Year In Review (2011)

This past year has been such a great year and I wanted to remember some of the exciting things we did. Matt and I have been so blessed to be able to travel and spend time with our friends. This last year we really tried to stay connected with friends and other people we care about. So many people forget about their friends once they get married and start having children.

We did not do much in January or February because of Matt’s school but we did get to go the Arizona for spring break with some of our friends. Blake and Emily took the eight hour car ride with us to play at Lake Havasu.


I was able to fly to Seattle with my friend Emily and attend the wedding of a Mission friend. I was able to have some good quality girl time with Emily and Kami while we drove to Spokane for the Wedding.


Over the summer we were able to visit my parents in Cody, Wyoming and take the scenic route through Yellowstone National Park. We took Gary and Maliwan with us. I am not sure they knew what they were in for. Neither of them have traveled much.


We also were able to go camping a few more times this year. When I say a few more times I mean two times. One more time than the year before.


Over the 4th of July we were able to host the Greer family reunion. I think it turned out well. I do not have a ton of pictures but during the reunion my immediate took family pictures.

Matt and I were able to share a new experience. I decided to become certified in the art of scuba diving. I was really worried at first but there is nothing like being able to breath underwater.

 

Matt and I celebrated our three year anniversary.

 

Matthew Gregory had his second birthday.

I started a new job at Sundesa, the BlenderBottle Comany. I do not have any pictures of this but I am really enjoying it.

The last big thing we did this year was go to the Dominican Republic.

Family Trip

Matt and I recently went on a family trip to the Dominican Republic. I was worried about spending two weeks straight with my family but I was willing to take the risk. Surprisingly, everything turned out well. We had our few squabbles but all in all it was good.

We stayed at an awesome resort in Punta Cana called Barcelo. It was the nicest resort I have ever stayed at. It had pools for all the kids and a beautiful white sand beach. The resort was all inclusive. They offered wind surfing, paddle boats, snorkeling, and food for free. Usually, when you hear all inclusive it means just food, but this resort offered so much.

Matt and I went scuba diving but we were disappointed. The visibility was so bad we could not see a foot in front of us.

After the resort Matt and I went to stay with my sister in-laws family in La Vega.  We wanted to get the real Dominican experience. It was disappointing. We rented a car we did not really get to use and spent way too much money on food we did not eat. We thought we were going to experience the country but we ended up just sitting around all day. In the end it was a waste of our money to stay the few extra days.

The bonus to staying was interacting with Rosy's family. They were awesome and so accommodating. They made us feel so comfortable.

If I had to do it again I would probably not go back to the DR. It was a great experience but not what I expected.

Matthew's 2nd Birthday

Matthews birthday was so stressful for me. Matt and I decided to make it a tradition to take Little Matt to Texas Road House for dinner on his birthday. We did it the first year he was born and just thought it would be a fun thing to keep going.


Afterward we went home to let him open his presents. He are the pictures of him enjoying his birthday.

Pure joy!!!

He has learned to pose for pictures.

So spoiled.

We have already lost all the darts.

Pumpkin Patch

We took Matthew to the pumpkin patch to pick out his own pumpkin this year. He had a blast. Here are the pictures of the adventure.

Trying to pick the first pumpkin he saw.

He was not so sure about these.

We had to find our way through the corn maze to get to the pumpkin patch.

Posing with the scarecrow.

Matthews fist time in a bouncy castle.

Playing in the tunnel.

He found the perfect pumpkin for himself.

Last Day at The Walton Group Inc.

I can not believe today is my last day of work at The Walton Group (TWG). I have been here a year already and it has gone by so fast. Working here has definitely helped me narrowed the field of where I want to work. I now know I do not want to work in an agency.



I do have to give thanks to my boss Linda Walton. She took me under her wing and trusted me to work on projects and create campaigns for clients. When I first came to TWG I was an intern. I had  been done with school for about a year and I was ready to jump in with both feet. I had taken a year off to care for my son but I learned quick that I am a working girl. I admire those stay at home moms but it is not the life for me.

I have been blessed to be able to hone my skills of writing press releases, networking, advertising, and even a little graphic design . I have learned how important doing charity work is. I have learned a tremendous amount in my year here but I feel like it is my time try something new.

The new place I will be working is called Sundesa. They are the inventors of the Blender Bottle. At first I will a sales administrator, but they said I will be doing some PR too. I really want to learn about corporate/in-house PR. I am still young and want to explore all of my options. I do not want to get stuck in job right out of college I end up hating 10 years down the road.

Sundesa is a very laid back atmosphere. The people I have met are very friendly and seem like they would be fun to work around. When I went in for my first interview the employees we talking about eating 100 day old eggs from China. I instantly knew I would fit in. I really hope this job works out and becomes a career for me (It also means Matt will get to stay in Happy Valley). It seems very promising. The President of the company said there is lots of room for advancement in their company. The only down side is they are not very community oriented. I think it is really important for a company to be involved with the community and show the people they care.

Well, wish me luck!