Happy Leap Day!

"Leap day is an extra day to tell someone you love them"

{...and yes, I was the women in the bulk isle last night scooping out ONLY the green gum drops...}

BIG NEWS FOR THE GOULD'S.

WE ARE MOVING TO SALEM, OREGON!!! While I was in Virginia, Paul received some very, very, VERY good news. He was offered a job at Garmin to work as an Aviation Software Engineer. Of course he said YES to the job offer and he is so excited to start working for such a great company. This is the dream job that Paul has been waiting for ever since graduation {...10 months ago...} and it was most definitely worth the wait. I guess this makes us official adults :)

Paul's first day of work is March 5th, so life has been a little scrambled as of late. We have been figuring out where we are going to live, what day we are going to move, and all that good stuff. We went to Salem this past week and we were able find an nice apartment in a great location. Luckily, we still have a majority of our things in boxes from our last move so that will speed up the moving process. I am transferring to the Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Salem. It will be fun for me to learn the ins-and-outs of a new store and to meet new co-workers. Everything is coming together just as we would've hoped.

It is going to be so cool to go exploring in Salem and find out what the city has to offer. Neither of us has ever lived in a state capitol before...so that will be an adventure in itself. We are excited to find out what the future has in store for us :)

Faces of home :)

My trip to Virginia was lots and lots of fun. The main reason I was in Virginia was to support my sister as she starred in her senior year musical "Wonderful Town". So it made total sense for my mom to put me straight to work finishing last minute musical preparations as soon as I got off the plane. My family arrived the next day and we got to go to the park and enjoy the BEAUTIFUL east coast weather. All four siblings were together again and that always makes for a good time and lots of laughs. It was so great to see my little nephew walking :) He's so cute!!! I was also able to see so many other people that I absolutely adore!!! It was so good to be home and to catch up with all of my family and friends.

AND I could not be a prouder big sister of this girl. She sang her little heart out on stage every night of the musical. 

Valentine's day layover.

Most people would hate to look at their flight itinerary and realize that they have a FOUR hour layover at the airport while traveling. Usually I am like most people. I like to get from point A to point B as quick as possible, but not this time. I am so happy that I had the chance to be in Salt Lake City with just enough time to leave the airport and spend time with one of my favorite people...Jeanette Alice Travis. What made the day even more special was that it was Valentine's day. In my opinion, if you can't see your husband on Valentine's day, your best friend is a good substitute :) It was so great to catch up, swap life stories and of course laugh together {it's what we do best}. Jeanette surprised me by wearing her "maid-of-honor" dress. She wanted to remind me of that special day back in August of 2010. She gave me a valentine too. She is the best valentine ever!!! We had fun at Wendy's seeing all the cute old couples out to lunch on Valentine's day and we also got to witness some crazy dumpster diving. As she was dropping me back off at the airport, I was hoping that somehow I wouldn't make it back through security because then I would have to stay with her longer!!!

Saturday golf lessons.

Paul and I had lots of fun on Saturday hitting golf balls down at the high school soccer fields. It's way better than going to a golf course in my opinion. All you have to do is just hit the golf ball and watch how far it goes...not trying to make it go into a tiny hole. It's a great time for me to practice my oh so wonderful golf swing. Paul already has his swing down pat :) 

One of the first things I learned about Paul when we started dating was that he LOVES golf. Whether he is playing the game on a golf course or hitting practice shots down at the soccer field or just watching it on TV...he loves it so much!!! Last year for Valentine's day he bought me a cute pink golf club set so I could learn to play golf and so he could always have a golfing partner. I didn't mind because I love the color pink and I think it's fun to try new things. It has been fun {and a little frustrating} over the past year as I have learned to play golf. It was also fun to have one-on-one golf lessons with Paul.

 

This year, Valentine's day is going to be a little different. On Tuesday, I'm flying to Virginia for a whole week for my little sister's musical and Paul is staying here in Oregon. We decided that it's definitely cheaper for just one person to fly. I'm really sad that we won't be together but I'm so happy that we were able to celebrate Valentine's day early by spending time together over the weekend when we were hitting golf balls. Plus, absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Tonight, we had Family Home Evening and Paul's dad gave a lesson about love. It was very appropriate seeing as Valentine's day is coming up. During the lesson he had us write down characteristics and abilities of our spouse. I thought it would be fun to share the lists that Paul and I made. And it's good to write this kind of stuff down so it's recorded for memory's sake.

Emily: forgiving, smiley, responsible, 

good seamstress skills, social, smart, 

cute and sensitive, crafty, finds good deals with coupons, 

goal-oriented, family-oriented, and organized.

Paul: really Smart, always wants to cheer me up when I'm sad,

fixer-upper handy man, works hard, service-oriented, 

worthy priesthood holder, funny, good listener, good singer, 

loves his family and me, and forgiving.

Happy day of love y'all :)

we bought a zoo...just kidding!

But I must say it sure feels like we did. For the past nine days we have been house-sitting and pet-sitting. Let's just say that Paul and I have definitely learned a few things about taking care of animals. I grew up with lots of cats at my house and Paul's family had two dogs and a couple cats...but nothing compares to over a week with 4 dogs, a cat, a rabbit and a turtle. Here are just a few pictures from the past little while. Some of the animals were bashful and didn't like my camera :)