Pumpkin Patch

We took Logan to his first pumpkin patch tonight! It was really fun and we got some good pictures, too.

 Pumpkins are delicious.

 

Paisley is a good buddy.

 Cowboy Logan

Our little family

Thankful Thursday (Friday Edition)

I am thankful for the holiday season.
I am thankful for the cooler weather.
I am thankful for a wonderful husband.
I am thankful that I got to have two Thanksgiving festivities this year.
I am thankful for a wonderful family, immediate and extended.
I am thankful that I have a job, and so does hubby.
I am thankful for Archie and our fish and sharks.
I am thankful that I have a roof over my head and food in my belly.
I am thankful for modern medicine.
I am thankful for technology.
I am thankful for the Gospel.
I am thankful for good friends.
I am thankful.

Monday Memoirs

Friday:
Jed had off work, so we just kind of vegged most of the day. We did a little bit of shopping (I scored some great deals at Old Navy), but for the most part we were home relaxing and enjoying each other's company.
It was our friend Mandy's birthday, so we went out to dinner with her and her family. It was good to catch up with them and just have a good time with each other.

Saturday:
We bought our Christmas tree! We are lucky enough to have sweet friends (who happen to have a truck) who offered to help us haul it home from the store. I'm so thankful for them taking time out of their busy Saturday to help us!
Then, that night, we went to the temple with some people from our congregation. It's such an uplifting experience when we have the opportunity to go and worship in the temple.

Sunday:
After church, I had an interview to work as a substitute at a daycare. I got the job. :)
In the evening, we went to my sister's house to have a family Thanksgiving celebration.As always, it was good to see them and hang out with family.

Utah Trip

I recently went to Utah for a little immediate-family reunion. It was so fun! But of course I didn't get very many pictures (ie. I got two when we first got in the car to start the road trip up there and one in the car driving around town) and blogs aren't as interesting without pictures, so I'll just quickly share some highlights.

*Milking a cow - it was awesome! And nothing like I thought it would be.
*Utah Olympic Park - such a fun day riding the Alpine Slide and zipline.
*Temple session with all of my endowed siblings - first time we've all been together in the temple since my wedding three years ago.
*Camping in the mountains - campfire, s'mores, and lots of fun!
*Cousin David's Homecoming - he's an outstanding guy.
*Seeing old friends
*Game night with Grandma
*Couple's Massage with my sister - haha!
*Of course, all of the yummy food that you can only get in Utah!

It was hard to get back into the real world. I'm already ready for another vacation. ;)

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I got a new job!!!
I am thankful that I've lost another 20 pounds (down 40lb now)!!!!
I am thankful that Jed has taken an interest in mechanics and is enjoying working on our cars.
I am thankful for the nanny job that I've had this year and the wonderful family I was able to meet because of it.
I am thankful for modern medicine.
I am thankful that I live in Texas again.
I am thankful for wonderful parents whom I've come to appreciate more and more the older I get.
I am thankful for my siblings.
I am thankful for air conditioning.
I am thankful.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for my job.
I am thankful that I discovered Starbucks' Caramel Apple Spice. Mmmm.
I am thankful that I lost three pounds this week!
I am thankful for our health.
I am thankful for good friends.
I am thankful to have some family close.
I am thankful for warm showers.
I am thankful that Jed is so handy.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for fantastic friends.
I am thankful for my wonderful family.
I am thankful that I get to be with my entire family for the first time in over two years on Sunday!
I am thankful for the opportunity to celebrate the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ.
I am thankful for the Christmas season.
I am thankful for my knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am thankful that I haven't had to deal with snow so far this winter.
I am thankful for a warm place to live.
I am thankful.

Friday Foto Fix - Hair & Family

This is how I woke up yesterday. Notice the hair. I wasn't lying.

I went home in September when Tom came home. This is the fam at the airport.

Angela found one of Jeff's old baseball gloves. And the shenanigans began...

Jed and I gave this huge box to my nephews and they had hours of fun in it. Go figure.

Firehouse Subs. Good stuff.

Friday Foto Fix - Tom's Homecoming

The (Ohio) family the day Tom left.

And the day he came home.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I was able to go home and be with the family this past week.
I am thankful that I got to hang out with Tom.
I am thankful for my wonderful family.
I am thankful to be home with Jed again.
I am thankful for the intense rain storm yesterday, and that it brought the temperature down for a day.
I am thankful that my car passed inspection this morning.
I am thankful that I don't have to go to work every day.
I am thankful to Emily for giving us a microwave.
I am thankful that I got most of my favorite book read during my trip.
I am thankful.

