January 2014

The first part of January was very brief as we spent it getting Mr. Mitchell ready to attend his fire academy boot camp in Texas. He flew out of Boise and we hardly heard a word from him due to the workload he had while at the boot camp.

Sprout and I were spoiled by my parents for two and a half weeks.Sprout loved his snuggle time with Grandpa, and I got to see more movies in two weeks than I have in the past two years combined.

Mr. Mitchell had the camera with him at the boot camp, and he wasn't able to take many, but there are some good ones. He was voted as one of two battalion captains which means he's in a red helmet. To be more specific: He is in the red helmet without the reflective patches. Hopefully that will help you spot him. 

Engine 5 getting a post-operational pat on the
back/chastisement from Instructor Hale. (He's the baldy.)

Full gear push-ups as punishment.

Class 158.

This high-rise pack weighs 50 lbs in addition
 to the 70lbs he was already wearing.

CPR on a hose baby.

Lunchtime.

Preparing for entry.

Mr. Mitchell completed the boot camp without any problems, and we just got word today that he aced his certification test, so he will get the following IFSAC seals:  Firefighter I (beginner), Firefighter II (intermediate), Hazardous Materials Awareness (beginner), and Hazardous Materials Operations (operational- meaning he can take care of small incidents and help on big ones). I'm a proud wife. Whether or not he pursues a career in structure fire is still up in the air as he currently has a good foot in with both the BLM and US Forest Service. 

Here are our Random January Treasures for the grandmas:

He LOVED being able to sit in mommy's work chair.

Excuse our dirty window, but I just love our view every night.

I took this video to show my sister that Sprout was learning how to use the present they gave him for his first birthday. He's much better at it now.

Sprout doesn't really sit and watch cartoons or movies, but he loves animation that has songs with it.

Genetics

I  have been in possession of a digital copy of Mr. Mitchell as a baby for quite some time now, and I have finally acquired a digital copy of myself as a baby. Now you get to tell me who Sprout looks most like in baby form...

Honestly, I don't think the picture I selected of Sprout shows how much he looks like either one of us, but I really think we're both in there. What do you think?

Anniversary #3!

Yesterday marked our three-year anniversary. It was a little different this year. I was able to get work off for the night, but Mr. Mitchell had to be in Idaho Falls all day for required classes so that he can be ready to go out on fires. Consequently, we split the event's celebrations into two different days.

Saturday we drove to Logan, UT to do sealings in the temple there while my sister's family played with C.G. We are going to try and do sealings on every anniversary because we want to help other couples and families have the blessing and joy of being families for eternity. Mr. Mitchell and I are not just together until 'death do us part.' We're together forever; it's a huge deal, and we want everyone to have it.

The temple was very busy with weddings. It was so fun to see all of the beautiful brides and the couples having their pictures taken. We found an opportunity to get our picture taken without someone else in it and we snatched it!

Beautiful day!

Afterwards we went to The Crepery because I had been craving it since I went there with my sister in February. Afterwards, we spent some time with the Smiths and then we had to head back so that I could be to work on time.

Yesterday, I got three balloons (one for each year, and in our wedding colors) and tied a candy bar to each one with a favorite memory (or perhaps a few!) from each year attached. I had them waiting in the bedroom with a bottle of sparking cider. Mr. Mitchell came home with a beautiful bouquet that looked almost like my wedding bouquet, and he even meant to do it! Super cool. We had a lovely evening together complete with dinner from Texas Roadhouse.

Partial aftermath of dinner and movie.

Balloons and bouquet.

We're looking forward to the rest of eternity!

Paul > Sabrina

Some of you may find this title odd and wonder what it means, some of you may be wondering where we disappeared to, and some of you may wonder why you even bother looking at our blog. I hope to address all three of these wonderings and if any of you are still left in confusion, let me know.

I will first start with where we disappeared to since some of you might not care and will just want it out of the way. I was in North Carolina assisting my brother's family and Mr. Mitchell was in Oregon taking down wildfires.

