Mallory + Jonathan

Where did you go?

2011-08-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a really long time since I have posted. I would like to say that I have been terribly busy and just don't have time to post, but that's not entirely true... I might have been able to say that while I was student teaching from January till May, but for the last 3 months, I think it's prudent to say that I've just been lazy. :)

I happy to say that I finished my student teaching with a grade of PASS! There are no letter grades, so pass is pretty awesome compared to fail or incomplete. :) I really enjoyed my time with my third graders. I was able to teach full-time and be the only teacher in the classroom for a month. It was challenging, rewarding, and so much fun! I must say, I believe I picked the right profession for me. In my patriarchal blessing I was promised that I would find a profession that would give me fulfillment and also give me the time for my family. I'm so happy the Lord has led me in the right direction.

After my student teaching was over, I spent the next month finishing my online class, applying for my Colorado Teaching License, and searching for jobs. I found a summer job pretty quickly and began working part time in the glorified position of Sales Associate at your neighborhood Walmart! I've been working there for almost 3 months now, and it isn't that bad, but it definitely confirmed my feeling that I am meant to be a teacher! While working at Walmart, I continued my job search for elementary teaching positions. I tried to ignore the hiring freeze, the lack of job openings and the budget cuts happening in our school district. I didn't get any calls for interviews, any response back from emails I'd sent, or schools I'd visited. I'll be honest, I was feeling very discouraged. Now is not a good time to be a new elementary teacher...

I still enjoyed my summer though! Jon and I had the chance to travel back to the motherland (Colorado) to attend 3 wonderful weddings! Two of my best friends in the world were married. Tabi on June 25th and Kimee on August 13th. Jon's sister Alli also was married on August 12th and 13th. (that weekend was a little bit crazy - driving back and forth from Denver on a time crunch...) It was such a joy to see all three couples sealed together in the temple. I think it was a huge reminder for both me and Jonathan of our covenants that we had made with each other and the Lord 3 years ago. Congratulations to Tabi and James, Alli and Chris, and Kimee and Aubrey! You all are such important people to me and Jonathan, and we are so happy that you have found happiness in each other. :) We love you.

We had to cut our last visit to Colorado short because I had two job interviews on Monday August 14th. I felt like both of the interviews went well, and I was super excited for both of them. I really wanted a job in education, and even though the district was not hiring for full-time teachers, I would be ecstatic to be a paraeducator and still be able to work with children. We got home on Monday morning at 2:30am, I had one interview at 9am, and one at 1:30pm, and the principal from Stanley Elementary School called me at 4:30pm that evening to offer me a job as a paraeducator! I accepted of course, and though I had to tell the other school I would not be able to work for them (very difficult to do by the way...) I felt a real connection with Stanley, the staff and the principal. I hope everything goes well with them.

School started August 16th, and I couldn't be there because I need to be processed by the district first. My processing date is tomorrow (8/25/11), and I start officially on Friday the 26th! I am very excited for this and even though I have mixed feelings about not being a teacher yet, I feel very good about this step. I've talked with many other teachers in this same boat, and I feel very lucky to have this opportunity. The position is temporary, meant to last only the school year, and it is hourly and non-benefited. I lose out on holiday pay and sick days, but I'll be doing what I love and gaining experience so that I can someday have my dream job!

I will also be continuing at Walmart for the time being. It is a decision that I've made for a number of reasons. My full-time job at Stanley is actually only 35 hours a week, so to add 10 to 15 hours a week at Walmart on top of that won't be too difficult to manage, and I can use all the extra money I can get right now. Jon lost his car in a crash in February, so we've had only one car this whole time, and we've really suffered from me not working from October 2010 to June 2011. I feel this is my time to make a contribution to our family and our dreams and goals. And hopefully we'll be buying another car here soon!

Jon and I also got to celebrate our 3rd anniversary this year. We had a blast going to see a couple awesome bands in concert a few weekends before, and then had a nice dinner out (dressed up!) and had a fun drive around town. We are still very happy and very much in love!

Sorry for the super-de-duper long post, but I just wanted to fill everyone in on what has been happening in our lives. We are missing Colorado, but learning to love Wichita and the changes it has brought to our lives!

First Cold, First Snow, First Snow Day(s)...

2011-01-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

This week has been slow...and I mean dramatically slow. After a whole week of no husband and many long days student teaching, I was starting to feel a little lonely and a little out of touch with life. Friday I must have sneezed about 14 times (you can ask my 3rd graders, they will attest to that!) and after an evening out with the girls, I woke up saturday sick. Was it just allergies? Only a cold? Maybe (please no!) the flu? Whatever it was, it was my first sickness of 2011 and I spent my whole Saturday and Sunday curled up in blankets on the couch watching TV and drinking orange juice and Best Defense.

Sunday evening I felt a bit better. I graded my papers (so exciting that I get to grade papers now!) and then Jon returned from Georgia and the snow started to fall. It was beautiful, but on the way to and from the airport, I could already tell the roads were starting to ice over. It was great to have my husband back though, and I'll be honest, I wasn't worried about the snow. I've just moved to Wichita from Fort Collins, Colorado. How bad could it be?

Monday morning and back to school I was. Jon called me as he left (ridiculously early) for work and told me to get out of bed! It apparently had snowed a lot overnight and I would need to leave early for school. So I did, and I left at 5 till 8. It took me more than 30 minutes to drive to school, (normally an 8 minute commute) and almost no one was there! Still, Wichita School District refused to cancel school, or even give us a late start. Many kids were absent, and all praying for a snow day tomorrow.

I've never had a snow day. We always had to go to school no matter how much it snowed, and where I grew up, in Grand Junction, it rarely snowed so much to warrant cancelling school. I'd heard of snow days in Fort Collins, but I wasn't a teacher then, and so did not get a day off of work. Monday night I received a text message from my teacher, "no school tomorrow, we have a snow day!" My first random, weather related day off of work!

Tuesday I was so lazy! I took the day to try and recover completely from my illness. I felt much better and was ready to go back to school on Wednesday. And today, I woke up to another text message and another snow day! Today was more productive but still lazy. I don't think I'll ever lose that lazy gene. :) Tonight I made raspberry mini muffins just because...or maybe it was because I felt guilty for not making dinner. ;)

A lot of firsts to my New Year this week! Here's to hoping that these snow days are over (at least for this week)! Call me crazy, but I miss my students, and I won't learn anything about teaching by sitting at home all day.

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-01T10:16:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I sincerely hope that everyone has a wonderful 2010! I know I did. With the New Year that comes, I want to reflect on this past year. 2010 was filled with both good and bad, happy and sad, but in the end it turned out alright. Here are some of the highlights from 2010.

January 2010: Taiwan

Jonathan and I were finally able to visit Taiwan, where he served his mission 2006-2007. We had the opportunity to meet with old friends, tour new places, and have the ultimate vacation/honeymoon that we wanted. It will forever be a fond memory of mine. I hope we can go visit again soon!

February 2010: Accepted to Graduate School

I was accepted to the University of Northern Colorado. We made the decision that I would stay in Colorado to pursue my Masters in Elementary Education no matter where he ended up going for school or if he got a job somewhere else.

March 2010: Saige Elizabeth Ellis

Our niece Saige was born March 30, 2010. She is now 9 months old and just a delightful little girl. We didn't actually get to see Saige till she was a bit older, but we were so excited to have her join the family.

April 2010: Jon Accepts Position with Cargill

Jon flew out to Wichita, Kansas to interview with Cargill Meat Solutions and was offered a position there! It was everything that he wanted and more, so we decided we would make our future home in Wichita.

May 2010: Jon Graduates/Moves; Mallory Starts School

May 15: Jon graduated from Colorado State University with honors. May 16: With our apartment packed up, Jon left with the moving truck (and the dog) to drive to Wichita, KS and start his job with Cargill. May 17: I started classes in Loveland at UNC.

June 2010: New Home

Jonathan and I purchased a house in Wichita! In June, we were able to close on our house and start making mortgage payments. It was a huge step in our life.

