Oscar & Annie

I'm an Auntie...how crazy does that sound!

2008-12-30T12:44:00.005-07:00

Meet my new nephew...

Matthew Bushman Young

Born morning of December 23, 2008

7 lbs 1 oz, 20 in.

Isn't he so cute. This is my younger brother Greg and his wife Maria's first baby. This was their christmas present after 12 hours of labor and finally getting a C-Section, out came this bundle of joy. Born completely healthy and is the spitten image of my brother Greg, with Maria's nose. This is the only picture I have of him right now sent to me via picture message on my phone. Once my sister-in-law sends me some more photos, I will post them.

I wish I could have been there. Congratulations you guys.

This is Dad being a new grandpa. Sorry for such bad quality, this one is from my phone as well, sent to me from Walker (another younger brother). Titled: The New Gramps.

Welcome to the world kid. :)

Moving back...

2008-12-03T16:22:00.022-07:00

Wouldn't you know it. Just when you've convinced yourself there's still hope, life goes and throws you another curve ball. I waited forever to mail everyone our new address because everytime I gave our address to someone we ended up moving the next week. And so I got brave and mailed our recent address since we were sure we weren't going anywhere. Right. Well that didn't work. Actually the address will still be correct, at least for Oscar it will be. But unfortunately our plans have changed and it will be me that is moving. That's right, I'm coming back to Utah, but I'm coming alone.

As it turns out, things are just not working as quickly as we had planned down here. The economy is just so different. Oscar has a great job and he will stay here in Puerto Vallarta to keep advancing his cooking career. I have looked around at jobs down here but still nothing. UCMT (my school) and the Mexican Consulate in Utah told me I didn’t need anything but a work VISA and that I had to get a job first and the job would help me get the VISA. So I have been waiting and finally I had an interview last week and they told me that I have to get the VISA first and then certified here in Mexico, but even after that they still prefer someone of a local Mexican Nationality to be working for them over a foreigner. So even if I got the paperwork after another 3 or 4 months, got the job if they decided to accept an American, who knows if they wouldn't fire me if a Mexican Therapist wanted my position. It was a little upsetting. Who am I kidding...it was heart breaking.

So after a very serious discussion between Oscar and my family and lots of tears later, we have decided that it would be best for me to make a living in the US for now and we'll just have to go back to our original plan to doing Oscar's paperwork from the US. Yes, that means we'll be apart again but this time we have a better plan to bring him to the states and are more prepared. With me being done with school, I can focus all my energy in working as much as possible so we can finally afford to get him working legally in the US. Its going to be hard but if we stay here, who knows when I can actually work. We're just stuck in a hole here. I wish I didn't have to go because we love it here and I don’t want to leave him again, but we really have no choice if we really want to have a future. There was a possibility that things could've worked here but it was just taking way too long. Sometimes you have to change your plans even if you don't want to. As long as we both stay positive and focused and keep a prayer in our hearts, this will be over in no time. The good thing is I will get to come back home to so many friends and family that I have missed so much. And technically I can come back and see Oscar anytime I want.

So we're planning for me to be back sometime during the week of Christmas. I will keep you all posted on when I get home for sure.

Okay...enough sad news. On a happier note, here are some photos of the memories I've had over the last 5 months of being in Mexico. I'll post the rest of them on facebook later, if you want to see more.

The first weekend I arrived, we had a picnic with the family and played games at the park.

We brought Mia along since she'd never been to a park before. She loved it.

Our favorite pass time at Oscar's parents house...playing with the puppies. Mia (left) and Oso (right) both got a version of Parvo. They were so sick...especially Oso. He was so skinny in this picture, poor guy almost didn't make it. They are good and healthy now.

This is when we finally got to Puerto Vallarta. We came just to scope the place out and ended up staying for a week and just playing. It was great...like the honeymoon we never got.

Isn't it just beautiful...the sunset...not me.

Yes...this is a Pirate Ship. It didn't have all its sails up that day, but this is the ship that runs a show every night real close to the beach. You can hear it from our house and they shoot off fireworks towards the end, everynight. Its kinda cool.

