Valentine's was wonderful. Tony made Amanda steak and potatoes and we had a nice, quiet, candle-lit dinner at home. Things are going very well. We're both busy with work; we both really love our jobs. We're looking forward to getting up to Salt Lake to visit Amanda's family soon. We feel so blessed.
December 2012
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas. All of Tony's family spent Thanksgiving with us. We had so much fun seeing everyone, playing board games, sleeping in, eating some yummy food, and being together as a family. We spent Christmas with Amanda's family in Salt Lake. We had a blast going snow tubing in the mountains, opening up presents, going to the movie theaters, and celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We look forward to ringing in the New Year and having many adventures together in 2013. We feel so blessed to live in our wonderful small town and be so close to both of our families. Life is wonderful and we look forward to opening up our home to a child through the miracle of adoption someday.
October 2012
Life is going well for us. We recently bought a home on an acre lot with a beautiful view of the mountain valley in our little town. Our new home is kitty corner to Tony's sister, brother-in-law, and their six kids. We are so excited to live so close to them! Tony is loving his job working as the deputy district attorney. Amanda started teaching special education and is having a blast! She has the sweetest kids and awesome co-workers. We will be hosting Thanksgiving with Tony's family this year in our new home. It will be a lot of people (he has 6 siblings and LOTS of nieces/nephews) but we are super excited to spend the holidays with them. We love seeing our families! They mean so much to us and we love spending time with them. We are so happy to live here in Lincoln County. Life is good. :)
August 2012
It has been a very busy summer. . . time has flown! We had a family reunion with Amanda's family at Cathedral Gorge State Park here in Lincoln County, Nevada. We had a great time visiting the museums in the area and exploring all of the beautiful nature here in our hometown. In addition, Tony's sister, brother-in-law, and their six kids moved to our little town. We are so happy to have them here so close to us, along with Tony's other brother, sister-in-law, and their daughter. Amanda finished up her summer job at Cathedral Gorge State Park and is busy getting her classroom ready for the next school year (she'll be teaching special education at a local elementary school). Tony took the bar exam in July and is very happy it's over. :) We celebrated our 7th anniversary August 4th by going to the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, Utah, one of our favorite places to visit each summer. We are also in the process of buying a home here in Pioche and are hoping to be able to move in the next few weeks. We love life in our small little town of 800. There is a great sense of community here. We feel very blessed! We are looking forward to the day that we can share the love that we have for each other with a child of our own.
May 2012
Life is going well for us. Amanda was able to get a job as an elementary teacher starting in the Fall at Caliente Elementary. She also got a job as a seasonal park ranger at Cathedral Gorge State Park. She loves seeing all of the wildlife on a daily basis; the cottontail bunnies are her favorite. :) Tony is enjoying his job as the new Deputy District Attorney here in Lincoln County. He loves what he does and enjoys his co-workers. We have enjoyed several visits from Tony's family since moving here and are looking forward to a family reunion with Amanda's family in June. We love the small town life; there are two reservoirs within 20 miles of our home that we love to visit. We feel very blessed and hope to be able to expand our little family through adoption soon. Life is good!
Mid-February 2012
What a whirlwind few weeks it's been! We just got into Caliente last weekend but have found a better place to rent in Pioche, NV, where Tony will be working. It's very beautiful and picturesque. It has a fun old western town feel to it. We have found a great little house to rent; we plan on renting for a few months and then plan on purchasing a home in the near future in the area. So far we are loving the small town life! We went to a yummy Mexican restaurant in Alamo for Valentine's day. It's about 55 miles away from Caliente. The drive back was so beautiful; the stars were simply amazing. As we were driving back on the solitary, peaceful road we saw a group of 4-5 wild horses! There was a really stunning white horse with 3-4 gorgeous brown horses. It was so surreal. Tony is loving his job and Amanda is having fun getting all settled in to the new area. The people have been very friendly. We feel so blessed to be in this area with a good, stable job and a wonderful new community.
February 2012
We are in the process of moving to our new hometown of Caliente, NV. We drove across the country from DC last week. On the way out we were able to stop in St. Louis, MO, and go to the top of the arch and see the views from above. It was incredible! We hit a large snowstorm in Denver, which was crazy given that we were pulling a U-haul with our car. We were able to spend some time in Caliente over the weekend and attend church. The people were very welcoming to us and made us feel right at home. We are currently in Salt Lake City, UT, visiting Amanda's family. We will head down to Caliente and start settling in this weekend. Life is good!
January 2012
We're moving! Tony has accepted a position as a prosecutor in Lincoln County, Nevada. We will be moving to the area towards the beginning of February. We will be moving to a really small town (less than 1000 people.) We will be 2.5 hours to Tony's family in Las Vegas and 5 hours to Amanda's family in Salt Lake. We are really looking forward to this new chapter in our lives!
Thanksgiving was wonderful; we were able to spend it with Amanda's grandparents and parents in South Carolina. It was a wonderful time spent with family. At Christmas Tony's sister Lauralyn and her husband Joseph and their kids, as well as his brother Sam, came out to DC to spend the holidays with us. We had a great time with them!
October 2011
September 2011
Being so far from home we decided to send a picture wishing Amanda's mom a happy birthday. We went to one of our favorite restaurants from back home in Utah, Cafe Rio, that has opened some locations in VA. Good times!
Late August 2011
Early August 2011
We are finally settled into our new apartment. We celebrated our 6th anniversary on the 4th by going to dinner at a restaurant in DC, and then heading up to Pennsylvania to meet a guy who was driving our dog Harry across the country from Salt Lake. He was supposed to arrive around midnight, but due to traffic he didn't end up arriving until 6am! It was quite the adventure, with Tony falling asleep in the car in the Walmart parking lot, and Amanda reading magazines and books until she got really tired. Then she went inside and chatted with the Walmart greeter for a few hours until he arrived. She's always loved getting to know people and can talk to just about anyone!
Harry is enjoying his new digs, sleeping 23 hours/day as is his habit. Amanda starts back to work next week teaching 4th grade at an inner-city school. Tony is loving his new job as a criminal prosecutor in DC. He's already had 3 trials and will surely have more to come. We went on a date last Saturday to a National Cemetery in Alexandria. It was very peaceful there and sobering at the same time, seeing all of the military headstones. It really makes us appreciate the freedoms we enjoy.
Amanda found a community symphony to join and will start on Wednesday. She's really excited about it. Thursday is our stake temple night; it will be Tony's first time to the DC temple. Amanda has been there once before, many years ago. Life is good!
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| Tony asleep in the car at the Walmart parking lot waiting for Harry to arrive from his cross-country road trip |
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| Harry settling into his new digs |
July 2011
We just got into the DC area last week. Tony has started a position as a criminal prosecutor and Amanda will be teaching 4th grade. It's been great to be so close to DC and all of the sights there are to see there! We're really excited for this new adventure in our lives!