July 2010: Family Visits

I was able to see both my parents and other extended family members on the Fourth of July at Paonia's Cherry Days. I was also able to spend some time with Jon's family in Fort Collins celebrating Caitlin's birthday.

August 2010: Trip to Wichita/Bemidji

On my two week break from school, I went to go see my husband for our anniversary, 08/08/10. It was my first time being in our new home when it actually had furniture in it and I was able to see where I would be living soon! I also went to visit my sister and her two kids in Bemidji, MN. It was my first chance to see her new baby and I had a blast with her family.

September 2010: Jon visits Colorado

At the end of August, Jon came back to Fort Collins for 3 weeks! He was working in Fort Morgan at the Beef Plant there. It was so great to have him back!

October 2010: Trip to LA

My friend Tabi and I went to LA to attend the Herbalife Extravaganza. It was a blast and a great time with an awesome friend.

November 2010: Thanksgiving in Kansas

My parents and my little sister and I went to Wichita to spend Thanksgiving at my house with Jon. It was a nice 4 or 5 days of vacation from school and a great time to remember how blessed we were this year.

December 2010: Move to Wichita

After I finished my last in person classes at UNC, I said my goodbyes to Fort Collins and drove out to Wichita. It was hard to say goodbye, but definitely the highlight of my year to be back with my husband. We also got to spend some time together driving to visit family in Colorado.

So that's it for 2010! It was a great year, and Jon and I both agree it will be tough for 2011 to be as great! Even so, we have some resolutions this year. :D

Mallory and Jonathan's Resolutions:

1. We will keep up our habit of attending the temple at least once a month - This might be a difficult one this year. The temple is now 3 hours away, instead of the 1 1/2 hour drive we used to have. Regardless we have resolved to keep going each month to receive those blessings.

2. Pray as a couple - Jon and I have been really good about reading our scriptures together every day (even when we lived apart for 7 months) but we've decided we'd also like to pray as a couple each day as well.

3. Have a family night - We want to have a family home evening every week where we really have a chance to sit down and talk about spiritual matters and have some quality time together.

Mallory's Resolutions:

1. Scrapbook - I've decided that I'm going to finally finish the scrapbooks I've been working on. I have 2 started (high school memories and my trips to Germany) but I'd like to also finish my wedding scrapbook and the trip to Taiwan. I got a new Cricut paper cutting machine, so hopefully I can put it to good use. :)

2. Blog more - I've never been very good at journaling, so what I'm going to try and do is once a week sit down and write about anything. It may end up on this blog as well, but maybe I'll write different things in my journal than I do on here. Just look forward to hearing more from me. Not that I'm any less busy...

3. Exercise more regularly - Now that I'm living in Wichita, I have a gym membership to the YMCA and I plan on using it. I'll also be doing a few at home exercises from P90X like I did in Fort Collins, but my plan is to be more regular with exercise and really make it a part of my life. Maybe I'll even run a 5k or do a sprint triathlon.

4. Get a job - This doesn't seem like it should be a New Year's Resolution, but I feel like it is for me. I won't have a job for a while since I'm student teaching, but I will be really taking this seriously so that I can get a job somewhere come August 2011.

Jon's Resolutions:

1. To read at least 85 books this calendar year - this stems from a goal to read more books in general, and then a goal of one a week, to a goal of beating someone else's record. :) That's Jon. I hope I can read more as well! (he might have more resolutions, but I don't know about them.)

Happy New Year everyone! Look forward to more often updates on our household happenings and hope you all have a wonderful 2011!

Trip to LA

2010-11-10T08:52:00.000-08:00

At the end of October, I was invited to go with my best friend Tabi to Herbalife's Extravaganza in LA. Since I am not very spontaneous without the help of others, it explains why my friend had to be present for me to plan this trip. It was only for a weekend, but it was filled with fun, adventure and friendship.

Tabi wanted to see the ocean, (and of course who would object to that) so after our flight arrived Friday morning we went down to the beach. Starving, we stopped at this little restaurant we stumbled upon called Scotty's.

Tabi and I in front of the restaurant. They had these wonderful apple muffins!

After eating we went to Hermosa Beach. It was kind of chilly and overcast, but we had a blast!

This was Tabi, minutes before dropping her phone in the ocean. ;) Because of this, we had to later make a trip to the Verizon store.

We then headed to Downtown LA to find our hotel and get ready for the party that night. It was kind of a dumpy place, but we had been kind of spontaneous and waited till the last minute before booking our hotel. At least the party was fun!

The trainings were huge! There must have been thousands of people there and so much energy. We had a ton of fun! My camera battery did die, so I didn't get very many pictures, but Tabi used her phone and was able to capture a few moments!

For more pictures and moments from this trip, check out some pictures from Facebook and the post on Tabi's blog:

Another Day in the Life of ME!

Mallory's Facebook Album

Tabi's Facebook Album

And if you're interested in Herbalife's products or opportunities let me know!

Always nice to see my parents...

2010-10-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

I love my Mom and Dad! They are so great and I'm so lucky to have them in my life. In early October they came to visit me in Denver. We went to the King Tut exhibit at the Denver Art Museum and went to the Cheesecake Factory.

The next day we went to Colorado Springs to see The Garden of the Gods. If you have never been there, and you are ever nearby, you should stop and see these beautiful rock formations. It is free to the public, and has some nice sight seeing trails. Even if you just want to drive through you can still enjoy a lot of the scenery.

We may have had a bit too much fun...

But it was beautiful! We really enjoyed our little walk/hike/drive through the park.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the visit!

For more pictures click here!

The results are in...

2010-09-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

The Praxis II results are in and...

I passed!!! 187

(which is a very good score btw)

Yay for me! Now just 21 more credits of classes and practicum and I'll be student teaching!

Writer's Notebook

2010-08-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

As I recently started my fall semester in my graduate program, I've returned to an old love of mine. Writing.

I have definitely neglected this part of my life for quite some time, and although I love to do it, and love the feeling of creating words and meaning, I just haven't found time to get it done. I am horrible at journal writing, horrible at blogging, and just a procrastinator by nature. I don't know why, but one class of mine seems to have broken that habit.

Maybe it's because she's forcing me, but I have consistently over the last week been writing in my "writer's notebook." It's nothing fancy, but I've been asked to keep one as this might be something that I use in my future classroom. We are supposed to write for at least 10 minutes, 5 days a week for the full 15 weeks of class. This probably seemed daunting to most of my fellow students, but to me, it was a challenge that I embraced. I went to Barnes and Noble and bought some little journals I could carry with me and I copied my entry from class that day onto the pages.

I missed two days this week, which is all I can miss according to the syllabus, and I've felt great. I really do miss writing. I miss reading too and journeying through those wonderful worlds that I create in my head. I must sound so hippie right now...but oh well. I have realized that there are enough hours in the day, and that I do have enough time to do the things I want to, I just need to prioritize.

I now need to find more time for scripture study, for prayer, for talking on the phone with my husband when we're apart, and for contemplating. I have found those extra 10 minutes a day to write and to enjoy it. Maybe little by little I'll find the time.

Who would have thought that this inspiration would come from a class? The only thing I wish is that it wasn't forced...but maybe that's just what I needed. ;)

2nd Anniversary/Summer Break

2010-08-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary Babe!
08/08/10

Life has been a little crazy lately, but I hear that is what life is all about. I just got back to Colorado yesterday from an adventure to Kansas and Minnesota! Two places I previously had no desire to visit until my husband moved to Kansas and my sister moved to Minnesota and had another baby. It was a great couple of weeks away.

I arrived in Wichita at 11pm on Thursday August 5th, the day my classes ended, and Jon picked me up from the airport. It was so amazingly good to see him, it had been almost 7 weeks since the weekend he came to visit me in Colorado. He had to work on Friday morning, but that afternoon we were able to take a trip down to Oklahoma City and stayed the night with Jon's grandmother.

Jon Driving
Me and Bing

We went to the Oklahoma City Temple the next day for our cousin Sterling's endowment, and it was also my 2 year mark from receiving my endowment. It was a very special session for both me and the Brillharts.

