Our Future House?

After countless hours of searching for houses on the internet we decided to take the adventure to look in person at a few houses. Thanks to Kim (Dy's old roommate and now cousin through marriage) we saw eight different houses on the north side of Tooele. We originally were looking for Stansbury, but found a lot more house for the same money in Tooele.

The first home we walked in we fell in love with. It has 3,330 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 1 "great room" 2.5 baths and unfinished basement. The house wouldn't be completed until the end of June. It seemed like the perfect place. Here is a link to a website that has the layout. We checked out all the other houses, but still felt this house was for us. After coming home and checking on the internet the house no longer appeared available. Our hearts sank!! Oh no!!!

After calling our agent, we found out the house went under contract that afternoon. Someone had put an offer down the night prior to us walking through the house. But, the great news came when the listing agent informed us the contractor has several other lots in the area and would build us the same house for 5,000 less and add in a gift certificate for a fridge if we could get pre-approved this week and put some money down for an earnest deposit. He also noted we could pick the exterior and interior colors and designs etc..... He could have the house finished in about 5 months. We were ecstatic. After all, we are currently in an apartment with no contract and could can save more money to put down a bigger down payment. It couldn't be more perfect.

We are getting pre-approved this week for the loan amount and hope all turns out well. The most exciting thing would be to have all our belongings under one roof. Thanks to both parents, several siblings, and even aunts who have so graciously let us invade and store our "stuff." Hopefully it all works out!!! Tooele here we come..."forever and forever in Tooele!"

So technically, this wouldn't be our exact house, but it would be built almost exact with a few changes we can add. It will give you - and us - a pretty good idea, though.

Entry way from the top of the stairs.

Entry way from bottom of the stairs.

Master Bedroom

Brett Turns 29

Brett turned 29 yesterday. That morning Brett had a golf tournament for the South Jordan Chamber, but after four holes the tournament came to an abrupt end, due to heavy rain. We spent the day doing absolutely nothing but, watching T.V.,relaxing and playing our new favorite game Scramble and Wordtwist together. Granted Brett rocks at these games, his vocabulary is astounding. Later that night, we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We meet up with friends and family to enjoy the evening. Just FYI --always expect at least an hour wait when visiting the delicious diner. Brett's surprise for the day was tickets to the Dave Matthews Concert this August. It was a nice relaxing day spent with one another. Brett thanks for being so fantastic and the perfect companion. Once again, Thank you for everything you are for me and I love the life we share together. Hope you enjoyed the day! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

How Time Flies

Sometimes it seems like 6 months has flown by, but there is so much we have done that at the same time it feels like we have been married for years. We could review it, but the blog pretty much recaps it pretty nicely. We are still very happy and grow to love each other more every day. There have been some adjustments we have made, but it has all been great.

This past week also featured the last of the Martin clan graduating from high school...which also meant a reason to party down in Orem. Chelsea, Dy's youngest sister is heading to BYU Idaho, regardless of the great campus in Logan she will be passing by on her way up there. No matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't get her to even take a look at it. Apparently it is too close to Orem.

One of our other fun past times we seem to enjoy recently is looking for a house. We aren't in a hurry so it isn't too stressful. It was great to have a nice weekend with sun. Speaking of sun, Saturday Brett hit the golf course while Dy enjoyed Pool Day at good ole Turnberry. We are excited to get outside and enjoy some mountain biking, hiking, and camping. We hope to get a lot of that in this summer.

Sand Blasted

For Memorial Day weekend we went down to the Little Sahara Sand Dunes just outside of Delta. We got blasted with wind, rain and lots of sand. Despite a few hours of difficult weather each day we enjoyed our time on the sand and saw plenty of sun. One of Brett's friends (Scott and Brianna Rounds) invited us along for a much needed vacation. Scott was the leader of the pack and encouraged all of us to be brave and become one with the dunes. Teaching us the technique of riding a sand bowl and going up and down the vertical hills. Sand Mountain was crazy (see top picture - and that was the less steep side) with people flying up it and flying down it.

Grant, Renee and Brianna chillin' on the machines.

Brett and Dy on top of a dune...getting sand all in the camera.

Brett (top) and Dy (bottom) riding in a bowl.

We would like to thank all those who made this weekend possible by borrowing some of their stuff...Mom and Papa Martin, Chad, Kristi, Cody, and especially Scott & fam!

Martin's (and Valdez') Invade Arizona

Well, this was supposed to be included on the last post about the weddings as a pre-trip entry, but it was never published and now we have something to include in a second post, and even some pictures.

Dy left on Thursday with the rest of the Martin clan and Brett flew down Friday night with Andrew's Sister, Rachael. A weekend reaching 90 degree weather is quite nice after a cool and rainy few days in Utah.



