A home to call our own!!!

For a couple of months now Jay and I have been looking at buying a house. Now I should say that Jay and I are on a budget that we made for ourselves so we are pretty much a cash only kind of couple. Now we both understand that big purchase like a house or car can not be paid with by cash. We could only wish we had that much money but sadly we don't. At the same time as we were house hunting we needed to talk about the fact that there is a pretty big possibility that we will be moving back to Utah within the next three years or so. So we really didn't want to spend a lot on house we would only be in for three years. As we looked around in the price range we thought of we never found anything we liked or feel in love with. We wanted something that we could also fix up at little and make a bigger profit with to have more money to move back to Utah with. As we kept looking the possibilities of us having our own place began to look pretty dim. We even thought of just staying in our apartment. I loved our apartment it was so cute but the loud people downstairs and the yucky smells were not so cute. Plus why pay $7140 a year to a place you can't call your own.

Out here in New Brunswick Canada a lot of couples start off in what I call a trailer but what they call a starter home or mini home. This was so not an option for me. I was NOT going to live in a trailer park. There's far to much of a stigma that goes along with them and I didn't want to be attached to that stigma. I thought I cared about what people thought of me. What would my friends say if I lived in trailer? What would they think of me? Will they still like me? Will they come to visit me even though I live in a trailer park? Those are the things that went through my head.

One day Jay was looking on kijiji, as he does every night, and he came across a trailer that was for sale for only 10,000. He got excited about it and told me that it has new kitchen cabinets, new flooring, new siding, new skirting, new electric and that drywall had been put up and painted in the trailer. We should really go see this he says to me. I say okay but just to make him happy. I always want him to be happy! So off we went to look at this trailer. As we drive up I think to myself oh man what the heck am I thinking!! We pull into the driveway and I look at the outside of it and see its okay looking. The roof needs some work and there's rust on the siding but that can be easily fixed. My father in law is the all pro handy man he can help fix that. Then we walk inside and I see that it actually looks really nice but its still a trailer I kept telling myself. The lady shows us around the trailer. Not very hard so its 64 feet long by 14 feet wide. haha. "I live in a 14 wide" says the drunk man to a rat. haha. That's what goes through my head. The lady, Verdi, tells us the story of the trailer and all that she went through for it. It was a lot!! It was a repo and the guy who did own it tore it apart. Smashed doors, ripped up floors, took an ax to the walls, pulled out and cut all the wires, the list could go on. Verdi had to live here three days with no electricity. YIKES! After we left Jay asked what I thought about it so I told him. I liked it but there such a stigma about it. We talked about that and a lot of other things. The time came to make a real choice of what I wanted to do. Jay was all for it. It was all on me. I told mom about it and my best friend Becky and really talked to them about the stigma that comes with living in a trailer park. I then talked to Jay about it again. He talked to me about the fact that in one year we could have it all paid off and save like crazy for a house to raise our family in and then when we resell it after all the fixing we could do to it we can get even more money in our pockets. I had a lot to think about. Could I become a trailer own. NO! But I can become a home owner. A home to me is where I can come and feel comfortable and loved and where most importantly Jay is. So no I wouldn't be a trailer owner but I would be a home owner even if it meant that lived in trailer.

So now here I am a month later sitting on my new leather couch in my own home that just happens to be a trailer. And guess what? I love it and I'm so happy!!!! There's definitely work to be done on our new home and I'm okay with. So what if my so called friends will think less of me or if they don't like me anymore because of it or if they themselves think they can never live in a trailer. Because here's how I think of that: 1) they're not my real friends 2) and if you can't live in a trailer with your husband to save money for your future then maybe you should rethink your priorities. Now that's my opinion so don't go getting your panties in a wad if you don't like it.

I love my new home and the thing I love about it most is that its the start of a great future with my amazing husband who I love so much!!

*picture to follow soon. :)

Boring life but blest.

So everyday I sit in my apartment and think to myself "wow I have a really boring life." This entry will be a pity party entry. I sit at home all day everyday and do nothing. I'm sure most people would like to stay at home and be able to do whatever they want. I'm not one of them. I wake up between 10 and 11 most days. That is after I go back to bed at around 7ish. I always get up and make Jays lunch. :) I like making his lunch for him. When I wake up I usually make some breakfast which usually consist of either peanut butter and jelly toast with hot chocolate or cereal. Fun huh? I turn the t.v on to either the news or C.S.I. I have now watched every episode of CSI Vegas. Very interesting show. I'm not sure which one I like better Vegas or New York. I guess thats another topic. Thankfully A&E is starting to show reruns of Criminal Minds. Love that show. Well after awhile I'll get bored so I clean. I'm sure I have the cleanest apartment here. I do the dishes and sweep all the rooms, make the bed, vacuum, clean the bathroom. The normal things and places to clean. The only room that doesn't get clean all the time is the office and thats only because its always clean. Once in a while there will be papers or my clothes on my dresser thats in there. So that might take up another 5 min of my time. Then I take a shower and get ready. Thats my day.