We spent Saturday afternoon driving, went to Eskimo Joe's for lunch with part of the Brillhart clan, and went out for our anniversary dinner at Cafe Bel Ami. Eskimo Joe's was as expected, a great little burger joint that's apparently world famous and resides in Stillwater, OK, where Jon was born. I got shirts for me, Colby and Saige there. Cafe Bel Ami was an amazing Italian place in Wichita that was very high class. The food was excellent too.

On Sunday, it was our actual two year mark! 08/08/10! We didn't do much but enjoy each others company, go to church, entertain some Brillhart children, visit with Alli and Chris who were driving back from Texas, and go to a birthday party for a different Brillhart child. It was definitely a packed day, but not really with Anniversary stuff, especially since it was Sunday.

Monday Jon cooked me breakfast which we ate kind of late, and then we headed out to see my Anniversary present. Jon took me to Tanganyika Wildlife Park where we are members!

It is like a private zoo where you can get closer to the animals and really enjoy your visit. Even though it was terribly humid, we still had a lot of fun with the animals.

A Lemur - yes we were really that close to him

A Red Kangaroo - if they get close enough you can pet them, but they didn't get close enough to us...so that was kind of sad.

The Tortoise...

And the Hare!

A huge Rhinoceros

And a baby Giraffe

We were supposed to get a welcome packet in the mail but it didn't come in time. Oh well. As far as zoo's go, Wichita also houses the Sedgwick County Zoo. We weren't able to go on this trip, but there will be another trip to Kansas I'm sure. :)

Now time to visit Courtney and Company! I flew into Minneapolis St Paul airport at 11pm on Wednesday August 11th. Then I had to drive 4 hours to Bemidji where Courtney and Mark live. I arrived safely and was so happy to see my niece and nephew. I hadn't met Saige yet and she is already 4 months old! Where did the time go? She is so big, and she looks older than 4 months. She's still a little chunk just cause she doesn't crawl or walk yet. Colby is cute as ever and just a great kid. He looks so old now that he has a little sister. He is a good big brother and likes to 'help.'

Colby liked to wear my hat

Saige with the ugly Elephant I made her...

Colby and Saige

Friday we went to the Mississippi Headwaters, since Bemidji is the first city on the Mississippi River. It was a really nice day and we had a good time.

Colby with the river behind him

Looking through the slats

At the headwaters

Playing in the water
We walked across the Mississippi!

Courtney with sleeping Saige

All of us at the headwaters

On Saturday we went to Paul Bunyan Animal Land. When you first get there, it looks pretty ghetto, and it kind of is. The animals are in sort of makeshift cages and some of them don't look too happy. The best part was seeing Colby enjoy feeding them, and feeding the deer and camels. We spend most of our time in the deer pen but we did walk around to see all the other animals.

Colby feeding the tortoise

The tortoise enjoying his carrot

Colby with the lion

The animals in cages were fed through a tube.

I felt pretty bad for this bear

In the deer pen. It was so cool! There were tons of deer and they ate the corn right out of our hands. Here is Colby feeding one of the deer.

A picture of other deer in the park

Colby feeding his favorite camel. It was so cute because this camel followed us and stuck his head through the barn window just so Colby could feed him. I fed this camel too and he slobbered all over my hand. It was disgusting, and after I shook of my hand from the slobber, Colby decided he would do so too. So cute!

Colby feeding a different camel

They had some other animals inside and a pond of rainbow trout. The animals they had were pretty random, but it was a cool experience to see them, and to see Colby just love it so much.

They even had a baby kangaroo inside!

Sunday was my last day with the Ellis clan, and before I left for the airport we took one last stop at Paul Bunyan Park, which is Bemidji's Visitor's Center.

You can see the little train in the background!

Courtney and little Saige

Me with Saige, Courtney with Colby by Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox!

My camera died right about then, but Courtney did get some great shots of me with the kids by the lake on her camera. After visiting the Visitor's Center, I hugged the kids and my sister goodbye and drove to the airport in Minneapolis. I hated leaving those little ones. They grow so fast and I live so far away. I'm sure I'll see them again soon though.

It was also my only 'summer break' since I've been in school all summer. I did get the results back from my last 6 weeks of classes and guess what?! I earned all As again. YES! Now I feel like I have a reputation to uphold and I'm super nervous about the fall semester. :( It is going to be crazy busy and I really don't want to deal with that right now. I have one more week of freedom till I'm back to classes and also teaching in an elementary classroom! That's right, I'm starting a practicum that requires me to spend 15 hours a week in an elementary classroom and I'll be teaching in a Fourth Grade classroom at Shepardson Elementary School in Fort Collins! I'm so excited to start this new semester, but definitely nervous still.

Now I'm just waiting on the results of my Praxis Exam to see if I passed the test to be an Elementary Educator. In the mean time I'll be super busy, so don't plan on many more blog posts!

Cake Decorating

2010-08-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

"We heard you liked cakes, so we put a cake on your cake!"

Over the months of June and July, Tabi and I took two cake decorating classes. Through these classes we learned basic decorating techniques, as shown in the cake above, as well as how to make different designs and flowers.

Here are some pictures of my cake decorating adventures!

Assorted Cupcakes!

Shaggy Mum - One of my Favorites

PomPom Flower - Another favorite

My not so great final project, it should have writing on it and leaves... (She wouldn't let me do what I wanted to do, so it was really frustrating and I didn't get much done on it)

Button Flower

Pansy

Pink Roses - Lower right was the best

Primrose

Apple Blossom

Daffodil - This was probably my favorite!

Lilies! My favorite flower

Up close of the white lily

Up close of the yellow lily

My final project for the second class has yet to be completed, but I will add it to the end of this post once it is. It was a lot of fun to learn a new skill. I'm glad I got to take these classes!

Stories of July: Part 2 - Birthdays and Reunions

2010-08-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

This July I had lots of Family and Birthday Fun! My Sister-in-law Catie turned 11, and then one of my best friends, Zoe, who I've known for the past two years turned 21, so that was pretty exciting for her. I absolutely love birthdays. Mostly because of cake.

Erin made all of these cakes for Catie's birthday. They were awesomely decorated to look like balloons, and also very delicious! I enjoyed the chocolate one the best.

We managed to get a picture of the sisters (minus Mo and Erin...)

Having a picnic - Chili Dogs and Fritos are apparently the tradition for birthdays

Happy Birthday Catie!
We are going to go to a movie and shopping soon to celebrate.

I didn't take many photos of Zoe's birthday, but I know she had a great time.

Zoe with Simone

Zoe and Matt

Zoe and Me

Happy Birthday Friend!

And to round it off, the last weekend in July was the Butts' Family Reunion (Jon's Mom's side of the family)

We camped in Taylor Park and had a blast! Even though it rained almost every evening.

There was a whole lot more of us there, but this was in Tin Cup, a mining town north of Gunnison Colorado. As you can see, it was beautiful during the day.

I got to meet many people from Jon's family that I didn't know before, so it was a great experience, even if it was the week before my summer finals. :)

Stories of July: Part 1 - The Fourth

2010-08-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

Happy 40th Class reunion to my Dad!

And Happy 4th of July!

For the 4th of July this year I drove to Paonia Colorado, where my Dad grew up. Every year they have what's called "Cherry Days" and as a kid we used to go almost every year.

They have a pancake breakfast!

and this is the aftermath!

They have an awesome parade, where kids (and sometimes adults) can grab some candy!

Look at the tree and cherries on the horses!

And they have a picnic/bazaar/cherry market/carnival

But mostly we just sit around the park, eat crappy food and enjoy the sun and shade!

This year was also my Dad's 40th Class Reunion

And the town of Paonia has their class reunions coincide with the Cherry Days parade.

We got to go to a BBQ with all his old classmates and their spouses.
I think I was the only "child" there...

All the classmates that came
(A pretty good turnout. My dad's whole class was only about 70 people)

It was a lot of fun to go and as a bonus, I got to see my Aunt and Uncle, Grammy and cousins, who I haven't seen in a while, and my parents of course. Only sad thing is that Jon wasn't able to join us. Maybe another year.

