Sean left for Brazil

On April 22 Sean left to go to Brazil. Normally its not a big thing for Sean and I to spend a week or so apart but this time around the first couple of days were a bit lonely. I'm not sure if it was all the stress from the week before he left, that fact that I was extremely tired or what but I'll be honest I missed him the first couple of days he was gone. The bed felt really big, it was cold and there were no baseball games being watched. Although I still miss him it does get easier the longer you go. I love Skype though. Even though it can be extremely frustrating at times, it has given us that opportunity to talk. Which has really been a life saver! I'm excited because I have two weeks down and only one more to go!

Going to Brazil!

It is Official! In April Sean will take off to go to Brazil and then in about the middle of May will go down to meet him. Sean is going down to do some work with a Professor from BYU's Library. He will be down there a total of 1 month. I will miss him but I think it is a great opportunity for him and on the plus side his whole trip is paid for. You can't beat that! I will get to go downfor about 10 days and I will meet up with Sean in Rio De Janeiro. We will spend a few days in Rio and travel up to Recife, where Sean served his mission.

I am so excited to be able to take this trip. It will be the first time that I have been outside the United States and I'm looking forward to the adventure!

Work and School

Since new years there has not been alot to post about other then the fact that Sean has been really busy with school and I have been busy with work. Sean is really enjoying the fact that he this semesters work load is lighter then his first semesters. During the fall semester there were times when I think he was about to pull his hair out. This Semester the class work is easier and I think he enjoys that classes he is taking as well. Also he has started coaching at Orem High School. Mainly he just does batting practice for the sophomores but he helps out where ever he can. Because his work load is lighter this semester he has also been able to work out more and also run. He loves to exercise and I can tell that he is a happier person when he does get his exercises.

As for me, I have been extremely blessed at work the last couple of months. Before Christmas there was a time where I felt that I wasn't helping very many students and my numbers were low and I know that part of that was due to the holiday. After New Year's things changed and I started to be alot more successful at work. I'm grateful for the blessings that the Lord has blessed us with and I know that his hand has been in my success at work. With out his help I would be nothing and it would be much harder to get through the day.

On Valentines Day we decided to surprise my parents and since we had a long holiday, thanks to president’s day, we left Saturday after work and took off to go see my parents. They had no idea that we were coming and it was priceless to see the look on my parents and my grandparents faces when we pulled into the driveway. It was fun to hang out with them and also I am grateful for the time that Sean and I got to spend together. I enjoy our road trips because it really gives us an opportunity to chat and grow closer together as a couple.

While we were there we sorta celebrated my moms birthday. Although we weren't going to be there for her birthday we didn't want to miss the opportunity of wishing her a happy birthday. My Mom is truly an amazing person, she does so much for everyone else and has a deep love for those around her. She not only runs the house, takes care of my brothers, does the books for my dads business, and feed the chicken but she also takes care of my aging grandparents. I can tell how much she loves them and how much she loves my dad. Happy Birthday Mom!

After our trip to Baker City, the next weekend we had a wonderful get-a-way. Last fall at work I won a night stay at the Castle Creek Inn and dinner at The Tuscany. After work on the Saturday following Valentines day, Sean and I headed up to sandy to take advantage of this prise. First stop though was to the Draper Temple. We decided to do a sealing session and it was wonderful to feel of the spirit and enjoy such a beautiful temple. Next stop was to check into the hotel and then head off to The Tuscany. I must admit they have very very yummy food there. Sean ordered their fresh sea bass that they have flown straight from Hawaii (it was less then 24 hours old) and although it was spendy it is well worth it! It by far one of the most decadent piece of fish I have ever tasted. I ordered the Cesar salad with chicken and it too was very good. One of the things that I liked was that they give you home made bread to dip in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The other interesting thing is that they require you to use their Valet parking so Sean and I for the first time ever paid someone to park our car. I can see why people like this type of service. After dinner it was back to the hotel to relax and kick back. Since we spent Valentines Day in Baker, Sean surprised me with my Valentines gift when we got to the hotel. He bought me a hot Cocoa machine! I was really impressed with not only his thoughtfulness but also the fact that he went to about 5 different stores to find it. All in all it was a wonderful weekend and a much needed break!

After reviewing all that I have written I noticed that there was more to tell then I thought there would be. Oh well such is life I suppose! :)

The lights at Temple Square and New Years

On our way home from temple square Sean and I decided to stop at temple square to see the lites. I've seen them a couple times before but every time I'm just amazed at the beauty of temple square. We really had a good time the only down side was that it was freezing! It actually got so cold that there was a moment when my camera wouldn't work. I had to stick it in my pocket to get it to warm back up. I think when we got back into the car the radio said that it was about 14 degrees. Brrr. Here are a few pictures of the lights:

This was New Years eve. As you can tell we all were relaxing. About an hour before this picture we had spent most of the night playing the wii fit. It was so much fun to have everyone involved. Grandma and Grandpa Gottfredson came over for a little while and had fun watching everyone play on the wii. Also Mel and Brit were there until they decided to go off to have fun with friends. It was fun to see how competitive this family can be :)

One tradition that goes on is Dad likes to make all sorts of different drink concocktions. Some were really good and others not as much but it is interesting the things that actually go well together.

Mom and Dad Dahlin:

Me and my sweetheart:

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

Birthday and New Years!

