"I'm ON vacation!!"

About a month ago, we decided we should take a vacation. We figured this would probably be the last time to take a big trip for a while. I wanted to go to Canada, but I didn't want to spend that much. We wanted to go somewhere that wouldn't take too much planning or stress, somewhere to relax. We were thinking about going to Florida because Derek's sister could give us her "buy one get one" tickets anywhere in the US, and we have never been there together (we wanted to be by the beach and we already went to California). But the money we would be spending seemed like a lot just for Florida.. so we thought well if we're going to spend that much money we should just get an all-inclusive trip to Mexico or something! But I thought about it, and I still really wanted to go to Canada. So we decided to go there instead since it would only be a little more expensive. We thought it would be worth it. We figured out our cheapest option was to use the buy one get one tickets to fly to Maine, rent a car and drive up to Nova Scotia. It was a quick decision, but luckily we were both able to get time off work even with such short notice. I was so excited! Derek had never been to Nova Scotia before (he has been to Calgary a few times). And I really missed it!

We were there for 10 days and had so much fun! We stayed with my brother, Hugh and his wife, Veronica and 3 pugs.   The timing we chose was perfect, we got to go to the Busker Festival (a festival with street performers on the waterfront, I've gone to since I was a kid), my dad was there at the same time as us (which wasn't planned) so Derek met my dad and his wife, Susan, and he got to meet my dad's family in Cape Breton, also one of my Calgary friends was there visiting the same time as us so I was able to see her, and Hugh's dog had her puppies during our stay so we got to see them too! So I'm glad we went when we did. We went to the beach several times, Derek tried surfing for the first time and actually did pretty good! One beach had a pretty cool Sand Castle Contest going on. We went to Peggy's Cove, one of my favorite places! We went to Ovens Natural Park which was beautiful, mine and Hugh's first time even though we grew up in NS. We got to do a session at the Halifax Temple, Derek met our family friend, Fritz and some of my closest friends from Elementary. I showed Derek the small town where I lived most of my childhood, and showed him my shoe box school, hehe. We went on the Harbour Hopper which is a tour bus that drives around Halifax and then goes into the harbour and turns into a boat :) That was cool, we learned a lot about Halifax. AND I was able to eat some of my favorite foods that I missed, Yum! So we did a lot of fun stuff, we got to spend lots of time with family, we did a lot of relaxing, I had unlimited time with pugs, and I got to take lots of pictures which makes me happy! I'm really glad we went!

On our way there!

On the Ferry

Poutine!

My dad with Hugh and Derek

My dad with his wife, two sisters and their husbands and little Addison

Nacho and Derek

Peggy's Cove

Me :)

Peggy's Cove

Hugh and I

Ovens Natural Park

Handstands around the world

It was beautiful here

Sea Caves

I love the bridge

Downtown Halifax

Harbour Hopper

Michelle and Nicole 

Kristen and Lauren

Pug fest!

Nacho enjoying some fresh air

Banook Lake

Halifax Temple

Puppy!

Sand Castle Contest

Fun

:)

Lindsay and I

Surfs up

Family friend, Fritz

Dream house turned into a nightmare!

So about 2 months ago we found out that we won the bid for this house that we LOVED. And since then, it has been pretty much waiting.. receiving bad news.. more waiting and more bad news and on and on. What started it was we talked to the neighbors and they told us the people who lived there before were doing drugs. This was a huge red flag. So we decided to do a meth test when we did our home inspection. If a house is contaminated with meth it can cause serious health issues, especially for children and pregnant woman. The neighbor said that he KNEW they weren't doing meth, just other hard drugs. But of course, we did not want to take our chances. We were SO HAPPY we did the test, because it came back positive for meth contamination. The test results were pretty high and it was considered a "meth lab". We were devastated (especially me). I really fell in love with this house and even more in love with the yard. It was definitely worth more than we were about to pay for it. So after that we had to wait weeks to find out what the next step was. The government cannot legally sell a house with levels of meth that high. We found out that most likely they were going to have to demo the inside of the house until the meth was cleared. So we thought that if it worked out, it might actually be a great deal because we were going to get a newly remodeled house and not have to pay for the extra costs. But we still had some worries and concerns. So at this point we started looking for other homes but stayed under contract. So after more weeks of waiting, HUD finally told us that whatever they take out of the house, they are not going to replace it.. but also not going to lower the cost. Which is ridiculous. So if they rip out the kitchen, all the bathrooms and everything, obviously the value of the house will be significantly lower, and we were already at the top of our budget and would not afford to remodel this whole house from basically nothing. What I think is stupid is that they are going to have to clean out the meth anyways and put it back on the market for much lower.. which will take months. So why wouldn't they just lower the price for us? It doesn't make sense to me.. but I guess that is just how HUD works. So right now it's not looking good :(  It's sad. I got really attached to this house and it's hard to let go.. but I know we need to be positive and we will find our house, it's just going to take a lot longer than we had hoped for.

