Shurtz Blurts!

Update

2011-03-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Since the ultrasound a lot of things have happened in our lives! The biggest changes are my belly and our living situation. This last month we finally bought the duplex that we had pursuing for months. It was bitter sweet at first, the process was not enjoyable! Also, moving while pregnant was not fun either- who am I kidding moving pregnant or not isn't fun! Once we got everything put away (mostly everything), and with the help of extremely loving parents we love the place! We have already done so many things to the duplex to freshen it up. Everything has a nice coat of fresh paint in modern colors and the utility room has been completely remodeled! New floor, new water heaters and two new sets of washers and dryers. Next is the renter side's kitchen and bathroom floor, new toilet, and some electrical work- and it will be done and ready to be rented! We have some renters interested so we will see what happens! I'm just hoping we can get it rented by the time the baby comes. That's right, only 5 weeks till my due date! So far I've had an amazing pregnancy, but this last week I feel like my pelvis and back are breaking! Good thing I work at a chiropractor office because getting adjustments has been super helpful. But really I have nothing to complain about compared to most women! Our family is happy and grateful for everything we have and are looking forward to the new baby bundle of joy about to enter into our lives! I'll try to post some pictures of the duplex soon.

Ultrasound

2010-12-04T11:31:00.001-08:00

It Snowed!

2010-11-23T11:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday it started snowing and kept snowing for hours and hours into the night. I was grateful to leave work early and be at home safe before it got too bad. Snow is fun only if your safe at home with your family and you have everything you need there. (we are missing milk right now…boo) we went on two wintery walks with Polly. It was her first snow. She was hilarious running around in it. She just drags her nose across the top of the snow all over the place, then she jumps and tries to eat it out of the sky. Now she just whines by the door to go out and play in it, she loves it so much! Recently she had some surgery on her neck to remove a constant swollen internal wound. (we have no idea how this happened) For a while they thought it might have been a swollen lymph node or possibly allergies. We got it taken care of and now she is doing excellent and she was only left with a funny hair cut. The front of her neck is shaved and one of her paws where they had to draw blood. We are grateful for good veterinarians! The hair cut made me realize how much fur she really has! Everyone that meets Polly thinks she is the most friendly dog and love her goofy personality. She definitely fits in the family!

To Duplex or not to Duplex

2010-11-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

The other exciting news,besides the baby, is that we have been in and out of negotiating contracts for a duplex. I was always told buying a home is stressful, but I think that is the biggest understatement of all history! The journey is so up and down emotionally, physically and financially that by the end you’re exhausted. I’m sure many of you have experienced this. Long story short, nothing is official still. We are negotiating, still. This is not a short process! But I’ll keep you updated on whether we get it or not.

Baby Shurtz

2010-11-23T11:26:00.001-08:00

It’s true, there is a baby Shurtz on the way. We found out at the end of August that we would be expecting. The baby is due April 27th, 2011. We are super excited. The first part of my pregnancy was a little rough but really not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Instead of morning sickness I had night sickness, so this meant early bed times. Aaron had to learn how the talent of making your own food while airing out the house so your wife can’t smell any of the remains. I did find a friend in the porch swing when food smells my stomach upset. Now in month 4 and I’m feeling SO much better. Tomorrow we find out the sex of the baby. Aaron was hoping for a boy but I know if it’s a girl she will have him smitten and wrapped around her finger! When we first got the test results back from the doctor Aaron asked me if it was a typo on the report J I think he was a little scaredJ None the less we are both very excited for this new stage of our lives and I think with the help of all our family we have been trained well to be good parents. I haven’t thought much about names yet…nothing has really struck me to be that amazing or perfect enough. We’ll start thinking about names more seriously after the ultrasound. I have been very bad at taking pictures of my belly, mostly because I haven’t felt like it was growing much until recently.

This is how we told our families. We convinced them Polly had a cute new outfit to show everyone, then brought her out in this. Everyone was very surprised and it was really fun to see everyones reactions!

This is me at 10 1/2 weeks, just a little tummy! And I look a little sleepy, I've always had a hard time keeping my eyes open for pictures.

My computer is sick...with a virus

2010-11-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

I know this sounds like an excuse...okay it is. My computer has a rogue insane virus right now and I can't get the pictures off of it to update the blog. So the waiting continues. Hopefully soon I'll be able to fix it!

lots to look forward to...