While I was in North Carolina I had internet access, but didn't much feel like blogging since every post would just be sonnets for Mr. Mitchell or me complaining about how much I miss Mr. Mitchell or how I had done something and wished Mr. Mitchell was there, etc. When I finally got to Oregon to be reunited with Mr. Mitchell, we did not have internet access and he was disappearing to fires all of the time. So, even if I did get internet access, all of the posts would have been me griping about Mr. Mitchell's job or me complaining about how I miss Mr. Mitchell or how I had done nothing because I was in Lakeview and Mr. Mitchell was gone, etc. We have been back in school for a week and half now and we have had internet access, but we've been busy, and I didn't see a reason to deliberately take the time to sit and blog about how I'm so busy I hardly see Mr. Mitchell or how Mr. Mitchell's clothes were strewn all across the apartment or how great it is to know that every night Mr. Mitchell will be home, etc.

So, I have waited until this moment to reenter the blogosphere. Not only am I in a much more positive mood, but in one fell swoop I have addressed everything I would have blogged about in the previous 3 months in a very concise fashion, and will finally have something that might capture the interest of our avid readers, but only if you're nerds, like us. If you are, then I can see why we're friends. If not, I apologize.

This leads me to the next wondering. This post title does not refer to our overall beings. Let's face it: Paul is not in every way > me. In many ways, I am > Paul. For example: his legs will never be as good as mine. Therefore, when it comes to legs, Sabrina > Paul. In this post, I am referring to book reading. That's right. This is the topic that will set our adoring fans on their ears. Paul > Sabrina when it comes to reading books. We had another book competition this summer, but this time it was official. I laid down the gauntlet and when we wrapped it up a few days ago I had my rear handed to me.

The totals are as follows:

Mr. Mitchell
26 books
11,581 pages

Mrs. Mitchell
18 books
6,350 pages

Yep. But I am not giving up. I will challenge him again next summer and he'll eat my book dust.

Our recommendations to our nerd friends are Flyboys: A True Story of Courage by James Bradley (recommended by Mr. Mitchell) and The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby (Mrs. Mitchell). Our least favorite reads of the summer were Animal Farm by George Orwell (Mr .Mitchell) and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson (Mrs. Mitchell).

I would now like to address the last wondering: why you even bother to read this blog. You read this blog because it helps you feel better about life, it might give you a giggle, and you can say, "Thank goodness I don't live with those guys!"

My Man, Mr. Mitchell

I have always admired military wives: it would be so hard to be separated from your spouse for a year or two at a time. I have been apart from my Mr. Mitchell for 6 weeks today and I am ready to eat my own head, so, I think it is safe to say that my admiration and respect for these women has grown. How do they do it and keep sane, especially if they have children?

Mr. Mitchell has been a steady force in my life for almost four years. We went from friendship, to dating, to marriage, and even if we weren't getting along very well during our friendship years, he was there for me. I have come to rely on him so much for strength, spiritual guidance, happiness, and love, along with several little things. He can still do these things for me, but it's a little more difficult when he has to do it over the phone and through text.

I miss kissing my husband goodnight every night and snuggling with him when we wake up in the morning. I miss cooking for him and, even more, I miss eating his delicious cooking. I miss him trying to scare me when I'm in the shower. I miss him playing with my hair while we watch a movie. I miss him singing silly songs. I miss his unexpected kisses and squeezes. I miss being able to massage him after he has a rough day at work. I miss silently enjoying each other's company as we read our own books. I miss reading books together. I miss going on motorcycle rides. I miss walking to church together. I miss having him tuck me in to bed when I'm tuckered out before he is. I miss seeing his robe hanging on the door. I miss him waking up early on a Saturday morning to make me waffles. I miss him encouraging me to do something fun for me. I miss hearing his motorcycle or truck when he pulls up to the house. I miss falling asleep knowing my husband is by my side. I miss watching Saturday cartoons with him. I miss knowing that Friday night is our night. I miss lazing on the couch with him and planning trips around the world. I miss cuddling with him and feeling that perfect moment of peace. I miss saying our prayer together, side by side.

