The Grubers: January 2012

Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Great Escape

July 5th, while still recovering from the surgery, we started our move out of the basement apartment. While the apartment itself was spacious and great, we were over the basement apartment idea.

We loved the spacious apartment, the pool table, the laundry room, and the amazing location...but we decided basement apartments are just not for us. Helping develop this opinion were eccentric/intense homeowners, 7:00 AM vacuum runs on Sunday mornings, midnight and later piano sing-alongs, ghost day-time visitors (coming home to the lights on..that we did not leave on), and a pool and hot tub that we were not comfortable using.

We were blessed with a perfect exit strategy when Jason's friend, Richard, offered an amazing opportunity. Richard's brother owned a house with his family in Alpine, and they were away for the summer months. He was out selling for Vivint Solar in Hawaii and in New Jersey. While they were away, they allowed us to stay and house-sit their home in Alpine. We were thrilled! This was a perfect chance to leave the basement apartment and stay in an actual house...for free! The length of stay was unknown, since the family was unsure how long they would be out selling. But we didn't care. One month, two months, three months....didn't matter...we were in!

George, Nancy, and Karl: Always the first to help!

Their home is an older house, but they completely remodeled the inside. It looks amazing! They did a great job. Most of our things ended up staying boxed up in the Gruber's garage. (The Tadje's did not leave for the summer expecting occupants).

I loved the way Cindy decorated the family room! So bright and so cute!

Our stay ended up being shorter than we originally hoped. We moved in the first week of July, and moved out mid-August. However, that short month and a half was such a blast. Lots of eating out and lots of 30 Rock. The house is right across the street from the new park in Alpine. We went on bike rides and played lots of tennis (Jason had a big job on his hands teaching me the game). I remember playing tennis one time with my friend Amy and we left after 30 minutes of frustration...never being able to return the ball back to each other. Yeah...we had no idea what we were doing!

Jason on his beach cruiser...you can see the tennis courts in the back.

We also lived just down the street from Jason's parents. Literally, a five minute walk...if that. We had lots of tennis dates with them. George and Nancy are actually dang good at tennis. They could totally kick our butts! It was really fun.

Lots of fun memories at the Tadje house!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Wisdom Teeth

WARNING: The following pictures are very graphic in nature and may not be appropriate for children under 13.

Okay, they may not be graphic but they are definitely disturbing.

So, it was finally time for me to get my wisdom teeth out. I was supposed to get them out in 2007, but then I left for BYU-Hawaii and we didn't talk about it afterwards. Jason really wished I had gotten them out then...that way it wouldn't have been our responsibility to cover the bill...but that is the price you pay for negligence and procrastination.

The day finally came. I think I went to the place called Wisdom Teeth Only? Pretty sure. Anyways, I totally recommend going there. I had to get all four of mine out and two were impacted. It only took them 20 minutes. They sat me in the chair, put the IV in my arm, started putting a bib under my chin and I was completely out! I woke up, half asleep, in the car when Jason stopped at Walgreens to pick up my pain medication. I felt loopy and swollen, but totally fine.

On the way home...you can tell I'm out of it

I spent the rest of the weekend sleeping (a lot), watching TV, and attempting to eat. I had an array "drinkable" foods like applesauce, soup, Jamba Juice, and my favorite...chocolate pudding! It almost seemed like a holiday with all of the chocolate pudding I got to eat. I'm not going to lie, it was a little challenging to eat. The pain wasn't too bad because Jason was AMAZING at keeping me to my medication schedule. I only felt nauseous once! I was back to work Tuesday afternoon (4 days later). It did take me a good week or so before I was really comfortable eating solid foods...I was afraid it would never feel the same again, but my gums back there finally healed and before I knew it I was back to eating hamburgers, pizza, and all of that healthy stuff. The only problem now is the food that gets trapped there in empty space. Yum!

Here I am in all of my glory:

The glamorous chin bib! A recovering essential!

Jason's amazing wrapping skills...so cute

I was pretty tired and pretty out of it at first

Real nice, Jason...thanks

Oh yeah, I had a real puffer!

