Memories...That's What These Are...

then they do, that's how it is...

2012-01-14T18:20:00.000-08:00

how on earth did this...

grow so fast into this...

(although he is quite the model- oh i love him!)

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will- to your surprise- miss them profoundly. -President Thomas S. Monson

Best of 2011 Jensen Remix...

2012-01-01T21:56:00.001-08:00

Hawaii...

We kicked off 2011 in style, on the beaches of Kona! We had the best time with Oma & Grandpa! Wesson took his first plane ride, say the ocean for the first time, we all enjoyed Hawaii for the first time (but certainly not the last!) We snorkled, ate delicious food, relaxed and enjoyed the company! I thought it was a new tradition, but alas we rang in 2012 in 33 degrees! (however, much warmer for Utah than typical)...here is to next year!

valentines day
look how cute my valentine is?! I am the luckiest mom! this is one of those retrospective highlights. I definitely got laid-off on Valentine's Day. (hence the black eyes in the picture) but it ended up being the best blessing! I have loved the more time I have had to spend with Wesson! To be out of the environment I was in and to have the new opportunity I have! Definitely one of the biggest blessings of 2011! And so grateful for a husband who stood by and up for me! Who works hard and is oh so hotttt!

Mother's Day Pictures! I will love forever that we drug our boys out into the frigid cold to capture these pictures! First off, the hat no longer fits him! Second, no other pictures have ever captured so much personality of our little man! I love him, I would get his pictures done every week if Ryan and my budget allowed! Seriously though, he is a cutie right?!!

Purchasing this back pack. It got us through several hikes, mowing the lawn, vacuuming, walks to the park (only Ryan though, he thinks the stroller makes him look weird??) Wesson probably asks for his "pack pack" 3 times a day! I love how happy they both look in this picture! I have the best boys!

this was on the 4th of july. you can't see that in the picture but the 4th is always a highlight! it is by far my favorite! and my baby loved it just as much as i do! the fireworks, the bbqs, the family-fun! it was great!!

I put this picture up to highlight our anniversary then I realized this was definitely my birthday! which was great but our anniversary was better! 4 YEARS! I have been with Ryan longer than he served a mission, longer than we were in high school, longer than it took him to finish college...and I have loved it! He is really the perfect match for me, he makes me want to be better, since he is better! Here is to an eternity more!

Our 3rd annual camping trip with the our friends CERTAINLY makes the list! (do we count last year, fishing & smores??) We had so much fun up by Causey. Ryan fished his heart out "to entertain the kids". Wesson loved it. It will be better next year when he is not just sitting in the dirt like this year! We did get rained out a little but we stuck it through! This really is such a fun thing, I hope we do it forever! (as long as we can always find campgrounds with flush toilets! hahaha)

It wouldn't be summer if my cowboys didn't go to the RODEO! We LOVE rodeos! Seriously, we may border on addicted! My in-laws tag along but I am pretty sure they think we are crazy! Wesson loved the COWBOYS! He was beaming the whole night! Plus I got to wear my cowgirl boots that I LOVE which have quite a story...another time! I love that boys love each other, how much they are alike, and I love that they both don't mind hanging out with me on my crazy adventures!! (any free tickets hahah!)

the biggest highlight of 2011...

our baby turned 1!

he is just a baby!

we had the best birthday party with the best friends & family in the world!

wesson got to spend his actual birthday with his birthday buddy, GRANDPA!

my parents came out to be here for his birthday.

we had a bright color/balloon party with an italian soda bar, pizza and cupcakes!

wesson enjoyed his balloon cake! (clearly!)

it was so fun & hard to believe!

and now he is almost 18 months!...geez...time SLOW down!

We took Wesson to the state fair. I love this picture! He is my little people watcher so he had the time of his life! He loved the animals the most, followed second by the funnel cake! (which was Ryan's favorite!) It is so much more fun to do things like that with a little one, more work, but so much more fun! He thinks everything is magical!

For Halloween Wesson was Peter Pan and miss Olivia was Tinkerbell! They are so cute! I made Wesson's costume but I don't think it turned out half bad! I think we have a new tradition with the cousin's coordinating! Wesson loved love loved trick-or-treating! And Grammie, was pretty crazy about showing him off!

updated family pictures! November 2011

Salt Lake to see the lights with Jeff, Hayley & Olivia.

I could go there 10 times and still love it everytime!

I love love Christmas and miss it so much as soon as it is done! I love getting to share it with Wesson and I love what a good sport Ryan is- I lucked out for sure!

Next year we will get an earlier start (aka plan better haha!) so our kids enjoy it a bit more!

I don't think it is any coincidence we end the year with Christmas!

It is probably the highlight of it all.

Being with our family and friends (the 3 of you that read this blog!)

the tree, lights, parties, presents, FOOD, and fun!

we loved every moment we had to celebrate the birth of our Savior!

An in the end of this year we have gratitude!

for the blessings we enjoy, for our family & friends, our gospel, our country! we wouldn't trade a day of 2011 and look forward to all the fun waiting in 2012!!

Four Christmases

2011-12-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays.

I love being so busy!

I love the decorations.

I love baking.

I love getting to see family & friends we don't always get to see.

I love getting Christmas cards.

I love getting to share the light of Christ through celebrating His birth!

I love the music.

I love the spirit.

And I love that because our families are big, spread out, and loving we get to celebrate Christmas over and over again.

Wesson's cute tool belt from Olivia. I love it! It is all felt so he can't bang up my walls!

our highlight Christmas gift. A TRACTOR! Wesson played with it for 45 minutes by himself. at 10 pm. with no nap all day...i'd call it magic but the magic is in the tractor!

this spoiled pumpkin learned how to unwrap presents pretty quickly! and the cutest thing, halfway through unwrapping a gift he would say "tank to anta" (translation: thank you santa)

all the grandbabies at the Jensen family Christmas party. whoever was over there --> is cooler than me evidentially!

Christmas morning! he was so into his daddy's new pocket knife. Oh dear...

Wesson's highlight of christmas "riding a neigh-neigh" (my brother's poor dog) I should him this picture and he just laughed so hard saying "neigh neigh neigh neigh"

one of the best parts of Christmas, nailing the perfect gift! this is my niece natalee...i LOVE this picture! and this little girl!

"As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always." -Pres. Thomas S. Monson

Rewind...Thanksgiving

2011-12-19T22:16:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving the Jensen Clan!

Ryan's aunt and her girls had decorated the house beautifully, but I didn't take any pictures of that...

The food was fabulous, although I didn't enjoy as much as I would love since Thanksgiving was right in the heart of naptime, wesson struggled to say the least.

And to top it off, Friday night Ryan and I got a rocking dose of FOOD POISONING! (ryan said it was even worse than the food poisoning he suffered in Mexico..can you imagine?)

on Saturday we were actually DYING, thankfully we called Grammie & Papa and they wooshed in to save the day, taking our little man while we slept for 8 HOURS in the MIDDLE of the day! And evidentially he was a monster for them, I called at 6 to say I was feeling up to having him back and I am pretty sure they were at our house but 6:10 (and their house is 20 minutes away)

but still we owe them BIG!

the worst part, we missed black friday...

you can see the beautiful decor in the background!

but before checking that at look at those cute grandbabies & that sweet papa! they sure LOVE him!

the Malans made the cutest chocolate covered pretzels for everyone,

i think wesson licked everyones...

but look how happy it made him

my two babes with aunt julie! we love her! and miss her since we don't get to see her as much! she is beautiful and the sweetest heart ever. she used to call me hayley (ryan's sister-in-law) but she ALWAYS knows ryan, even now...

to end the night...trap the little ones in a cage!

we love spending time with our family! that is the most fun part of the holidays!

California or bust!

Rewind...Halloween

2011-12-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

I never blogged Wesson's Halloween pictures

(and since I am struggling to think of anything worthwhile...I'll share them now!)

Shout out to Kellie Hales for the CUTEST Halloween pictures ever! I wish it was appropriate to decorate with them all year long...

Peter Pan & Tinkerbell 2011

Olivia & Wesson

at the pumpkin patch.

Oh heavens, this boy would have taken EVERY pumpkin home if he could.

I still haven't thrown his away because he loves to run out on the porch and say "umptin, umptin!"

(plus I think Ryan wants to go shoot it or something...)

I don't care how much they weigh I'll take both of them!

But it won't be too expensive since he is almost 17 months and weighs only 22 POUNDS!

Peter Pan, Hook & Tinkerbell

Wesson, Isaac & Olivia

I love those little guys! I hope this is the first of many coordinated Halloweens, it was SO cute! Isn't Olivia precious?? I am the luckiest Aunt! Not to mention mom, my little man is a sweetheart too!

I am a lame mom and have no action shots but Wesson loved to "treat and treat" he would go up to the kids out trick-or-treating and say treat-and-treat, he was so confused why only the people at the doors gave him candy, shouldn't everyone give him candy?

The Christmas Mitten...

2011-12-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

i am overwhelmed my pinterest.

i am overwhelmed by successfully crafty people.

i long to be one.

i lack the ambition, commitment and attention it takes to truly succeed!

(however, in my personal progress mission i will guaranteed improve!)

the young women were asked to be in charge of table decorations for the ward christmas party.

our president had a baby last sunday.

she asked me to handle the tables.

i panic.

i look to pinterest

i cry.

and this is what i came up with...

THANK GOODNESS for:

-a fabulous mother in law who collects pine cones...

-sweet women in the young womens who have more Christmas decorations then I do! (weird because I totally think we are all the same age!! :)

-and no themes or anything like that for me to work with so I can't do it wrong! haha

and a heart warming tale for this Christmas season:

when Ryan and I found out we were having a baby boy we went to Sportsmans Warehouse

There was a cute little came glove and hat combo camo set.

Ryan HAD to have it for his little man!

