What would I do for an Eskie?

So, along with a house that I'm hoping to own in a year, I am also NEEDING a dog! Thomas wants a miniature schnauzer (which he can have), and I have always said I wanted a "big and fluffy" dog- because that's what I'm used to! Well, I found  the cutest dogs ever- and they aren't HUGE, they are great with children, are great with other dogs, and are excellent watchdogs but not yippy! Also not big shedders, if you brush them regularly, and they don't have to be groomed- like Thomas' girly schnauzer will be. Easy to train- one of the most obedient and loving dog breeds according to my research. Here are some pictures of my new dream doggy, the American Eskimo Dog, or Eskie!

These are full grown "standard" eskies. They come in miniature and toy, but I like this size! Not too small but not overly big. SO CUTE! How could anyone not be in love with these??

Cutest puppies ever!

I really want it to be 2011... :)

Phoenix/Prescott Pictures

Here are some more pictures to keep updating!

Grandparent's Phoenix home- really Grandma Jenny's house:

Grandparent's Prescott home- this is Grandpa's house, he designed it.. and made most of the art in and around it. He is really into modern stuff... :)

Hallway

Great room

Kitchen

Looking outside

Master bedroom

Master bathroom

Nicki (or Nickers, who I got my nickname from) on her perch.. we'll probably have one of these critters in the next year or so. Thomas loves her!

Pappi- she is always the center of attention!

Thomas and Nicki- a typical Prescott scene

Some Utah scenery 

After a 2 hour long outside zumba party! Michelli, Me, Maria, Courtney, Rachel doing our favorite poses

Just when you think life can't get crazier... it does.

I know I haven't blogged in weeks... it has been a little hectic around here. As most of you know, Thomas' mother passed away very unexpectedly a few weeks ago and it has been a very trying time for us. We had to go to Phoenix and go through her house and all her things (she lived alone), which took a lot of time and was emotionally very difficult. We hadn't seen her for a year, and are very sad that we didn't get to say goodbye. On a happier note, we held a Celebration of Life at her parents' home and it was wonderful. She had so many friends and coworkers attend and give their condolences, and share the wonderful ways that Susan touched their lives. One of Susan's good friends, Klaus, made a wonderful slideshow of pictures from her life, and filled it with her favorite music- hard rock! It was perfect, and Susan would have loved it. She was a very happy person and it was fitting to have a more upbeat and informal service for her.

The upside of this is that we finally decided we'll for sure more to Phoenix- we think it will be good to be with Thomas' sister Jenny, and the grandparents. Plus we love it there. We moved a lot of Susan's things into storage so we can add them to our house next year when we move there. It will be nice to be able to remember her. However, since the decision to move there for sure, I can't stop looking for houses! I have been looking for about a year, but now that it's a for sure thing that we feel very good about, I'm looking very hard for an amazing neighborhood and deal! It will be so fun to be homeowners! I can't WAIT to have my own house, I am sick of renting!

Thomas is enjoying his internship for the SLC DA's office, and sees exciting things in court that he loves to tell me about! I am doing speech therapy for Nebo's summer school, working at a school for autistic adults, and working at the BYU preschool/kindergarten again. Also making progress on my thesis!! It is exciting to be in the "final" stages.. I say "final" because I'm not writing up my final draft, but it is getting close to it. Can't WAIT to be done with that!! I'm walking August 13th at 8am in the Smith Field House if you want to attend. :)

To end, I'll post some pictures of our past few months:

First: Jen, Jill and I zumba-ed for 2 hours for a fundraiser against domestic violence! Whew it was hot in there... this is our after picture. Can you see Jen's black eye? We called her the poster child of the day...

We had a party with our WHOLE COHORT! It was so fun. It was at Dr. Dromey's house- he is the department chair, and his wife Anita is in our cohort. Thomas, Me and Kristi.

Emma and her cute boy Daniel!

The whole gang: Jen, Patti, Emma, Maria, Rachel, Kristi

Me, Skylee, Anita

This is what two years of grad school does to you- well, this is the censored version :)

Class of 2010 with Dr. Dromey

In May I got to go home to Cincinnati for almost 2 weeks! Here are some photos from that:

Nancy, Me, Evan

Me, Evan, Sam, Asamae

Evan and Sam are so cute!

Hmm..

Platypus face (a MUST when you eat at Applebees)

Our less common "normal" faces

Adrienne, Chris, Scott, Ally, Me, Asamae, Evan, Sam, Katie, Adam

Me and Juneau! He is SO cute!