...I think I'm getting my point across: I miss my husband and all the little things it means I don't have when he's not around. There are so many things that I took advantage of while we were together that I never even noticed I loved, until I couldn't have it anymore. Heavenly Father blessed me with a wonderful man who is working so hard to be a good husband and preparing to someday be a good father. I have been blessed with a man who has an amazing heart and who has trusted it to me.

Give your loved one a giant kiss today and say a prayer to Heavenly Father that is only full of thanks for your loved one, whoever it may be.

Good Memory:
We went to Crater Lake last summer and, as we were finishing our loop around the lake, Mr. Mitchell suddenly pulled the car over and got out without a word. I knew nothing was wrong with the car, so, I sat patiently and waited for him to come back, thinking he was picking up a piece of trash. When Mr. Mitchell got back in the car he handed me a little bouquet of wildflowers that he had picked on the side of the road. It was a very sweet moment and I held onto those little wildflowers for months.

Our First Anniversary

"It's all any of us wants: to find a nice person to hang out with 'til we drop dead. Not a lot to ask!" - Lorelei Gilmore

I've always loved that line from Gilmore Girls; however, Mr. Mitchell and I can top that by saying we get to hang out with each other for eternity. As of May 14, 2011 we have been married for a year! WOOHOO!

Our first anniversary did not at all go as planned, but I think that is what will help make it so memorable. Our original plan was to go to Portland to do sealings (in honor of our own sealing and to help others have that same joy and blessing) and then go to Newport to hang out at the coast. Mr. Mitchell ended up purchasing a motorcycle windshield on his west coast trip which depleted our Portland funds. We then settled on sealings in Medford followed by dinner and a movie. Well, the temple was completely booked on our anniversary so we had to break it up into two days. The day before our anniversary (Friday) we drove to Ashland to see Joey and Mr. Mitchell ended up fixing Joey's bike. Then, because the car was handling funny and vibrating like crazy (even though we had just purchased two brand new tires and had all of the tires balanced), we went to Les Schwab and ended up having to get two more new tires. We then made our way over to Medford to do sealings. Even though most people there seemed confused (despite the fact that we had called ahead to schedule so this wouldn't happen)we had a very nice time at the temple. We finished the night off with Dairy Queen and then went back to Lakeview.

In the morning, since it was actually our anniversary, we opened our cards and discovered we had been given enough money we could have gone through with our original plan to go up to Portland and Newport. Haha. Oh, well. We decided to put it to use anyway. We drove to Klamath Falls for our dinner and movie part of our anniversary only to discover that there was not a single movie worth paying full price for. Instead, we went to Walmart and bought $50 worth of movies followed by dinner at a steakhouse. Afterward, we went to Mr. Mitchell's grandparents to show them a video Mr. Mitchell had created of our wedding because they were unable to attend our wedding since it was up in Portland. I think they really appreciated us sharing our first anniversary with them.

So, as I said, definitely not what we had planned (and definitely not a typical anniversary outing), but something that we'll remember...even though we forgot a camera on both days. :)

Thank you for supporting us during our first year of marriage!

Mendon Mayhem

We spent last week and yesterday up in Mendon helping my sister with some serious yard work. Mr. Mitchell cut down some gnarly trees that were potentially dangerous to the house or were dead and nasty. He worked his tail off and the yard is starting to look so much better. With many, many runs into town, after chains flew off of saws and branches scraped windows, our work is complete and we can share some documentation of the event with you.
Family tug-of-war against the tree.

Even this little guy was kept busy pruning trees and hauling wood.

My handsome hubby, Mr. Mitchell.

Mr. Mitchell hauling up the chainsaw.

Mr. Mitchell cut through a piece of barbed wire...and he was not happy.

We had a burn pile (made strictly of branches and stumps, the trunks were cut into firewood) that never seemed to dwindle, although when this picture was taken it was at half the original size.

And Atticus was a good little pup.

There's a little snippet of our most recent days in Mendon. If I can ever figure out what happened to my 'post-a-video' option, I'll post those.