Well this winter it KINDA fits our little one! Yay!

When we took him to Christmas village on Monday night I was 99% sure he dropped his mitten. It made me sad because it is pretty much the only clothing Ryan has picked out for Wesson (well he has a whole set of camo that will fit him when he is like 12 but that is besides the point!)

So I went through EVERYTHING and could not find it anywhere.

So I said a little prayer and look what I found today.

In a place we didn't even play on Monday night...

weird...

or an answered prayer!!!

this may sound lame but I was so excited I called Ryan- and he was really excited about it too...

i'd say there is a perfect person for everyone in this world!

family pictures 2011

2011-12-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

for starters,

is my kid the only one that HATES to smile when I have paid someone to take our pictures?!!

my goodness, that boy is a stinker!

but I would say we got a few keepers!

seriously, that is my little blue eyed beauty!

he is the sweetest thing ever.

and he gets all his goodness from his daddy!

that, my friends, is the happiest smile we were trying to capture!

2011-12-13T14:16:00.000-08:00

Background: I have served in the Young Women's at church for 4 1/2 years. Prior to that I had been a member of the Young Women's program for 6 years (age 12 to 18) I had a one year break for college (woohoo!) In all this time (10 1/2 years) I have still not completed my Personal Progress.

Lame right?

How long does a girl need?

...So I am turning over a new leaf and made a goal to finish my Personal Progress by November 2012. (cheer!) I have been working on my experiences, reading my scriptures, polishing up on my good habits (prayers, scriptures, family home evening, etc.) and coming up with fun, challenging and spiritual projects for each value. I have gotten creative, taken the opportunity to learn new skills, teach skills I already know, serve and LITERALLY progress physically and spiritually.

I kept having a nagging thought of an area where I knew I really did need to grow, mature, learn and again, progress! I'll start by saying I have been SO blessed. I have been given much, oh so much! And am grateful for everything and everyone who touches my life for good...BUT...I have a serious problem. One my husband, LOVES, to remind me about. I struggle to live in the moment. I am constantly planning for the "next" thing. I struggle to enjoy what I am given when I am given it. I used to think this was my blessing to be a "planner" but I have come to learn it is truly a lack of faith. I am scared to not have control. And if I am not ready something might happen and I won't have a "plan" but in living like this I miss the happiness of the little moments. So to teach myself to savor the little moments, to have faith in my Father In Heaven's plans for me, to be content where I am, I have created my Faith value project.

I am going to document SOMETHING every day. Some one, a recipe, a thought, a place, a story, for 365 days I am going to be content, celebrate my "little" blessings...

My motto:

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Philippians 4:11

so..in case you think, "wow, Jessica sure is blogging a lot" now you know! and come November 2012 I will wear my cheesy necklace proud (and who knows, maybe get released!!)

first real "ouchie"...

2011-09-10T23:36:00.000-07:00

mother of the freaking year here...

my poor baby!

sometimes while i do dishes and such i would let wesson play in the pantry...

LESSON LEARNED

what does one bottle of ketchup + my sweet little babes chubby toe = too many tears to count...

...he cried for a good 3 minutes.

and then he was over it.

bless his heart!

so lucky he chose me...

2011-09-10T23:32:00.000-07:00

august 31, 2007

...

add 4 years...

august 31, 2011

less photogenic.

more love.

ryan and i spent the evening doing a session at the Salt Lake temple.

and enjoyed dinner at The Garden (fried pickles...judge if you will but a-mazing!)

i love ryan.

i love being his wife.

he is the most amazing husband a girl could ask for.

hardworking, smart, fun, ambitious, talented, hotttt, romantic, spontaneous...he LOVES to spoil me, he takes such good care of his family!

can you believe it has been 4 years?!!

me neither...

i love you ry!

it's my blog and i'll cry if i want to...

2011-08-24T22:50:00.000-07:00

i always wondered how personal was TOO personal in the old blog world...

maybe someone will read this and offer some fabulous insight that will relieve me from my troubles! (anyone....anyone...)

but anyway...

i have started to notice in the last year or so, so much tragedy. so much sadness. i think i used to just think old people were the only ones who died. sickness was something you could ALWAYS cure by going to the doctor. hospitals were for old people and women having healthy beautiful babies. divorce only happened to celebrities and lazy people who didn't want to work for it.

i guess i woke up.

hard things happen to really good people.

sickness and death can come at anytime during life.

anger and hurt can come from the people we trust and love most.

i guess i want to go back to sleep. i am scared to live in a world where life IS fragile. i am not invincible. no one is.

all we have is faith. which i guess i lack. because what i really want are answers. i want to know why our Father in Heaven needed a brand new mom with 4 month old baby? why did He need a new dad with a 10 day old baby and a loving 23 year old wife? why would He not give a baby girl a healthy heart? why would He let people fall in love when He knows one will hurt the other? why would He allow the same family to suffer hard trials back to back? why would He allow a little girls life to end way too early?

and i guess the weirdest question for me, why do I hurt so bad for people I barely know? why do I cry so hard for people I haven't met?

last year in general conference someone said something about how women feel compassion and it is part of their divine nature...making us "divine"- making us God-like. I wish i could find that quote so I didn't feel like a crazy person!

truthfully i know my Father in Heaven loves me. He has blessed me and He has given my trials. through both my blessings and my trials I turn to Him. He has given me a husband who loves me (even when i am crazy) and a beautiful baby that He trusts me to teach and guide. he has given me friends who are supportive and closer than family. and a family who is constant and loving. my heart breaks for those who have trials without the knowledge of the gospel. because even with all the blessings i have the greatest knowledge i have is that i have a Savior who loves me. who died for me. and through Him i can be with my loved ones forever. this life is hard but eternity is worth it.

so you be the judge- to heavy for blog-talk?

Weber County Fair 2011

2011-08-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

ryan and I love the fair!

it is our tradition.

ryan grew up working at the fairgrounds.

cute huh?

we love it. we love the lemonade. and funnelcakes!

we love the trinkets.

the animals.

the demolition derby!

the weber county idol! (can i get an amen bryan saunders!)

well this year. the year we go to introduce our little one to everything fabulous that the fair is...

ryan worked.

this was seriously crushing.

enter: plan b! fair with my mother in law! we had so much fun! wesson LOVED IT! it was sad ryan wasn't there though. and he thoroughly loved looking at the pictures and hearing every "ooh" and "ahh" wesson made!

some cute lady gave us tickets at the gate...Score! (those who know me well know i don't pay to go anywhere! so that was right up my alley!)

we loved it. wesson loved the animals. he danced a little bit to the weber county idol but it was too close to the rides so he got distracted.

the lemonade line was long so we passed on it (unforgivable. i regretted it immediately!)

wesson loved these weird cows..."moose...moose" (everything is plural. do we'll keep working on moo!)

this picture captures his enthusiasm the whole night! i loved it!

forgive me...it had been a long hot day. but again...i love pictures of me with my boy!

wesson & grammie. she loves him soo much!

i wonder how many other little ones clapped for the cows? probably not many! what a nice guy!

me and my boy. he was about done at this point. but we had to see the pigs!

but all in all we had a great time! here is to next year...

wesson's birthday

2011-08-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

I love being a mom.

I love Wesson.

I love watching him grow and learn.

…..

but it makes me sad he will never be a “baby” again.

he is one.

he is walking.

he is all grown up! (not really but give my exaggeration a break!)

doesn’t it seem like it was just yesterday that little dream come true joined our little family?

well it wasn’t…

it was 365 (more now) days ago.

so how does one celebrate one?

crying!

just kidding.

you throw a party to remember.

full of sweets, treats, pizza and drinks!

thank you to all our family and friends who joined us!

italian soda bar. really so fuN!

out to dinner on wesson's actual birthday! my favorite people in the whole world. silly boy distracted by something else!

i don't have a lot of pictures of just me and my boy! not a great one. but i love it!! that is my baby!!!

these two cuties share a birthday! how fun is that!? grandpa & wesson. 61 years apart!

at his part! it is a balloon cake! and he did pretty good i think!

just like we teach him...sharing! (shawni i Love this! i want to frame it!!...love that girl!)

because you want to know...

2011-07-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

this boy makes me SO happy!

he is almost ONE.

he says:

what's that

dog

woof

bye

love

momma

dadda

grannie

oh wow

uh oh

he took 3 steps..

stood up by himself twice

he just learned how to stick his tongue out at us!

he claps, waves and blows kisses...

i wouldn't trade a day with him for anything!

he makes me better.

i love him.

he loves us.

our life is pretty a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

did i mention i teared up when i realized he is almost a toddler...or is he already?!!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

wesson & i got up bright and early to make ryan breakfast in bed for his first official father's day! mostly wesson just ate all the waffles! (he had TWO whole waffles!) everytime i would tell him "shh we have to be quiet so dadda can sleep" he would laugh SO loud! sometimes he would just scream- oh dear.

when we took breakfast in to ryan, wesson just starts screaming to wake him up! it was hilarious! oh this kid loves his dad. you could tell he just knew it was dad's day! and we sure spoiled ryan good!

wesson sure spoiled ryan good! :)

the man at IFA told us not many dads are loved by a 10 month old like this.

ryan is the best dad ever.

he loves wesson and they have so much fun with each other.

that brad paisely song if he is anything like me, was written for my boys!

and it is so true- he'll be alright if he turns out like his dad!

wesson & i are both so lucky to have him!

(and i love this picture of wesson!)

A day that will live in infamy... (and a sneak peek!)