Monday Memoirs

I flew out to Cleveland on Thursday because my younger brother was coming home from his mission. I got there about 10 minutes before him and had to run across the airport to his terminal before he landed. I was the first person to see him, the first hug. Nobody knew I was coming except my older sisters, who were really great at keeping the secret from my mom.
I let Tom walk out first and then I waited a few minutes before I walked out. My mom was shocked! It was awesome - best surprise visit ever!

We went camping as a family on Friday night. So fun! We did foil dinners and smores and "Nutella-banana pies". Dad fell asleep early, but the rest of us stayed up pretty late and had a great spiritual discussion.

On Saturday, we hiked through the woods and then went to these really cool rock formations in the middle of nowhere. It was really sweet!
We went to this incredible Italian place for dinner - best place I've been to in a long time!

Mom and Tom spoke at church on Sunday and did a really good job. Tom and I sat in on the investigators Sunday School class; that was ...interesting. Everybody kept going off on tangents and stuff.
We had a great shish-ka-bob lunch and then I read A Tale of Two Cities out in the backyard - the weather was fantastic! Dad left on a business trip, but it was good to see him while I did.
At night, we watched The Three Little Pigs on Faerie Tale Theatre and then we watched What About Bob? too.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I was able to pull off a great surprise today.
I am thankful that I got to be the first one to see Tom get off the plane.
I am thankful to be in Cleveland with my family.
I am thankful that Tom made it home safely.
I am thankful that Tom served a valiant mission for our church.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that Dan got to come visit us. (First house guest!)
I am thankful that my brother, Tom, served a valiant mission.
I am thankful and excited that Tom will be coming home next week!
I am thankful that Emily lives close by.
I am thankful for modern conveniences.
I am thankful for my talents.
I am thankful for air conditioning.
I am thankful for BBQ! :)
I am thankful for sunglasses.

Monday Memoirs

Last Tuesday I took Jed on a surprise date. Aerosmith and Blue October. I thought I loved Blue October because I like this song and this song. LOVE this song. But apparently those are the only good songs they have - the rest were, like, scream-o-ish. :/ And I thought I knew Aerosmith, but I only knew one of the six or so songs we heard before we left (Jed knew all of them - it was a surprise date for him after all). I think the best part was when Steven Tyler came out in a Lady Gaga-inspired ankle-length coat covered in silver sequins. Fabulous!

Wednesday was my interview with the lady from Big Brothers Big Sisters. It went well. The next step will be to get matched with a "Little", whom I will visit at school once a week. I'm excited!

I spent Friday with my sister's boys while she attempted to make a dent in the packing effort (they're moving this weekend). We went on a walk, colored, played Wii, got a frosty, and played in the sprinklers. Good times.

Saturday was full of shopping, movies, and laundry. Be jealous.

I made a new friend at church yesterday. Came home and had brisket for dinner, thanks to Jed's sudden desire to be one with the Texas culture. Or something like that.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that Jed was able to find a good job right out of college.
I am thankful that we're not starving students anymore.
I am thankful to be back in Texas.
I am thankful for air conditioning.
I am thankful that I was able to take a trip down to San Antonio for a few days to visit friends.
I am thankful that my sister lives close.
I am thankful that I have health insurance for the first time in over a year.
I am thankful for my wonderful husband.
I am thankful to be celebrating two wonderful years of marriage this weekend.

Update

Oh wow. A lot has happened since my last post. Must be because that was over 3 months ago...
[Disclaimer: I never read long posts like this, so feel free to skim it]
We moved. Jed got a job in his field and we live in DFW now. We got here at the beginning of June and had a month of corporate housing while we looked around. We went to the ward closest to Jed's job and met a couple who happened to be moving that week and was going to be breaking their lease. The apartment was exactly the size we were looking for, and in our price range, so we took over their lease. It was definitely Divine intervention!

I got to go to my good friend, Micheyl's wedding the first weekend we were here. She was a beautiful bride and I'm so grateful that I was able to be a part of her special day.

My whole family, minus Tom who is on a mission right now, came in to town for a week when my sister blessed her new baby girl. It was a blast to be with all of the family and I wish they all lived closer. My sister Emily lives on the east side of Dallas, but it's about an hour drive, so we don't get together as often as we would like. It's still nice to have someone that close.