Behind us is the central part of Puerto Vallarta. The apartment we're in now, is somewhere right behind our heads.

Yea...I couldn't resist. Actually this was Oscar's idea.

Ain't he cute...just check out that shirt tan.

They really do have the most gorgeous sunsets I've ever seen. We came during the rainy season so the clouds made it even more beautiful.

Me...dancing with a statue. I just decided to cut in.

These statues are on the main walkway through town central. It's right along the edge of the beach (the beach is right behind me...so in front of Oscar). But there are these funny statues that are like cartoon chairs with feet and faces. It's like your sitting in their laps. Of course, Oscar had to pick the most provocative one to take a picture in.

Oscar...just chillin at the beach on his day off.

These are all the guys in the kitchen at Oscar's work. The one on the far right is Chimi, the head chef. The one with the blue cap behind Oscar is Igor, a chef who visited from Switzerland. They are the coolest guys.

Help a blogger out...

2008-09-13T11:35:00.004-07:00

Ok...this is for all you fellow bloggers out there. Where do you all get your cute backgrounds??? I have looked everywhere and all I can seem to find are glitter and funky art kind of backgrounds or the normal boring type that I already have on here. Where do you find the cute patterns with cool colors? I must know, I need to add some color to our blog! It´s so boring lately. Something must change. Please help. If you have any advice or ideas or would like to share how your blog looks so cute...please comment or email with your ideas. I would love to know. Thanks guys.

2008-08-27T18:24:00.002-07:00

We did it!!! Oscar and I are in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, MEXICO. We have a cute little apartment and its perfect for just us and the dogs. It's absolutely beautiful here but humid like you wouldn´t believe. But we are very happy to be following our dreams right now. We had a nice vacation for about a week to catch up on lost time, including our anniversary, but now we´re off to work. Oscar got a job in a restuarant right on the beach, as a cook...and I am headed off to find me a job in a resort. Anyways...I just wanted to send you all a quick hello so everyone knew we are alive and well. We miss you all and thank you for your prayers and blessings. I will post pictures later. We don´t have internet yet but I will try to keep the blog updated as much as possible. Also I don´t have a phone yet and it seems to be easier to find a computer to use and cheaper than calling internationally, so please email or post comments on here if you want to contact us. Thanks everyone.

I will miss you all...

2008-08-12T05:56:00.002-07:00

THE COUNTDOWN IS OVER!!!!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me over the last couple of weeks to get me on my way. I will always be grateful for all the support and friendship I've had over the last year. As I've told a lot of you, this is a bittersweet move for me since I'm leaving one family to gain another. Wether friends or real family, there is a special place in my heart for each of you. I love you all and I will not forget the fun memories and will keep in touch. It might be a week or more before I get online to post again so I just wanted to say a quick goodbye to everyone once more. Ok I'm off to Mexico! Wish me luck!

IT'S FINALLY OVER!!!

2008-08-01T12:00:00.002-07:00

Last night I had my last class, and I am officially done!!! I can't believe it's already been a whole year. But it's finally over. And I did it all with a 4.0 GPA...I know that makes me a little bit of a nerd...but I don't care....I worked hard for it! Graduation is on the 8th (next Friday)...and then I only have about 10 days before I leave for Mexico. I can't wait.

Thank you, to all the friends and family who supported me and allowed me to work on them to practice, I appreciate it.

I especially want to thank my husband, Oscar. I could never have asked for a better companion to share life with. Gracias por tu apoyo y paciencia conmigo en mi escuela y todo. Gracias por tu carino...te amo tanto y te extrano mucho! Nos vemos muy pronto mi corazon.

Remember When...

2008-07-17T23:10:00.002-07:00

Ok....I got this from a friend's blog and thought I'd give it a try....be gentle. :) jk. Feel free to comment on either Me or Oscar or both.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Soon to be reunited...

