Bryan & Brittney Austin

I passed this semester with flying colors. Two A's and an A-. A- was in Chemistry lab though so it was only one credit. Celebration time for sure. I have to admit I was quite concerned about Chemistry. I took it online and it was rediculously hard. So next semester will be Chemsitry 2 and Biology 2. Then the following semesters will all be at Utah State. YEAH!!

Christmas is coming up so fast it is only in two days. It is crazy to think. And still so much to do. I still have to finish the projects I am working on (a scrapbook cookbook for the sister and the quilt I am making for my mother and father in law), clean the house, small grcoery shopping (dip stuff for the workplace), go drop off friend's gifts, and all needs to be done before tonight.

We have some awesome traditions in my family. Every Christmas ever since I can remember, my family and I get to eat dinner together (mom's awesome and amazing Clam Chowder) , then we go down town for a carriage ride around temple square, then we return to my parent's house to open a pair of pajamas for all of us (even the hubby and brother in law), and we spend the night at my parents house. I love those traditions that we have. A lot of people have them and I think that it makes it so holidays and being with family are more memorable. I love the fact that because of the traditions that my parents have put in place with me and my sister I am able to remember them better and will start traditions of my own with my kids (whenever we have them) that will help them remember the special holiday season. It is my birthday also and I will be turning 25 this year. Crazy to even think I am even that old.

We had some pictures taken by Nancy, Bryan's cousin's wife, for Christmas cards and just because we wanted to. I know alert the media, Brittney in a pink shirt. They turned out really good. The only thing is that Olive would not hold still or look at the camera so we only got a few with her. But all in all they are some good ones of Bryan and I.
We are still waiting to hear when Olive girl will have her surgery to have the lumps removed and her to get fixed. I guess right now they just do not have the funds. All the schooling that is left this year for the semester is one more final in Biology on Monday and a take home final for Chemistry that is due next week. Other than that, all the same is the same. Here are the pictures that Nancy Patterson Photography took.

It has been a little too long again since I have posted and updated the world on our lives. So Bryan is working now from 3:00pm to 11:00pm on Sunday through Thursday with Fridays and Saturdays off. It has been kind of nice in the evenings to have time to really get things done around the house. Bryan can be a little distracting when it comes to getting things done. But lately I have been able to put the flannel sheets on the bed, clean the entire closet out, clean the crawl space out, finally get caught up on laundry and sock folding, go through my cedar chest and re-organize, and give each of the doggies baths. It has been nice to catch up on the little chores that do not always get done. We also had to replace our kitchen faucet due to I hated the old one. No, the cold water part of it would not turn on so we replaced it, I was not sad about that at all.
The cold weather has been a little jarring on us lately but things are good otherwise. Olive, the foster dog, just loves the snow. I have never seen a dog get so excited to run in the snow like her. The first snow "blizzard" we had I went to let her out of the house to go to the bathroom and she just stopped at the door when I opened it. I thought to myself, "Oh, she must not like the snow." She looked up at me with a little quizative look on her face. I said "Go on," and motioned to the outside cold. She flew out of the house, and I am not exaggerating. She flew out of the house, not even touching the steps and landed belly first in the snow. It threw me for a loop. She jumped and kicked like a little bucking bronco, throwing her head in each direction. She threw her head straight into the snow while running, covering her face with white flakes. When I finally did get her back into the house she was covered with snow and a grin on her face. (Some people say dogs cannot smile, but that is a lie if you have ever owned a truly happy dog.) She was like a fat kid in a candy store. It is so wonderful to watch her. Something as simple as a little snow, makes her day. I love watching her knowing she has had it so bad until we took her. She is really starting to act like a dog, which is with not a worry in the world.
Thanksgiving was great other than Bryan had to work Thanksgiving day. That was kind of suckie, but the food and company was excellent. I ended up just eating at my parents house since Bryan went to work at 3:00 pm. My aunt Pat and uncle Bryce came down from Idaho to share Thanksgiving with us this year. It was so great to get to know them both better. We do not get to see them very often and they are a hoot to be around. We a real blast with them.
Shopping was fun too. My mom did not make it out shopping real early like me, my aunt, and my sister. We went a lot of places and I got all our Christmas shopping done in one day and under budget, Woo Hoo.
Well Christmas is just around the corner again, and another birthday to celebrate. 25 years old this year. Good times. I am just grateful that I do not have to work two jobs right now to help pay our bills and we are doing good. We still have many goals in life that we are working towards and in the many years to come we will get to them, eventually.

