Hello from Washington!

I know, I know, its about time for an update.  Even if it is only for Ash Russell who I spend every day with anyways haha!   Well we have been in Washington for almost 3 weeks now and we are liking it a lot!  I don't know yet which state we will end up liking more, Iowa or Washington but I am relieved we don't hate it as much as Oklahoma!!  

First off, the people here are SO nice.  For the most part at least... you do have the occasional crazy person (ie: guy who pulled a knife on Ki!)  but I suppose you will have those everywhere :)  We LOVE the ward here already.  They are so welcoming and kind.  If this continues it will probably end up being our favorite ward we have been a part of yet.  A couple in the ward, Brother & Sister Holle, have already had a bunch of us over for dinner, and it is now a goal of mine to overcome this stupid weakness I have called "incredible shyness" because I would love to be the kind of people they are someday.  I have always thought that would be an amazing gift to have, the gift to be able to reach out to everyone around you and befriend everyone.  It  goes against my very nature, but I am going to try very hard to improve!  Last sunday the relief society lesson was on Charity,  and it was so incredibly powerful.  The lesson was given by a lady in the ward, who has been blind since she was 23 years old.  She is now pregnant with her 5th child and I was just shocked and amazed at the spirit she had about her.  Seriously, incredible spirit.  Can you imagine the trials that you would face raising 5 kids when you are blind and hard of hearing?  She can't drive, I have no idea how she cooks, she has never visually seen what her children look like, but she was ANYTHING but bitter, or depressed.  Her strength was amazing.  I always wonder if I was faced with as great a trial how I would react.  It is hard to know, but I hope that I would eventually be able to have the optimism and bravery that this particular blind sister had.  But anyways... my point was so far we love it here :)

I know you are all dying to know the story of the guy who pulled a knife on Ki ever since I alluded to it at the beginning of my post, so I will now elaborate.  I wish Ki were home so he could type the story... because any of ya'll that know him, know that he can DEFINATELY tell a story better then I can :)  He has a knack for the dramatic ;)  ok... well we both do... but I digress.  Ki knocks doors for a living at the moment right?  hence why we are in Washington... so one day he is in the city of Yakima, WA and ends up selling this particular man Dish, and gets him all qualified.  As he gets ready to leave the house this man whips out a machete from underneath the couch and held it to Ki's neck!  (YES - I freaked when I heard this story)  He then went on to threaten Ki that if he ever sold his information (SSN & credit card #) to anybody or if he stole his identity that he would hunt him down.... uh yeah..  is this threat really necessary?!  I am relieved that Ki made it out of that crazy town alive, because the very next day one of our installers was 2 blocks away from a drive by shooting that left a man dead... uh yeah.  Crazy right?  I don't have fond feelings toward the city of Yakima.  Although, that is where sexy Rexie was born, so I can't hate them completely, which brings me to my next part of this post....



Sexy Rexie - loves to cuddle



He is so tiny, but growing so fast!

Rex is definately a momma's boy.  He loves to sleep cuddled next to any body part of Ash's.  haha foot, arm, leg etc.

Meet Rex.  He is the absolutely most adorable little Boston Terrier puppy, and he is now Ash & Chad's baby.  I love him, and most days we are friends.  The other days, he gets me mistaken for his chew toy and we aren't friends :)  haha!  I get to co-babysit him for 2 weeks while Ash & Chad are in Europe with Ash's family in July.  I am so ecstatic... and just a wee bit nervous that I might be missing a limb by the time Ash gets back lol.  He is now almost 8 weeks old and he is seriously a heart breaker.  He is the office mascot and everybody loves him :)  He is super cuddly when he is tired, or sick, and a wild man when he is playful!  I can't wait til he learns that biting does not equal "playing"  haha.  But we will always be friends deep down because I am sure he is eternally grateful that I let him barf all over me 10 minutes after Ash bought him from his Breeder.  He had just gotten his shots poor thing and they had made him sick, so he puked all over me during the car ride home.  He had a rough day.  That is why he looks so sad in all these pictures of him... they were all taken that first day when he was not only away from his momma but also sick.  He runs the cutest out of any puppy I ever saw.  It sort of looks like a mix between a bunny hopping, a gazelle, and a prancing horse.  It is the cutest.  I wish we had a video.

I turned 22 since the last time I updated this blog, and that was pretty exciting :)  My birthday was shared with Easter, but I still got WAY spoiled by both Ki's family and my own.  Thanks families for making my birthday this year so much fun!  I love you guys!  (Also... we really NEED to start taking pictures when we are with Ki's family!) 

The Fam Birthday Celebration

I love Birthday Bowling :)

The next matter of business that needs to be addressed is that Ki is a college graduate!  Woo hoo!  We had a little scare a couple days ago because he got an email saying he was 3 credits short of graduation (cue instant panic and anger)  but it turns out it was just a mis-understanding over a class subsitution (cue instant relief)  so it is OFFICIAL he is all grown-up and graduated.  I am uber jealous... and I am sure I will be even more jealous when I am the only one doing homework next semester. 

I am a proud wifey :)

Ki and Momma Cyndi



Ki & Poppa Marty



Ki and two of his best friends all graduated in Business w/ an emphasis in Marketing
L to R:  Russ & Ashley Potter & Alyssa - James & Jerrica Cook & Olivia - Ki and I (spirit children may or may not be present haha)

my fam!

Well thats a somewhat lengthy update, congrats if you made it to this point in the post.

In summary we are doing well, and slowly adjusting to the summer sales schedule.  Jerrica Cook says it best when she states that we are "widows of summer salesman".  I feel like it is a good day if I get to spend 2 hours of quality time with my babe since we have completely opposite work schedules.  It is been a pretty hard adjustment coming from spending so much time together during the school year but I am grateful that we are able to make good money and support ourselves at this point in our lives :)  We are just trekkin along here in Washington, and although we miss our families, we are having a great time!  And I am LOVIN that there are a few more wives out here this summer.  Previous summers I have been the only female, which could get lonely at times especially by the end of the summer!  Ash and I are having fun trying new recipes for the full scoop check out her blog chadandashleyrussell.blogspot.com and having fun cooking treats for the boys.  It was just Jordan's birthday, and since he doesn't love cake, we made him a giant birthday cookie.

Creation by Ashley, Design by Ashley :)

 Well, stay tuned for more summer adventures to come!