2011-04-20T14:04:00.001-07:00

our little boy.

our baby.

almost 9 months old.

just as sweet as can be.

has become a monster.

you see...

our little precious angel

GOT HIS FIRST TOOTH!

oh my we have been ready for this little stinker for so long. we thought he would make his grand appearance awhile ago. but he took his sweet time, torturing our little man in the meantime! well today he debuted in all his pearly white glory...

we welcome him...and his (insert # of teeth here) friends

in the mean time our little boy has taken two naps both over 3 hrs long...

poor guy.

productive mom.

and for those who will not be receiving an easter gift from Wesson..

here is a sneak peek at what the others are getting

(that sounds mean, it is only his grandparents and great grandparents...you aren't a loser)

thank you Sierra Hillstrom for the oh so beautiful pictures! check her out! (pretend there is a link here, i don't know how to do that)

because he grows up too fast...

2011-03-11T22:38:00.000-08:00

..i can't keep up.

(or maybe i am watching too much Friday Night Lights on netflix!)

look at him sitting up on his own. it looks like he has a tooth...but that is just a cracker. oh i love these boys.

he rolls over (pictures to prove that later)

sits up on his own

"talks" like crazy

sleeps all night, naps twice (did i mention how much i love him!)

i love being a mom. full time right now! wesson is the best baby. and he is learning SO fast. more pictures soon..(after i get caught up on Friday Night Lights)

2011-01-28T20:47:00.000-08:00

a special thanks to whoever spent their vacation spelling Weston with rocks...

Hawaii 2011

2011-01-14T23:14:00.000-08:00

ryan and i won a "free" trip to las vegas. we just had to go listen to a sales pitch for a time share first. long story short they tell a sob story of a woman tragically dying right after going on a fabulous vacation with her family (don't put off for tomorrow...blah blah) so i was SUCKERED and knew we had to have this $23,000 time share. luckily i married a more sensible man who said we would do the trial package. so we had two years to use our credits. when we went to book it they saidwecouldnot go to hawaii. which they had told us at the presentation we could. i was ticked! ryan called and informed them of our irritation and here we are jan. 1-7 2011 in HAWAII we invited my parents to come with us since we had a two room condo, we knew they would love it, and they would be great babysitters while we snorkeled!

our flight missed our connection to Kona from SF so United Airlines politely paid for a night in the Hilton, dinner and future airline tickets (thank you united!) the hotelwas beautiful, and maybe even morelovely since we weren't paying! bummer to miss our flight but we had a good time in SF, made some fabulous hawaiian friends who told us all the must sees/dos of the island!

wesson loving the king bed

on our flight to kona. how cute is my little man?! (note to self: always splurge for a third seat, he LOVED it!)

ryan & i in front of the kona LDS temple. it is such a beautiful temple. with a gorgeous view clear our over the ocean. lovelove loved it! fun fact: steve young (former QB for the SF 49ers) and his sweetheart were the first couple sealed (married) in this temple! jealous much?

story time: this sweet man came up to us as we got out of the car at the temple. he told us if we had any questions about the temple he would be happy to ask them. as we started asking questions i realized he really knew everything about the temple- turns our this is brother allip. he told us his neat story of how as he was being set apart to be on the high council in hilo he was promised if he remained righteous he would live to see a temple on the big island and he would be influential in bringing it there. his "sweetheart" (he called her that everytime he talked about her) and him made it a goalto go to the temple on oahu once a month it would cost them $250 EVERY month! (we struggle to make it once a month to OGDEN! geez) he worked with different hotels, planes and made arrangementsand got the cost down for more people to be able to go to oahu. heretired from working in hilo and moved to kona. shortly after they announced the temple coming to kona he recieved a call from president hinkley (a prophet of the LDS church) calling him to be the 2nd counselor in the temple presidency of the kona temple! he served faithfully and was recently released and is now the temple grounds keeper! i was so touched by him. what a great example of faith, obedience and just goodness! he definitely inspired us to be better. I am so glad we met him! (sorry that is long, but SO special) for more info:http://lds.org/liahona/2010/04/a-temple-for-kona?lang=eng

our plates at the luau. delicious! we saw the pig dug up from the ground and everything...it was incredible! The dances were amazing, we got to see a breathtaking sunset over the ocean. (funny to get a picture of my mom because she didn't like the food)

wesson with two of the performers. they were awesome. now i really want to learn to hula. anyone with me?

any guesses??

...

that is a WHALE. right off the shore. so neat.. my parents had already left for maui so they didn't get to see it. but really i think we screamed and jumped and everything

starfish + octopus

so cool we saw them in the tide pools and then again while snorkeling.

(crocot0pus, anyone? anyone?)

grandpa, wesson & grandma.

thanks so much for coming and for everything! we had a blast! maybe a new years tradition??

i know it looks like something out of a magazine. i am ready to go back now...

i love this boy. he is the sweetest thing in the world! (had to capture a posterity shot!)

2010-12-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

i am so bad at everything a great mom should be great at...

taking cute pictures of my beautiful baby for all to see
keeping everyone posted on his month to month stats
remember every adorable thing he does

but...

i love him everyday

i love his sweet little face and his smile, oh his smile!

he has the sweetest laugh we have ever heard

he is my best buddy, he loves to cuddle with his mom.

he sleeps like a champ

this time of year has been so special with him

i can't wait until he "gets" it. but really i can because he is already growing so fast!

i love him

and to show him...

i will take him to hawaii on saturday!

4 month stats (dec. 4th)

height 24" 25%

weight 11.6 lbs 5%

head 16" 20%

my VERY favorite picture from christmas morning...

and his little laugh because you HAVE to hear his little laugh!

Firsts...

2010-12-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

Wesson's first trip to Cabela's. He LOVED it. And he doesn't love shopping. But it may have been how excited his dad was to have him there. But really so fun & cute. I LOVE my little BOY. He is such a BOY'S BOY!

Wesson's first celebrity visit. Thank you (Utah Jazz) Ronnie Price for providing this opportunity! Thank you sweet people in line who let me know it was Ronnie Price, not Al Jefferson. oops! I am not that good a fan.

Wesson's first trip to temple square & to see the Christmas lights! We had Wesson in SEVERAL layers, in the Baby bjorn with a blanket wrapped around him and he was covered in "hot hands". The boy was sweating and it was 17 DEGREES! oh geez we are first time parents for sure.

I need a better camera. What do you recommend?

2010-11-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

Families are Forever.

2010-10-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

I have a family here on earth.

They are so good to me.

I want to share my life with them through all eternity.

Families can be together forever through Heavenly Father's plan,

I always want to be with my own family.

And the Lord has shown me how I can.

Seriously So Blessed...

2010-10-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

our family on the special day. so special in zonked our little guy out! :)

Ryan gave our little guy a name and a blessing on October 10th 2010.

it was so special and sweet.

i didn't get the pictures i wanted so ryan and wesson are going to dress up again someday soon

but the day was special and reminded me how grateful i am for BOTH of my boys!

ryan is wonderful. he honors his priesthood. loves his family. is crazy about his boy. pretty much the best dad and husband. ever.

we didn't even get a picture of all the awesome men that participated...

Ryan, Grandpa Jensen, Grandpa Hansen, Great-Grandpa Jensen, Great-Grandpa Godrey, Uncle Brayden, Uncle Andrew

& Uncle Jeremy.

i am so glad my family could come from california.

wesson...we love you. you are so special to us and we are grateful for you.

all the men at the after party (and our newly painted fence!)

l-r: grandpa hansen, uncle jeremy, uncle andrew, uncle kyle, ryan, wesson, uncle jeff, uncle brayden, grandpa jensen, honorary uncle alex (my inlaws foreign exchange student)

all the family at the after party. my family on the left, ryan's on the right...they were not good at mingling!

p.s. i am so sorry if seriously so blessed is copy righted oops :)

Update

2010-10-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

(pretty much the cutest thing e.v.e.r.)

i LOVE being a mom.

wesson's mom to be exact...

i am so lucky.

i swear he is the best baby.

cries when he is hungry, has a messy diaper, and sometimes when we aren't home (he is a homebody for sure!)

when other people hold him sometimes he fusses, i take him and he calms right down- BEST feeling ever!

he is starting to smile right at ryan and i! and i have even made him laugh TWICE. it is the most beautiful sound i know.

he loves his carseat, as soon as the car is going he is out.

he take a pacifier like a champ.

nurses like a stud.

we seriously could not be happier...

and the best part

he sleeps 11pm-5am! oh i love every hour. sometimes we get a little longer but that is the typical.

it is hard to be away from him 4 hours every day. but i am so happy i get to leave him with ryan. i feel like there isn't anyone i would rather him be with (except me of course!) and the moment i get home i just want to be with him and cuddle him for hours. i don't take a moment with him for granted! i do feel guilty for working- i wish i didn't have to and i know one day i won't need to, but for now i do and i am willing to! i just wish i didn't feel like it makes me a "bad" mom. for heaven's sake the boy is with his dad! :)

anyway...

wesson had his two month check up on the 4th (his two month BiRtHdAY!!)

head: 15 in. 15-20%

weight:9.4 lbs 15%

length: 21.7 in. 20%

he is a little guy for sure but- he is perfect! and so so cute...

so far...

he loves ceiling fans. he laughs & smiles at them. they don't even have to be spinning.

he falls asleep everytime i take him for a walk.

i read the work & the glory to him while i nurse, he doesn't seem to mind.

we dance with him and he smiles so big. it also calms him down.

he spits up A LOT. always AFTER i change his clothes...but i still laugh when he does it!

ryan swears he loves sadie (our dog) but i refuse to let him anywhere near here---who knows what happens when i am at work :(

wesson, we love you! you have brought us a lot of happiness already. i truly believe the "valiant are saved for the latter days" i can already sense your strong spirit and pray for you everyday already! you are such a blessing to us and we love watching you grow!

time to go cuddle my baby!

five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

2010-09-11T23:01:00.000-07:00

august 31, 2007

time and all eternity.

august 31, 2008

paradise.

august 31, 2009

what happens in vegas stays in vegas.

august 31, 2010

now a mom & dad- still so in love.

it is so funny how we relate to Brad Paisely songs, but seriously I thought I loved you then. I love Ryan- my best friend, Ryan- the outdoorsmen, Ryan- the father, Ryan- the do it all man. There is nothing about him I don't love and not a thing I would trade. Everyday I really think I love him a little more than the day before and I REALLY loved him the day before! I love this adventure we are in, I love our growing family and the memories we are making!