1. Finish school- BOTH OF US!
I am currently pursuing my degree as a veterinarian . I want to transfer to Utah State University within the next year and finish my degree for a bachelors in Bioveterinary Science. Then apply to Washington State University and get accepted to do the extended learning program where I can do my first two years at Utah State University to then transfer for the last two years of veterinary school at Washington State University and someday get my PhD in Equine Sciences and become a large animal veterinarian with minors in feline and canine sciences. Bryan is still really deciding what he wants to be as far as school goes. He loves the electrician field but there are just not enough jobs out there for him to even work and he wants something a little more stable. I know though, whatever he wants to become he will be great at it because he is great at anything he puts his mind to.

2. Buy land in Idaho, sell our house, and build a new home together.
We really want to live on the rural side of the world and own land that we can build our own home on. We want to design, work on, and essential build our own home. Bryan knows how to do a lot of things and with the help of family and friends we are going to buy, sell, build, and move to rural Idaho where we can live the lives we want. Peaceful, country, and not so crazy with the madness of suburbia hell.

3. Have children.
Bryan and I both want to have children. We both love kids and really are excited about becoming new parents. But that excitement is dampened right now because we both want to wait until the right time to do so. I know, everyone says you will never be ready to have kids. Well, right now, we know it is not right for us. We are getting out of debt (bad debt, not like a house or car), still becoming a stronger couple (marriage wise), and making sure that the world is safe for children in our home. Our house is just not big enough for a family but is great for Bryan and I. We want to be able to give our children everything they need along with some of the things they want. Bryan and I really agree on how children should be raised and how you should love your children, be extremely involved in their lives, and keep them busy with extra activities that way they know they can try and do anything they put their minds to. I can only pray that I will be at least half the mother my mother has been to me. If that happens, then our kids will be fine. I have definitely had the best teachers, my parents.

4. Grow old together.
I want nothing more than to grow old with Bryan. I know we have our differences and arguments but that is all the things I truly love about him. He does not want me to be perfect or something that I am not. He loves me for who I am and I love him for everything he is and is not. He is not a bad man, he is good and loves with his heart. He is handy (which is great for things around the house I can not do by myself), tall (Woo hoo for me the short person), and everything a husband should be. He cares about my thoughts, wants, needs, and loves me even for my crazy antics. I love him for his imperfections, thoughts, and everything that is him. I am so excited that I get to share my life with someone that I want to share their life. I get to grow old with my love.

5. Keep our lives simple.
We are not complicated people by any means and we enjoy our lives together. We do not need the fancy cars, houses, or clothes to be happy. We want nothing more that a simple life in the country, raising babies, and growing old. Sounds simple enough.

Well, whenever the computer is fixed and I do not have to type this out at work, I will update this with photos of the latest. We get our pictures taken this weekend by one of Bryan's cousins and I am excited to see the out come. Later.

