Busy Busy Busy

Realized it's been a while since our last post, so I thought I'd update.

The House.

We are all moved in and, for the most part, settled. Everything has been unpacked with the exception of a few "junk" boxes that will likely remain packed until we get sick of looking at it and finally decide to throw it all away.

In my earlier post I mentioned that the house is brand new. I can't tell you how nice it is to be the first residents and have functioning, brand-new appliances. This, however, has not stopped Jesse from finding improvement projects. In just the short time that we've been here he has completed a number of projects, both practical (like planting giant pumpkins??) and cosmetic in nature. And just when I think there is nothing else he could possibly do, I come home to find the garage stocked with even more tools and supplies. I really need to find this boy a less costly hobby....

The Academy.

Jesse graduated from the police academy on June 18th after 14 weeks of training! He was SO happy to be done, and to add to the excitement, Glen and Carrie flew in from Vegas to watch him graduate. As a surprise, Verl, Linzie, her three little ones, and Aunt Cezanne all drove in from Utah to also celebrate with us. We had a great weekend, and the support and encouragement of family, is exactly what Jesse needed.

Jesse is back to work, but his training is far from over. He continues to ride along with a coach and is slowly given more responsibilities. Over the next several months, Jesse will have several different coaches and his schedule will change accordingly. Apparently this is an extremely difficult time in his training, yet so far, Jesse seems just as motivated as ever!

The Kitties.

The kitties love the new house and adjusted right away. They are a crazy bunch and definitely keep us on our toes!

The Summer.

This is the summer to get things done! I have a very intense school schedule that will likely take every spare moment I have until the end of July. Meanwhile, Jesse will be hard at work with few, if any, weekends off. Sounds yucky, but we knew it would be like this and we just want to get it all out of the way.

Jesse does plan to drive to Utah in July for the Swearingen family reunion, and we're hoping to get in at least one good camping trip before the end of the summer. Other than that, we have little else planned.

We're thinking of our wonderful friends and family and sending them all our love! Will update again soon...and hoping to add some more photos.

Home Sweet NEW Home

Jesse and I are in the final stages of buying our first home!

Initially, we weren't quite sure if we were ready, but after looking into our finances and the VA home loan, we realized we were in great shape to purchase a house....in fact, there was never a better time then now considering the current market and tax incentive.

We fell in love with a brand new townhome in Oregon City. The price had already been reduced, but we made an even lower offer and requested all closing costs be paid by the seller and to also include a new refridgerator to match the existing stainless steal appliances. Much to everyone's surprise, the builder accepted our offer!

We don't yet have a move-in date, but it will likely be before the end of the month.

I am very excited, but Jesse is beyond excited ;-) I literally don't know how much longer he can wait before he goes crazy....it's actually really sweet. He feels very proud to be able to purchase a home for his family.

The new place is about 22 miles south from where we're at now. My folks live in Happy Valley so we are no further from them than we were before, but now in the opposite direction. PSU is downtown so my commute to school will be even longer, but I will still be able to take the train saving me from having to pay for parking.

The new home is 1,720 sq. ft. which is almost twice as big as our place now...we'll finally have a place for all our wedding gifts which are currently at my parent's house. It has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and, my favorite amenities, a walk-in closet and kitchen pantry.

Here are my best efforts at capturing some of the highlights of the house:

Entry way, closet, bathroom, garage on left.

Living room, bathroom and closet.

Kitchen

Backsplash detail.

Banister detail.

Upstairs, two bedrooms, laundry on far left.

Master bedroom.

Master walk-in closet (wraps around to the right)

Master bath sink area. No more fighting for the sink!

Master bath shower area.

View of back yard.

(Because of high-voltage power lines above, no building can be done in this space behind us. Neighbors say that deer often graze in this grassy area.)

Thank you friends and family for sharing in our excitement!

We're still amazed that this is actually happening and feel so fortunate and blessed.

New address announcements will be sent in the coming weeks so keep an eye out for those.

And, most importantly, please come visit us soon!!

Deputy Unck

On January 14th, Jesse was sworn as a Deputy Sheriff for Clackamas County.

Here are some photos from that day -

Here is Jesse with Jason, his close friend and fellow Marine.

And Danae, one of our favorite people ever!

Sheriff Craig Roberts read the oath.