So 4 weeks ago we moved into Derek's mom's house. We are living in the basement. It's very humbling. But at least we have our own kitchen! My mom is living with us down here too. She just got a job in Salt Lake! I am so happy that she found a job and can stay here! We are looking for other homes, but nothing has come up that will work yet.  I REALLY want to stay on the east side, and do not want to go that far south.. which makes it harder because our budget is so low. I just can't stand the thought of living in West Valley, or Kearns.. it just doesn't feel right for our family. I feel like this is where we are supposed to be. The good thing is, now that we're living at my mother-in-law's, we don't have to pay for rent so we can save more. Also, we are not on a lease so we can move at any time. I know it will all work out for the best, but impatience is one of my many weaknesses. I just have to share a picture of the backyard because it is so cute :) 

Anniversary

We celebrated our anniversary last month on June 4th. I can't believe it's been 1 year already! Where has the time gone? Time always flies by so fast for me, and it seems like it just keeps going faster and faster the older I get. Anyways, for our anniversary we wanted to do something special but we didn't want to spend too much money. We ended up going up to Park City for the weekend since we haven't ever spent much time there. It was my first time to Main Street and I loved it. I love cute, little, historic towns. We stayed at the Westgate Resort. We got a great deal and it was SO NICE! We loved our room. We went up Friday and came back Sunday morning. It was a nice romantic getaway for the weekend.

I am so blessed to have Derek in my life. He is such an amazing person and husband. I never imagined I would marry someone as great as him. I don't know what I did to deserve him.. but I guess Heavenly Father knew that I needed him. Ever since I was young, I always felt in my heart that I needed to come to Salt Lake. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to come here so I could meet my wonderful husband. If it wasn't for my family (especially my sister), I probably would not be here and would have never met Derek. That just shows me how God has a plan for us and if we follow our heart and have faith, he will guide us. I love you, Derek :)

Best day of my life!

Update

On Mother's Day we got to talk on the phone with my brother Jared who is on his mission right now. It was so nice! I miss him a lot. I'm so proud of him, he is a great missionary! I know he finds so much joy in serving the Lord. He has been in his first area, Prince Rupert for 6 months now. Prince Rupert is a small town in northern BC, Canada, close to Alaska. I really look up to him, and I'm thankful for his dedication, and faith. 

Elder Smith with his district

A couple weeks ago I got to take photos of Jed & Tara's cute little twins. Jed is Derek's cousin. Their babies, Kaden and Brooklyn just turned 1 and they are so adorable! It was windy outside so they got a little cold, but it was really fun! 

Gailey Family

The house search is still in progress. We didn't find anything for about 3 weeks until this week a house in Midvale came up. It's not in our ideal area, but it's still in a nice area. And I really love the house! We put the bid in on Thursday and we will find out Monday or Tuesday. If this is not meant to be our house, then in about a month we will be moving into Derek's Mom's to stay until we buy one instead of renewing our lease.  It's hard to be patient at times, but I just need to keep reminding myself that the longer it takes the more savings we will have to fix it up or put towards our down payment. 

So lately I have been feeling extremely tired (as you may already know)! I have also been getting head-aches every day, and just feeling physically, emotionally and mentally drained. It may be due to the fact that I went from not working for a year and a half to working so much. I haven't had that much time to exercise, or make healthy meals and that really bothers me. My schedule is from 10-7 so I don't have that much time in the morning OR in the evening to do what I want to do because I would wake up feeling so exhausted and mad, and then come home tired and would just want to relax. I also was feeling a little disconnected from the spirit because of my fatigue. I really didn't like the way I was starting to feel. I remembered how great I felt after I did the 3 week Standard Process cleanse last year. Before when I did it, I wanted to lose weight. But this time I just really wanted to feel good! So I decided to do it again, but as a fast. So basically I was fasting from everything except for fruits & vegetables for half and then I added chicken breast on the 10th day. You also have shakes 2-3 times a day. I fasted for several things that I am in need of right now in my life. Today is my last day on my cleanse and I feel so much better! I have a strong testimony in the word of wisdom, and I truly believe that in order to feel close to the spirit we need to follow it, be healthy, and feed our bodies with good, wholesome, nutritious food! It can be hard, and I'm not perfect at it, but even if we just make an effort to incorporate more and more good food into our life, eventually it will become easier and you will start to enjoy healthy meals. I feel so much better physically, which in turn makes me feel better spiritually. I received a special confirmation that I needed and I'm so grateful for the blessings of fasting. 

Here is the link for info on the Standard Process Purification Program if you are interested. http://www.standardprocess.com/display/psppurification.spi 

Today is a great day for another reason, I finished the Book of Mormon for my second time. I love this book with all my heart. I know that it truly is the word of God, and another testament of Jesus Christ. I feel very blessed to have it in my life. I know that if anyone prayerfully reads it with real intent, seeking for truth, and asks God if it is true, they will know for themselves in their hearts that it is true! I know that Jesus Christ, our redeemer lives! He loves each and every one of us and wants us to make it back to our Heavenly Father. I know that through His gospel, is the only way to eternal happiness. I have been on the other side, and I was lost. I don't know who that person was. But I'm so happy that I'm not that person anymore. I know the atonement is real and it works, I have witnessed it in my own life time and time again. I am so grateful for the truths and knowledge that I have. I love my Savior. I love the scriptures and I know they can change lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

I love this picture