Picture Update

Hello! As usual, we go months without updating! When there is nothing new or noteworthy, it makes it kind of tough to come up with ideas to blog about!

In June, Jared was promoted to 1st Lieutenant!

 

In July, we completed a 2800 mile road trip to visit Jared's parents and sister.

We took the dogs with us! 

Max and Roxie eating in the bed of the truck, which worked out perfect because it was an easy clean up and kept them off the ground at the gas stations!

Max and Roxie got to meet another Hrabak westie, Missy! Jared's parents have a westie too which helped influence our choice of breed. (Left to right: Missy, Max, Roxie).

The whole Hrabak clan! This picture is from the evening we went to the Melting Pot to celebrate birthday's, promotions, good grades and enjoy family time! (Left to right: Jared, Kayla, Renee, Michelle and Ron).

For Kayla's birthday, we spent the day going to wineries! Who knew there were wineries in southern Arizona?! We had a great time, but failed to get a picture of us wine tasting!

For Jared's birthday, we went to the Blink 182 concert in Phoenix. This was one of Jared's favorite bands when he was in high school. We had to see them when they came to town because not only was the band on his bucket list, but they played on his birthday!

Kayla's family at the breast cancer walk in Phoenix. Kayla's mom is a survivor of breast cancer, so we walk in celebration of her every year. (Left to right: Jared, Kayla, Debbie, Rick and Kaylee). 

Roxie and Max hanging out by our carved pumpkin. 

 

We just recently went on a hike at Carr Canyon, here in Sierra Vista. We are sure enjoying the fall weather and trying to make the most of it!

The dogs exhausted after our hike! 

Love,

J and K 

Updates

Hello! Well every few months is the typical update for us! Mainly because there is just not too much going on.

Jared has been enjoying his job as a Proxy Administrator at General Dynamics and is constantly learning new material. He just recently passed his Blue Coat Technical Certification, which certifies him to have the technical skills to deploy, configure, and manage the day to day security operations.

Kayla is still working at Wells Fargo as a teller, but is currently looking for a new position to find something she enjoys more. But living in such a small town with limited opportunities has presented a challenge for her, but Sierra Vista isn't a permanent home, so she is keeping her head high that one day she will have a better job, hopefully using her degree!

Jared and Kayla plan on staying in Sierra Vista for about one more year, then hope to find jobs that will allow them to move back to Phoenix. Jared has about three more years with his Army Reserve unit there, so we plan to stay in Arizona for the duration of that time, then see where jobs may lead us outside of Phoenix. We would love to officially settle outside of Phoenix, and currently have interest in Colorado.

We just added a new addition to our family, a puppy! We got another westie, from the same breeder as we got Max. We named her Roxie and she has been adjusting very well to our family. We were worried that Max was going to be distant from her and become jealous, but he has loved having a full time playmate and is also very protective of her. We have been talking about getting another dog for a few months now, and when Kayla's baby fever reached a high temperature, Jared pushed for the idea of getting a puppy! Roxie has been a handful and potty training has been a slow process, but it is fun to now have two dogs!

Roxie

 They always are playing tug of war!

 Sleeping the same way, too cute

 Working on walking together

For those who may be wondering when we are going to have human children, we are still planning on a waiting at least a couple more years. We would really like to both have strong jobs and have a house, opposed to our current apartment living situation. So for now, the four legged children will keep us busy! And it is that time in our lives where our friends are having children, so we will enjoy spending time with their children!

Our upcoming vacations this year include a road trip to Memphis to visit Jared's parents in July. With flights being so expensive, especially into a smaller airport like Memphis, we have chosen to drive. We both do well on long drives, so we are comfortable with another trip across the country. This time though we will have two dogs, so hopefully that doesn't add too much more adventure for us!

Other than that, we are just staying busy with work and the dogs! We have been exploring the hiking trails and the lake down here in Southern Arizona, taking advantage of the currently nice weather we have!