I love you Ryan, here is to another five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes.

the story

2010-08-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

before we left for the hospital. (i think i was having a contraction when this was being taken)

(this is long...)

once upon a time...

at 6:30 am on August 3rd

we packed and left for Ogden Regional Medical Center

i was dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced

after checking in and getting all settled they started the pitocin at 8:30 am

i was worried about how ryan would do, if you know ryan you know he can't sit still and this was going to be awhile

thank goodness he can get sucked in to a tv show with the best of us...

i was also nervous about only eating ice chips...by noon i was STARVING i still get sad when i think how hungry i was

also around noon i started to feel a weird numbing sensation in the right side of my face

i told ryan i couldn't smile. when i heard my voice i realized i couldn't really talk either. i started to panic and cry and my contractions were starting to hurt worse.

our adorable nurse barbara was worried it was bells palsey (which made us panic more) ryan was good to not act paniced but later told me he thought i was having a stroke. barbara also scared us a little before this when we were talking about having a living will and she said she had only had 4 women die during child birth in 30 years as a nurse...really?? that seems high i would stick with none!

anyway...she called machel who came right over, she said my contractions were hurting me so bad (i have a REALLY low pain tolerance). my muscles were so tight because of the pain i was actually pinching nerves causing numbness. hello epidural! oh my goodness, a wise woman once told me not to see how long i could go without it and just to get it. oh i wish i would have listened to her from the get go (brilliant chelsie) the epidural was amazing. and now the fun really began...

i was dilated to 5 and 80-90% effaced and i stayed here f.o.r.e.v.e.r. they would kick up the pitocin and then turn it off. over and over again. nothing changed. except his little head had decided to turn so he was now transverse. after 10 episodes of the office we were feeling really discouraged. our families would text and call for updates and we really had none to give. machel came and checked me at 6 and we had finally dilated to a 6 and were now 100% effaced! i swear that felt like a huge milestone! the nurses started turning me every hour in hopes that our little guys head would turn...he evidentally did not get that memo!

as a side note i know it must be hard to work 12 hour shifts especially in the middle of the night, to leave your family, to be tired, etc. but seriously didn't you know that when you signed up to be a nurse?! and you are compensated rather nicely for your time!! we had a pretty lousy night nurse, she was so pessimistic, discouraging and negative! i had made it clear i wanted to do everything i could before we opted for a c-section, especially since neither i or nor the baby were in any danger, and i swear she was bound and determined for us to have a c-section. (i only have 7 weeks off of work and i didn't want to spend it all recovering, like i heard is likely with c-sections) at 10:30 she came in (while ryan was gone getting himself some treats) and tells me while i am ALONE that if by 11 i hadn't dilated any further i was going to have to have a c-section. as soon as she leaves i start to cry and pray and cry and pray. i tried to call ryan but i couldn't get ahold of him. i was so frustrated and tired. FINALLY ryan returned (about 2 min later). i told him the news, we prayed together and he asked all our family (and maybe friends...) to pray for us! my parents informed us they not only prayed we wouldn't have to have a c-section but also that the baby would hold out to be born on my dad's birthday, the 4th. gee thanks parents! around 11 in walks cranky nurse followed quickly by machel...it was like she knew the nurse was going to give up on us! i was slightly more dilated and they generously called me 7. machel said she knew i wouldn't have to have a c-section and we would just wait it out for awhile. also at about 11 i started getting feeling back in my legs. for anyone who has ever had an epidural you know this is VERY WRONG. i also started to feel my contractions a little more. not a lot but a little. they called in the anesthesiologist who changed the medication in hopes that would fix it. it didn't and we proceeded with a quickly fading epidural. my contractions really started hurting around midnight, i believe we had no epidural at that point and i was so tired i actually fell asleep in between contractions. machel was so kind to just stay with us at this point and we just waited for our little guy's head to turn. around midnight machel asked me to push during contractions (i didn't feel the "urge" to push but i was just happy this might lead to progress) i continued to push through contractions, she even asked if i had the urge to which i replied "sure" i get snarky when i am tired, hungry and not medicated :) remember the cranky nurse i mentioned earlier? well she was there...she was the "counter" while i pushed. i swear i would push for 4-5 seconds AND THEN she would start counting. very not cool. i made eye contact with ryan and he knew i was getting a little irritated so thankfully he started counting for me! we entered into active labor although i would still say i never felt the "urge" to push. machel had ryan and i play tug-a-war with a notted sheet to help me push harder however i was gripping the sheet so tight i couldn't straighten my fingers she decided we would just let me push like regular. ryan was being so sweet and texting our family the updates but i was so out of it i kept getting mad at him for texting. i was borderline delirious ...forgive me ry ok? he got the camera out and was taking pictures of "the moment" if you know what i mean, to which sweet machel told him "she would probably like you to take pictures from up by her head". bless her heart. machel kept saying "just an hour or so more..." 15 minutes later we had our beautiful, healthy baby boy in our arms. never underestimate a girl without an epidural. it was so amazing to hold my baby. i could not comprehend that he had been inside me for the last nine months! he is the most beautiful precious thing ever and most possibly the most loved little one! i love being wesson's mom.

shawni do not look at my hair. it was hideous. i needed you.

first time holding my little wesson. he is just the best!

they even let us bring him home with us. i think we were both a little shocked.

we love you wesson. you are the sweetest part of our family and we can't wait to watch you grow. Dad has your gun and fishing pole ready, you are the best little buddy he has been waiting for! and i love being the one you want when you are sad, or just want to cuddle, i really don't know what we did before you!

our boy

2010-08-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

wesson ryan jensen

born August 4th 2010

at 1:15 am

6 lbs. 4 oz.

19"

beautiful. perfect. wonderful.

36 weeks...

2010-07-14T15:53:00.001-07:00

I wish time would fly a little bit faster. not too much faster I still have so much to do but want to meet this little guy.

Last month we took him to California to see the family before he "arrives".

It was a fabulous get away and we were so spoiled.

We have been in a mad dash since we got home to get everything ready.

Here is to hoping we can get it all done!

08.08.10

or sooner!

putting it in his words...

2010-06-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

i did not grow up with guns, the only purpose of a gun was to kill someone breaking in to your house.

my dad never killed a deer to feed his family, my mom would just stop by the grocery store to pick up anything we needed.

a truck was only required to take furniture to the d.i.

a rodeo was just some place to go after a parade.

my family didn't wear wranglers, cowboy hats, or boots.

boy have things changed.

Our houses are protected by the good Lord and a gun
And you might meet 'em both if you show up here not welcome son
Our necks are burnt, our roads are dirt and our trucks ain't clean
The dogs run lose, we smoke, we chew and fry everything
Out here, way out here

We won't take a dime if we ain't earned it
When it comes to weight brother we pull our own
If it's our backwoods way of livin' you're concerned with
You can leave us alone
We're about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere
Way out here

We got a fightin' side a mile wide but we pray for peace
'Cause it's mostly us that end up servin' overseas
If it was up to me I'd love to see this country run
Like it used to be, oughta be, just like it's done
Out here, way out here

I heard this song and it seriously teared me up. it is like they know ryan. it is like they know what matters to us. and maybe HOOPER ain't 'way out here' we sometimes live like it is! i think today it all just clicked, we are the way we are and it is good to be this way. we love our faith, family, friends and country and i think thats all that really counts!

disclaimer: we do not smoke or chew. promise.

happy birthday

2010-05-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

this is a little late. but better late than never right?

on april 28th ryan turned 27. doesn't that sound old? 26 didn't sound old but 27...i am so excited for next year, his golden birthday, i think that deserves an exotic trip right? how does hawaii with my parents sound, ry?! (jk...kinda. we are really going, but that is a story for another post!)

so in honor of the old man

27 reasons i love you (ryan allen jensen)

1. you are the best husband. you love spending time with me even if it is doing nothing! (which you hate, but i abosultely love )

2. how sweet you are to our baby boy. and that you always talk to him. and say "that's my boy!" (even if it is after he kicks me so hard it hurts)

3. when i want to review the questions at the end of all of our baby books chapters and instead of telling me i am a loser, you do them with me, even if you mock them, you still answer them!

4. you work so hard. you work hard at your job, at all you pre-masters classes, at making our house beautiful...

5. you take care of your family so good! me & baby jensen never want for anything, we are probably the two most spoiled people in the world! expensive cribs, pizza in north ogden, a new (safe) car, a vacation, a mac (haha) you never tell me (us) no. (you probably should sometimes...)

6. your passion. (s) you don't love anything half-heartedly...me, fishing, hunting, guns, glenn beck...

7. you don't do anything half heartedly. if you are going to do it, it is going to be perfect. aka: painting our house, tiling, our yard, your wife (just kidding!)

8. you can laugh at yourself. you don't take anything too serious and you don't let anything or anyone get to you.

9. you hate tv. which normally would not be a positive but it makes me so much less lazy! i love your 7 off i am so much more productive. but you will still watch modern family with me. (on the internet with no commercials)

10. your love of old country music. i love dan seals because you love dan seals.

11. you splurge on fun things: dinner, concerts, hotels, vacations. and you never make me feel guilty when we do!

12. you are balding. which means you are 29% less likely to get prostate cancer, taking care of yourself for our family.

13. you love my new recipes "you'll try anything once"

14. the way you take care of sadie. if that is a precursor to how you will care for our children, they are going to be in great hands! except you let her be mean to me. not cool.

15. dating you. i love going out, the way you make everything special, thoughtful and sweet.

