The Oldroyd Family

Today I did something I've NEVER done. I got up at 5:30 to be at a store by 6:00 am the day after Christmas! The store was Home Depot and the sought for item; a new Christmas Tree! To start at the beginning; I really prefer real trees. But I live in Texas and they're so dry by the time they get here the needles fall off and I have a puppy who eats everything... you see why it's not a good idea for us to have a real tree. So for the 3rd Christmas in a row I put up and decorated our fake tree that was a gift at a bridal shower. It's a dandy little tree that was perfect for our apartment dwelling days. As for a house... it looks a little puny, as you can see in the picture on the right. So I wanted a new tree and decided that I would get myself a good one. I heard Home Depot had good trees (they're half off right now) and they open early; so early I knew only the crazy people would actually go there. So I went. I was there at 6 am sharp and went straight to ...

Today is our 4th Wedding Anniversary! It's been a good four years! Our life is definitely different than we thought it would be on that beautiful winter day in Bountiful, Utah. We thought we were going to live in Utah, Sam would finish school at the University of Utah, we would camp every weekend (I even had a camping bridal shower!), and we'd wait a year or so to have kids... Well, none of those plans worked out! We instead moved to Houston where camping is NOT an option, Sam took 3 1/2 years to finish at the University of Houston, and we don't have kids! But the most important thing is that through all of the ups, downs, and changes, we've grown closer and built the beginnings of a strong eternal family. Here are the highlights of our life together: 2003 - We met in Provo in July, engaged in October, married 2 1/2 months later. We had a beautiful wedding and both were violently ill with a stomach flu the day after. We enjoyed a mini honeymoon in St. George and Las Veg...

For those of you who don't know, my Sam graduated from the University of Houston last week! Yup... he's FINALLY finished. He got his degree in Accounting and did very well this semester in his 15 credits. He refused to let me send out graduation announcements but I'm so proud of him I had to brag! It has taken so long for Sam to finish school because he has stopped and started so many times, transferred 3 times and since we moved to Houston, has only taken a couple of classes each semester (until this past one). He is so relieved to be done and I'm relieved too! Sam is leaving his awesome job at Home USA Mortgage to pursue a career in accounting. He is going to miss the people he's worked with so much. They have been so good to our family. Sam has a new job that starts January 8th. He's going to be working for a local public accounting firm called Briggs & Vaselka. He was referred by a friend who used to work there and loved it. We both feel reall...

Hello all! Sam & I just got back from our trip to Utah to see my brother off at the MTC. It was a good trip but we're glad to be home & back in our warm weather and our own (king size) bed! I'm not the best picture taker so I definitely didn't come home with pictures of everything I did in Utah but I did get some... Zack had his "farewell" talk in church on Sunday. He did a GREAT job! After church we had food out and people dropped by all day! It sure wiped us out! It was so fun to see everyone. The next couple days were all about getting Zack ready to go. We celebrated Christmas early and played some "Garbage." (Don't worry-- it's a card game-- we don't play in the garbage for fun!! Not usually anyway...) Wednesday was off the the MTC in the morning. It was a fun experience as a family but as some of you have experienced, it can be very hard to say goodbye for 2 whole years! We're so proud of Zack and the decision he ...

I got this great email from an old friend that had funny Christmas comics. I thought I'd pick a couple to post at a time for your holiday enjoyment! Keep checking back! Merry Christmas! These are a couple of my favorites!

It's December 1st! I can't believe it! As I get older, I have really started to look forward to this time of year. I'm not sure if it's maturity or the fact that I now live in Texas and went out tonight in short sleaves and flip flops. But I'm REALLY excited it's December!! My roommates used to call me "scrouge" because I was WAY anti-Christmas music until RIGHT before Christmas... then it was ok. And none of that cheesy Chipmunks Christmas PUUULLLEEAAASSSEEE!!! Well you'll be happy to hear (Trenda, Steph & Ang-- I'm talking to you!) that I now LOVE Christmas music. I still don't listen to it until after Thanksgiving but recently, I've even been known to turn it on while I'm cleaning. And by recently I mean today. And just look at my blog (or listen rather)! See how I've improved?!!? Well I better get this posted. It's 11:59! Almost December 2nd!