2010-10-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I've been meaning to write a post for a couple months now but I have a lot exciting news pending right now, so I want to wait a bit until I blog about it.

What I can say is that in the past month I got a job! I feel super blessed since I had two job offers in one week and I am only the third person in my class to get a job, everyone else is still looking. I love where I work, it's an easy commute and my co-workers are super nice and very friendly. I work at a spine clinic for a chiropractor taking spine x-rays, and an occasional foot or knee here and there. The machine is super old, nothing I have every used in school- but - that being said I'm sure it can only make me a better tech! The best part about the job...getting a paycheck for the first time in 2 years! woohoo! Guess I better start paying off those school loans huh?

Other than that, your just going to have to wait to hear about all the new and exciting news to come! Love you all!

Hey I'm doing pretty good on the updates right guys?

2010-07-14T02:10:00.000-07:00

First and foremost- Silly Girls United photo shoot! Last week I was invited to be in a photo shoot with some friends for absolutely no reason but to be silly and have fun together. These types of shoots were going on all around the world last week all sponsored by Silly Girls United photography. It was a fun way to get girls together and have fun, act silly, and gain some self confidence. I got to take my cousin Lexi with and we all had a blast. We took pictures in Snohomish, WA. Snohomish is a little Antique town and was great for the theme of the photo shoot, secret agents. We climbed buildings, scaled walls, rode on a Vespa, and most certainly got a lot of interesting looks from those not involved ;) Thanks Candace for inviting me! Here are some of my favorites. PS- Aaron did not understand the meaning of this whole thing. He was very confused even when I tried to explain it to him. He was just happy I had fun and my final explanation for the shoot was, "It's a girls thing". He understood that, as most men do haha.

BIG Thanks to Candace for inviting me!
Here's the photographer, except for the one below, I snagged that one of her!

Getting ready

On the rooftops

Both above and Below are my favorites

Our disguises

We've been hiking again! Lake 22 trail seemed to be a good place to continue our training for hiking with a bunch of girls next week. I'm still sore! It was a beautiful hike with and elevation gain of 1350 ft. Gorgeous views on the way up, and a pretty lake at the top. Polly loved hiking again and even took a little swim at the top. Here are some pictures from this weeks adventure.

On a side note: Aaron's sister had surgery so we had the privilege of taking care of our niece and nephew a bit. Here is Aaron hanging out with them on the front porch swing.

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!

Here comes a ton of pictures!

2010-07-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of fun these last couple months. On June 22 I graduated from Bellingham Technical College. It was a lot of fun to go to graduation and celebrate with friends and family. The post celebration had to be put off for a little bit because I had to study like crazy for my ARRT boards. I was very nervous about taking them, but on June 29th I finally took them and drumroll........scored a preliminary score of 90%. I guess all that studying paid off. Taking the test was intimidating. I got patted down and there were strict rules at the testing center. It was the most nervous I have ever felt. But now I can relax and just try to find a job. Anyone hiring an x-ray tech? Aaron has been working a lot and I am busy catching up on housework. We are in charge of a hike with 25 girls on the 19th so we have been training and hiking for that. It has been fun to get outside and enjoy nature. Plus Polly loves to hike! At first she was a little confused as to why we were climbing a mountain but she loves it now. My cousin Lexi has moved up here and is staying with my parents. It has been perfect timing because I'm out of school and have time to do fun things. So it has been great catching up and sight seeing and having a buddy to do it with. We have actually had great visits from both sides of the family in the last couple weeks. We look forward to more fun this summer! Here are some pictures from the last month or so. I give credit to Lexi for these, she's on top of picture taking that woman! Alot of these are for you Kelli since I know you don't have facebook and haven't seen them yet. Happy Summer Everyone!

Niece Baby Hadley

Old Maid Stapley Style

Nephew Cooper getting into the action. Although he was reluctant to tear up his matching firemen.

Polly loved meeting family

Lexi and I after the graduation

I love Dad's face in this picture! (Surprised at me graduating maybe?)

My complimentary earth friendly Bag, thats right bag...only in Bellingham

Brinley Doing her thing

Lexi captured this magical moment...maybe plumbing will run in the family?

