Masters Degree...CHECK!

I have REALLY slacked with getting a post up, I've had a blog post draft just sitting for weeks. Colin's sister Leslie got married to Jared Nehmer in the Salt Lake Temple on April 12th. It was a good and long day!

Over a month and a half ago Colin received a job offer from FFKR Architects in downtown Salt Lake, but he was waiting on some other options so we both felt he needed to tell them he needed more time. They told him they would try to hold the position for him because they really wanted him, but they would be interviewing others. Fast forward 2 weeks and Colin went to Phoenix with my dad and brothers for a "Guys trip". He had a great time golfing every day and relaxing. I'm really lucky to have such great parents that sure take care of their kids!

After other options didn't pan out, Colin called FFKR while in AZ and asked if the offer was still on the table - he was told he was definitely wanted and was actually able to negotiate and up the salary quite a bit from their original offer:) They are a great firm and we feel good about the opportunity. The firm is working on making a bigger name for themselves in the Landscape Architecture & Planning world and Colin was the second employee they brought on to get this department growing. They have brought on a couple more since he started..it appears they mean business! He seems to really enjoy working there so far and has been pulling some long hours lately with deadlines.

Colin presented his professional project to some of the University of Utah Architecture and Planning faculty at the very beginning of May. He NAILED the presentation! Professors were very complimentary of his work. He really has worked so hard and is very good at what he does. My cousin Hayley also presented her project and nailed her presentation as well!:) I am glad I could be there. I am so proud of them both and happy that they are done with school FOREVER. It was really nice that both my parents came for his graduation - they are pretty great! Graduation day was a GOOD day! Hayley got a job before graduating too and is the City Planner for the City of South Salt Lake.

Colin presenting his professional project to faculty (equivalent of a thesis)

Colin and Hayley both received awards from Faculty at the end of the year celebration 

Graduated with a Master's Degree in City and Metropolitan Planning

Leslie & Jackie(colin's momma) celebrated with us

Hayley Pratt(cousin/our matchmaker) with her parents and grandparents

Delicious Graduation Dinner at Ruth's Diner with Family

My mom is wonderful and stayed a few more days after Colin's graduation and I was able to take a little time off work. I LOVED IT!!! It was so nice to spend quality time with her. We went to a movie, baked apple pies and went to the Chocolate Exhibit in Salt Lake.

Only picture we really took together - under the Chocolate Tree

As for me, ha....the contract I was working on with the Army ended on May 28th and I did not sign with the new contractor. It was a very stressful and emotionally draining process to come to the decision to move on, but I have felt things will work out and I will find a job I can grow with or at least has more stability and I gotta keep going off of faith in those feelings. I have a couple of job leads and will continue to search hard to find a job that doesn't have an already set end date:)

We leave for our big Europe trip in 42 DAYS! It doesn't seem real. I LOVE Europe. I realized today all these little things we still need to book, a few places to stay and transportation to Denmark and Denmark to Sweden. We planned on doing them later on... and this is later on!!

I also went to Phoenix, AZ for a weekend with the Pratt girls over the May Long Weekend. We shopped, had a spa day, ate, explored a little and laid by the pool. We had a lot of fun but so very missed Camilla!!!!! She is seriously THE life of the party in our family. I love them all!!

Never complete without Camilla:)

Applying Aloe on our burns from the Temple grounds Aloe Vera Plants 

Phoenix, AZ LDS Temple

Until next time...

Blog Entry from March.. update from the first few months of the year:)

Blogging has clearly not been at the front of my mind for quite some time! Not too much has happened though. Since my last post we had a yummy thanksgiving and spent Christmas in Preston/Logan with Colin's mom for Christmas Eve day - Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent in Logan at Colin's uncles and Christmas Morning at the house in Preston. It was a really low key Christmas - kind of sucked that I didn't get a week off like I have for the past 6 years;) Darn work. My parents and sister came down for my cousins wedding and we had a good few days with them.