Jay is always telling me I can go out and do stuff. Go to the "mall" he says or go to mom and dads, or go hang out with Melanie. First the mall out here is boring. You can walk it in about 20 min. No stores I really like. Only about 2. And yeah sure it would be good to go once in a while but I'm not a big fan of going shopping without money. I know I know at least I'm getting out of the house. But whats the point if its not gonna be fun. I love my in-laws don't get my wrong but they live out in no mans land. I love it there I really do but after about 2 hours or so I am bored again. I'm not a big fan of doing yard work and if you ever saw my in-laws place you would know that its nothing but a big ball of yard work. They have everything. A Christmas tree farm, apple trees, cherry trees, plum trees, pumpkins, 2000 strawberry plants, a garden bigger then my apartment. Its crazy! But at the same time just amazing! But really thats all they have. I love hanging out with my mother in law but she has things she has to do during the day. My sister in law Melanie is great but she is a busy busy women! She has two kids, a dog, a cat, and chickens and a house to take care of during the day. I would be just one more hassle to her.


What about friends you may say. HAHAHA. That makes me laugh. I have no friends out here. Theres only one person that likes me and that Amiee and she busy to. She works from 3-12 and when shes not working she has 2 kids of her own to. She stops by when she can and calls me to hang out when she has free time. I love Amiee! The people from church sure as heck don't wanna hang out with me. Don't get me started on that subject. I think the east coast wards have some issues. Whatever though. I still go to church because I know its where I should be. I go and learn and then leave. I miss the days of being in a ward where I had friends.


I miss Taylorsville 39th ward. I miss Jessica and Katie and Jen. I miss my bestest girlfriend Becky!!!! I miss my parents! I miss my dog Bruno. I get to talk to him once in a while when my mom puts him on the phone. He doesn't ever talk back of course he just grunts and snorts. I wish I could have brought him with me to Canada. I miss my little brother Jamie. I miss going to Milford to hang out with the Reynolds. I miss having Sunday dinner with the Cottams. I miss working!!! I love to work. Even when I complain about it I still love it! I miss dry heat. I miss summer.




I miss a lot of things. But there is one thing I don't miss. I don't miss going to bed by myself. I don't miss only getting to talk to Jay on the phone. I don't miss the endless nights of stress and tears because I missed Jay more then anything I have ever missed before. Including the list above. So no matter how boring my life gets I am still grateful for it for one reason. I get to be with Jay everyday for the rest of my life!! Even when he drives me crazy and I just wanna scream I still love him. I must love him to give up all that have given up. I know one day I will have it all back as we plan on moving back to Utah. So for now I will just have to be bored out of my mind and be okay with if it means getting to be with Jay. I'm okay with that.

Wedding pictures!!

Pinning on Jays flower.

We did it!!

In front of the Temple doors.

My favorite picture of us.

The perfect cake!

The whole wedding party.

The most wonderful beautiful women in the world, my mom!!!

Centerpiece, flowers. and marriage certificate.

The awesome sweets table!

Happy 16th birthday to Jamie.

Our first dance.

JaNae and Alanna singing "For Good" from Wicked.

JaNae and Kevin singing while dad and I dance.

Daddy, daughter dance.

Wiped out.

Cutting the cake.

The jump.

My shoes, flowers and veil.

My best friend/sista caught the bouquet.

Those who decorated our car.

And off we go in the Cadi!

Here we are 6 months married and together 1 year! :)

On January 31, 2009 Jay and I were married in the Bountiful Temple in Utah. It was the most amazing day of both our lives!!! We had so much fun the entire day.

For me the day started off a little crazy though. Both my mom and I woke up late. I actually slept the night before. When I did wake up I looked at the clock and was like OH SHOT!! I hurried up and got dressed and ran downstairs grabbed something to eat. Then my mom and I rushed out the door to go and get my hair and makeup done. A good friend of ours Judy Ercanbrack did both for me. It was so nice of her. I looked so good thanks to her. Then when I got home I rushed backup stairs to my room and got clean clothes, kissed my soon to be hubby, and then ran back down the stairs to take a bath. A girl does need to smell clean on her wedding day. :) Afterwards Jay and I talked for a little while and we got the wedding cd ready.