Kendall looks like she's up to something, or maybe the sun is just in her eyes

The Amazing Hiker Polly

Marching away from the Mosquitoes

Waterfalls at Heather Lake

Been soooooooooooo long!

2010-04-29T15:04:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I've made a new post! Things have been busy as usual. After getting a major case of senioritis I realized this last quarter was going to be harder than I thought! With lots of prayers and blessings I'm getting through all the school work and practicing for the ARRT national boards I'll be taking in June. I graduate June 22nd, woohoo! I have really discovered I love working in clinics over hospitals. No offense to the really sick people out there in hospitals but I love working with people who are sick but not THAT sick. I know some people love the hospital, but I love the details in radiography which there isn't much time for at the hospital. I think my dream job would be in a family practice or Orthopedics office. Anyone hiring? :) Even with the craziness Aaron and I ahve been able to get out a bit and look at houses. We qualified to buy our first home this last month and are excited to find one that suites us. Other than that, everything is well. Aaron is traveling alot for work. Last week we were able to atttend our best friends wedding (Aaron's good friend married my good friend, how fun!) at the Seattle temple. It was fun to attend a sealing, and a good reminder of the promises we've made eachother. Here are some pics of us with our other good friends the Candace and Jason. Hope all is well with everyone!

New dog, new tricks

2010-01-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd share some video of Polly. Sorry the lights are so dim- we didn't have much lighting in the house. She can now do sit, shake, down, and high five- which in her mind is really high ten! I calculated how old she was today and she is about 3 and a half months old. Right now we are working on roll over...it's not going so well.Not bad for being so young, she could probably do a lot more if I spent more time on it. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

A Christmas to Remember

2010-01-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. I had a wonderful break from school and spent a ton of time with family. Aaron got to spend some special time with his grandfather as he passed. We will miss him so much. We are grateful for our knowledge of the existence after this life and that he is in an amazing place now, and that we will see him again. The funeral was great and we got to see many relatives that we haven't seen in a long time, and some I hadn't even met! It was fun to tell stories about grandpa and just enjoy each others company.
During the holidays my ring broke! The whole diamond fell out prongs and all! Thanks to the Shane co. for replacing it. We have no idea where the diamond is- hopefully we will find it. It is likely we won't though :( I'm just glad I got to pick out a new diamond and we only had to pay 38 dollars out of pocket, we are so blessed. The last couple days I've had the stomach flu. It took a total of 15 relatives and counting down for a couple days. So far Aaron hasn't gotten it yet and has been a wonderful caretaker. Other than that things are expected to go back to normal this next week when I return to school and Aaron goes to work as usual. Hope you all had a great holiday season!
Here are some pics from the break-

Polly present under the Christmas tree!

My broken ring- which is now fixed! Yeah!

My pup and me

The amazing banana creme cake I made for Christmas Eve (my Dad's tradition)

2009-12-17T00:33:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Yeah for Winter Break!

2009-12-16T23:40:00.000-08:00

This break is going by way too fast! I can't believe Christmas is next week! Things are going well for us. I decorated the Christmas tree today finally and it looks gorgeous. Last year was Aaron and my first Christmas together. Our tree consisted of lights and some bows. We gave each other a couple small gifts and some stockings. This year our tree is full of glass ornaments and pretty beads- thanks to the help of my mom letting us borrow her red and green decorations. We decided we will only get each other stockings this year. This is my favorite part because I get to surprise Aaron with little fun goodies and toys. We are so grateful this year for all the things we have. We are grateful for family that is close, and all the necessities we need to live a wonderful life. Thank you to all those who have supported us throughout the last couple years. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and remember the real reason for the season. Ps- enjoy the video!

Polly the puppy

2009-11-29T16:47:00.000-08:00

Last week our family grew by one. We finally have our little doodle dog. She is a great little girl....most of the time:) She still is learning to potty train which is the most frusterating thing. Most of the time she does very well. She has quite the personality! She loves to play with us but mostly she loves to cuddle and sleep with us. She is very loyal and always follows us around looking for a chance to please us. We can't wait to get her the last round of shots she needs so we can take her out on doodle romps and to the dog park. She is very spoiled since she is "an only child." She is very brave and loves to play with her much larger dog cousins. Her grandparents love her on both sides of the family, which is great. After having her for a couple of days we still didn't have a name. Aarons grandma said she always wanted to name one of her kids Polly Esther Shurtz (polyester shirts) but Grandpa wouldn't let her:) We laughed, and the name stuck. She really does look like a Polly. We just hope she smart enough to recognize the difference in "Polly" and "Potty". So far it's been good. We are very tired. It really is like taking care of a baby, except she doesn't have any diapers!!! We know all the training and middle of the night potty breaks will make it all worth it in the end. So here she is!