Basically since we realized we were going to get married over 2 years ago, we have had a plan to go back to Germany to visit Colin's mission after he finished Grad School. Well, in January as we were planning the trip with the plan to meet up with my parents and Lex, we decided we might as well go to Denmark for a couple of days, after Germany, on our way up to Sweden! Tickets were cheaper than I had anticipated so that was sure nice and I felt proud that we did such a good job saving up for the trip:) We will be gone from July 17-August 6.. just shy of a 3 week trip:) Definitely wasn't the plan to do 3 weeks, but with all we wanted to do and having the time to do such a trip we just had to make time for all that we wanted to see and do! We are going to see people from Colin's mission and visit family in Sweden. The countdown is ON:) 4 months!!!!

Colin is looking for a full time job and finishing his senior project so he can graduate at the beginning of May - with my job being Government Contract work - our actual "employer" and hourly pay can change any time the contract period ends. Well the current contractor keeps getting extensions, so we aren't getting a raise like we deserve - it was suppose to end this month, but it has been extended until end of May so who knows what will happen after that. I've been looking for other work, but no such luck just yet. Both Colin and I have started to apply to different jobs in Utah and out of state - hopefully something will come along sometime "soon":) 

I'm headed to Hawaii next Friday for 10 days with my Mom, Dad and Sister! Colin will be playing in his high school alumni tourny next weekend so we have much to look forward to:)

That's it for the Olson's for now!

Life and the Curveballs it throws at us!

It has been a crazy weekend. We are getting ready to move to our new apartment - it's a duplex that is closer downtown, around the sugarhouse area. We got sick of spending so much on gas money! It has been an interesting process to get us to where we are today, Sept. 16th. A little background... our current apartment contract is up on the 23rd so for a couple of months now we have been looking at a bunch of apartments and condos in the salt lake area. To find a fairly decent place, close to down town the prices range from $990-$1,100/month - at least what we were finding. A few weeks ago we checked out an apartment seriously just down the street from campus - like 5 minutes away and fell in love. It was in our price range, had SUPER nice appliances, two bedroom, washer/dryer already in there and we just loved it. We also had been banking on us both getting raises at work which we deserve this fall. We submitted our application, they said we were top on their list they just had to do background checks. Well, a week later we hadn't really heard anything which was weird because we felt SO, SO, SO good about it. It was seriously perfect for us. It was a younger couple that owned the place and they told us it was taking time because they had an interested buyer... we were bummed. They said they were waiting for an offer but they thought it was like a 30% chance the sell would go through as they had multiple offers in the past that hadn't gone through. We were a little hopeful. Well, another week past and finally Colin text them to see what the deal was and they informed us that it looked like the apartment would sell. We were bummed and a little discouraged.

Well, just over a week ago we checked out a place close to downtown, just not as close as the previous place. It is an old place, but is in good condition considering. The rent was like $270 less than the place we didn't get and we just felt really good about the idea of saving some money over the next year paying less rent. We applied... and we got the apartment. AWESOME.

Friday Colin went to work and got the news he was being laid off.....blah:( The architecture firm he has been working at for the past 2 years is a great firm but very, very unfortunately they had been struggling for some time now to get some good bids and had to lay off 9 people and gave all employees still there a 5% pay cut and the owners a 10% cut as a result of the hard times. It has been an emotional weekend, more so on my end - Colin always has a good attitude about things, I am lucky to have him. He is SO extremely talented and I know it was hard for the firm to let him go but I guess times are still tough in this economy.  I have felt stressed all weekend but today I feel extremely blessed to have the wonderful family that we do, and a wonderful, positive husband. They have been supportive and encouraging and I know that the Lord is so mindful of us and feel that this is the right thing for us right now. I know... right thing? really? Colin wasn't going to finish school until april because he wouldn't do his final project until spring as a result of working 30 hours/week, however, now that he won't be working he can take a studio class again that will count as his project and he will be DONE SCHOOL FOREVER by December. 3 months away and we can move on to the next chapter of our lives! As much as the work thing isn't our ideal, him being able to finish up school now is a huge blessing. I have to keep reminding myself of that - that the Lord maybe knew this was a possibility and that us getting the cheaper apartment was for a reason.