16. you put up with my c.r.a.z.y. family

17. how proud you get when i "spot" something while we drive like that beaver, oh my goodness so exciting!

18. your talents. really how many guys can paint, play the piano, tie their own flies, shoot with the accuracy of a sniper, play basketball like a champ...need i go on?

19. the way kids just love you. follow you around. copy everything you do. it is so cute and sweet.

20. every "old" memory i have of us! our first date, the first time we kissed (which was moments into our first date lol) the first time we said i love you, when we got engaged, marrying you, our first HOUSE!, finding out we are having a baby! finding out our baby is a boy!

21. you try so hard to get me to eat 90 grams of protein. really really hard. and are not impressed by my 75!

22. if you could do anything professionally you would own a landscaping business. you go to college for 7 years...and really all you want to do is mow lawns...

23. we think the same exact things all the time. creepy, a little, but mostly so cute. about people, things, anything

24. "what it is?" "take luck" "i'll....you in about a minute"

25. how quirky you are. like when you made a pact with YOURSELF that you always have to own a truck, who does that?! that you only sleep in particular clothes, there are so many more but i am too tired to remember, i'll come back and edit this!

26. how you pretend like everything that ever happened before me never mattered, you don't care about high school or old family vacations, if i wasn't a part of it, it really isn't that important

27. honestly, i love the way you love me.

i am the luckiest girl. to have a husband who is so good, honest and hardworking but also loving, fun and crazy! you are my perfect match. i love every memory we make. i couldn't picture someone more wonderful for my eternity. i love you ryan.

happy birthday!

Perspective

2010-04-09T11:44:00.001-07:00

i don't know if it is because i am pregnant.

or because i am nuts.

but i have been an emotional wreck lately

-the right song on the radio.

-a sweet commercial on tv.

-when i miss ryan.

-when i miss my family.

-when i think about our baby.

-if i read a good blog.

-when i price diapers...seriously it happened once.

-during general conference i think i cried 100 times.

and today...i can't stop crying.

i am so blessed.

i have the best father in the whole world. he is the most selfless man. ever. sometimes too selfless. but he literally would give anything to his children. and he has given everything. he works hard to help all of us. i can't wait til he has the chance to just play golf and visit all the baseball parks (and temples) in the united states and doesn't have to worry about his children's tuition, debt and can just enjoy his free time with his beautiful wife (had to give her a plug in this man post!) my dad may also be the smartest man in the world. he has read the encyclopedia and the dictionary for fun! i don't form a single opinion without consulting with my dad. even who to cheer for in the NCAA championship men's basketball game. my dad knows every trivial fact about anything you could ever need to know (except celebrities..that is how the women stand a chance and trivial pursuit) my dad has a testimony. he is a servant

of the lord. but our family never came second. we know my dad's priorities and always have. any given day of the year my dad can tell you how many hours til his summer vacation. my dad loves his family. he loves hot weather. he loves my mom's family. and a good game of boggle. he is a great grandpa. he spoils his little ones pretty good. heck he spoils his kids pretty good. some of my favorite dad-isms:

"money is a tool. it is meant to be used." -i think i might take that one to heart to much...some is meant to be saved :)

my dad has a disorder we refer to as "hansen humor" it is full of puns. corny jokes. bad dancing "i got the beat...i got the beat". but we love him for it. my dad says i love you everytime we talk on the phone. even if half the time we talked he was playing a card game on the computer and didn't hear a thing i said. (silly non multi tasking dad!)...my parents

definitely weren't perfect, but they weren't given perfect children to work with! they loved us unconditionally. they still do. and i am proud to be his daughter. i love my dad.

luckily. ryan also has the best dad in the world. i am so grateful to marry in to a family so close to being translated. good thing with me around they will stick around for awhile :) my father in law is the most hard working man i have ever met. ever. he is at work from sun up to sun down and then off too meetings until 10 pm. he is the most righteous man i have ever met. people say they are in awe when they meet apostles, i live in a constant state of awe with my father in law. he doesn't talk bad about anyone. he knows every aspect of the gospel. we have run into him at the temple on more than one occasion, and it is not cause WE are there that much! my father in law knows how to have fun. he taught his boys to hunt and fish and camp. i really do love jensen style camping. even if it is the EXACT opposite of hansen style! some how he raised sons that get it. good boys that do good, work hard, are honest and fun. i give him so much credit for that! being his favorite is my #1 goal and i think i am doing pretty good. :) he tags along on all my free adventures and i love him for that: crummy BYU tickets, rodeos..you name it he is in! he doesn't just offer it but i love his advice he is practical. he is an engineer if you know what i mean! i am so glad that even though my dad is so far away, i still feel like i am cared for and loved like a daughter. one time he threw a rock into my elbow, like he was pitching it, it was the most pain i have ever felt...maybe he is just making up for that :)

and this all comes down to my perspective. i am so grateful for the men in my life. for the priesthood they hold to bless our family. i am so thankful for their example. i am so grateful for my husband who works hard to take care of his family. who sacrifices to give me not just my needs but every want and wish i have. i was my dad's princess growing up and now i am a queen. i have been so blessed. i am so excited to have a little boy. to teach him to laugh like his grandpa hansen and work like his grandpa jensen and love like his dad. i don't think any of these men read my blog, but i just wanted to write down how i feel today. so blessed. so loved. and i hope i live to make each of them proud. because i am proud to be a part of all of them. and most importantly i am thankful to a father in heaven who blessed me with them. and now with a boy...it just feels right having a boy :)

p.s. if you are over the age of 50 get a colonoscopy. it is so worth it... in fact get every test you can. and eat right and exercise.

the fears of a redneck wife...

2010-03-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

ryan and i are both very non confrontational.

we have never really fought.

ever.

i can't remember the last time he even maybe me mad.

hunting season always makes me sad but i don't count that.

but...

there are some things we just don't discuss because it could make us fight.

i lied it is not somethings...

it is one thing.

ryan wants to move.

not right now.

but he wants his kids to have "what he had and didn't have growing up"

-no backyard neighbors.

-shooting bb guns in the backyard

-learning to fish just a walk away

-no traffic (for those who don't know he grew up like 5 houses away from highway 89..seriously no traffic?!!)

but what it all really comes down to (although he would never admit it...) he wants to be able to hunt. in better places.

better states.

he doesn't want to live in blessed Utah.

and it makes me sick.

he thinks there is too much traffic.

too many people.

but he isn't a farmer. a rancher.

he is a microbiologist.

there isn't a huge demand for them in the sticks of wyoming.

i love weber county.

i love weber school district.

i love being so close to our family.

i want my kids to go to fremont. (or weber...i have sketchy loyalty)

i want to live in plain city

or farr west

or harrisville

or pleasant view.

all fabulous places for a microbiologist to live.

so...

i feel there are all these little battles along the way i must win to win the war.

well ladies, i come to you...

a failure.

i think i lost our first battle.

and the worst part...i don't think i feel nearly as redneck as i should...

so...what do i do? let him win this battle and keep my focus on the war? or take it down with a blow torch?

i sure hope seriouslysoblessed doesn't make fun of me for this post but i am serious!

100%

2010-03-10T22:17:00.000-08:00

BOY!

now we just have to wait to meet the little tyke!

we sure love him already though.

new favorites...

2010-02-12T12:22:00.000-08:00

i have fallen in love with a few things lately..

lemonade. fresh squeezed.

salsa- like the delicious fresh kind!

fruit-all of it...i wish more was in season!

tv..i have like 36 must see shows! (i wish ryan had a different schedule, i would be MUCH more productive)

sleep. 12 hours everyday. naps.

dan seals. (20 years late..)

but my very new favorite..

will make his grand arrival in August!

we are having a BABY!

i love ultrasounds

dr appointments.

reading everything i can get my hands on.

planning, preparing, and all that comes with that!

i don't love...

being sick. a lot.

being tired. always.

getting nothing done. ever.

getting fat. pants not buttoning. shirts a little snug. but so worth it!

we took our test on Dec. 14th. (we were so nervous it would be negative and we would be so sad for christmas) i took three tests just to be sure! we both were so nervous. and excited. we just starred at it for awhile. then went to costco (and purposely did NOT look at diapers so we wouldn't get sad at how expensive this is going to be!)

Jan 7th was our first dr. appt. ryan made me change the appt because he couldn't come to the first one i made and he does not want to miss them! (so sweet)

we didn't get to hear the heartbeat and that was sad. and my first due date was august 14th.

we told our families towards the end of january. we told the jensens in a game of cranium and we sent my parents flowers and a poem. i didn't get to see their reaction but i think they were surprised! and i know the jensens were! but excited! everyone has been so excited!

our second appt was jan 29th we got to hear the heartbeat! AMAZING! and our little bud was just doing gymnastics in there! so sweet. our dr said she thinks it is a boy.

ryan is SO excited. we said we didn't care. but he definitely did care.

we find out for sure on march 2nd for now our due date is 08.08.10

we are so excited. and love this little one already!

i will try to do better at blogging so we can remember all the details.

and maybe even post a picture

this is all we have so far in our nursery. unisex onsies and a stuffed buffalo. we are the best parents

home sweet home.

2009-12-30T22:59:00.001-08:00

our little story:

we started looking for houses in may of 2009.

we started with a very low price range and found nothing.

we raised our price range a little. found one. had our hearts broken by a short sale. (nothing about those are short). continued to look. continued to make half hearted offers. made an offer on one house. went camping, decided while camping this was NOT the house for us and when we came home we were going to retract our offer. came home. they had accepted our offer. prayed. fervently. walked through the house FOUR times. made plans. decided it COULD be the house for us. and here we are...