Mt Rushmore Memorial Day

2010-06-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day and the day after a couple friends and I decided to go see Mount Rushmore. We left Monday night and came back Tuesday night. Now a few people told me I was crazy to plan a trip to Mt Rushmore as a "day trip," but they didn't realize that the national monument is only five hours away! South Dakota is just beautiful too, and just imagine driving around the corner and seeing this carved into the mountain.

Beautiful isn't it? We were more than a little surprised to see it from the road like that, so of course we pulled over and started snapping photos right then and there. Who needs to pay $10 to get into the park when you can just take photos out your window?

Well we went inside the park anyway. :)

Tabi and Tim standing in awe!

She must be so strong to hold it up!

All the flags down the walkway were pretty cool.

Me with the Presidents.

Me and Tabi, trying to stay dry in the rain.

We also went to see the Crazy Horse Memorial which is still under construction. When it was started, they estimated it would take 100 years to construct, but it has already been 50 years and it is not even close. They only take private donations and proceeds from visitors to the park, so that is probably why it is taking so long. It was pretty cool to see it, if only from a distance.

You might not be able to tell, but eventually this will be a Native American, Crazy Horse, riding on a horse and pointing with his finger. Like I said, it's so far from being completed, I doubt it will be done in my lifetime. It is a huge monument too. The presidents at Mt Rushmore could fit just in Crazy Horse's head.

Here is the model of what it is supposed to look like someday, and in the background you can see the current rock. I'm not saying they haven't made considerable progress, but there is a LOT more to be done. It will look awesome.

A picture of the front and face of Crazy Horse.

The monument is to be built to honor Native American heritage, and will be a national park someday with iyas their tribute. It seems to me like an answer to Mt Rushmore, to show the real heritage of the United States, and they won't take any proceeds the government offers to help pay for it. If they would, then the construction would probably go much faster. It's pretty expensive to get into the park too, and much more to take a tram up to see the face up close. We opted out of the tram ride.

All in all it was a great trip, although short lived. I would definitely recommend taking a weekend and visiting these monuments. And remember, if you live in Fort Collins or Greeley or the surrounding area, it is only about a 5 hour car drive and well worth it!

A New Beginning: Jon's Graduation, New Job, New House, Mal Starts Graduate School (Crazy Update Post #3)

2010-06-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

It's official people! Jonathan has graduated from Colorado State University, with a ton of crazy honors, tassels, cords, stoles and other stuff! :D And here's the evidence to prove it!!!

Just look at that smirk!

Me and Mom admiring the BLING!

Moriah did an AWESOME job of decorating cupcakes for the party!

And Jon showing off his suit while I get to wear all the bling I helped him earn!
(I say that a little humorously, I didn't do much, but I hope I was very supportive at least!)

Joking aside, I just want to take a moment to share how proud I am of my husband. Since we've been married he's taken at least 21 credits a semester (including summer semester) and has worked so very hard to get where he is today, to graduate a little earlier than we thought possible and to land an amazing job in Wichita Kansas. That's right, Kansas. Jon moved out there the day after he graduated, and I'll be joining him in December.

The company he now works for is called Cargill. He works in the Meat Packing division called "Case Ready" as a Supply Chain Analyst. Since I talk to him EVERY DAY I know how much he loves his job and I am so proud of him. He truly is the motivated hardworking amazingly spiritual man that I married almost two years ago, and I love him so much. Can't wait to be with him in our NEW HOUSE!

Isn't it great! For more pictures see the facebook album "There's No Place Like Home" And no it is not a rental. We actually did buy a house and it is perfect!

In other news, that Monday I started my graduate degree at the University of Northern Colorado and will be getting licensure in Elementary Education, and later on a Masters degree. The last month or so has been a little crazy, but it's been worth it. I absolutely love my program and my classmates and while it's been hard to be away from Jon, I know this is what I need to be doing, so that I can be a teacher! YAY!

Wish us luck as we embark on this new journey and new beginnings!

Saige Elizabeth Ellis (Crazy Update Post #2)

2010-05-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Introducing Saige Elizabeth Ellis!

9lbs 11oz

My niece Saige was born March 30, 2010! She is adorable and beautiful and growing up soooo fast! It is crazy how time flies. Here are some more pictures of my lovely niece!

Such a little darling!

Colby's first experience at being a big brother...I think he fits the bill!

At 2 months old! Oh so cute!

Courtney and her babies!

When I found out Courtney was having another little one, I decided to make her a baby blanket. Well a lot of time and lots of yarn produced a very beautiful blanket for an even more beautiful baby! Here's the results!

Just one Hexagon

A small stack of them

A few sewn together

A little bit bigger

Tada! I literally finished it the day before my parents flew out to see Courtney.. haha!
And baby Saige with her blankie!

I'm only a little upset that Courtney stole the thunder for the 1st Grandson AND 1st Granddaughter for my mom and dad! haha! But maybe it's better her than me as I am not quite ready to have any little ones yet. ;) Congrats Courtney on a wonderful baby girl! Can't wait to come see her in August!!!!

Isla Formosa (Crazy Update Post #1)

2010-05-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know, Jon and I wanted to go to Taiwan for our honeymoon when we were married two years ago. As you also know, we decided not to but we saved up money for it and actually were able to go in January 2010. It was an awesome and much needed vacation and a bit of a second honeymoon for us. Sorry it has taken me so long to get these posts up, but my life has been more than a little crazy lately. I don't have much time at all to blog anymore, but hopefully I will start making time.

Now for some pictures!!!!

Arriving in Kaohsiung - super late and very tired from plane rides!

Elevator buttons: We were on the 6th floor but there was no 4th floor, because 4 sounds like the word "death" in chinese... A little superstitious

Our first day in Taiwan

SanDiMen 三地門 aborigine cultural center.

We found this in our Chicken Soup... =0

Us on a rooftop with Kaohsuing in the background.

The Dragon and Lion Pagodas 龍虎塔 at Lotus Lake 蓮池潭

My first experience eating Bing, shaved milk with toppings, kind of like ice cream.

We drove a scooter around while there. In this picture we were waiting for a ferry to leave the island Qi Jin.

On the train to ChiaYi

In ChiaYi with our touristy shirts!

Night View of Taipei!

At the temple. We got to go inside and everything! It was awesome!

The Taipei101, once the tallest building in the world, now I believe 2nd tallest.

Jon at the beach at JinZun 金尊. This was in TaiDong County. Very beautiful!

The beginning of our hike to SanXianTai 三仙台 pictured in the background

Sunset while hiking...

We went to lunch with Homer and had what is called 一條八吃, which means "One Strip, Eight Eat." It was eight different entrees made out of one complete fish (the fish was HUGE). So we basically had a fishy lunch.

At the rocky beach of Eluanbi 鵝鑾鼻.

The southernmost point of Taiwan!
At KenDing Beach

At Monkey Mountain 壽山 in Kaohsuing

This may or may not be the monkey that later attacked Jon for his food...

Way too close for comfort!!!

Just one of the many families I got to meet from Jon's mission. Great wonderful amazing people! So kind and so thoughtful, I love them so much!

Back at the airport with Thomas to see us off! We were already at the gate by the time Thomas came, but the immigration guy led us back out and then escorted us back to the gate. Crazy huh?

I can't explain what a great experience this was. It was so wonderful to be able to see all the places Jon served and to meet all the people. I love Taiwan, and even though I can speak hardly any Chinese, I loved our trip out there. It was just amazing! The best vacation in the world. I can't wait to go back someday!!!

For anyone who wants to see all the photos they are available on facebook. Here are some links!

Taiwan #1
Taiwan #2
Taiwan #3

My Nephew Colby is One!

2009-11-28T23:50:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLBY!

A few weeks ago, all my sisters and I were able to get together at my parents house in Grand Junction for an early Thanksgiving and to celebrate Colby's First Birthday. I decided not to post about it till today, since today Colby's official birthday is November 28th. We had a lot of fun with his birthday party, and Colby got lots of fun presents.

I like this last one. The hat I made was too small, so I made him another one, but he looks like "Waldo" in this picture. So cute!

