Happy Holidays!

As another year ends I thought it would be good to add a new post. I guess this is our Christmas news letter. This has been an exciting and interesting year for us. I graduated from San Diego State University in May with a Geography degree. I worked for the City of San Diego Park and Rec dept for about 6 months. I monitored the rare plant populations of San Diego and also created a bunch of computerized maps for many environmental projects for the city. Just a month ago I started with the El Cajon Fire Dept. I am doing GIS maps (computerized cartography) that are used on the fire trucks. It is nice to be working closer to home.

Robbie has submitted his application for the CA A/C contractors license. We should be hearing back from them any time now. Unfortunately it is the holiday season so things take much longer than they should. He continues to work hard, earning his time for his license. We are hoping by next summer to have his business completely up and running. In a way he also graduated from school when I did because he has always been such a huge support and put forth a lot of effort to help me finish my degree.

In late Sept. we adopted a dog, Roxy. She is a pug mix. She keeps us active and teaches us a lot about patience and simplicity. She is so cute and lovey. She even lets me put her in sweaters.

On both sides we have had new additions to our extended families. My brother, Stuart, had a baby girl, Monroe and Robbie's sister, Katie had a baby boy, Lukas. We have not met Lukas yet, but we hear he is a good baby. Monroe is growing like a weed and I love being her aunt.

We have been very blessed with health and another year together. We hope all of our family and friends are found in good spirits and doing well. Happy Holidays and we wish the best in the new year.

New member of the family!

No, We did not have a baby. We did get a dog, however. Her Name is Roxy(we changed it from Maggie) and we adopted her from the Humane Society. She is a 19 month old Pug, Corgi, Cardigan mix, and her current size is as big as she will get, which is about twenty pounds. We have had her for 2 days and it appears that she is mostly house trained, kind of knows how to fetch, and REALLY knows how to be affectionate. Check out the video from when we picked her up. If you can't tell, Melea is really excited.

End of Summer

This is our first time updating the blog together. Usually Melea does it all by herself (I didn't even know we had a blog for a long time). Right about now Melea would be registering for classes, buying books and figuring out who was going to pay for tuition, us or the government. Instead, we are just relaxing, enjoying summer, and trying to buy a condo! We are both very relieved to not have to worry about school anymore. It took Melea a while to figure what to do with her free time after work, she had never had any of that before (and didn't even really know what it was). For a while it was driving us both crazy. For some reason she just really has to be busy.

So we are currently in the hunt for a condo. We are looking in East County and north county and everything in between. It is hard to sift through all of the bad neighborhoods and crummy complexes to find the right place. We don't want an apartment style condo, and there are so many of those on the market right now it makes searching a daunting task.

In the end of May we went to Lake Havasu with some friends and had a blast. Then in August we went with Randy and Caitlin on a Red Cross mission to Albuquerque to install air conditioning in a crazy pregnant lady's house. We'll say it was the heat that made her crazy, although Albuquerque itself might have contributed to her "condition." The mission was a success, and now Katie can enjoy her new baby in her cool house.

The light at the END of the tunnel

Well, only 2 and a half weeks of this girl's college career! It is a bitter sweet feeling though. I have loved school for so many years and it is almost over. I can't believe I am here already. The last five years have flown by, yet dragged on at the same time. I am excited to actually read something of my own choice and not have tests and papers to worry about. I do have a job that will be starting shortly with the City of San Diego. I will be an intern in their Open Space dept (It's a division in the Parks and Rec dept, but I don't want people to associate it with the TV show). I get to go out to open lands in SD County and take surveys of the plant life there. I will put this info into a large report and update the maps with the GPS points we will take. I'm just waiting on my background check to clear (I guess they discovered my large criminal history and that's why it's taking so long).
I wanted to give a thanks to all my friends and family who have supported me along the way. Especially thanks to Robbie for encouraging me and making it possible for me to finish a dream. He is the best!!!
A quick update on some other things...Ashley and Stu's baby is due in a couple of weeks. Pray that Monroe comes on time (May 14). Also, the OOP season 4 is officially starting on saturday. Check out their webpage at www.ooptid.weebly.com. The MS walk was this last weekendat Legoland, and we had a great time. My sister Jessica has MS, so she came from Flagstaff to walk with all of us. Our team had about 18 walkers. We love you Jess!!!
Life is so great! Thanks for being apart of ours!