5 beds. 4 floors. 3 baths. 2 car garage. 1 happy family.

i thought i would just should you some of the "inspiration" in our home!

real pictures of rooms completed to follow (when ryan takes them, i can't figure out angles and what not..)

disclaimer: these pictures do not do our lovely home justice and if you really love me you will come see it in person.

our lovely painting. we are doing like a rustic black in our family room. we still need a sectional. but you will see ryan's christmas present (aka the tv) ft. sarah palin at the moment. and our new stand, i love it. but seriously in need of a sectional :(

slightly embarrassing but my favorite room in the house is the guest bath. i love it. it is americana. dark red. i love it. come be our guest you will too! :)

our dining room decor. these are the colors of our kitchen/ dining room. i love them.

our kitchen/living room (before christmas went up..) our new frigdge. which we love. we still need bar stools. but again..it is all a work in progress.

well there you have it. the beginning. there will be more. i promise.

but in the mean time come see it!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T22:32:00.001-08:00

i feel like i missed all of christmas.

there were parties, dinner, plays, lights...and i feel like i slept through it all!

and i forgot my camera so i don't even have proof i was there.

it breaks my heart!

but we did have fun.

even if it was frazzled and dazed fun!

-attempt #1 to see the lights at temple square:

THEY CLOSED i-15. we sat in traffic forever.

went to a far too busy restaurant.

walked around the gateway at a whoppin 13 DEGREES

we left the gateway when it closes (10pm)

TURNS OUT...

thats when the lights turn off at temple square!

so sad!

-jensen family christmas party. at the golden corral. followed by a fabulous free for all of gift giving at the grandparents.

so much fun. except...ryan had to work and i had to go stag. plus it was the same day as my family's big christmas party in california...aka "family"sick (it is not homesick...this is definitely home...)

-ward christmas breakfast...

fun. i love our ward. it is fabulous. the people are amazing. the spirit is so strong even when we are singing jingle bells over 30 breakfast casseroles. :)

ryan did not attend, he was hunting. people think he is inactive or non existent. (both theories are at times correct :)

-work christmas party. hilarious.. i love my job! my coworkers! the whole bit. it is fun for ryan to meet them too and put a face with a name (even though he put the wrong name with faces ALL night!)

we played awesome games, i hope i am in charge of christmas party games next year so i can use them!

-ugly sweater party with our great friends that we don't see enough. we love them so much and miss them (the ones that are far away) and are bugged by the ones that are close that we don't see enough :)

-annual christmas eve dinner at the jensen's (when do we become the jensen's? and then do his parents become ..?)

korean dinner, i again did not take a picture of a totally picture worthy meal!

christmas stories of the grandparents childhood christmas

and of course the story of the christmas long long ago.

bearing of special testimonies that make christmas that much more special

(if you ever want to hear me gush ask me about my father in law...aka the greatest man ever...next to ryan...maybe ahead of ryan a little, but he will get there! (can I say that?)

-christmas morning. with ryan. so special and wonderful. i am a lucky girl (i changed my answer above..ryan is better!)

-christmas breakfast with jeff & hayley. and elk sausage. nuff said. :)

-christmas lunch at my house with the jensen's. and watching my wedding video. gift from ryan!

-visiting all the grandparents. coming home so sleepy.

-attempt #2 at the lights in salt lake, the day after christmas. giving up we are so cold and tired, instead getting cafe rio and a redbox!

oh the memories...

(l-r: dan, jason,kimball/darrin, zak, and ryan. the greatest group of guys.)

pictures from the ugly sweater party. ryan won first prize and i won the "i am special" ribbon. but we all know i deserved first.

the jensen family on christmas eve. l-r: jeff, grandma godfrey, grandpa godfrey, kyle, kevin, brayden. front: hayley, me, and ryan. I wore a different ugly sweater. i don't know why ryan is making that face. and lynette is taking the picture. we will have to show her the timer trick.

our christmas tree. with our gifts. you can't see but i got a cricut AND a sewing machine. that was pretty much my list. santa loves me. :)

our stockings hung by the fireplace with care.

we hope you had a great christmas and that you have a happy new year!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-30T22:01:00.000-08:00

we spent this thanksgiving in california.

this is was not our original plan since we had spent last thanksgiving in california also.

but my sister was bringing my grandma out with her and we hadn't seen her since 2007!

we decided that was worth fudging the every other year plan...

after all we LIVE here!

so i wanted to fly.

ryan thinks we are destitute.

....

we drove.

(evidentally we are more destitute!)

we packed in a lot of fun while we were there but had no time for friends...

next time!

we played games.

ate lots.

had the annual hansen turkey bowl...i am pretty sure my team kicked trash

played on the elementary school play ground f.o.r.e.v.e.r it was fabulous!

had a delicious thanksgiving feast prepared by the best brother in law i have ever had!!

i love my family and am so grateful when we get to see them!

maybe next time they can come visit me....right...

me and my nephew zak. in the christmas outfit we got him. i love this "little" guy (he is a beast and will probably play every professional sport!) he loved ryan and i. and i think if no one would have noticed we would have just brought him home with us! we love you zak! and miss you so much!

ryan and i at the playground. we had just played football. we look haggard. and i am definitely rocking the spandex world. (we are hardcore)

but we also look in love. more important than trashed.

zak with the football. this is how we will round out our portfolio.

everyone should invest in this childs future pro sports career!

fyi...he isn't even 18 months old in this picture.

the whole fam-damily. grandma is in the middle. pretty much none of the couples are together so this is a little complicated.

(l-r: ryan, andrew, grandma, beck, mom, chris (our pro chef) backrow l-r: kylie, jeremy, dad, jen, john, me, zak attack, brian, kelly and rachel)

we hope you all had a fabulous thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

This is so touching. And so true. I often find myself wondering "if I were a rich man..." but the Lord has plans for me just where I am. I am so grateful for a Father in Heaven who loves me. Who blesses me with far more than I could deserve. I am grateful for the knowledge of Him. For a testimony to sustain me when there is so much doubt and fear in the world. I am so thankful for a husband who teaches me and inspires me to be better, who works so hard for our family. I am thankful for a home that is beautiful and comfortable. I am grateful for our families. Parents who have sacrificed, spoiled, taught, prayed, listened, instructed and guided us to get us where we are today. We will forever be in debt (figuratively and probably literally) to them. I am so blessed to have friends. The best friends. To have a job with people I absolutely love, doing something that is so interesting. I hope you have the best thanksgiving! And you enjoy this video, it is SO good! I am off to California!

Las Vegas

2009-09-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

reasons we went to vegas...

1. it was free

2. to celebrate our anniversary!

3. to celebrate buying A HOUSE

4...we like to party!

we had fun. it is not our favorite place in the world. and certainly not the cleanest place in the world. i think we set ourselves up for disappointment going to the western caribbean for our one year! but oh well...

we shopped at fabulous outlets!

ate at delicious restaurants! ♥cheesecake factory

gambled away $20 hard earned dollars :)

laid out by the pool! my personal fav. activity!

saw the coolest aquarium at the mandalay bay (check out the video!)

walked the strip at night. what a treat!

visited the temple. so peaceful!

enjoyed sometime away with my husband...and i couldn't ask for more!

(well maybe the west caribbean one more time :)

classic. we had to get a picture right?

picture quality is terrible...but us at the temple.

beautiful. phenomenal. elaborate! New York New York! (i made that up, i should be in marketing!)

the best $15 we spent in vegas. ceasar's palace.

he followed me around for awhile. hilarious. at the aquarium. we loved it. see video. :)

by the way...GO COUGARS!!!

Grey's River 2009

2009-08-25T22:05:00.001-07:00

Last week we went camping up at grey's river in wyoming.

Ryan left tuesday morning to go up with his parents. They fished and hiked and camped for two days....

meanwhile

Brayden, kyle and i stayed here to work. pretty much the lamest arrangement ever.

I was so scared at night i would go and sleep at their house.

(sounds lame now, but seriously i never would have slept if i had stayed here!)

But they didn't tease me too bad and they helped me forget how incredibly sad i was missing ryan! i am one of those lame wives who can't hack it on their own! i cry when he leaves (real life tears...maybe it is because he always leaves at 5 in the morning so i am just out of it more than anything :)

thursday morning we drove up to join the fam camping! it was the longest drive

We got there in the afternoon. lucky for us, camp was already set up! i love coming late for that reason!

we went for motorcycle rides, played horseshoes, visited, went for a wildlife drive, and of course ate yummy food! (food is ALWAYS better camping!)

that night we were all sitting around the campfire and this deer strolled around, i would have taken pictures but it started to get really annoying.

on friday we fished, all day! i caught my first fish completely alone YAY! now i am the mrs. jensen people expected me to be!

i really did ♥ fly fishing and i really did ♥ my hip boots!

we enjoyed it so much and it was so beautiful.

i will be sad when summer is over and we don't get and to camp anymore.

and even more sad because it will surely be hunting season... :(

ryan & i...that is a gun big enough to kill a bear in his hand

my first fly fish alone!

we woke up really early and hiked to this waterfall. i look like trash but it was beautiful.

my last fish. sad note to end it on. it all smacked me in the face. gross.

Lastly...we are going to las vegas for our anniversary...what are your favorite place we have to see?

July...the whole month...one post...

2009-08-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

sorry for all those faithful blog followers who have gone without the precious updates into the Jensen world.

by that I mean, sorry chelsie, i lost the cord to upload my pictures! :)

so here it is all at once. coming at you fast. i didn't take very many pictures after all so this really should be painless!

fun we had in July:

- i got to see thurl bailey for the first time in person, seeing how i am deprived of a utah childhood.

-demolition derby, fireworks, cherry days parade! clearly not in that order on the 4th! loved it all.

- i turned 21!

- i went way blonde...thanks to my fabulous shawni, whom i adore.

- Oquirrh mountain temple open house...fabulous. i seriously loved it.

-limo ride. (free) dinner at braza grill. (free)

GEORGE STRAIT

..priceless..