Jared and Kayla

New City, New Job, New Year

Well it has been awhile since we have posted, but that should not be a surprise since a couple of months between posts are common for us! 


We have been very busy since the end of November with moving to a new city, starting new jobs and adjusting to a new life. We have slowly been settling into our apartment in Sierra Vista, but have found that we are over apartment life. We only signed a six month lease, so hope to find a more suitable fit for us over the next few months as we learn more about our new home. Sierra Vista has a very similar small town feel like Flagstaff, just tumble weeds instead of pine trees. 


Shortly after we moved in and just two days after Christmas, we found out that Jared was going to be laid off at the end of January. His brand new position with General Dynamics as a Help Desk Technician was losing their contract through the Army, which meant the entire staff was going to be laid off in that department. This was a very heavy burden as we had just invested our time and money to relocate to Sierra Vista. Unfortunately, this also happened just days before our one year anniversary, so our big weekend plans were canceled as we needed to save every penny for what might come in the next six weeks. Jared instantly began working on his resume and networking within General Dynamics and through Army personnel. Within a week, Jared had an interview with another department of General Dynamics, also at Fort Huachuca, as a Proxy Administrator (whose contract is until the end of 2012) and he was offered the position! We were so relieved and thankful that he was able to find a new position not only so quickly, but in the same town! 


Kayla was able to get a transfer to Wells Fargo and was able to continue working for the company she had just started with. She has been thinking about going back to school for awhile, but with finances and timing, the idea has been put on the back burner. After working at Kay Jewelers and now Wells Fargo, she is clear that a sales position is not for her. She has always had a love for the hospital environment, but her weak stomach doesn't allow a profession in the medical field. The summer before her senior year at NAU, she had a Public Relations internship that she loved at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. Unfortunately the current economy has eliminated a lot of PR related positions. She has now decided to go back to school to become a Child Life Specialist, to help children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events while in the hospital. She is going to begin by taking online classes, then hopefully find a nearby university to take the necessary in-person classes. The position requires a bachelor degree in Child Life, three certifications and 480 volunteer hours, so she has a long road ahead of her before she can apply, but she is very excited to begin the process! Kayla feels that being a Child Life Specialist would be a very rewarding and fulfilling job and would also tie in her PR degree as Child Life does a lot of event planning. 

Well we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary and can't believe how quickly the past year went. Although our one year wasn't ideal because we were stressed with Jared's job and didn't do anything special as we were scared to touch our bank account not knowing the future. But we were thankful that we were together and living under the same roof again! We enjoyed all the anniversary cards, memories from the day, watching our engagement and wedding picture montage videos and looking through our wedding album. We did get an anniversary cake from the same bakery that made our wedding cake, which was delicious! 

Our one year anniversary cake from Barb's Bakery!

 The pink champagne was so delicious!

We have found a doggy day camp for our little guy Max and he just loves going! We normally take him twice a week which allows him some social time and good exercise! The place is called 'Going to Grandma's: A bed and biscuit kennel,' they give us a report card and pictures of Max playing about three times a month. The only bad thing about the place is that it's all dirt, so our white Max comes home orange! We bathe him so much more now but we know it is worth it. There is also a great dog park nearby, which allows us to take him to play ball and run around. We hope to get a backyard in the future and maybe a sister for Max, because he loves being outside and he loves being with other dogs. This is the first time Max has ever lived somewhere without a doggy door and he has done so well with letting us know when he needs out and has managed to hold it all day while we are at work. 

 Max at doggy day camp

Max playing at the dog park. He was trying to be the next Sandlot dog

We still have a lot of unpacked boxes and have yet to invite any family or friends down, as we are still trying to get settled and adjusted. We are enjoying the adventure of a new city where we only know each other, but we also know that Sierra Vista isn't somewhere we care to make permanent. For now, we are making the most of it and are looking forward to what this chapter in our life will bring us. 

We will continue to keep you updated and maybe blog more often! 

Jared and Kayla