Don't be fooled by those sad puppy eyes! She might look sad but she is always happy!

1 year + a puppy

2009-11-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I finally was able to download our 1st year anniversary pictures. Also I'll post some pictures from the turkey bowl at UW stadium. Last week we put a deposit on our puppy! She is an adorable little girl. We haven't taken her home yet so no pictures, something to look forward to! She is a goldendoodle. If your wondering what that is...the mom is a gorgeous red golden retriever and the dad is an apricot standard poodle. She is a rusty red color and only 9 weeks old. We are puppy proofing the house now so we can pick her up this week! I can't wait! Aaron refuses to name her until we bring her home and play with her more. Rest assured there will be pictures of our spoiled pup on her as soon as I can get them. Other than that things are going great. I'm taking x-rays in surgery right now. It is awesome watching doctors put back together the human body. Sounds gross, but I love it. All I can say is we were divinely created, that is for sure. On a side note, right now we have waterfront property. No, we haven't moved to the water, the water came to us. It seems that during the winter rains our front and back yard turns into a lake! oh well, our landlord reassured us that our house won't float away:) So I just hope that "Lake Shurtz" will provide some great ice skating activity this winter! Hope all is well with each of you!

Our Team we took fourth :)

The only fun I could have with a broken finger

The one year old cake

The Happily Married Couple

The Cake I Made

OK ok

2009-11-10T22:48:00.000-08:00

I realize that my header needs some work, but it took me hours to figure out what I wanted and still our faces look all squishy. Anyways, I decided to just post a little about the latest Shurtz news. We moved into a house near Mukilteo at the beginning of October. It was a steal of a deal and we love it here. I'm just getting used to all the sounds and quirks of the place. Aaron and I celebrated our birthdays recently. I asked for donations to my doodle fund! That's right, I'm looking for a doodle dog. Hopefully I will get a goldendoodle, but we will just have to see what is available. We also celebrated our 1st year anniversary!!!!! Yeah! I can't believe it has only been a year! (in a good way) It seems like we have already experienced so much together. Our relationship has grown so strong and yet it just keeps growing. Being married is the most fun I have ever had. Especially when I'm married to my best friend in the whole world. I'll post some pictures of our 1st anniversary below. We didn't do much. Right now I'm very busy with radiology technician school and Aaron is not always getting work so no expensive vacations for us. We did defrost our wedding cake. It smelled horrible....we couldn't stand even being next to it. Call us chicken, but we didn't eat any of it. I kind of had a feeling it would be disgusting so I made a "substitute" cake. It was delicious. Then we went and helped our friend who got very sick:( But he's feeling better now. We plan to do more to celebrate this week, we just haven't decided what yet. I look forward to updating more in the future! Oh yeah I almost forgot, on Saturday I broke my finger:( For those of my medical literate friends, it is a 4th finger lateral avulsion fracture of the proximal interphalangeal joint. I did it playing flag football, practicing for turkey bowl. Boooo! Now I can't play in the big game on Saturday at Husky Stadium. I'm so sad! I'll just have to support Aaron and our team, "Let it Rain!" I hope they win! aww man I can't put our anniversary pictures up yet because I have no way to download them right now...so I guess I'll entertain you with some pictures from our honeymoon and wedding in celebration of our wedding anniversary.

Our Wedding Day

A lovely picture of me after the lifeboat drill, This was our honeymoon to Mexico. A little tid bit of knowledge I did actually get the line stuck in our balcony door! (this is real life not posed:))

Aaron had to make sure his whistle worked

This is at the cruise magic show- oh I wish I was on a criuse to Mexico right now!

The new blog

2009-07-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

I know, it's exciting. After reading all of my relatives blogs I decided to give in. Hopefully this new blog will help us keep in touch with our friends and family. I suppose it might take me a while to get it up and running with pictures and such but it is coming! I hope everyone is staying cool, it's suposed to be triple digits here in Everett today!