An Update

Robbie and I continue to work hard in either school or work. I just got word that I officially graduate college on May 22, 2009. I am too excited to explain in words but I feel it will be bitter sweet. All I have done for most of my life is school and I'm sure it will be difficult to see it go. I am ready for a change and join the big world. I have no plans of going to graduate school as of now but maybe in the future. Also, Robbie is still working on obtaining his a/c contractor's licence and will hopefully have it by the end of summer. He has passed the test, so we play the waiting game for a little while. He continues to work very hard and we are so blessed he does.
Some more exciting news, we found out that Stuart and Ashley (my brother and his wife) are having a little girl in May. They are going to name her Monroe Eva Keller. We know my mom will hold her hand unitl it's time to come to this world. I am excited to have a niece and spoil her with purple and yellow things.
We are loving life and growing closer together. Times are difficult bet we are learning so much and loving each other more each day.

Welcome 2009

I admit that keeping up with this blog has not been a high priority. So, to make up for lost time I have decided to write one giant update.
Last August Robbie and I took a wonderful trip to Flagstaff and Albuquerque. We also brought Rusty, Robbie's dad, along for the ride. Our fist stop in Flagstaff was to see 2 of my favorite nephews, Kurtis and Sean. We put Rusty on the train to Albuquerque to spend the week with his daughter, Katie and her family. While in Flag we went cave hunting and off-roading through mud! (Yes, Darlene and Dad we went Twirling) Since I am claustrophobic and hate the dark, the cave thing was kind of exhilarating. Jessica, Kurtis and I made it all the way to the end while Robbie and Jake did not...sissies. Robbie and I took Kurtis to see Sunset Crater Park and take some fun pictures. It was nice to spend alone time with him. As couples, we enjoyed a nice evening out, getting to know each other better. After a short time with Jessica and Jake, we headed to Albuquerque. (It is so hard to leave those boys)
New Mexico welcomed us with a greeting party in the street of Kellsie, Logan, Jakob, Katie, Jeff and Rusty. One of the first things Katie tells us is that she has firmly reminded everyone (mainly Jeff) that the snakes are not to be taken out or talked about while Aunt Melea is here. We enjoyed Jeff's great cooking, lots of laughter and human jungle gyms. (Uncle Robbie's the favorite, which by default makes me the favorite aunt) Jeff and Robbie wanted to photograph a New Mexico sunset so we went took the tram up to the highest peak in Albuquerque. Robbie broke in his new camera with some expert advice from Jeff. We unfortunately had to face reality and head home. We miss the rice crispies and the noise (mostly).
My semester quickly began and I was found jobless. I lost my job in September so I added another class (totalling 5) and Robbie focused on working extra to cover for me.
During the weekend of Robbie's birthday in October, we went to Lake Havasu with some of our best friends (The Hollidays and Randy and Caitlin). We spent most of the day on the lake searching for cliffs to jump. I got enough courage to jump about an 18 footer and Robbie about a 30 footer. We jet skied and others wake boarded. That trip was a perfect way to spend Robbie's birthday and a good break from school.
We spent Thanksgiving in town this year. My entire family was here so it was fun to be together.
Just as the semester was almost over (I had one more final to go) I fell and sprained my ankle real bad. I was on crutches for a week and limping for almost 2 more weeks. This was okay timing, I guess. I was just worried that I wasn't going to be off crutches by Christmas. Luckily I was spared and okay to walk independently by then. On Christmas Eve, Robbie and I left for Oregon to visit David (Robbie's brother) and his family. After 16 hours in the car and our chains we arrived in Grants Pass. We played, ate, laughed, and relaxed for almost a week and it was already time to go home. Auntie and Unlce were very sad to leave little Casey and Connor. (Auntie and Casey have the same color hair)
We are fortunate to have wonderful friends and were able to spend New Years with them. Also, Stuart was able to join us also for a night of games, bad jokes and lots of food.
So, here we are today, 2009. Crazy!!! Robbie and I have decided this is "our year." I will graduate in May with a Bachelor's degree in Geography. Robbie will get his Contractor's License soon and start his business later this year, in heating and a/c. We are at a good place right now. Life finds us healthy, happy and in love. We have so much to look forward to and hope to make some big changes and advancements in our careers and as a couple. We are happy to see 2008 go and welcome 2009.