Well, today Colin got a text from the owner of the apartment we loved but they were selling, and apparently the sale didn't go through. They asked if we still wanted to rent from them and if so, we could start moving in tomorrow! Another wow. Sadly we told them we found another place. We could not afford their place now and we feel so blessed we found the place we did. Again, even though we had wanted the other apartment so badly, I feel so strongly that the Lord knew how our situation would end up and that this cheaper place would still work with only me working this semester and Colin working hard to finish up school. I feel pretty overwhelmed, and may break down a few more times, but I have faith the Lord is mindful of us and that this is the right situation for us right now. We will have the freedom to go wherever the right job opportunity for Colin is after December - there's nothing holding us back. Hopefully with more time we will see how this was a good thing:)

FREEDOM

I had lost my blogging motivation for quite some time, but today I realized how sad I will be that I haven't kept it up. So... in the past almost 5 months, this is what we have been up to:

Colin completed his 2nd last semester of grad school - HALLELUJA! Because he had finished his studio classes in the fall, I didn't believe he would be AS busy as he was - but he was VERY busy. Not as many all nighters or super late nights fortunately, but there were some late nights and very early mornings. He runs on little sleep and it's funny because I feel tired a LOT and sometimes complain I need more sleep. Funny how bodies handle that sort of thing. We both kind of made a slight life style change and healthy eating and exercise is a major priority in our home. It's been fun to learn and try different recipes.

I've been working at Fort Douglas since January and it's been a decent job. I really like my co-workers and I enjoy the work that I do - just kind of sucks that it's not a permanent job. It's government contracted work so it goes for the fiscal year and then the contract is up for rebidding, so we shall see what my situation is come fall. It's slow season right now so we go on a lot of walks and Fort Douglas is SO beautiful with so much history. I love history. Not that anyone may care, but I help soldiers in the Army apply for tuition assistance from the Government and make sure they have the proper documentation they need so that I can submit them for approval. It's actually pretty fulfilling to help these soldiers get the help they need for school when they are making sacrifices for our country. I'm also still TA'ing for a professor at UVU - brings in a little extra income each semester.

Now that Colin is done school for the summer and just working full time, we are having a lot of fun together! During the week we both work out and Colin plays basketball a few times, for a while we watched the last few seasons of Prison Break. We became HOOKED! Just finished it last night and I am sad. We have had some BBQ's with friends. On the weekends we relax a bit - saturday's we've been getting up and working out and cleaning all morning, then we go explore the city or go on hikes for the afternoon. It's been a blast! I think this saturday we are going to hike Donut Falls - never done it before! We are loving the nice weather and spending our time outdoors. We've made some new friends with 2 couples in our complex and have had some fun with them.

We are still teaching sunday school to the 12-13 year olds and really enjoy our time with them. They are smart and just really good kids too! We are lucky. Lastly, in July we will be going to Anchorage, Alaska for 10 days to spend time with Colin's older sister Erica and her family. We are WAY too excited. We will be doing some really cool things and will certainly blog and post pictures from it. I only get a week off of work so that is what we decided to do for our vacation. Before we have kids and while we have the means to do so we made a decision to travel as much as we can before it becomes too hard and expensive.

That about sums up our current life! We are happy and well.

First Christmas

I have quite a bit of updates to make and although this is old news, I'm blogging about it anyway for my own records!:)

Christmas was GREAT, but it always is. Colin and I decorated the apartment, had fun decorating our first Christmas Tree together, went to A Christmas Carol, and ate delicious food at his work Christmas party!

We had a fabulous time up in Calgary. I love going home. It was a lot of fun to have both my brothers and their families with us - I always love the chaos that grandchildren create, but it makes celebrating the holidays that much more special! Everything to them about Christmas time is so much fun, and it is for me as well. My parents are seriously the best hosts, and we kept busy the whole 10 days we were at home and had a blast!

It was a GREAT month! I really do have such an amazing family and married into an amazing family! I love them.