2008-07-16T14:09:00.003-07:00

That's right everyone...for those of you who don't know, I will be leaving to Mexico in less than 1 month. I officially drive off, with what little belongings I will still have left, to Mexico to meet Oscar at the border on August 12th. I will be Graduating from the Utah College of Massage Therapy program on August 8th. I can't believe it's already been a year.
And sorry for those fellow bloggers who actually take the time out of their busy lives to update their websites...we had some minor set backs and I have been really out of the loop on things. But I will go back and update later on what was missed out on.
But for a quick recap, Oscar got really sick last year and after many expensive doctor visits and hospital bills and no change we decided it was time to send him home to his family. So Oscar left for Mexico in October '07 while I stayed behind to finish school. I went to go visit him in December and stayed for a month through the holidays, and loved it. So now that I'm done with school, I am heading down to Mexico so we can be together again and I can take my massage practice there to work. We're not sure on how long yet, because it all depends on when we can get his paperwork through so Oscar can get residency for the U.S.
So it could be anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. We'll see. But it's important that I get updated emails, blogs, or whatever for everyone, so I can keep you all posted on how things go. Now that I will be done with school and getting to work as a Massage Therapist I will have plenty of free time to keep this blog updated...Sorry again guys! So please get a hold of me if you read this, so I can visit you before I leave. I love you all.

Going back to school

2007-06-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ok I am so excited!!! I have decided to go back to school and get a degree in Massage Therapy at UCMT. Kinda crazy but I can't even tell you how thrilled I am. I already have a ton of friends who want to be my clients! Who'da thunk?? But its going to be great. I get a table to keep and am already enrolled with financial aid. So if you check this out and would like a massage in the future or know of someone who wants one please feel free to leave comments or call or email or whatever. I can't wait!!!!!!!!

Newest Photos

2007-06-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

These are our most recent photos that we had taken for our anniversary. We drove up to Little Cottonwood Canyon and James, my bro, snapped some great shots for us that now I can frame. He is amazing. For those who don't know he also did our shots for our engagements and the wedding. There is a link to James' website in the "Please Also Visit..." section on this page. Feel free to check it out.

This one is our favorite...

...this is a close 2nd fav if only the light wasn't on my face like that but we were sitting in a bunch of trees and it was really hard to keep it from doing that...

...We barely even got this shot. We couldn't stop laughing because I was falling off of the tiny little rock I was trying to keep my big butt on, but also a favorite...

...And I just love feet shots for some reason, but let me tell ya, it's hard to see it here but we are standing on the shore of a river and the water was all over our toes and was FREEZING!!

1 Year Anniversary

2007-06-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it, ONE whole year! My how the time flies. Things have changed so much over the last year as you can see in this blog, it has been a series of adventures one after another. But the love we have for each other, has grown far beyond what we could have ever expected and we continue to find new reasons to fall in love with each other everyday. This is my small dedication to my wonderful Husband and best friend. Gracias a Dios que "me salvaste del enfierno." Te amo con todo mi corazon. Soy tuyo por siempre y por eternidad. Happy Anniversary!

Here are the pictures from our anniversary trip. We decided to go camping up in Lodgepole for the weekend, it was a lot of fun and just what we needed.

We're such tourists...but hey it was still neat to see deer cross the road right in front of us. It was so peaceful. It made a great start to our trip.

Max cracks me up. He always has to sit in my lap, I swear he thinks he's a cat.

We headed up to Strawberry Resevoir to go fishing and rented a boat...isn't that lake so serene.

What a cute lil' fish. I caught it about 20 mins after we got on the water, Oscar was so mad... he wanted to catch the 1st one but I beat him to it. hehe! I know its a little crazy me, the Feesh, catching a Fish, but I can't help it, it's fun!

So Oscar drove the boat determined to catch a fish...

...I sat back enjoying the fresh air and a little sun...

...and poor Max just wanted to go pee! Unfortunately we didn't catch any other fish even though we were out there for 6 hrs, but Oscar got a nice dark tan and I got a scolding sunburn on my knees. Good times. Really though it was a great get away from the stress and the phones and tv and everything else. We love getting to experience nature and to just spend time with each other without all the distractions.