Jay had an easy morning. He woke up and pretty much did what he wanted. Lucky guy. He stayed at my house while his parents and brother Russell stayed at a hotel. I asked him later when I got home what he had been doing. He played on his new Ipod that myself and parents got him for Christmas and he played around on my computer, and he relaxed some. Lucky little bum!


When the whole family was finally ready it was time to leave. Except we had one little problem. Jays family was nowhere to be found. AAAHHH!!!!! Now comes the time to stress. We kept calling and no one would answer the cell phone. Jay and I needed to be at the Temple by 11:30 and so by 11:15 we had to leave. As we were getting onto the highway we saw his family coming. Thankfully my mom had put directions to the Temple on the door for them. After all the things you have to go through at the Temple I was really starting to get stressed because there was still no sign of the in laws. By the time Jay and I came out of the Celestial room everyone was there. I could then breath a sigh of relief.


The sealing was amazing!!! We had the most wonderful sealer ever. He gave us so many wonderful pieces of advice. One of the things he said to us was that couples tend to focus on the eternal part and forget the time part. He told us to always remember the time part. I think of that now and I am so grateful for it. The time part is hard but with the Lord it can be accomplished. He also said that we need to only work on ourselves. Mary works on Mary and Jason works on Jason. I loved that. To many times couples try to change each other when really you need to look inside you and make yourself a better fit for that person. So that's what Jay and I try hard to work on. He also said to always remember two things. First: always live a righteous life and second: never give up. He talked a lot about the priesthood and the importance of it. It was just amazing. One of my favorite things he said was that those who had passed on that were important to us were in that room. Lareta came up to me at the end and hugged me and said that she knew that my Memere and Pepepre were there. I started balling.


Mom and Lareta helped me to get ready and into my dress. Oh wait backup. Before they came into the bridal room I had to pee REALLY bad. But there was one really big problem. I had spanx on that went all the way up. My mom had pinned them to my bra. But they have a gusset on them. You know that pee whole thing. I waited for them for about 10 minutes before I couldn't hold it anymore. I decided that I could go on my own. Like I was 2 again. ( Even though i was potty trained at 14 months) So I go into the brides bathroom and pull up all that needs to be pulled up and then pulled down all that can be pulled down and I go pee. Not just in the toilet though but also on my Spanx and leg and floor. Oh the joy I felt at that moment. I was SO annoyed at myself for not being able to wait. But oh well. At least I know have a most embarrassing story to tell.


After I was put into my dress and Judy retouched up my hair and makeup it was time for me to walk about and meet my husband!!! That still puts a smile on my face to know that hes my husband!!! I walked out and took his hand and he whispered to me that I looked beautiful. It was so amazing that I was holding the hand of the man that I would be with for eternity!! Such a peaceful feeling!


I had red shoes instead of the traditional white shoes. I wanted to be fun and match my colors at the same time. I found these awesome shoes that were cute and hott at the same time. I had them dyed and was told that I should get a half size bigger due to the fact that those shoes ran small and dying them would make them smaller. WRONG!! They were to big. I had the worst time trying to walk in them. Oh well though they still looked cute.

Our photographer got some pictures of us in the foyer of the Temple. Me putting Jays rose on him and us kissing. Then we walked out into the real world for the first time as husband and wife!! *sigh: still amazing to think of* All of our close friends and family were there to cheer for us. It was so nice. The day was just perfect! It was chilly and cold but not freezing, the sky was so blue, and there was snow on the ground. Just like we wanted.

After all of the many many pictures were taken we left to go to the reception. Jay really wanted to rent a Cadillac for the wedding instead of a limo so we did. It was so nice!! The leather seats and the new car smell. Oh so nice!!