So I know this is coming over 2 months late but I wanted to share some pictures from my birthday and from sledding with my nephew. My birthday was spent at my parents house in Baker City. I really enjoyed the time we were able to spend there. Here are a few pics.

We started off the day with a little bit of sledding.

We had a lot of fun sledding. We went down together the first couple of times and then Aaron wanted to do it all by himself. Oh and yes he is wearing socks on his hands because we couldn't find gloves for him to wear so we improvised and put socks on his hands instead.

Hanging out with Aaron after we were done sledding! He is adorable and its so much fun to be around.

I really don't know why I'm posting this but it does show my fun side and it made Sean laugh.

Yummy Birthday Cake!

Hanging out with my grandma! I absolutely love this picture of her. She had actually just sat down and read my whole blog. It was fun seeing my grandmother injoy what I have been writing on this blog.

Christmas 2009

Christmas Break

Our Christmas break started on the 23 of Dec. because I had to take my vacation time before the end of the year or I would lose it. I was very grateful the extended time off. So we packed our bags and headed off for Baker City OR. These are just a few pictures I decided to take with our new camera that Sean's parents had given us for Christmas.

We were very blessed that the roads were clear both ways and that the only snow was on the side of the road. The sky's were so blue!

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve we decided to go snow boarding at Anthony Lakes out side of North Powder. At first the whole family was going to go but with sickness and other unknown factor it was wound down to Bradley, Scott, Sean and I. I'll be honest though we had a blast!

(This is Sean on our way up to go snow boarding)

(The roads and all the beautiful snow on the trees. Truly a winter wonderland.)

(Bradley rocking out to Weezer I think)

(Sean and I after a long but really fun half day of snow boarding. It was allot of fun but boy was my wrist and bum sore from falling and trying to catch my self. Sean on the other hand was a natural at it!)

( Mr. Cool just chilling after a long day of riding ;)

Christmas Eve Dinner

For the last couple of year Joseph and Carrie have been making a traditional Italian dinner for us. It is allot of food and it takes a bit for it to get ready. I think after everything was said and done we had 8 different courses!

(The master (Joseph) at work on the feast)

(Maria and Mitch were wrapping gifts while everyone else watched TV and waited for dinner)

(Grandma and Grandpa Nelson chillin)

Entertaining the nephews

(Jason really loved Grandpa walker and he wanted to go everywhere with it! Good thing Scott was a good sport because I don't know how many laps around the house they made with the walker until Scott finally hid the walker from Jason)

(Both Jason and Aaron were getting into everything so I recruited them to help set the table for dinner. Although they were not much help it was a lot of fun to see them work together and for Aaron to help Jason out).

(Right before dinner the boys were getting a little tired. Jason kept laying his head on the pillow and asking Uncle Sean to push the start button on this Jeopardy game. Jason really like listening to the Jeopardy theme song.)

(Aaron just chillin)

(Both Aaron and Jason chilling in front of the TV. I thought it was priceless that they both had the same expression on there face. They must have found the Muppet Christmas Carol to be interesting.)

(Bradley playing)

(Grandma and Grandpa ready for dinner)

(Let the courses begin!)

(Jason, Angie and Bradley after I think on of the Appetizers.)

(Maria and Mitch, what more can I say)

Christmas Day!

(Bradley and Angie spent the night Christmas Eve and it was allot of fun to have Jason there in the morning. This may not be the best picture of Uncle Scott but it sure is a cute one of Jason.)

(Jason and Uncle Cory having fun before opening gifts)

(Look at all the stockings! I think there was 16 stockings in all.)

(Starting Christmas Breakfast)

(Jason helping out with making the Orange juice. He started out just putting his finger on the lid and then the whole thing ended up in his mouth.)

(Grandma and Grandpa with their stockings. They really look happy. I know that they both said that it was really nice to have the family around for Christmas.)

(Joseph, Carrie and Aaron joined us for the gift opening after having their gifts at home. Aaron was excited to be in all of the excitement and getting gifts too!)

(Oh Christmas Tree and Jason)

(Mom and Papa! So I have to add, for posterity's sake that yes mom is wearing and using two sets of glasses)

(Joseph and Carrie, with Sean in the back ground. Next Christmas I have to remember to get some pictures together.)

This is Ben's involvement for Christmas...

...Over the phone. Everyone gathered around to listen to Ben call from Argentina! It was great to hear from him and hear his funny missionary accent. Things are going well for him and it's really hard to believe that he will be home so soon! That morning it was actually really hard to get a hold of him. We were supposed to call at one time and then it actually ended up being at another time. Mom even received a phone call from one of the ladies in Ben ward he was serving in and the look on my mom's face of not being able to understand her Peruvian/Argentinian accent was classic. All in all we finally got the phone call to go through and we were able to have a very nice conversation with Ben.

After all the festivities of the day was done the family got together to play a few games and watch a few movies. It truly was a really great day! It was a lot of fun to have the whole family home and to get to spend so much time together. Grandma and Grandpa said that it was one of the best Christmas's that they had had in a very long time! I'm very grateful for my family and it was wonderful to be able to spend so much time with them and it really embodied what the families are all about!

Motivation...

Have you ever had a project that you knew you needed to work on and knew that it would be very beneficial to get it done but you just have a hard time finding the motivation to work on it? I know I need to be persistent and just get it done but there are so many other things out there that look appealing...