After presents we had to take family pictures! Colby didn't like those as much, he was kind of grumpy. I think a new place, and poor quality naps didn't help. Here are a few pictures of us enjoying the company of this adorable little boy. I can't wait to see him again!

Us with Grammy
Sisters

And just a few more reasons why we love this kid!
Hapy Birthday to our favorite Nephew!

Bing's First Birthday!

2009-11-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to YOU! Happy Birthday to YOU! Happy Birthday dear Bing Pup! Happy Birthday to YOU!

Bing had his 1st birthday on Sunday! So we got him a "cake" and some presents. Above you can see how excited he was for the "cake."

He doesn't like fire though...

Mmmmmm cake!

Then Bing got lots of presents from his Baba and Mama as well as Aunt Tabi!
Mmmm treats!
and a new stuffed animal!

Happy Birthday Bing!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

Halloween was very fun for our family! We slept in, and then went grocery shopping and finally got dressed in costumes, as you can see above. We then went to Katie's house to decorate cookies! Here are some pictures of the cookies we decorated with our friends.

Jon, the Ninja, icing his cookie with his sword. Nice!

My failed attempt at cookie decorating...

The group together in costume!

We actually bought Bing a costume, it was his first Halloween and he looked so cute. Of course, he probably didn't like it but he looked adorable. Here are some more pictures of Bing,
"My Little Devil!"

Bing in his costume...he was angry enough at me that at times he really looked the part!

And here is Bing with his favorite Aunt Tabi!

Happy Halloween everyone! We hope everyone had an excellent day!

Fort Collins Blizzard

2009-10-30T18:02:00.000-07:00

Here in Fort Collins a couple days ago, we had a huge snowstorm. They ended up closing the public schools around here and CSU eventually closed as well. Of course Center Partner's stayed open, but that's to be expected. :) Really it wasn't too awful, it was actually really awesome and pretty, just the driving was a little precarious for a few days, but by Monday it was all melted! At least Bing got to play in it before it melted away. I took some pictures of him and me in the snow before I had to go to work. He got really cold and snowy!

And here is one of me and Bing. My dog is adorable!

It took a while for me to get those huge snow clumps off my dog. Lots of fun in the bathtub with my hairdryer.

It was a pretty crazy and fun snow storm. My car was covered, and by the time it was all over and the car was dusted off it had what Jon called, "MC Hammer Hair." Awesome.

We really enjoyed our little piece of Winter. Now back to Autumn!

Birthday Visit

2009-09-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my parents came out for my birthday. They spent a few days with me and Jonathan and then went out to Minnesota to visit Courtney Mark and Colby. It was so good to see them. We had a lot of fun. We got to go out to the Cracker Barrel for my birthday that Saturday, even though it was a week after my actual birthday. It was great! I love that place. Then we had church on Sunday and had Pacita and her kids over for dinner. Monday was by far the best. I had off work because they were going to be here and so we went on a drive up Poudre Canyon in the morning, had a wonderful hike on the way back down, then had lunch at Vern's in LaPorte, and then picked raspberries on a local small fruit farm. It was so much fun. Bing came with us, and while he enjoyed the hiking part, he didn't like having to stay in the car for some or our adventures. Here are a few photos I took on the hike and while driving back down the canyon. My mom has a ton more, but they are on her camera. I'll try and post them if I ever get them from her.

Below are the nature shots!

And one last picture of Bing for his avid fans!

Thanks mom and dad for coming to visit. We loved having you!

Bing's New Haircut and My Birthday!

2009-09-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

So I don't post very often, especially about my dog, but the other day I took him to be groomed, instead of what we normally do, just use our trimmer to give him a horrible hair cut that eventually grows out and looks halfway decent. I thought, since it was so hot out and he needed his hair cut, that we'd get it cut really short, and he'd actually look like a Shih Tzu. Here are some before and after pictures. :) Enjoy!

His hair, as you can see, is super long in these pictures. They were taken 2 days before his hair cut. You can't even see his eyes which was my problem with it, and he couldn't see where he was going, which is something we like to laugh about. After his haircut, Jon and I both thought he looked ridiculous, but I have some pictures taken a week later, and it had grown out a little so he didn't have that "just got my hair cut" look.

A very handsome dog I think. I never wanted a dog that I had to groom, but if I have to have one, then I'm not going to let him look like a scoundrel. :) As for my birthday, it was pretty uneventful. Jon had class all day, and so Tabi came over for breakfast, and then Jon and I opened presents during the half hour he had away from school. I had lunch with my friend Pacita after that, and then I made mini cupcakes and took them to work. It was a pretty good day all in all. Here are some pictures of my presents. Thank you Jon, Tabi, Grandpa, and Mom and Dad for the presents.

And this last one is of me and my puppy on my birthday! Love him!

Our WWE RAW Anniversary...

2009-08-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

As most of those who read this blog already know, my first anniversary with my wonderful husband Jon was on August 8th, 2009. About a week before Jon asked me if I wanted to do something Romantic or Adventurous. I of course chose romantic, but Jon didn't really have anything in mind for romantic. He had his heart set on the adventure he was determined we would have. So we decided, Friday night romance, and Saturday adventure.

Well Friday night, we went out to eat at The Olive Garden, and then set off for a play at The Lincoln Center. In celebration of the "Paper Anniversary," here are our Tickets to "The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree."
As you can see clearly on the tickets, our show started at 7:00pm. But Jon mixed up the times for that and our Saturday Adventure, and we ended up arriving a half hour late :(

Fortunately, there was a showing on Saturday afternoon, at 2:00pm. We ended up switching our our now useless tickets for these. (The beginning of Saturday's adventure!)
We went to Lunch at the Taj Mahal Restaurant in Fort Collins, were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Indian food there (It was a buffet, with some very tasty and interesting dishes; definitely adventurous), and then went home for a power nap and cake eating.
Did I say "cake eating?"

Yes I did. We froze our wedding cake from exactly one year ago, and ate it on our anniversary. It was surprisingly good, and we ate a lot of it. At first when I looked at it I freaked out, mostly because Jon had said "Oh my gosh it's molded!" Then he had a laugh at my expense by reminding me that we had green frosting on our cake, and that the cake can't have molded as it's been in the freezer for the past year. Mmmm Carrot Cake!

The conclusion of our "Adventurous Saturday" ended at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland where we actually witnessed a live showing of WWE RAW. I am not joking, and I have pictures as proof. It was almost hailing when we arrived and Jon finally showed me what we were doing. (notice the ticket again, honoring the "Paper Anniversary.")

And now for some pictures of the live action!

And a few avid fans!
And last but not least...

Nachooooooooooo! (Or some other Luchador)

After our Adventure at WWE RAW, we were too tired to do Jon's other activity, which would be to go to Hooters... So we left the day at that. Maybe not what I would have planned to do for our first anniversary, but the time I got to spend with my husband was awesome.
I love you Jon.
Happy Anniversary Babe! And here's to many many more to come!

Take me out to the Ball Game!

2009-07-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, most of my sisters joined me and Jon for a Rockies game! Actually, Hilary was on her way back to Utah from Texas, and Whitney flew out for the game. They were here on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a ton of fun, and let me just say it was nice to have my sisters for a few days!

I think Jon had fun too, even though we were probably a little much to handle. Wish Courtney could have been there too! Here are a few more pictures of the game and us. The Rockies lost, (to the freaking Diamondbacks!) but the game was really fun to watch. Something exciting happened almost every inning, which I must say is rare for a ball game!

Great Outdoors Weekend

2009-07-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Jon and I joined our "single" friends for a "Great Outdoors" adventure at our friend Travis' cabin up in Wyoming. Really it was just a giant slumber party in a cabin and those who couldn't fit slept in tents, but we got our own room in the cabin, and it was so nice! First we had to drive up there, and the instructions were very vague. We were glad we were following Travis up there and weren't relying on the directions alone. We took Jon and Melissa with us in our car. It was a long trip up, but the cabin was awesome!

As you can see, it was a really nice place, just out in the middle of nowhere, which is where you'd want a cabin to be I suppose. We had lots of fun with our friends, and we had some interesting surprises on the way back, someones car breaking down, waiting for a tow truck and a super long drive back home.