-camping with our friends at yellow pine. most beautiful campground ever. seriously it won an award! we loved it.

-we went UNDER CONTRACT on a house. more on that in another post. hopefully one soon that says we are HOMEOWNERS :)

-flying home to california.

-this little boy who makes me so happy.

i just love him.

feel caught

up?

this is random and i am sorry if you stuck it through.

i promise i won't go this long again.

♥

ryan fishing at yellowpine.

us at george (my elevator celebrity)...just kidding...that is kiptyn. :)

the jensens at the temple.

the ever adorable toyn family.
our truck limo for george strait.

Family Picture

2009-06-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

so it kinda looks like brayden and i are an item and ryan looks so confused. but i love it and we don't get too many pictures with this many people! i wish jeff and hayley were here but they will be soon! YAY for moving back! YAY for thousands of prayers being answered!

note: jaelyn's cute prego belly!

returning with honor

2009-06-15T05:18:00.000-07:00

brayden came home from the raleigh north carolina mission on june 3rd.

brayden left may of 2007. i knew him and hung out with a few times but while he was gone:

ryan and i got married (we actually got engaged less than 3 weeks after he left since he was still in the MTC!)

jaelyn and craig got married

jaelyn and craig got pregnant

he pretty much missed a ton of kyle's milestones!

it was hard to have him gone for all of that, but we were so blessed and he was too!

brayden makes us want to be better missionaries. he makes us want to try a little harder to do a little better. he is a great example to us! he served as an AP for like 18 months or something ridiculous like that! he was perfectly obedient and the most faithful writer ever!

the jensen boys (not pictured: jeff)

we had so much fun at the airport. we did rehearsal pictures to show our excitement. we made friends with the other 33 families waiting for their missionaries!

seriously, the salt lake airport on missionary coming home day is my favorite!

our pride and joy banner. a direct quote from a bishop in a ward brayden served in! oh we love those folks!

WELCOME HOME BRANDON!

Turkey Hunt 2009

2009-06-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

this post is strictly for posterity.

while jeff was in town, ryan took every opportunity to get out turkey hunting. we would spend our evenings road hunting up in the mountains. ryan only had one week left to get his turkey so his determination was a bit excessive! :)

We left one tuesday night and headed up old trappers loop, i think, it was up by snow basin. jeff and i were merely moral support and the get away drives and ryan sported the full cammo. we would drive a while call. drive awhile call. drive awhile call. drive awhile call. AND THEN...drive awhile call. A TOM CALLED BACK! oh my goodness I think we were the most excited people ever at that moment. high fiving as absolutely quiet as we could! we (ryan and jeff) figured out where it was coming from, ryan grabbed his gun and was gone. after jeff and i had drove around and waited patiently we parked at a good look at spot. ryan had just then texted to say the turkey had flown away (sad) a turkey flew right past us and landed in a tree just down the hill. i told ryan that. he said it was the same turkey. we directed him to if from the truck. bang. turkey dead. 20 minutes later we are home. oh how i love road hunting.

this picture was taken the next trip so kyle could get his turkey, which he did. much cooler story but i don't remember his. lame i know.

this is one of those pictures i will treasure and look forward to putting together the next family slideshow!

ryan with his turkey. he might mount the fan. or do something with the tail.

we ate the turkey. i don't like turkey in general. but i tasted it. and it tasted better than the turkey i taste at thanksgiving, weird cuz i HATE everything he hunts!

dead turkey. (wonderful captions, i know)

disclaimer: my husband does NOT road hunt. he does not believe in. support or encourage it. however, he had two days left to get a turkey. everyone told us this is how they were doing it and the poor boy had hiked over ten miles in the mountains trying to get one his way. congratulations ryan! i love you

Memorial Day

2009-06-15T04:36:00.001-07:00

fyi: if Jamie Horspool says she knows a really fun place to go spend the day...

she is lying and wants you to suffer!

just kidding...kinda!

so us Jensens were struggling with where to spend Memorial Day.

I suggested Locomotive Springs, because Jamie had said it was so fun for fishing and hanging out.

So after much debating my suggestion won (it often does with the Jensens)

First off it is clear out in the west desert which I love.

Clear past ATK/Thiokol. (which we stopped to look at, I have never been there so cool, probably less cool for Kevin since he goes there everyday but he is a good sport!)

So we get there (oh and we were in the van. With no AC. The van was full. Very uncomfortable.) And find a "spring" with no people so we set up our day camp there. The boys begin to fish catching fish about 2 inches big...really...we eat lunch and just hang out as we see this...

forming around us. It's actually the entire front of the storm it was so neat to see. Although a storm coming was not very neat. We could see some old abandoned structures, and since the fishing wasn't riveting we headed off to explore.

This is the abandoned train car. Don't you love the candid pictures that capture personalities. This is one of those perfectly.

This is the abandoned house. It was very neat. Minus the giant rat (some people referred to it as a field mouse, but to me it will always be a giant rat) We had some dating arguments for the structures. Some people believed that this was like pioneer structures. But the oven and the wiring hanging out from the walls led others to believe it was much more recent. But it makes it more interesting to think it is a pioneer structure!

We also thought this little building was abandoned. That was until the giant bird flew out of the roof and hit me...not cool. and very scary!

This wasn't the picture I wanted to post, and I am still not good at this. But we took some "welcome to your first home" shots, oh so not funny!

So we stopped getting pictures shortly after this, when the pre-pictured storm arrived and we had flash flooding and the sand turned to the slippery slide as we raced back to covering in the middle of the desert so we wouldn't be struck by lighting!

It was a pretty crazy day but we had fun! And if you go, be sure to wear LOTS of bug spray, and a hat.

This picture makes me laugh everytime! it reminds me of the seminary video where he doesn't pump the well! its perfect huh!

catching up...

2009-05-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

happy mother's day!

late.

but not forgotten

(i don't know if either of our mothers read this anyway...)

to my own mom:

who is too far away but not for long.

..(like 4 years but i am patient)

to my mother in law:

who is incredibly talented and generous

and i learn more from everyday

to my sister in law jaelyn:

who is going to be a mom so soon! and i am so excited for her! and i hope you name him grant! he is going to be amazing and smart and talented and funny...pretty much a champ!

to my friends:

you are such amazing moms! and i love you all! and am so excited to have gorgeous girls and hottt boys to date your cutie boys and girls! (pretty much i have to have girls because so far cooper and jaxon need me!!)

TURKEY HUNTING:

I had the day off on monday and so did ryan. so we went turkey hunting up in east canyon.

it was so beautiful and such a nice hike. its so fun to be up there with him...you guys would laugh he is just a little boy he is so excited! but he is so smart and good at it. that is one thing i really love about ryan. he is the best at the things he does. he ties amazing flies that he could sell for so much but he just does it because he loves it. he is an incredible fly fisherman. which, if you

have ever tried you know takes extreme talent! he has little respect for bait junkies (except my dad:) since they don't have to work for it. he is just amazing and he doesn't give anything half hearted!

i love him and i hope that i become like that!

back to the story...

we did not see any turkeys (sad) but we did see

6 live deer (mostly girls)

14 winter kill deer (sad...but fascinating)

lots of cow.

pairarie dogs (annoying...but neat)

and....

a porcupine

he was so scared of us. i felt bad, and i think that branch was going to break any minute.

we took lots of pictures of him. really it was so neat.

and made the trip worthwhile since that was it!!

no turkeys....

until next week. (the hunt only goes til the end of may)

my FAVORITE day!

2009-05-03T17:18:00.001-07:00

when people used to ask me when my favorite time of year was, i would always say i like all of them but spring.

well things have certainly changed!

april 28th is my favorite day of the year!

a day dedicated to celebrating ryan!

i love ryan so much!

and i am so grateful for all the memories we make together!

like birthdays

ryan is now 26 which we were reminded is now his "late twenties" not his "mid-twenties"

celebrations started early this year:

on sunday we went to the in-laws (mine, not ryan's...thats a trek)

for a delicious dinner and an even better dessert!

ryan's traditional birthday cake Strawberry Cream Cake

(chelsie: you have to show me how to take pictures of food so it looks appetizing!)

thank you so much to the jensen's for all the wonderful things they do for us.

we are the luckiest.

cute brothers.

on tuesday i picked up ryan from work.

since he work at ARUP in salt lake we decided to take advantage of some saved gift cards and eat out down there!

(thanks mom & dad for a wonderful christmas gift we are still enjoying!)

true story:

Parmesan-Crusted Artichoke Cakes Appetizer $9.99

(buy 2 entrees get 1 appetizer free coupon)

free!

Ryan's Penne Rustica $12.49

Jessica's Chicken Scaloppine $13.49

total: $25.98

christmas gift card: $25.00

new total: $0.98

free birthday cake! (delicious too..the three bites we ate!)

total for birthday meal: $7.98

oh we love our cheap ways!

beautiful birthday cake. and the waiter singing happy birthday. sorry i didn't realize it was good til 30 seconds into it! and then you get to watch ryan pose. thats cute. sorry i say dag-am thats the red neck in me!

also this week we found out i am BLIND

so i got contacts...love them!

and my glasses should be coming next week.

i took ryan to help me...

seriously i don't think i could love him more!

one more birthday note:

ryan i love you so much! i am so grateful for all you do for us. i am so proud of you and you always impress me! i appreciate how hard you work! you make me feel beautiful all day long! you make me laugh every day. you know how everyone always says that i am such a happy girl, you make that happen! you are my happiness! you are my everything!

you are my best friend and i love you.

i got him wranglers. that will be a post in and of itself.

p.s. congratulations dan & tara on blessing trevin. it was beautiful. he is precious!