Jed likes his job. The handful of people on his team are all over 50, so I guess we won't be making any good friends from work... oh well.

I'm having fun being a stay-at-home-wife, but I also get pretty lonely and bored from time to time. I'm wanting to get in to some volunteer work. I'm thinking about Big Brothers Big Sisters, a local food bank, a hospital, or something else. Any suggestions would be great!

I'm going down to San Antonio to visit my friend Heather for a few days this week. I wish the drive was shorter so that I could go more often, but at least I don't have to fly.

Hopefully I'll be more frequent with posts now that we're mostly settled in and I have the time to sit down and express myself.

Tragic Irony

When I was a kid, and living at home, I fought with my siblings all the time. I mean all the time. Peaceful, loving encounters were few and far between (or maybe this is just how I remember it...) and I didn't really want anything to do with my family.

But now...
Now that I'm older, now that I'm wiser, now that I don't live near my siblings, I would give anything to be able to spend every day with them again. I miss them so much and yearn to see them more often.

The grass is always greener... :\

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that today is my birthday!
I am thankful that Jed skipped school (for the first time ever) to surprise me with breakfast in bed.
I am thankful that I was able to spend Christmas with Jed's family.
I am thankful that I was able to visit my family after Christmas.
I am thankful that I made it home easily even though I was on standby.
I am thankful to be home with Jed.
I am thankful for the library and the book I was able to read over the Christmas break.
I am thankful that I was able to hang out with my friend Emily on Monday.
I am thankful that I got to go to lunch with my Grams and my Aunt Debbie on Tuesday.
I am thankful for the warm wishes and "happy birthday" messages I've gotten from friends and family - I am so loved. :)

Thankful Thursday - Thansgiving Style

I am thankful for a roof over my head.
I am thankful for my steady income, a paycheck I can count on.
I am thankful for Jed's job.
I am thankful that I live in a free country.
I am thankful for fast communication - phones, internet, Skype, etc.
I am thankful for our cars.
I am thankful that all four of our parents are alive and well.
I am thankful for all of our siblings, biological or 'adopted'. :)
I am thankful that we live close to some family.
I am thankful for modern conveniences, like microwaves, indoor plumbing, airplanes, pillows, dishwashers, etc. SO many things to be grateful for.
I am thankful for Archie, Sharky, Goldie, and our other fish. [Original names, huh? ;)]
I am thankful that all five of my grandparents are alive and well.
I am thankful for a cozy, warm bed.
I am thankful for my new clothes.
I am thankful for the Gospel and what it brings to my life.
I am thankful for my good sense of direction.
I am thankful for my ability to learn.
I am thankful that I am able to go to school.
I am SO thankful that it hasn't really snowed much yet this year (knock on wood).
I am thankful to be able to be a part of the Provo Posh & Chic Boutique this year.
I am thankful to have enough food that I don't ever go hungry.

I am thankful for my Savoir.

I am thankful that I am never truly wanting - I have everything that I need.
I am thankful for my wonderful, patient, warm-hearted husband. He is my world and I love him.

Monday Memoirs - A Day Late

Friday - I did a surprise date for Jed. It was so fun! I went and waited in the humungous line for InNOut (the guy working the line let me cut, so I only waited half as long as I would have, thank goodness) and brought it to Jed when I picked him up from work. He knew it was at UVU, but I told him it was an improv class. He pretended to be excited, even though I knew he wasn't. When we pulled up and the parking lot was full, he knew it wasn't an improv class. *sigh of relief* When I gave him his ticket, his eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. He was so excited! By the way, we went to a UFC Fight Night.
We saw a few sleeper holds, some blood, and a couple of knock-outs. I shocked when I realized that we had been there for FIVE HOURS. And we didn't even stay for the main event. It was an enjoyable event, but I don't think that I'd want to go to fights very often...

Saturday - Jed studied all day and I worked. When I got home, we went to Sizzler for the first time - it was ok. Not somewhere I'd want to go all the time, but Jed liked it a lot. And then we went and saw The Box. Meh. I'd at least wait til it came out on video. Not worth the money.

Sunday - We had Jed's brothers over for dinner and played SkipBo. After they left, we went over to the Pages' house for game night - I am loving this tradition we're starting here. It was an early night - we were home by midnight. Usually it's around one in the morning. :)

Monday - Nothing too fancy - grocery shopping, homework, and working on my cookie mixes for the boutique on Friday!!