Pretty intense for only a 24 hour vacation...

Weight Loss Queen

2009-07-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

So as many of you know, I was recently working on losing weight, for health reasons as well as I had gained 20 lbs since I started working at Center Partners, and getting married didn't help that either. I joined a 12 week Weight Loss Challenge sponsored by Herbalife products, and I won the challenge! I must say, I didn't think I would win, and that's not why I did it, but it was nice to get that bonus, and to look and feel great!

This is me with my Weight Loss Coach Mary Jo. She is so awesome!

Everyone who joined paid in $35, and so I won half of all that money being the first place winner for a total of $135. The second half was divided between 2nd and 3rd place. Jon was so happy he called me "The Weight Loss Queen" and asked me when I could join up again. I explained that since I lost 10lbs, the chances of me losing more and winning again would be slim. But I subtly hinted that he should join!

Happy Fourth!

2009-07-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday was one of the longest days I've had in a while, but it was a good day. I usually don't like the 4th of July, since I hate loud noises and bright lights, both of which are prominent features of the celebration. I've always understood the significance of the holiday, how America is the promised land and how this holiday celebrates our independence, but I've just never really enjoyed those traditions. Usually my family goes to Paonia for Cherry Days, and we watch the parade as well as picnic in the park. That is how I usually like to spend the Fourth, among my family in a low key setting. This year we decided not to drive 7 hours each way, and stayed here in Fort Collins.

As a result we started with our friend Tabi, who we went to brunch with after her run in the Firecracker 5K. We went to The Farmer's Table and it was really good. I had a breakfast burrito, while Jon and Tabi got the classic biscuits and gravy. Then we went to 3 different barbecues, which put us eating at 11am, 1pm, 3pm, and 5pm. Blah!

One was the Fairbank BBQ with all the ward members who were in town. It was fun, but it rained on us, so we mostly spent the time inside. Bing got to meet lots of kids from our ward though so I'm sure he enjoyed it.

Then we went to the Hummer BBQ put on by Paul and Moriah. The other Hummers came, including Meghan, Alli, Matt and Catie, and a few of Paul and Mo's friends. That was fun too! Bing got so wet just running through the grass with Choco, he looked like he just got out of the bath. :)

The last BBQ was at the Baratta's house. We go over to dinner there almost every Sunday, but this time we went over on Saturday too, because the Fourth of July is a very big deal at their house. It's Mike's birthday and the kids love setting off fireworks and all that fun stuff. I had never really done that before. I must admit I didn't like the screamers that produced no colors, but there were some awesome fireworks, and it was cool to see what they would do!

Malia with her sparkler!

And Jacob with his!

All three kids, Jacob, their neighbor Isabel, and Malia.

Bing was so scared of the fireworks, we left him inside for most of it, but here's a pic of him whimpering...

As you can see we had a really great time with our friends and family. It was one of the best 4th of July's ever, and it was great to spend the whole day with my wonderful husband. :)

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

So Father's Day was on the 21st, and yes, I am aware that this post is a little late, but I had a stressful week. Anyway, for Father's Day I decided since I love my dad, and he was home all alone (with Mom in Utah for Whitney's knee surgery), that I would drive out to see him. I drove out Saturday and we had dinner together at Carino's, went to visit my Grammy and on Sunday went on a hike on the Colorado National Monument. It was a really great weekend and it was so good to see my dad. I don't usually get to do stuff with just me and him, so it was awesome to have Daddy-Daughter time.

On our hike we took the trail to see what they call the "Coke Ovens" which don't really look like coke ovens, but oh well. It was a short hike, but a lot of fun. Here are some more pictures of our adventure!

We decided to take the easy route. Monument Canyon Trail would take us traipsing through the wilderness for 7 miles one way... not a good idea.

Cave drawings or paintings, like the ones seen here, are actually NOT a history of ancient peoples or their form of art.

The View...
Below is Monument Canyon Trail, which really isn't a trail at all

The Coke Ovens! And Proof that we were there!

On our way back we saw a little cave and decided to go exploring.

About when we thought we should turn back because it was so dark we saw an opening and just HAD to check it out!

Turns out it was just a drainage area so that the roads don't wash out when it rains. Pretty lame, but at the time it was very exciting to go through the cave and find out where it went to...

Later, Dad said I should've stayed down there and he would've taken a picture of me from the top. I don't think that would've ever happened, but it was a nice thought.

Thanks for a great weekend Dad! You're the best! I'm so lucky to have the family that I do and the parents that I do. I miss all of you so much and wish I could see you more often.

Update on the Car Situation...

2009-06-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Jon's brand new Corolla was totaled when someone vandalized it by lighting the driver's seat on fire. The insurance company valued it at more than what we owed on it, so they paid off the lease and we got the rest. We also got the money we paid in for our extended warranty back. Overall, it turned out to be not so bad, but I think Jon still misses Burnie...

So because of all this, we recently bought a neused car! (meaning "new" to us, but "used" by someone else) It's a 1999 Honda CRV, painted red and has a manual transmission. It's a really great car, took Jon to Utah and back, and we're so glad we were able to find a good deal on it. We have really been blessed through this whole ordeal, though it may have seemed at the time to be a horrible thing, it just turned out to be a minor inconvenince to not have a second car for a while, and also a huge blessing in the end.

Here are some more pictures of the car. Enjoy!

Front seat.

Driver's Seat

Spacious!

Look at the Trunk Space!

Happy One Year at TiVo!

2009-06-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today marks my one year anniversary working for TiVo inc. We had a huge party, since it was also TiVo's one year anniversary at Center Partners. It's hard to believe it's been that long, but I'm actually doing really well at my job and starting to get used to what I do. Sometimes it's draining, and sometimes it's hard, but I feel like I'm doing the best I can to provide for my family and to put Jon through school. I have really great supervisors and managers and I feel like I'm making a difference, albeit a small one. Next summer I'll be going back to school to get my teacher licensure and then on to a MA in Education. I'm super excited for that and ready to be back in school, but for right now, this is working out. Plus, who doesn't love TiVo?

Me with my friend, TiVo (aka Randy)

Burn Baby Burn...

2009-06-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, someone decided to start a fire in Jon's car. We don't know who or why, but the results were a little intense.

As you can see, the driver's seat is completely burned out, and you can probably tell the source of the fire by where the red rag and the partially burnt tissue box are. Also note the plastic stalactites hanging from the ceiling. There were burn marks on the passenger seat as well, but it was mostly the driver's seat the took the heat. (get it...haha). Apparently whoever did this used the hide-a-key to get in, and after starting the fire, locked and shut the door, thus preventing the fire to get more oxygen. It could have been a lot worse.

So after discovering this on Wednesday morning, Jon calls me as I'm driving to work to tell me. All I can think of is that he can't be making it up, because it's too random for him to be able to even conceive this. I'm just glad no one was hurt.

More pictures below show the damage in closer detail. Like I said, it was mostly just the driver's seat, but insurance still called the car totaled because of all the melted plastic and smoke damage. It would take too much to fix it, and it would never be the same again.
So we're off to buy another car. This time most definitely a used one, and we'll also be trying to cut our car payment a lot so we can start paying off my student loans and save some money. We'll see how long we can go with just one car I guess. :)

I love to see the Temple!

2009-06-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Jon and I had the awesome chance to go to the temple with a few friends who we've never gotten to go with before. It was a great experience to be there with some of my best friends and other wonderful people who I love. We took some fun pictures afterward, before we stuffed our faces with CiCi's. Then we went to go see "UP." It was such a great day and I just wanted to share this with everyone who reads my blog, however few that may be.

The temple is literally the House of the Lord and I feel that I am such a privileged person, to have the restored gospel in my life and to be able to enter this holy place. I am so attached to that building, it's where I got engaged, where I got married forever, and where I made the most important decisions of my life. The way I feel when I can go is indescribable, and even though Jon and I make sure to go every month, I wish I could go more, I want to make it a goal to go more.