Feliz Navidad...our First Christmas as a new family.

2006-12-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas! We miss you all and hope each of you are having a wonderful time with your families. We are having our first Christmas in the new house in Sandy, Jessica, Oscar, and I, and Max of course. So this is our first artificial tree all decorated, we were so proud, and our first nativity set.

This is also Max's 1st Christmas so we wrapped up all his new toys and bones and let him rip them open. He loved it, it was so cute.

That bone was huge but it didn't take him long to get it into peices later.
And as you can see the stuffing already all over the floor from his favorite toy. He had one of those before and he loved to rip it up and this one he had ripped up in less than 20 mins. So much for that.
This is Jessica's gift from us. A small fridge she can keep in the basement just for herself. She was so excited, as you can see, she was hugging it.
Since we were in Utah and everyone else was in California, except Mike who is in Ohio on his mission, we decided to do a webcam on the laptops to have Christmas together, sort of. So this is them in Cali. (L to R: Mom, Dad, & Walker)

Christmas at Gram's

After our small celebration we headed over to Grandma Smith's house for our yearly 'Presents at Gram's' Party, where we get to visit with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins that are close by. All the decorations you see here were all done by Osar and I. Doesn't it just look great?

Gram does this by herself though, it's her cute lil' village that she puts up every year.

Aunt Shelley, Me & Gram

The back of Gram & Oscar by the tree.

So this is my cute new lil' cousin Mckenzie, ain't she a doll! I can't believe how big she is. And I'm also holding their lil' yorky Shelby, she's a riot.

This tiny little furball is the newest of the yorkies. He's soo cute.

Mckenzie stealing all the attention. She's just such a good baby.

The two littlest cousins, Mckenzie and Bailee trying to get along.

Cousin Heath with Shelby and the new lil guy. Look how much Mckenzie looks like her Daddy!

We're getting Married today!

2006-06-03T00:24:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! We are actually getting married. I just wanted to say how happy I am that I get to marry Oscar, the love of my life. I better go to sleep since it's so late but I just wanted to post this before the wedding. When we get back from California I will post all the pictures from the wedding and the trip. Love you all. YEA!!!! Te amo, corazon.

Oye...Que Beso!

2006-02-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all! This is Oscar and I's first Valentine's together being engaged. We are so excited. He surprised me with all kinds of fun stuff, when I got home from work my room was full of balloons, roses, chocolates, stuffed animals. It was so cute. I hope everyone has a wonderful Day!

We're Engaged

2005-12-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

So Merry Christmas for 2005. We decided for awhile now that we were going to get married but we didn't know exactly when we were going to announce it to my family. Yesterday was Christmas Eve and we decided to tell my family before everyone left to go to bed. It was kinda scary and we were so nervous, but Jessica knew and helped us brake the news. It went pretty well though. So it's official and it made it the best Christmas ever for me!

Just some random pictures from my phone

2005-12-19T03:47:00.000-07:00

Ok I really can't even remember what was so stinkin' funny...but I think it was Pony who made me laugh and took this shot with my camera phone. Such a kandid moment...I had to throw it on here.

This is Pony looking so cute as always. For those of you who don't know her she is the sexiest woman alive and my roommate. She is one of my best friends and we go to USU together. I love her so much. She looks like she's up to something!

Don't you just love this picture!! I took it when all of us were at the outlet malls in Park City. This is our friend Shad doing a leapfrog over another friend Lil' Jake and I snapped this shot while he was in mid-air like this....isn't that awesome. They are such dorks....but I still love you guys.

Oscar's Baptism

2005-12-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

YEA!! Oscar has officially been baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I didn't even know he was planning it until about a week ago. I knew he had been talking with the missionaries and taking the dicussions but I wasn't expecting it so soon. We were sitting at someone else's baptism and he asked me what I was doing the following Saturday, because there was another baptism to go to. I asked who's it was and he said HIS. It was such a wonderful surprise. The Elders who tought him are the greatest! They are the funniest guys and couldn't have been better for Oscar. It truly shows that the Lord knows and puts people in the right places at the right times. What a blessing! (photo left to right: Eler Rodriguez, Nacho (our friend that baptized him), Oscar (he looks so happy), and Elder Grouber.)

