Mary'd a Jenson

Thoughts From a New Dad

2011-08-13T09:41:00.007-06:00

This morning I got to sleep in until 7:30am. Sleep in you say? Well compared to 5am a couple of mornings ago, 7:30 was awesome. I actually woke up at 7 thinking that this morning might finally be the morning that they finally start sleeping longer, and I could have a little free time before they woke up. Well after sitting down to check my email for about 5 min my phone went off. It was Mary letting me know that it was time for me to take my shift, and once again I had to leave another task unfinished. It seems that I can't get anything done. Almost everything I start gets interrupted by a crying baby before I can finish. I am the king of the half unloaded dishwasher, the halfway dressed baby, the half written email, the half purchased boppy pillow on Amazon, the halfway mowed lawn, the half loaded car, the half made sandwich, or the halfway diapered baby that must wait while I burp the other halfway fed baby - meanwhile the halfway diapered baby pees halfway across the room. What a life.

This Sunday I will be blessing Grant and Avery in our ward. It will be the first father's blessings that I give my children, so I have been feeling a bit reflective this week as I have prepared for it. I have been thinking a lot about my life as a little boy growing up in Virginia and then in Colorado. I was blessed to grow up in a righteous happy home with tons of opportunities to feel loved, to grow, to make mistakes and to learn. My Virginia years were easy and carefree. I had lots of friends in our middle class neighborhood that I would swim with, ride bikes with, play cops and robbers with, and explore the woods with. When we moved to Colorado my carefree time was coming to an end. I got baptized the same month that we arrived, and I didn't know any of the other kids that got baptized that day. I had to start at a new elementary school and make new friends as a new 3rd grader. And then came the teenage years. I was a pretty good teenager, but there were things that went great for me and other things that I wish had gone a lot better.

I naturally want my kids to be able to avoid all the mistakes that I made, but at the same time have all the same love, opportunities and challenges that I had as well. I want them to be good readers, and learn to play nicely with all the other kids. I want them to be the smartest in their class, and bring home beaming report cards. I want them to know the scriptures and to feel and recognize the spirit at a young age. I want them to have faith and to be hard workers.

I love my kids and I am as proud a father as any. I feel so blessed to have these two health, happy, amazing children. I want the very best for them, and am going to do my best to give it to them.

Announcing....

2011-06-25T22:15:00.000-06:00

Grant Isaac Jenson 6lbs. 9oz. and Avery Gail Jenson 4lbs. 6oz. Born June 9, 2011. Both are healthy and didn't have to go to the NICU! We feel so blessed and lucky that everything went sooo well! They are precious and I love them already.

37 Weeks!

2011-06-08T19:58:00.000-06:00

I'm 37 weeks! This is the biggest I'll get! I'm very uncomfortable these days and can't sleep very well. Soon, the babies will be here. Wish us luck!

35 Weeks and Some Swollen Feet

2011-05-29T20:47:00.000-06:00

I've made it to 35 weeks! I'm hoping to make it at least another week if not two! I want healthy, fat babies. My feet have been so swollen lately. Sometimes, I look down at them and think "those are not MY feet!" I also no longer have ankles.. and I'm getting to the point where no matter what position I'm in, I'm so uncomfortable. In church today, I had to take a walk around the building part way through because I couldn't sit any longer! I won't even get started on what my nights are like lately. Anyway, I'm just very grateful that I've made it this far with no complications and no early labor. The latest on the babies is that they are still growing bigger and bigger- but baby boy is breech and has been for the last 3 weeks, so it looks like I'll be having a C section unless he decides to be a good little boy and flip over. We'll see.

Maternity Pictures

2011-05-29T20:36:00.004-06:00

Our friends were nice enough to take some maternity pictures for us when I was about 33 weeks. They turned out really cute. It's weird to look at pictures of myself with such a huge belly.

We Present.. The Baby Room (Almost Finished)

2011-05-29T20:04:00.000-06:00

Here's the baby room. Let me just say, it is difficult to arrange a room with TWO cribs in it! Those things take up lots of space! We bought the cribs new and got everything else on KSL! I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Now we just need to add a few decorations to the walls and we're good to go!