After breakfast prepared by the newlyweds Saturday morning and some setting up for the open house, the kids went shopping and swimming. Be careful shopping with Brett, he finds more good buys than the girls. The swimming pool was pretty fun. It was outdoor in a neighborhood community center restricted to residents and guests (thanks to Andrew's grandfather we qualified as guests) and had a sanded beach entrance to it. Some of the white Utah skins were blinding to the experienced tans of the locals. Bad news, now Dy has caught a little poolside fever and the pool days in Utah can't come soon enough.








The yard was perfect for the open house and looked beautiful. The amazing weather didn't hurt, either, a perfect 80 degrees at night without the sun. Throw on top of that some good cheesecake with a myriad of toppings and you have yourself quite an enjoyable evening. Despite evidence with the last photo, the punch wasn't spiked. That is what you get when you put a few Martin's together and try to take a picture.


P.S. Happy birthday to Cody and congrats to you and Denise on selling your house! Also happy birthday to beautiful Dy on the 16th!

A weekend of weddings!

Well, this past weekend was full of good ole weddings, and we will keep celebrating through this next week with a trip to Gilbert, Arizona.

Dy's sister was married on Friday, May 2, in the Jordan River Temple. After Michelle graduated with her Master's on Thursday, she decided to celebrate by getting married. Not a bad celebration. Since Dy's brother flew in and needed to do some shopping for the close that didn't quite make the flight, we ended up giving them a ride to Orem and spent the night there. Michelle was determined to have the reception in her parents back yard, regardless of temperature. It was a little cool but the sun came out (Brett's head can attest to that) and it really turned out great. By the time the reception was done we were exhausted and didn't even bother driving back to our home, even if that meant spending night #2 sleeping in the bunk beds.
That wasn't the end of our weekend of weddings. On Saturday we traveled up to Logan with Nettie and Aubrey for A. Lawlor's wedding (Dy's old roomate). We had some time to kill between the ceremony and the luncheon so we decided to visit Gosner's Foods. After we each ate a pound of the sample cheeses, we sat at a bench and enjoyed some ice cream, cheese curds, and root beer milk (and yes, it actually is milk).

We enjoyed attending two temple wedding ceremonies on back to back days, the first since we were married. It was great to reflect on those special promises and covenants we made just over five months ago. It was a busy, but great, weekend.

Our intentions were to get some pictures from Andrew and Michelle's wedding day, but we haven't been able to track any down. For those reading this with some pics you promised to send us, we are still waiting...and waiting.

We are still here!

One month to the day of the last post, we figured we should let you know that we are still alive and kicking.

Time for the excuses...April has just been a pretty busy month and we still try to make a post only when there are some fun pictures to put on there. Dy has been working double time the past month (which is nice as we try to get a down payment for eventually purchasing a house) and Brett has been working late most nights with a name change and a few other big projects at the credit union.

We will work on being better and maybe even getting a regular post time each week. Don't give up on us yet, Nettie. Until then, chow!

Ode to Spring!

There are many reasons why I love this time of year. The green grass and trees are beautiful, the days get longer, the Easter Bunny brings me treats (thanks dear), March Madness is in full force, golf courses open, and most importantly the Red Sox are taking swings that matter.

I really do love this time of year...my favorite!

With the Red Sox playing two games in Japan starting earlier this morning, baseball season is finally here. An extra inning win made getting up at 4:00 in the morning worth it. I had better get to bed since game two is in less than 5 hours away.



This isn't Dy's favorite picture, but with us both at Fenway it is a must.




Perhaps this one is better.

Jazz vs. Lakers

For Valentine's Day we were treated with lower-bowl tickets to a Jazz game and enjoyed the night thoroughly, even if the Jazz couldn't set the franchise home mark for most consecutive wins by losing to the Lakers.


We weren't quite this close, but did enjoy the lower bowl.



Posing on the first row behind the basket.





Kyle warming up. This one if for you, Pierce!




I think it is primarily a Martin disease where you must take pictures of yourself whenever a camera is present....or maybe just Nettie's thing that rubs off on the others.

Slippers...My Newfound Love

This is a blog dedicated to why I love slippers. I wear them to the store, to work meetings in the morning, around the house, and walks outside. This fascination started when I noticed Brett wearing his slippers everywhere.. From my observation slippers have requirements.

1. Slippers must have a hard sole on bottom for all environments.
2. Slippers must be comfortable.
3. The best slippers are those that are Blue. But if a Red Soxs Symbol is placed upon the slippers they are the best slippers ever.

I was shopping after Christmas at Old Navy and my eyes beheld a pair of Blue slippers. The slippers were comfortable, and had a hard sole. The best thing about these slippers the PRICE..... 3$. I bought them and every day since have fallen in love with these slippers. So I apologize if you think its inconsiderate to wear slippers other than around the house. I just LOVE my slippers. I'm already in need for another pair....maybe all find a Red Soxs pair for the up coming baseball season!