Sancho

2005-11-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited!! So this is my new car a 1998 Nissan Altima, parked outside of my apartment in Logan, UT. Thank goodness I got rid of the other mess I was driving. He is an amazing car and has been named Sancho. (Don't ask...I just thought it would be funny.) This was my other car the 91 Mercury Sable that was tore up, although this was taken when I first got it so it looked nice.

2005-10-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Gotta love it....so cheesy but cute. We were in Salt Lake for a choir concert of mine. We have only been dating since July but I love this cute lil guy.

2005 Summer Fun

2005-10-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

This summer Oscar and I started dating, and it has been a blast. We went to Bear Lake tons and camping with everyone. It was also when Lindsey and Jake's wedding was but I had to go by myself since he was working. But these are just some of the pictures since we have first started dating, and when we went camping with friends all the time, and also a bunch of pictures of all us friends during that summer when we went out digging, shooting & hiking.

Me and Oscar in the Walmart parking lot getting last minute supplies to head out to Bear Lake for the First time. This is our first picture together ever! Very cute huh?

Oscar being funny! He's such a goofball.

El flaco! Oscar at Bear Lake wearing my sunglasses. How cute.

Ok, Oscar took this picture. I hate it, but he loves it. Also taken at Bear Lake.

This is the whole gang (-1) at Jake and Lindsey's reception. It was such a fun day.
Front, L to R: Bunny-April Carroll, Rabbit-Markham Carroll, Panty or Panther-Jake Whitwer, Duck-Lindsey Whitwer, Beaver-Lance, Squirrel-Chelsea.
Middle, L to R: Feesh-Me, Hippo-Sarah Condie, Pony-Lindsey Davis.
Back, L to R: Chimp-Shad Sorenson, Turtle-Jake Mackey.

These next few pictures were taken in Salt Lake at or around the temple grounds, when we took Oscar there for the first time with Me and Jessica and James.

I love this picture.

Oscar took this shot of the temple.

Me and Pony when we went out shooting with the boys. It was so much fun...the 1st time I ever shot a gun.

Us girls getting the ride of our lives. Out diggin' in Lil' Jakes truck. Big Jake was driving, Lil Jake was on the motorcycle and Pony, Duck, Hippo and I were in the back getting thrashed around. It was so much fun. Oscar missed out.

My favorite roommate picture. (Front: Duck-Lindsey Whittwer, Back L to R: Pony-Lindsey Davis, Hippo-Sarah Condie, Feesh-Me)

Oscar loves this pic of me. This is during a camping trip with all the gang in Logan.

During that same trip there was a lake nearby that we decided to all jump in. As you can see we were FREEZING!!(L to R: Chimp, Hippo, Pony, Jakes girlfriend, Turtle, and the Feesh)

Shad Sorenson, Sarah Condie, Lindsey Davis, Jake's GF, Jake Mackey, & Me

Oscar the camarone was taking the picture.

Me and James at the beach in California. It was too cold to get in the water.

And of course a summer is not complete without some In-N-Out. I freakin' love this place. I miss it. I wish they had one in Utah.

Mi Novio!

2005-09-24T03:28:00.000-07:00

This is Oscar, my cute boyfriend. Ok these pictures were taken from my camera phone and are a little blurry, but I really like these pictures of him. He almost doesn't even look like himself. So we've been dating for awhile now but it's been so much fun. He is from Zacatecas, Mexico and has been in the US for about 10 months. He is so cute and has a thick accent but is learning English so fast. I have started to take up spanish again but half the time we can't understand each other so we use the computer to help translate. Funny huh? He plays soccer with the missionaries and maybe might be interested in the church but we'll see. But I really like him and he has already told me he loves me. Holy Cow! He's already talking about marriage. I told him we'll see. hehe.