It was very nerve-wracking to pin him, but I was so proud and honored to do it.

This is when Sheriff Roberts told everyone that Jesse comes to work every day with a big smile.

I can't tell you how much Jesse loves his job - the people, the atmosphere, even the discipline and learning that come along with it all - he is just so happy to be a part of it.

Like I mentioned before, the 4 month academy doesn't start until early spring. So in the meantime, Jesse, along with the other new Deputies, have been going through an in-house training. Most of the things he has been learning will be taught to him again in the academy, but by providing some basic training now, these new Deputies can begin patrolling much sooner than if they had to wait until after they completed the academy.

It's been absolutely wonderful...for the first time in forever, Jesse has been working regular day-time hours and has every weekend off! Not only that, but he has been able to really get the know the other new Deputies and has already made some great friends.

Today, January 24th, Jesse began Phase Two (uh, I think that's what its called - I have a hard time keeping up with all the phases and terminology). So at this point, Jesse has had the essential training needed to be out on the road...with a Training Officer anyway. This means that he will actually be patrolling in uniform!! He is very excited, but also extremely nervous...every day he will be graded by his Training Officer. Jesse will be expected to demonstrate certain concepts and show improvement. This phase will continue for about a month...assuming he meets all the criteria (which I'm sure he will!).

Shortly after Phase Two, Jesse will leave for the academy and I will be sad :-(

We're hoping that he will be able to come home most every weekend, but we both understand that this training is crucial to his career, and it's very important that he gives it his full attention. Neither of us really knows what to expect, so I suppose we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it.

Thank you friends and family for all of your support! Jesse, especially, has been so touched by all of your encouragement and well wishes.

I will be sure to keep you posted on any new developments.

Garth Brooks Concert

A long time ago, Jesse told me that, should Garth Brooks ever come out of retirement to perform a concert series, that he would simply HAVE to go. Sure enough Garth announced he would be performing in Vegas for a limited time and, as soon as Jesse caught wind of this, he immediately began planning our trip.

I like Garth Brooks, but Jesse LOVES him, so I had to go and be a supportive wife...and, of course, the fact that it was in Vegas had nothing to do with my decision ;-)

The Concert was on January 2nd and we went with our awesome friends Holly and Chris. The concert was just as amazing as we had anticipated and, overall, the entire weekend was a blast!

The concert was so great, and we were having so much fun with Chris and Holly, we figured that some celebration was in order...

It started with one little toast, but we realized we had so much more to toast to!!

And still even more to toast to...

And a half a dozen toasts later....




And this photo pretty much sums up how the night ended.

We were payin' for it the next morning...but it was definitly worth it! What a great way to start out the new year!

For all the Billy fans

About a year or so ago, I had to record a speech for an online class.

I had forgotten all about it, until I was going through some files on my computer.

It was pretty embarrassing, as you can imagine, but the most difficult part of it all was just getting through it.

My topic was childhood obesity, and apparently my cat, Billy, had some thoughts of his own that he insisted on sharing.

So, nevermind the content, check out Billy's cameo...

This stupid project took me all day!

I was pretty frustrated at the time, but I'm so glad I saved those clips. They bring a smile to my face everytime I watch them.

Halloween

Thank you Danae & Laurie for hosting a fabulous Halloween party!

My cowboy-sheriff husband and I had fun!

Jesse's New Job!!

It always been Jesse's dream to work in law enforcement. Since his move here in August of 2007, he has applied to dozens of city and county departments. Unfortunately, the current economy left many of these departments without the funds to hire and train entry-level recruits.

It was difficult to watch him spend countless hours of his time going through each application process, many of them leading to further testing and interviews, only to later find out he wasn't selected.

Last week, all of Jesse's hard work paid off when he was selected and hired by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department! Just a few months ago he was hired by their Reserve Department and has been attending their local reserve academy three nights a week, but this new position is full-time and, more importantly, is a paid position. Clackamas County has a great reputation and it was Jesse's first choice for departments. Not only that, but he was selected as a patrol officer which is the position he was most wanting, meaning he won't have to start in a different department and work his way to patrol.

I am just so proud of Jesse. He has worked really, really hard for this and nobody deserves it more than him. He still has a long road ahead, including a 4-month academy in Salem, Oregon (which is an hour away), but he couldn't be more thrilled to begin this journey.

We will keep you posted as we know more!