33 Weeks

2011-05-15T20:39:00.000-06:00

Hard to believe I'm 33 weeks now. Our friends took some pregnancy pics for us.. so.. here's a sneak preview. Plus, I needed a 33 week picture anyway. I'm definitely feeling the uncomfortable parts of pregnancy now. My feet swell up about half way through the day everyday.. and it feels like these babies are up pushing on my lungs- I cannot breathe very well. I also get this weird pain in my hands- it feels like i have arthritis or something. Anyway, enough with the complaining. My doc says everything looks good. The babies are estimated to weigh about 4 lbs. 13 oz. (baby boy) and 4 lbs. 1 oz. (baby girl). Yah.. the boy is definitely stealing all the food in there! I'm hoping to make it a few more weeks before having them! Plus, I still have a lot to do to get ready! It still doesn't seem real that they will be here in about a month! ahhh!

Our Babies Have Hair!

2011-05-12T10:49:00.000-06:00

I know this is probably a silly thing to post, but.. I'm just so glad.. our babies have hair! I didn't think you could REALLY see the hair on an ultrasound.. but it turns out, you can! It's getting harder and harder to get a good picture of their faces, since they're kind of squished in there. Anyway, I love that we get so many ultrasounds- it reminds me of how crazy this whole thing is.. and what a miracle it is that there are two babies in my belly!

Indoor Surfing.. and an Injury

2011-05-09T23:21:00.000-06:00

On Friday, John and I decided to use his gift certificate to the Flowrider. I had given him the gift certificate for his birthday 2 YEARS ago.. and had been bugging him to use it.. so we decided to just go by ourselves. Don't worry, I watched from the sidelines. John got to try it out about twice before dislocating his shoulder which landed us in the emergency room. His other shoulder has dislocated, but has always gone back in on it's own.. this time was the other shoulder and it didn't exactly go in on it's own. It needed the help of some pain meds and a doc. 4 hours later, we were on our way out the door, with a normal looking shoulder. John was brave. Needless to say, our next trip to the flowrider will probably include lying down and boogie boards instead.

Easter 2011

2011-05-01T18:37:00.000-06:00

Easter was just me, John, Mike, and Amanda this year. Tony, Nick, and Christin were gone camping. We still had fun. We had a nice ham dinner, hid eggs, found eggs, dyed eggs, and played games. It was pretty fun. Hope everyone had a great Easter!

30 Weeks!!.. Let the count-down begin

2011-04-24T00:20:00.001-06:00

Here I am.. 30 weeks. I'm starting to realize how close this whole thing is getting. In all honesty, it still doesn't seem real.. that there are TWO babies in there. I mean, really?!? Things are getting more uncomfortable and difficult, too. Whenever I'm sitting down, my belly kind of sits on my lap. haha. Also, these babies are moving ALL the time. Sometimes, I sit and stare at my belly in awe.. as it moves around. At my last appointment, they said the girl was measuring around 3 lbs., 2 oz.. and the boy around 4 lbs.! According to the book I'm reading, they're only supposed to be "almost 3 lbs" by now!! My doc said all that means is that I'm carrying two big, healthy, babies- which makes me VERY happy. I'm just so grateful that everything has gone so well thus far! I'm one lucky gal.

Tulip Festival 2011

2011-04-24T00:09:00.000-06:00

My friend, Leslie, and I went to the tulip festival. This year, there less flowers that had bloomed.. but it was still really pretty. I got to play around with our new fancy camera, too! It was nice just to be outside and to enjoy the flowers and the sun. Plus, let's face it, there's only so much left that I can DO these days.. and this is one of them. haha.

Shower

2011-04-23T23:54:00.001-06:00

My awesome friend, Leslie, threw me a baby shower. Look at all that yummy food she made! and there was even a good turnout. I'm so glad I have generous friends. I got some much-needed stuff.. Thank you, everyone, for coming! You are all awesome. The last picture is John enjoying some of the leftover treats.. haha.. we just thought it was funny that he's eating such a girly looking treat.