The reception was SO much fun!!! It was great to see so many friends and family there to help us celebrate our happy wonderful day. Jay had some good friends of his come up from Saint George and I had some missionary buddies there. The night went by to fast! The first dance was perfect!! We danced to Awake by Secondhand Serenade. After our first dance my very good friend JaNae and her daughter, one of my bridesmaids Alanna, sang a song to me. They sang the song For Good from the musical Wicked. I cryed pretty hard. To this day when I hear that song I get teary eyed. Then after that JaNae and her husband Kevin sang a song for my dad and I to dance to. They sang the song Turn Around by Nanci Griffith. I balled!!! I still cry just thinking of that moment. I love my Daddy so much!!! I remember thinking to myself at the moment what am I going to do without my dad?!?! Now I know I can make it but there are many times I wish I could just lay my head on his lap and cry or sleep or just relax. I know have a husband to that with. :) The cake cutting was fun. There was no smashing of cake into anyone face either. I don't believe in that. My dress coast far to much to have cake stains on it and the same with Jays brand new suit that he bought. The cake was perfect. My mom and I decided on a bakery called Schmidt's Pastry Cottage that makes bake goods that are to die for! So yummy. I went in and told them what I wanted and I got it. So pretty!! They also made the food for the reception. We had all baked goods. Eclairs and brownies and cookies. Oh yummy! We also had a most awesome candy bar. The kids loved and so did I! All of my favorite candies. Jays not a big candy eater. It was the one thing I insisted on having. I want some now. Oh and how could I forget it was also my little brother Jamies 16th birthday. So we of course had to sing happy birthday to him and get him a cake! It was a big day all around.











We were both ready to leave by 9pm. I was so tired!! And Jay started to get a little bored. Hes not into dancing and he didn't know a lot of the people there. So it was time to go. I had begged my best friend/sister Becky to please make sure nothing happened to our rental car. Well that did and didn't happen. Mitch Reynolds, Becky, Jamie my little brother, the Ercanbrack boys, and my bridesmaids oh and Jason's brothers decorated our car. They wrote on the windows, put condoms all in the car and on the shifter and on fruit and on sausage, threw candy in there, Becky also put in a bottle of sparkling cider and two wine glasses. They tied cans on the bottom of the car for when we drove away. It was really fun!


After we left we went back to my house and packed out clothes and some stuff and we were off. I think I shall leave the rest of the night to your imaginations. *wink wink*

*Pictures to come soon. I hate putting them in the blog because it takes me to long!

New hair, planting stawberries and more.

There's been a lot going on in our world this past month. For starters, Jay passed his liquid penetrant inspection ticket!! So very proud of him. He studied so hard. What this means is that he can now inspect welds with certain dyes and stuff. Really it makes no sense to me but that's okay because I'm still very proud of him for passing. He got a certificate that we got a frame for and then while he was taking a nap one day I hung it up above his computer in the the office. I sure am a good wife. :)

A few weeks back we went to our friends Brad and Moose's house and had a blast with them. Moose is her nickname by the way. Why I don't know because shes so little. Her real name is Melissa. They have a pug named Bam Bam that I just love!! I miss my little pug so much that going over there is good for me. Well Moose is a hairdresser and she did my hair for me. She cut it and put highlights in it. SO CUTE!!! I just love it. This isn't the best picture but it will have to do. I look very tired in this picture. We probably got up early to go to yard sales or something. Jay loves yard sales. I kid you not, yard sales in New Brunswick are HUGE!!!! Like to the point where they have town wide yard sales. Its insane!

About a month ago, I went over to my in-laws and planted strawberries. My father in-law Heinz has decided that along with the Christmas Tree farm he also wants a u- pick strawberry farm. So myself along with my sister in-law Melanie and brother in-law Kevin planted 3000 strawberry plants. Jay came along about half way through to help out. It was a good time. I got to their place at like 8 hoping we could start early before it got hot out, but of course we didn't start till like 10 almost. Oh well. I did learn alot that day on how to garden and stuff. It was a good time but I'm still not the out door kind of girl. I don't think I will be having much of a garden compared to as my in-laws do. Heinz has this amazing green thumb! Words can not express how good he is. He has plum trees, apple trees, cherry trees, strawberry plants, raspberry bushes, corn garden, rhubarb plants out the wazoo, pumpkin plants, and much more. Oh not to mention the mass amount of Christmas trees. The man will wake up at like 5 in the morning to get ready to go out and start working. I totally admire him. He has to be one of the hardest working men ever!

Hahaha so, funny story. About a month or so ago I fell in the shower. I'm not going to give any details because really it embarrassing. But I have to post a picture of the bruise I got from it. It hurt pretty bad. It was on my left leg. I laughed so hard when it happened that I couldn't breath. Jay is always telling me that if there is a way to hurt myself I will find it. He once asked me how come I wasn't born with a helmet on. LOL! I told him instead that I was born peeing on the doctor with a scowl on my face. :)

A few weeks back, Jay and I along with his mom went to a family reunion on his moms side of the family. It was really fun. We laughed so hard. Everyone there was at least 70 and over. So the three of us where the youngest. On the way up Jay and I took some funny pictures.

