did a pretty good job if you ask me! Here is what I'm going to miss most about Vegas (in no particular order):

1 - My Job. I was a Customer Relations Manager for Pulte Homes/Del Webb and I had so much fun! Just ask Ryan, he swears I got paid to do whatever I wanted, but that's just because I was so good at my job that I found myself with a lot of free time...haha! Pulte does a fantastic job of rewarding it's employees, and I found myself winning a trip to Dana Point, CA staying at the St. Regis Resort (which is probably THE nicest place I'll ever stay in my life!) with a $700 room credit, being awarded a $5000 credit at a jewelry store to pick out the Rolex watch of my choice for my performance (ask me where the watch is now....funny story!), going to Brian Head resort for the day for skiing/snowmobiling/sledding, a 4 day all expenses paid trip with my co-workers to Lake Tahoe for snowboarding, and much much more! And I had some great co-workers to share the fun with. As you can see, I had a blast with this job and I don't think I'll ever find anything as much fun or as rewarding....except being a mother of course (had to throw that in there so I don't sound like the worst mom ever!)

2- Our Friends. Moving to a new place forces you to make new friends, which I'll be the first to admit, I'm not very good at! What was nice in this situation was that the friends we made weren't people that Ryan knew forever and then I had to get to know them, or vice versa - they were OUR friends. We made some lifelong friends that we will miss dearly. One set in particular are the Griffeths - Lindsay, Weston, and their little guy Nate. We honestly had so much fun with them and are sad to leave them behind. We moved into our ward around the same time and instantly hit it off, and were kind of inseparable ever since. They took good care of me when Ryan had to leave me in the summer time for his internship....twice! We were always having each other over for meals and experimental cooking (those were some great meals!!) and just plain hanging out. They also had their first baby 5 months prior to us, so they were able to answer all of our crazy questions as far as what to do once the kid came home with us and we were suppose to take care of her!! They made our stay in Vegas a time in our lives that we will never forget!! Thanks you guys - we already miss you! Any chance we can convince you to move up here???

This is Nate and Millie saying goodbye....more like Nate grabbing Millie, which he's good at!

3- Our Ward. You know how it sometimes takes awhile for you to feel really comfortable in your ward, and that you pretty much know who everyone is? Well I feel like we had just gotten to that point, and then we had to say goodbye. We had such a fun ward and we both had great callings which allowed us to work with some awesome people!

4- Bunco. I am so sad that I only got to play twice 'cause the girls in the group were hilarious and so much fun!! We should have started this years ago! I especially loved it when I won the "travel" prize....funny story behind that one!

5- The Shopping. Where can you find better shops than in Vegas?? Ya'll know that I have a weakness when it comes to shopping, whether it be for clothes, furniture, home decor, and now baby girl clothes (which that one currently is the worst!). Just ask Ryan, he'll vent to you for hours about this one. Or better yet, ask Wes 'cause he'll tell all my secrets - thanks a lot Wes!!! A few of my favorite places to hit were The District at GVR, Town Square, LV Premium Outlets, Primm Outlets, Fashion Show Mall, and many others.

6- The Restaurants. This may be the hardest thing for me to leave behind, seriously! Just to name a few of my favs:

-Lucille's BBQ - I highly recommend if you ever get the chance

-Panera Bread - I tear up just thinking about how I won't be able to eat there regularly

-In 'N Out Burger.....that's a given (funny that I'll miss this since I hate hamburgers! It's their grilled cheese sandwiches that get me!)

-Metro Pizza - always tasty, and awesome ranch dressing for your salad

-Capriattis - best sandwiches ever

7- The 9 months of great weather.....I seriously HATED the 3 months of deadly heat, though!

8- The Shows. I was able to see Le Reve, Celine, Mama Mia, Phantom of the Opera, be in the "Price Is Right" mock game show, see Tim and Faith together in concert, Stomp (my favorite!), and I know I'm forgetting something else. The one show I SERIOUSLY wanted to see and didn't get to was Barry Manilow....no joke! I love him for some reason. Sorry, I know some of you just lost a lot of respect for me!

9- The Memories. We had a lot of life altering things take place for us in Vegas with Ryan going to school, having Millie join our family and us trying to figure out the whole parent thing, and all of the many other things we were able to experience!

And as they say, "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas", so we bid farewell and look to start a new chapter in our lives back home. Ryan has officially started his new job with WCF. He is taking his last final tomorrow, HOORAY, and then he is officially graduated from Law School I guess! I am very proud of him and his hard work these past years. Now we look forward to a crazy summer of him studying for the Bar exam in July. So basically it'll be like he's leaving me again this summer, only physically he'll still be around. So if anyone needs someone to hang out with, please give Mil and I a call, 'cause we'll be available.

I suddenly feel all grown up - I have a husband that is finally working and out of school, a new house (that I LOVE by the way), and a baby....now what???

Here are just some random pics from recent:

These are 6 month jammies...she's growing too fast!

Mil with Great Grandma Ahlstrom

She has an obsession with her feet right now!