Shooting Skeets

2011-04-23T23:38:00.000-06:00

During my baby shower, the boys needed something manly to do. Tony was nice enough to take everyone skeet shooting. According to the stories, they had a blast. They were gone for hours.. even long after the baby shower had ended.. and John came home with a sunburn. It was good times had by all!

The Baby Room... In the Making

2011-04-23T19:50:00.000-06:00

A while back, we had my brother, Tony, help put together our cribs. It was pretty fun to watch. The bottom picture is what Christin and I did while they put together the cribs.. haha.. I know it looks like I'm not doing much.. but hey, I'm incubating babies! It's a lot of hard work! Anyway, they were pretty fast at putting up those cribs, especially the second time around. You should have seen the front room full of trash afterwards- somehow that picture got deleted. Yay for cute cribs! Now I need to decorate! Help!

28 WEEKS!

2011-04-07T11:02:00.000-06:00

So.. I'm 28 weeks now, and in the third trimester. John says it's looking like I have a basketball in my shirt. I can definitely feel the "uncomfortable" stage coming on. My legs sometimes hurt at night.. and I get weird charlie horses in my feet. I also can't stand for long periods of time, or all the blood runs into my feet. It's hard to believe I'm this far along and that there aren't that many weeks left! We still need to decide on names! Ah!! The baby room is coming along. I will post pics of it, once it's done.

Curling

2011-03-27T18:05:00.000-06:00

We.. well, John went curling with our friend, Jaelan. It was more complicated than I thought. They make it look so easy in the olympics. John had a lot of fun. If only they let pregnant ladies on the ice!

25 Weeks

2011-03-17T23:16:00.000-06:00

Okay.. here I am.. at 25 weeks.. bending over is getting unpleasant.. so is picking up things. I find that lately, if I drop something, I decide if it's worth it to pick it up or not, and then proceed. These babies sure do kick a lot. People ask if they kick more than one baby.. but then I point out that I don't have a clue since I have nothing to compare it to. They especially like to kick me when I'm sitting down, leaning forward- I take that to mean- "hey lady- you're squishing us!" People have also been asking how I'm feeling.. and I actually am feeling pretty good! I'm just grateful not to be sick anymore, mostly. The second trimester has been awesome. I can't believe how far I still have to go.. and I'm wondering how the heck my belly is going to stretch that far. That kind of freaks me out. Also, my belly itches like crazy.

The Big.. 29!

2011-03-17T23:09:00.000-06:00

FYI- This is the last time I will be posting how old I am.. so you'll just have to figure it out yourself after this year.. (aka.. turning 30 is not cool!) My birthday was fun. We went out to dinner with 2 of my brothers and their families to the Pizza Factory.. then went over to Mike's to eat ice cream cake (my fave) and play games (also my fave). The other picture is my nephew Brody. He makes great faces. Happy Birthday to me!

22 Weeks

2011-03-01T21:58:00.002-07:00

So.. I'm 22 weeks.. and starting to feel rather large.. I can't believe I still have so far to go! Yikes!

Dinner with the Siblings

2011-03-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

We had a family dinner while my sister was down visiting from Idaho. It was fun to have all the siblings together.. even though we were all tired and Laura had had a long day of flights! I love that my siblings are all so close! It's awesome that we get to hang out on a regular basis.

Ski Competition

2011-03-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

John and I went with some friends up to Park City to watch a ski competition. It was pretty cool. We watched the skiiers on the half pipe and then we watched them do the moguls as well. It was pretty cold up there, and I also realized how out-of-breath I get when pregnant and walking up hills in the snow!! If you look closely in the last picture, you can see one of the skiiers making a sweet move on the half pipe. He kind of blends in with the background. It was really fun to watch..

Ultrasound Pictures 18 Weeks

2011-02-07T20:53:00.004-07:00

Thought I would share some of the pictures from our ultrasound at 18 weeks. These pictures make this whole thing seem much more real! It's crazy!

19 Weeks

2011-02-07T20:51:00.001-07:00

I'm growing.. and so are the babies..