Spring Break

2009-04-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

i hope you all had the best Easter! we had so much fun in reno/susanville. thank you jeff & hayley you two are the best! we are lucky to have amazing friends who just happen to be our family! we had so much fun! one minor annoyance (i will blog about that in my next post, its a post all on its own) but seriously the best time! we shopped, went shooting, ate at delicious restaurants and couldn't have asked for nicer weather (boo utah today!)

this is my favorite store. ever. if you ever find yourself going west on i-80 stop in sparks nevada and enjoy SHEELS we love it! with jeff & hayley we spent over 3 hours! they have this incredible salt water tank. it isn't like the gross ones at cabelas that are over populated and dirty! its beautiful and there are the neatest fishes ever! ohhh...i love it! then there is this ferris wheel in the store. seriously. i have always wanted to ride it and thought for sure we would this time but ryan shot me down because "we are not paying a $1 for that!" so then we bought $350 in ammo...DANG YOU OBAMA :)

but after sheels hayley and i got to shop at the summit mall, also a MUST STOP in reno! we LOVE it. and we shopped our spring hearts out! and i didn't take pictures cuz i am stupid!

we also ate dinner at claim jumpers. one word: yummm!

the boys are so mean. they take hayley and i up to shoot when it is so cold out. shoot for like hours. and then have the nerve to make fun of the way we shoot!! this is their "hip shots" oh boys...silly silly...boys. but we had so much fun and added to our Must Have Gun List (oh you don't have one of those...weird!)

these are deer in Susanville, CA. they are insane. our camera is not even zoomed. they are not scared of people. they look both ways before the cross the street! seriously. maybe its because they are in california and no on is man enough to hunt them (there is the utahan in me!)

i believe, sadly, one of the main reasons this boy married this girl was the single fact that visiting her family would always include trips to in-N-out. the boy loves it. but the girl loves him so it works out! and no fear when her family moves to arizona (maybe!!!) there is one in vegas.

so i heard purple was an in color for spring. have you? i love it. plus nevada is so boring!

we need to know what this building is in the middle of Nevada. its all alone. in the middle of no where. no parking lot. vents up on the hill. someone research it ok?

side note: we are going to have a new nephew jaelyn & craig found out its a boy

Lately...

2009-04-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

i promised to do better since we have a

computer and internet now!

but now i think we have gotten boring!

on saturday we ran a 5K

it was so much fun! and we did good!

we are working up to a half marathon

but i think if we do 5-5ks that should count right?!

things i loved about our run:

-being with ryan

-starting our saturday with a run

-being outside even if it was 30 degrees.

-our hott t-shirts see picture

saturday night was priesthood session for General Conference.

tradition has it: the girls play while

the boys receive much needed instruction!

our tradition has been to learn to bake/make a delicious dish from Lynette (the mother in law), stop by Ladies Night at Deseret Book (hello, free gift!) and out to eat!

however...

we changed a few things up this year!

i still learned how to make the best cinnamon rolls ever!

which i forgot to take a picture of because sometimes I make poor choices

but instead of Deseret Book (lame free gift, that will teach them!)

we went to Bonneville

High School to see

Guys & Dolls

this was the best 3 hours of my day!

the actors did an amazing job

the music is awesome

the dancing was incredible

the story is hilarious!

the costume and set were fabulous

it ended yesterday but i hope others got to see it!

i took sucky pictures :( i swear i will get better someday!

side note: General Conference was excellent. i

love it so much! Elder Holland was my favorite. (can we have favorites?)

i am so grateful for the Jensen Family Traditions I get to be a part of!

Like General Conference ebelskevers! again no pictures :(

but seriously yummy! meet here for pictures in October

exciting story for the week:

Ryan does not work at ARUP in Salt Lake on Mondays. So we spend our Monday mornings together before I go to work and he goes to Forsenius.

Yesterday we (he) decided to go fishing at the Harrisville stream we discovered (probably not really) over by the Harrisville cabin/BDO.

as we walked out there we passed fields with horses and what not...

and then...

we see a fox!

i never seen a real fox before.

its close to this residential area!

i panic

ryan calmly reminds me he is packin' heat (thank you Utah Legal Heat)

so we stop and take pictures and get closer and then we see a second fox!

but they "are more scared of us then we are of them" (i doubt that!)

so they ran off...but really it was so neat!

p.s. we also saw a skunk.

less neat.

and maybe more scary.

-until next time

...and it's been awhile...

2009-03-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

~~warning: this is very long.~~
i imagine you all think we are dead. i reassure you we are not.
just simply living without the joys of technology (aka no computer) i know, no one lives like that in 2009 but let me assure you, ryan sees nothing wrong with this picture.
so for good news #1
we ARE getting a MAC with our tax return! i am so excited!! and our blog will recieve some much needed attention post computer access! YaAYy!
news #2
ryan has started his new job in salt lake. which is absolutely wonderful. we love the company, their benefits, he loves what he spends his time doing and we could not be more grateful for the generous blessings we have received! but for every incredible merciful gift we receive comes that trial of our faith that will make us grow...
news #3
we had pretty much planned on going to idaho to attend ISU and settle up there for sometime...but now we have no idea what we are going to do. we have so many options and decisions to make. but we know two things...this 3 hour round trip commute is ridiculous. and we are so ready to get into a house! any advice you feel like giving please feel free to share
news #4
i have been blessed with the best job. i am currently teaching science for the ogden school district Astro Camp. it is so fun. and perfect to stretch me and challenge me. i love it!
news #5
i applied to weber state to begin classes this summer! i am so excited to get to go back to school, so many things are falling into place for us! yay!
news #6
*which is so exciting it should have #1*
we are going to be an aunt & uncle again! jaelyn & craig are expecting! we are so happy for them! and so excited for our new little pal joining the family in september!

now for the pictures
we had a wonderful valentines day.
we ate at goodwood bbq.
delicious!
we were going to go
cross country skiing
but it was such bad weather we just went sledding.
i love our fun!
we went cross country skiing a week later. it was
so fun! i loved it. I hope we get to go one more time but i don't know if we will!

we went up to hardware ranch. it was beautiful and the most amazing elk we have ever seen. its closed now but i hope everyone got to go!

*thanks if you read this whole thing! i promise i will be a better blogger!*

Blogging Slacker...

2009-01-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

our lives have been so crazy, i don't even kow where to begin...(no pictures...sorry!)

i gave my two weeks notice at my job. which was a little sad because i have the best coworkers. but happy too because now we are off on a new adventure which is so exciting.
ryan is probably going to start working in salt lake 7 on 7 off. that will make for a lot of alone time which is a little sad. but happy too because we will have 7 days he doesn't have to work! (in salt lake,)if you know ryan you know he has 17 other jobs to keep him completely occupied...
we have started elders quorum basketball season, which i love. we beat the 4th ward pretty good. i was going to get a picture of the score board but i forgot my camera. and we love the 4th ward. so we don't want to rub it in. (but maybe i can get them to put the score up again tomorrow night so i can get a picture of both nights!) we went undefeated last year until region with the 4th ward, so beating them in our first game means we are off to a good start! it was hard not to cheer for brandon and fred!
i got my wisdom teeth taken out earlier this month so that has been quite an experience. besides the holes in my mouth i think i am pretty much recovered! i don't recommend this to anyone...but i am sure everyone else got it done when they were 15 (i think that is the normal thing to do)...
we went and toured ISU and really loved it. the school was neat, the town was fun, everyone we met was so nice and ryan seemed genuinely excited about the program and research they were doing! i have had so much fun looking for houses there! i am hoping we will be able to start there in the fall..keep your fingers crossed!

thats all i can think of for the most part...sorry we haven't taken any pictures in so long! we'll do better! and since i didn't mention them earlier:

New Years Resolutions

run a half marathon

get my personal progress award (i didn't do when i was in young women's and you can get them as leaders so i am gonna..)

read my scriptures everyday

go to the temple more...willingly

eat better

save more money

*i heard if you write them down you are more likely to do them, so not only did i write them down but also where EVERYONE can see them...oh boy

oh the memories of 2008

2008-12-31T07:30:00.000-08:00

2008 has been an exciting year for our little family!

i am sure it will seem like that is the case for every year for the next 60 years!

i am so grateful for the blessings we have had this year and all the answers to prayers we have received!

we have had a lot of opportunity to grow and have been so lucky to have such awesome family and friends to surround us!

i am excited to see what changes will come in 2009:

grad school?

undergraduate school?

a house?

a move?

a career?

a baby? (just kidding!)

anywho...here is a recap of 2008! (in no particular order...)

probably the funnest thing we did all year was celebrate our 1 year anniversary!

we took a cruise to the west caribbean! (we honeymooned in jackson hole so i thought it was

fair!)

we had so much fun in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, on the ship, the Grand Cayman Islands and in Cozumel Mexico! We snorkled and sunbathed and kayaked and ate...lots! we went to shows and gambled and danced and lounged! it was the best vacation/anniversary ever! and i can't wait to go again sometime! (soon...please!)

We cheered on our cougars at our annual BYU game! its a fun tradition even if we never get good seats, atleast they are free! I hope kevin & kyle enjoy it too!

we spent a week or so up at flaming gorge with our family. it was so beautiful and fun! we fished and hiked and played games. and obviously didn't wear make up or do our hair! (ryan never wears make up just to clarify!)

ryan bagged the biggest buck of his hunting career during the mussel load hunt. he got the beauty at 270 yards, which for those of you unfamiliar is almost impossible. he did his own european mount and it looks incredible (in his hunting/fishing room...)

this year we became an aunt and uncle for the very first time! we have the sweetest nephew, Zak and we love him so much, our only complaint is he lives so far away!

we spent the summer hiking ogden's beautiful mountains and enjoying the breathtaking views from the top. i may have slowed ryan down but he didn't complain!

ryan graduated from Weber State in the spring with his bachelors in

microbiology. he is currently preparing to apply for grad school.

we had so much fun celebrating with family! thanks again to mom & dad for

coming out to support us!

i hope you all have the best new years! and good luck with those resolutions!