Back to the "Jason was AMAZING" comment...He seriously was! He always made sure I had an elevated bed ready for me, whether it was in the bedroom or on the couch. He set a timer for himself for the middle of the night (I had to take the pills every 3 or 4 hours) so he could wake me up, take the gauze out of my mouth with his own fingers, put fresh gauze in, change the ice packs for new ones, re-wrap the beautiful head wrap, and help me drink the pills down. The gauze was so nasty but he never complained! I felt so grateful to him. He really is the sweetest husband ever...I can't wait to see him as a dad!

Here are some nice shots from Sunday dinner at the Grubers:

Jason and his fireworks

Yeah...I looked like a monster...so I had some real fun chasing the kids around like a zombie:

The weekend of my recovery was over the 4th of July weekend, which made it nice for getting work off...but not so nice going out in public. Overall, however, it went pretty well. I tagged along but didn't contribute much as you can imagine. We spent the morning with the Grubers. We went to the Provo parade, had lunch at the fair set up there, and went to Bridal Veil Falls. In the afternoon, we met up with my family for the Sandy parade, a firework show in Sandy, and our own firework show at home.

Even though everything went smoothly (with no dry sockets), can I just say I'm so glad that is over and I never have to do that again?!?

Sunday, January 8, 2012

June 2011

June was just as exciting and busy as May....can I just say that I love summer? Even though it is stressful always being behind on my blog, it is fun to reflect back on all of the things we did and the places we went. While generally Jason and I feel like we are a boring, do-nothing couple, I look back at our photos and our calendar and realize we've had a jam packed year full of fun things and blessings!

Here is our June list of events:

1. Painting the Arbon's garage: While I was dreading and unhappy about the request to help with the garage painting, it turned out to be quite fun and very fulfilling. Thank goodness Jason was there...he's kind of a big deal when it comes to painting. He knows how to handle a brush! He seriously saved the day and made the process a lot quicker.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Notice: The door is cream color in this picture...since this picture, my mom painted it a deep red. It looks awesome.

2. Father's Day: Our first experience with an at-home Smoker. It was delicious!! My dad went to town, making pork shoulder, smoked chicken, beef brisket, ribs, you name it. It's a long process (requiring him to put meat in at 3 or 4 in the morning sometimes), but SO worth it! Some of the best meat I've ever had! We have one of those old yellow playhouses in the back yard that he keeps the smoker in....so cute...his own little Smokehouse! Since getting the smoker, my dad has made several feasts with it and it is always a treat and makes it feel like a special occasion.

3. Girl's Night Out: I had a girl's night out with the girls from Customer Marketing. So fun! We got dessert at Yogurtland and watched The Proposal at Brittany's house. Such a fun night.

4. Date night with Bri & Brad: I'm really close with my cousin, Bri, from Idaho; however, I hardly ever get to see her anymore. To our delight, they were in town one weekend for a business convention and so we met up for dinner at the amazing Rodizio Grill! It was especially fun because both Brad and Jason served their missions in Brazil. Just the kind of food they love!

5. Jaleah's Birthday Bash: A day at Seven Peaks and dinner at the Indian Palace.

6. Utah County Parade of Homes: Especially amazing homes this year!

7. Red Lobster: We had the pleasure of eating at Red Lobster, thanks to a gift card from work.

8. Date Night with Alisha & Kerstin: We had a fun FHE date at Alisha's house...we played Dance Central (I believe) on the Kinect. Such a hoot! Jason was especially good...too bad the video won't upload...it's hilarious!

9. Sheryl Crow Concert: Again, thanks to Vivint we were given four tickets to the Sheryl Crow Concert at the Butte Gardens in Salt Lake. Jaleah and Mark were able to come with us and we had a blast. Sheryl is dang good live! It was kind of funny...the crowd was full of drunk, middle-aged hippies. Quite a site.

We got there a little late, so not exactly the best view...However, we enjoyed our spot because we could lay down and enjoy the shade.

Mark & Jaleah

10. Date Night with Nate & Sarah: Watched Super 8, had pizza in the park, and enjoyed Coldstone.

11. Hiking in Provo Canyon: We don't do a whole lot of hiking...or anything physical for that matter, ha...but this was definitely a gorgeous and fun day.

Pictures of a whole lot of nothin'

12. Visits to our new favorite park: Timpanogos Park

June....completed!

Ode to Summer Birthdays

We celebrate lots of family birthdays during the summer! I figured I would just knock them all out with one post. Let's begin:

June 3 - Kimberly's birthday