The prophet said that only the home can compare to the glory of the temple. I wish that my home was that holy, that full of the spirit, and a place where others can find refuge. While stressing about a lot of things going on and what I should do in the future, I never think to ask the Lord for help or guidance. I guess I feel like I have a brain for a reason, but there are some things that I need help on. There are some decisions I'm not comfortable making on a whim, and needing to do what is best for my family is so important. I love the temple, because it is a place where I can just be. I don't have stresses, though I think about my problems and decisions there. I just can't stress in such a peaceful and lovely place.

We're going back tomorrow, and I'm so excited to go again only 4 days later. I encourage all of you, if you are members and have recommends of course, to go to the temple as often as you can. Enjoy that love and spirit you can feel. And if you don't have a recommend, get one. And if you're not a member of our Church, I'm sure you know someone who is Mormon, and can ask them more about why the temple is so pivotal in our lives. There is no other place on earth that can give the comfort and security of knowing that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and love us, and have provided this place for us to have, so we can be forever families and accomplish our life missions on earth.

My Most Favorite Nephew EVER!

2009-06-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

Clearly, I love my nephew. :) My family and I went out to San Antonio, TX for Mark's graduation over Memorial Day Weekend. It was so nice to be with family and to see my adorable 6 month old nephew Colby. He is by far my favorite nephew. ;)

All of my pictures are of him. I guess I didn't have any interest in anything else. Really there just wasn't any time to take many pictures, and during graduation I was video taping for my mom. Here are a few, mostly of us swimming. Enjoy!

Whit and Colby

The Family... minus Courtney, Mark and Jon.

And dinner time with Grandma!

Shelby's Birthday Hike

2009-06-01T17:43:00.000-07:00

So when I asked my lovely friend Shelby what she wanted to do for her birthday, she promptly stated, "I want to hike Horsetooth." Of all the things we could do, hiking is probably the thing that I'm the worst at, but since it was her birthday, I humored her. And Kimee came too.

Here is a picture of our lovely selves before the hike...

And here is me only halfway through...

I was being a little dramatic mind you, but clearly I was pretty tired. It was a really nice hike all things considered. We went up Arthur's Rock trail in Lory State Park. The day after I definitely felt like I had died. :) Here are a few more pictures of our adventure!

Which way!?

On top of a rock...

The deer that crossed our path...

Route to the summit!

A Zoo of Sorts...

2009-05-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

This last Monday was the first one that Jon has had off school, since it's finals week and all. Therefore, it's the first real weekend we have been able to spend with each other since I started working on Saturday. I was planning on making it a very productive day: working on my substitute application, my application for school at UNC, and studying for the GRE. Amidst all of that, Jon asked me if I wanted to go to the Swetsville Zoo with him. I love Zoo's so naturally I said "YES!"

When we got there, this is what we found.
From the entrance, you can't really tell, but this is a Zoo of animals made entirely of old farm materials. It is literally amazing, and Jon said we had to go because they are shutting it down. A Wal*Mart is being built across the street and they need to widen the road, so the Swetsville Zoo was looking a little sad, but that didn't stop us from enjoying all the wonderful creations!

These guys are AWESOME!!!

This guy is super tall,

Jon looks super small!

And I'm taking off!

It was a really fun trip, and way cool to see all of that stuff. There is sooo much more that I didn't take pictures of, but if any of you are in Fort Collins in the near future (since it's closing) you should go to the Swetsville Zoo!

Happy Birthday To YOU!!!

2009-05-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 4th, was Jon's birthday! We got to do a lot of stuff that week, even though Jon was stressed with finals. It was a good feeling to be able to treat him and show him how I do birthdays. I made him breakfast, which was awesome because I used the "I am Special Today" plate and made him waffles and sausage. Here is a pic of him about to eat!

After he got home from school we opened presents.

Before we began!

Bing likes to help!

And now, the grand finale!!!!

Since he had been wanting a bike for so long... I, along with my parents, got him this!!!!

That way he can ride his bike to school and get some exercise!!! It was a really fun and exciting day and I'm so glad he had a good birthday.

Happy Birthday Love! I love you so much!

Where to now?

2009-04-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

I always thought that married life would be the same as single life, just you have someone else who is there with you. It's not. Everything you do affects the other person, and I've realized that me and Jon mold our lives after each other. It's not just my life any more, it's "our life" and that's great, but it leaves me always wondering what is next. For someone who likes things planned, I'm not doing so well in that aspect. It's hard to plan for what you don't know is coming.

It's weird how fast things happen. I've been married for almost 9 months now, and it's gone by so fast! My life now is really just day to day, nothing new or special which I think contributes to the passing time. Jon is in school, so he always has something going on, and I almost never do, yet I feel bored and busy at the same time. I don't know what to think about it, but I guess I miss school. I definitely don't miss the homework or the stress, but I want to go back for sure, I just don't know when that will be or where it will be.

I guess in times of doubt, I know where I should turn, but even with patriarchal blessings and the scriptures to help me, I still feel lost sometimes. I just don't know what the next years are going to bring. It's all so uncertain. I guess what happens will happen, and that is okay. I'm still smiling at least! :)

Our Little Family...

2009-02-21T16:41:00.000-08:00

I love to think about me and Jon as a family now. It's so amazing how much the Lord has blessed my life, and I'm so grateful for all that I have. Of course I still have my family, my mom and dad and sisters, brother-in-law and recent nephew, but it's great to have my little family too, and that's always how I describe it. Our new little family.

Not so new anymore I guess. After more than six months of marriage, it doesn't feel very new, but many who have been married for longer might argue with that. I'm still deeply in love. I was watching a movie today and all of a sudden really missed Jon. He was just upstairs doing homework, yet I had this overwhelming desire for him to be with me watching the movie. I love that feeling, and I love my husband. And here is our first family picture!

This was taken at graduation time. We were going to make little cards out of it and send it out for Christmas, but we are lazy and didn't do it. :) Haha. Oh well. I try, but I can't be perfect. On a different note, it was great to spend Christmas just us. I missed spending it with my family for sure, but it was good to bond as an actual family.

So enough of that. Recently Jon and I got a dog. He is a Shih Tzu and really adorable. His name is Bing, which means 'soldier' in Chinese. He is around 3 months old now, so still a puppy, and still always getting in trouble. He and Jon both try my patience, but like Jon, he's hard not to love. He's basically just a little furball. We took some pictures of him so that you all can see him. His eyes look green in this picture because of the flash. They are actually brown. His hair is also cut around his face which we recently did. It grew so long that he couldn't see at all. We like his long hair though, so we didn't cut all of it. :)

And here is a picture of Jon holding him. He at least is manageable in the regard that we can just pick him up if he's doing something we don't want.

6 Months In...a Lifetime to Go!

2009-02-07T17:46:00.000-08:00

It has definitely been a while since I've posted on my blog, and I supposed that is the story of my life. My journals have always had large gaps where I haven't written anything. I don't know why I thought a blog would be any easier.

So here goes. This is my attempt to catch up on the last 6 months of my life. Starting with my wedding! First, here is the invitation we sent out. It is simple and I love it (much thanks to my sister Courtney for editing it for me and making it absolutely perfect). I still have this invitation framed at work. :)
Next, Jon and I were married on August 8th, 2008 for time and all eternity in the Denver LDS Temple at 11:00am, Just like the announcement says. We took lots of pictures at the temple, and a good many of them are of me looking frazzled and tired. Whoever thought getting married would be so much work! Here are a few pictures of us outside the temple.

This is me, Jon and my mom in front of the temple.

This is me and my parents.

Me with my 3 wonderful sisters (also bridesmaids).

Me, Jon and both our parents.

And finally a good picture of just me and my husband.

Before we were married we had an open house in Fort Collins at the Fort Collins Institute of Religion. After the wedding we had lunch at CiCi's Pizza in Denver, and a reception in Grand Junction the following day. After lots of busy days planning a wedding, it was a great feeling to head off on our honeymoon for a couple of days. Destination: Estes Park, CO.

This is the view of the river from our suite.
Here are some elk!