Wow! It has been a while since I updated the blog with the latest. Sad thing is, not much has changed. We still have Olive the rescue dog and she is doing great! She weighed about 19 pounds when she was brought in (that was her weight pregnant) and now she weighs 53.4 pounds as of Sunday. Bryan and I this last Sunday made a walk from our house to Petsmart. I drove the distance the next morning to see how far it was and the total distance was 7.6 miles. That is our longest in a while. I love walking. It is so much fun to walk different places and see how far it really is to the store. Olive had obviously went with us and she loved it. It wore her out which was good because the only bad thing about Olive feeling good is she has so much energy it is hard to make sure we wear her out each day. She has lab in her and she has so much energy to burn each day. She gets so hyper when I come home that she has given me bruises on my leg from where her tail wags so fast that she whips me with it. We adore her though and hopefully soon she will get fixed and we can find her a permanent home.
Bryan is working as a security guard for IHC still and is enjoying it still which is great. We are doing much better financially too which has made it so I am not so stressed all the time and can enjoy making Christmas presents, cleaning (I know I am weird, I enjoy cleaning the house and doing organization projects), and talk my doggies for more walks and just be able to relax. It has gotten a little cold at nights for our walks so we are not walking as much but I still enjoy the ones we do get to do.
School is going good for me. I feel like I am dominating the classes this semester. I am taking Chemistry and Biology I and next semester I will take Chemistry and Biology II before transferring to Utah State University and start their BioVeterinary Science Program. Then once that is done I will be able to apply to vet school. I really am excited and it feels like I am headed towards the right thing for once in my life. It will be a long road yet, but it is so worth it to do what I really want to do and what I love.
Bryan just turned 26 this last week. We had a birthday party for him on Saturday and it went great. We had clam chowder, ham and bean soup, and birthday cake. My mom is so awesome she got up early and made the bean soup, bought it all, and cooked it all with my help. Everyone but one couple came that we invited and it was great company. But Bryan ended the night with a bonk on the head and a thorn in his head to gush some blood. Bryan was playing hide and go seek in the front yard with the kids after it had gotten dark. He decided to hide behind the rose bush my parents have in their front yard. When he realized it was not a good place to hide, he jumped up to hide somewhere else, forgetting he had hidden under a huge branch, and hit his head smack dab in the middle. I was notified by the kids telling me he was gushing blood everywhere. I went outside thinking they had over reacted to his injury to find Bryan with blood running down his forehead, all over his hands, and his hair just drenched. We got him cleaned up just in time to say goodbye to everyone and call it a night. All in all it was a good birthday for him I think. I ever woke up early before going to class and made him bacon, biscuits, and banana chocolate chip pancakes. I even made him cupcakes to take with him to work on his birthday which was Wednesday.
We have not done a whole lot of movie watching lately. Well together anyways. Bryan works until 11:00pm and I leave at 7:00 am most days. We have seen a few though recently. Megamind was hilarious and we loved it. It was great! Good humor for both adults and kids and the plot was excellent. A recommended one for sure. Bryan did not get to see it because he had to work sadly same with the other one I saw recently. I went and saw Conviction which has Hilary Swank in it. She did an excellent job in it and it is another I would recommend to see. It was also very informative. I had no idea how many cases of men that were accused of murders they did not commit and had spent time in prison for that had there cases reopened to be found to be innocent. It was really interesting.
Well once I have time to reload my photo program onto our computer (that has a new hard drive now and has nothing on it that was before), I will update with some new photos.

Olive, the rescue dog, is doing great. She is really starting to look healthy and she is running and jumping and playing like a usual black lab. Last night she was so happy when I got home that she leaped off the porch and just started jumping and kicking. She reminded me of a bucking bull. She was exstatic to see me and she ran around the car, yard, and tree for her usual ritual of evening play. She does not like sirens though. Anytime one gets close she gets so upset and starts howling. She loves to sleep on the bed at night with Bryan and I and it is so cute. She is even really starting to warm up to Bryan which is great and she is making a lot of progress. Well, we will continue to update you with the adventures of our lives as they happen. It is short, but sweet.

Wow, a lot has been happening in the life of the Austins. First of all we are sad but oh so happy to report that Buddy, our foster dog, has found a permanant home with a little boy that just loves him. We are so excited he has a home now that will be great for him. We will definately miss the little guy though. Especially Bryan. He loved that little guy and had a hard time saying goodbye. He was sad a few days following too. But our purpose of being a foster family to help the dogs in a bad situation and get them a new home that is permanant and to get them out of the kennel and into a warm bed instead. Once the computer is fixed, I will post our last photo of us with Buddy.

Bryan is working and working hard might I add. He is really starting to get back into the swing of things again and is doing a good job. He is working extra hours and starting to be a better helper around the house. I love that man! He tries for us and I really do love him. Even when we get in a tiff and I think about throwing my shoe at his head, I still love him.

I have started school now. This semester is small with only two classes but they are biology and chemistry, so they are not exactly just easy mickey classes. But the best news of all, I am only down to one job now and that has made me a happy woman. I am not worn out, tired all the time, and I can actually take my dogs for walks again. I think they felt a little neglected. I had to get a new phone (free phone) to cut down on the phone bill. It costs about $30 each month to have the blackberry, so I said my farewells to that to save some cash. Also we have changed our internet provider to save a few bucks as well. Well, once the computer is running properly again, I will update with a few new photos.