The Sweet Life

Always difficult finding the motivation to update the blog. I guess I have a few things to update whoever reads this!:)

We have been married now for 3 months... my how time flies. It has certainly been a busy semester.... even more so than I anticipated, and I was expecting a very busy semester already. Colin started his second year of Grad School at the U of U in Urban Planning, and has just gotten busier! I don't know how he manages to get everything done that he needs to. His program is INTENSE... and that's an understatement. It really seems like he's working two full time jobs AND going to school. We are very blessed he has such a good job though and that he's able to work in a field that he loves. I never hear him complain. It amazes me. He is one tough cookie and works his tail off! He's so good at what he does and I am so glad that he loves it.

I have been working my temporary job for the church in their Publishing Services department full time as a "Producers Assistant".. the title makes it sound much cooler than it has been, but it has been good to make moola! I have been worried about finding a full time job starting in January but my good friend Hannah works for a company called Axseum that does different contract work and she has been working for the Army at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake. She told me about an opening there, so I applied, had a phone interview on Tuesday because they are based out of Virginia... was told I would hear back by Friday, and received a call Wednesday informing me that I got the job! Such a blessing. I really have made myself sick at times worrying about finding a job because I want to help support us while Colin is in school, so I am THRILLED. It sounds like it will be a pretty cool job. I'll be an Administrative Services Manager, but it incorporates a lot of COMMUNICATION. Yay!  Something I went to school for:) It works out perfectly because my current job will end on Dec.21st.. we fly home to Canada for Christmas that night, and then we get back to UT Jan.1st and I start Jan.2nd! No time to kill waiting to find a job.

We spent Thanksgiving this year with Colin's family in Logan and Preston and had such a good time! We got to relax, play games with family, eat lots of yummy food, watch movies, go shooting up at the farm, go to the Logan Temple. It was a very needed break and we enjoyed ourselves. It was nice to be able to hang out together and not have to worry about school or work. As of now, we are just anxiously awaiting the semester to end so Colin gets a break and I am so excited for him to come spend Christmas with my family in Calgary. I LOVE home at Christmas. Only like a week and a half left before Colin is a free man and I get my husband back. So much to look forward to!!

Leslie and I 

                         

Leslie and her "Friend" Jared:)

I am a very happy girl and feel very fortunate and grateful to have such a supportive husband that believes in me and my abilities when I struggle to! I'm grateful that he is such a hard worker and so kind and caring. Life is GOOD!

We are MARRIED and in LOVE

Haven't blogged FOREVER!!!! Colin just left today to Brazil for 10 days so I kind of have a LOT of free time after work now. He was away for 4 days 2 weeks ago over the weekend in Portland and it was SO hard having him away. I went down to springville to spend the weekend with my grandma and I just missed him a lot. Now he's gone for a lot longer and it just makes me so sad! Haha I'm such a baby.  I love that man! I lived alone at my parents town house in Springville all summer and nights were hard during the week being alone! Apparently I just love being around people and am not much of a "me" time kind of person. Married life has been good! As soon as we got home from our honeymoon Colin was super busy with work and school. Other than his two trips, this won't be the prettiest semester for him. I'm grateful he works so hard at both to provide for us though! I am sure blessed. He's a TON of fun and I'm just happy to sit with him while he does his homework at nights... may sound pathetic, but I really do love it.

My daily activities haven't been too exciting. I started a job with the church in the media department that is just for the semester. It's kind of cool working downtown and in the church office building. I'll be without a job again probably come January, but hopefully I'll find something:)  Now, it SOUNDS cool... and a little up my alley, but it's not haha. I just do data entry and label videos all day. What I'm working on overall is pretty neat though. In the end, all the work we are doing now will make the end product pretty awesome. We are a step in the process to converting all of the church's video media(in SO many formats and from like the 60s until now) to be accessible online to everyone! Not too exciting, but it helps to pay the bills so i'm happy:) I miss school though, I REALLY do. I love to learn and I loved hanging out with my PR friends at school all day, even if the work part wasn't as fun.

My friend Caitlyn is coming into town this weekend for conference and I get to hang out with her and her family all weekend and I couldn't be more happy and excited!:) I love conference and am anxious to learn. I'm not really in the mood to post pictures... but i'll post a few from lately:)