As you can see from these lovely pictures, Estes Park is a really nice place, with lots of fun activities. Jon and I mostly just relaxed in our hotel room and watched the Olympics. :) We only went for a few days, but it was great! I'm glad our honeymoon wasn't busy or touristy. Plus we still had a few weeks after it was over before school started again.

Speaking of school, this was my last semester at CSU, and I'm relieved to say that I graduated!

I got my diploma today in the mail. (I was worried since it took so long to get here.) The best part is, my last semester I got all A's, (so did Jon!) and so I made the Dean's list, which I haven't ever done before. Not only that, but my final GPA ended up at a 3.5! It was really a great semester. Even though I was working a lot, I was focused and interested in my classes. I miss school a lot right now.

I'm still working at Center Partners for TiVo, and I don't really like working full time. I've been sick lately, and so that makes it about 10 times worse. I'm thinking about doing substitute teaching until I can go back to school and get my teacher licensure. Jon and I are looking at several different options, but hopefully I can go back soon. I miss the classroom, believe it or not.

So far, married life is awesome, and it certainly has its benefits with the tax return :) But really, I love my husband, and the last 6 months (effective tomorrow) have been amazing.

School is OVER...now to plan a wedding...

2008-07-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

So, as you can see, school is over, I finished my last final for summer school yesterday, and it was pretty easy so everything is good there. Now that school is over, I've got a lot more time on my hands, and admittedly, I spend most of it sleeping, because I didn't sleep much while I was in school. Today was really nice to sleep in.

Our invitations have been sent out, so you should be getting one fairly soon. Much thanks to my sister Courtney for designing them for me. I really appreciate all she has done for me. She is by far the BEST. :) We're still working out logistics, but we do have times and dates set for everything, so I'll give you a run down.

August 7th, 2008, from 6 to 8pm, we'll be having an open house in Fort Collins, at the Institute building.

August 8th, 2008, at 11am, we will be sealed in the Denver LDS Temple.
There will be a luncheon after the ceremony, about 2pm at CiCi's Pizza.

August 9th, 2008, from 3 to 5pm, we'll be having our reception at the Ridges Golf Course in Grand Junction.

We are registered at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and www.pamperedchef.com

So that's about it. I'll be fairly busy the next month, planning and such, but I just wanted to fill everyone in on what's going on. Hope to see you at my Wedding!

Tasty!

2008-06-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Jon, Tabi and I went to the Taste of Fort Collins festival in Old Town. We spent a lot of money on fairly stupid things, but it was fun.

We got to see Lifehouse in concert there (and outdoor concerts are always the best) and we ate some really good food and bought some neat things from the vendors.

Ben and Steve showed up later so we ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the evening. We ended up going ice blocking at Epic, which was awesomely fun, and I'm still sore from it... We did a train of all 5 of us! Even though Tabi got the worst of it, it was a lot of fun.

I then watched Rocky with Jon and Ben and Tabi. I'd never seen it before, and I slept through a lot of it, but since the Rocky movies are Jon's favorite, I decided to give it a try. Rocky II is better. :)

Anywho, that was my Saturday, full of fun and adventure. I got to start actually working at my job instead of training, and it's not too bad. I just have to answer people's questions and try to get them to buy from me. I made one sale yesterday! It was awesome, cause it was right at the end of my day. So far, working there isn't so bad.

Employed!!!

2008-06-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

I finally got a job, which is good, because I need income fast! I start work on Monday at Center Partners, an inbound call center. I'll be doing sales for TiVo, a DVR company. It will probably suck a lot, especially at first since I've never really done phone sales before, but I'll get paid at least 9.25/hr + any commissions I make in sales, and I'll be able to continue part time through the school year. Maybe there is potential for a raise too. :) If I work hard, which I plan to.

School is going well. I had my first test (the midterm) a week ago and it was the easiest test I've ever taken. 100% and I didn't even study for more than 1/2 an hour. I love summer school. :) I wish I could take all of my classes in the summer. My Art class ends in a week, next Friday, and then the next one begins! I'm not really looking forward to Speech class. Art, I think, is easier. Hopefully, because it's a summer class, it will be pretty easy too. Then I just have to pass all of my classes in the fall to graduate. It's going to be a busy next 6 months.

My camera broke, which makes me really sad. The zoom/shutter button broke off, which is weird, and makes me feel like my camera is really cheap. I had to send it in to the repair place to get it fixed, and if it's not covered under warranty it'll cost $70, but it has a warranty so it probably won't cost anything. :) I just want my camera back, cause as of right now, I can't take pictures!!! I hope I get it back before the wedding.

It's already June 6th! Which means that I'm getting married in two months! It's so weird to think of life moving on like this. When my sister got married, I felt so old, and I watched her and thought how weird it would be when I got married. I didn't think it would come this fast though. :)

I'm still working on plans for the wedding. We've got bridesmaid dresses pretty much figured out, but we still have lots left to do. I'm feeling less stressed out about it all though, which is weird, because it's getting closer, and so maybe I should be more stressed, but I think it's just that I don't care anymore. I've got the most important think squared away, and that is my sealing to Jon in the Temple. As long as that happens, nothing else matters. :D

Finals...Finally OVER!

2008-05-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

So as you can see with the title of my post, finals are over, and so that means that I am much more happy than I was...but that doesn't mean the end of school...not for a while. I start summer classes on Monday, and hopefully a new job!!!!

Tuesday (5/13) was my last day with the CSU Computer Science Dept. and it's probably a very good thing I don't work there anymore. It was really draining on me to be around all that negativity anyway, and I guess some people got their wish with my leaving, and others are sad, but I've come to grips with it I guess. I have an interview on Monday with the Colorado Case Company, they make cases for instruments, as far as I can tell. I guess we'll see if that works out. If it doesn't, I'll try for a job where Jon's mom and sister work, and I'll have to find another job for the school year, which will be hard, but it will be income for the summer at least.

As for summer classes, I'm taking Art 100 for the first four weeks of summer, and then Speech 200 for the next four. Then I have 6 weeks off till classes start again in the fall. These classes are just core curriculum classes that I need to get done so I can finish off my schooling in December!!! Woot!

Finals went...okay. I was way stressed and spent A LOT of time studying and writing papers...I only had two tests, but three papers, so it was pretty intense. I went home in the middle of the week, even though I still had a paper due. Jon went with me and it was awesome. It was so good to see my family, especially Courtney, who I never get to see, and I'll get to see her again in August.

My sister graduated from Fruita Monument on Wednesday (5/14). It was good to be home for that, but way too short. I hate that stinking paper for making me come back so early, but it was okay, Jon had a final on Thursday anyway. I don't really know how he did on his finals (nor do I know how I did on mine) but I think he got better grades than me, which is what I get for being engaged to a smart person. :P

The last piece of news is...my sister is pregnant! Don't worry, it's Courtney. :P I wanted to post about it sooner, but she hadn't told some people yet, so I decided to wait, but I am super excited. I can't wait to be an aunt! I've wanted to ever since Courtney got engaged. :) This is going to be a very exciting year.

To end, I shall share one of our engagement photos with all of you... :) Enjoy!!

Hello There!!!

2008-05-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

So this is my first time blogging, and I figured, since my sister Courtney insisted that I get a blog (j/k), I would try it out.

At first I didn't think that I had anything to blog about. Most of the things in my life I think I'd rather keep quiet, and just write them in my journal, which I do a lot of. But quite honestly, my life has changed a little, and I don't have time to call all of my friends and relatives and fill them in on my life. Since it will just get busier, I've decided to start this blog.

The first big news of my life is....I'm engaged!! This is a very happy and exciting time for me, and for my fiance Jon. We plan to be married August 8th, 2008 in the Denver Temple. Jon asked me to marry him on April 11th of this year right outside the Temple...and obviously I said yes!

This picture is one we took ourselves right after he proposed. I knew for a while that we wanted to get married, and for about a week that it would definitely happen someday, but Jon surprised me with his own unique timing. :)

We'll keep you updated on all of the wedding plans, but everything is a little on hold at the moment because of finals...this week and next...eeek!!

So yeah, so far so good. More to come, probably after finals are over. :D