Hahaha we're such dorks. But the best part of the trip was staying with Jays Omama. She makes me laugh so hard. I got to hear the story of her being in the war and what it was like being on the run. She said there where nights that they could hear and see bombs being dropped right next to them. It was amazing to hear. She is from the Romania part of Germany. She and her husband moved all the kids to Canada when Heinz was a little kid. They built the house they grew up in here in Canada. Then Heinz and his boys built the house they live in now. I tell you what, any time anyone in this family needs help building something everyone is there to help and they all know what they are doing. Its amazing really! So Omama makes homemade crepes that Jay loves, I think there okay but my tummy wasn't a big fan of them. Well Jay thought it would be funny to take pictures of Omama while eating the crepes. She's a cute lil old lady that we love!

Sun burn or chemical burn?

So a few weeks ago Jay and I were helping his dad out on his Christmas tree farm. Yes thats right my in-laws have a awesome Christmas tree farm along with soon to be 3000 strawberry plants. The picture doesn't even show a tenth of the farm. It HUGE!! They also have a huge garden and rows upon rows of corn. I can't wait for fall to eat the yummy corn on the cob!!! Anyways. The day we were helping out it was probably like 22 degrees celsius outside, which is kind of hot. Well it was a great day of labour let me tell you. Oh my goodness. Now I don't like the out doors very much so moving trees that my husband has dug up was for sure not a fun day for me. But alas I did it because my father in law needed help. I only worked out in the sun for about 3 hours and Jay worked out there for like 6 hours. I watched the kids for a while and went to the market in the morning first. Jay has extremely sensitive skin so we made sure he put lots of sunscreen on. Well he put on Neutrogena sunscreen and I hate anything Neutrogena! Its awful stuff!!! We finally go in to rest and eat and we all notice that Jay is very burnt and that his hands are much worse. Well later that night Jay and I are going to our friends Dave and Letha's house we he notices that he is starting to blister on his right wrist. I make him call tella care to see what they say about it the lady tells Jay that as long as the blister doesn't get any bigger then a dime he should be okay. Well it got way bigger then a dime!!

Can I just tell you it was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen!! I was so grossed out by it. That was taken on Sunday. It had grown over night to be that big. Thankfully its gone now. It accidentally popped after church and this nasty orange liquid came out of it. So a note to everyone out there don't ever use Neutrogena!! Unless you want an awesome blister like my husbands.

Pootech and Healthcare

So my husband had this great idea to start his own business. When he first told me about it I'm not gonna lie I was little taken back by it and the thought of it. The business is called Pootech Services. He goes around and picks up dog poop from peoples yards. Here we are on the second month of our little business and we just went to our third clients house tonight!! Its all very exciting for us. Jay still works full time and he just does this as a little side thing. He's always wanted to own his own business and be successful at it. I would say hes doing pretty good so far! I'm very proud of him. Jay still works full time though as an NDT Tech. That stands for non destructive testing technician. Pretty much hes a welding inspector. I have to give him credit he loves his job and works so hard! Some days he comes home and his whole body just hurts from doing some pretty heavy labour, but he still gets out there and does Pootech. If you want you can check out our web site at www.pootech.com.

So just this past week I was able to get approved for medicare. Which if anyone knows anything about Canada you would know that medicare out here is not like it is in the states. Medicare in Canada is the free health care they have. I was so excited when I got approved for it! Words can not even express it. And here is why. I never get sick enough to have to go to the hospital or even the doctors. Just the normal yearly health check ups for this girl. So Jay and I didn't bother signing me up for it before I moved here. Well lo and behold we aren't even in Canada for 15 min when Jay has to bring me to the hospital. Of all the luck in the world. I had a very bad bladder infection. The likes of which I hope to never again have in my life! Who could have known that just going to the washroom could hurt so much. So a thousand dollars later and I'm feeling much better and taking two cranberry pills day.

The Graefs.

This is me, Mary. I'm from Utah




This is my husband, Jay, hes from New Brunswick Canada.

This is us together.

On January 31, 2009 we were married in the Bountiful Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are loving married life! Right now we live in Canada. We hope to one day move back to Utah. Might not be for a while though. For now we are just working and loving life. We both help out in the youth groups for our church and love being with them! Its great to help infulence the next generation. This little blog will be about our life and the fun and silly things that go on with us. I'll be posting lots of pictures I'm sure cuz I love pictures! But as for now this will have to be the end of my first post. See you soon! :)