It's a.. I mean.. THEY are a...

2011-01-29T10:53:00.001-07:00

BOY AND A GIRL!!!

This picture is me at 15 weeks. We found out on Wednesday.. I'm so excited that we are having one of each! I get to buy cute girly stuff.. and adorable boy stuff! During the ultrasound, the boy baby was doing flips and was very active. The baby girl was sucking her thumb! It was so cute. I'm always in awe when we watch the ultrasound video on the screen. That's the one time that this all seems real.

Mom and Laura's Visit/Christmas

2011-01-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

My mom and Laura came to visit during Christmas break. My dad came too.. but he was only here a short time and John and I were in Colorado. We had so much fun! We played lots of games, did puzzles, went shopping, made a gingerbread house, ate lots of dinners together, held baby Brody, and went to the aquarium. It was fun to have so many of us all here. We will miss you!! Come back soon.

Christmas in Colorado 2010

2011-01-23T22:18:00.000-07:00

We went to Colorado for Christmas this year. We played lots of games, made a "ski resort creation" (not sure what to call it), played the piano, opened presents, went to our niece's baptism, practiced new hair-do's and opened presents. It was so much fun and we got to hang out with John's parents and siblings a lot. We had a great time.. and then we drove home in some crazy snow!

My Brother's Baby Boy

2011-01-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

My brother, Tony, and his wife had a baby right before Christmas- Brody. He is so adorable and looks a lot like my brother... he even has 2 webbed toes just like his dad! The reason he has oxygen is because he had to be in the NICU for day.

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-01-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

We had two of my brothers and my brother's wife over this year for dessert on Thanksgiving. John and I actually went out to eat this year instead of making a whole dinner. Good thing, cuz I was so nauseas that I ate about two bites and was done. It was fun to hang out with my brothers. We had some yummy pie!

More Details on "Baby A" and "Baby B"

2010-12-13T21:30:00.001-07:00

So.. I've gotten lots of questions in reply to my prior blog. Here are some facts that may answer those questions: My due date is June 28th. My doc says full term for twins is 35-37 weeks.. so that puts me having them around the end of May/beginning of June. They are fraternal (which is probably obvious from the pics). They are in two separate sacs and have their own everything. I have been sick and had nausea.. but I haven't thrown up.I'm starving all the time, but food disgusts me at the same time! I'm hoping that will go away soon. I'm now 12 weeks along so I'm hoping it will go away sooner than later! It still doesn't seem real to me. I keep thinking that I just don't feel very good.. not that I'm pregnant.. let alone with TWINS! We're so excited though... I still can't believe it's all true!

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

2010-12-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

Drum roll please.. I'M PREGNANT.. doubly pregnant! That's right, there are TWO in there! It still hasn't really sunk in.. but we're thrilled and nervous at the same time.. but it will be awesome! Just wanted to tell you all the good news. AAAAHHHH!

We Moved!!

2010-12-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

So.. we moved into a house- NO- we did not buy it, we're still renting. However- it is so nice being in a house! It has 3 bedrooms and 2 and a half bathrooms.. It's pretty sweet!! I forgot how much work it is to move!! This was our first time moving since we've been married- so we had furniture and so much STUFF! Yikes.. Anyway, we love the house!

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well.. in the process of moving, we finally set up our tree! We got a good one this year.. we've decided Harmon's is the place to go, when it comes to trees. Ahh.. gotta love Christmas!

My Brothers' Birthdays

2010-11-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

My three brother's all have birthdays within about a 2 week period.. so.. we've always celebrated them at the same time. John and I had them over for dinner and cake/ice cream. Then, we played a long night of nertz (I LOVE that game). Anyway, I have great brothers.. and even though I'm the oldest, they've always looked out for me. Happy birthday, guys!

Solo Maine Trip

2010-11-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

Mike's Pastries! Yum!

Nana and I

I put on some wool socks- don't worry, I didn't wear those to church.

I went to Maine just for fun, while I was off track from work. John didn't have enough vacation days, so I flew solo this time. It was nice to just relax and hang out with family and friends. My mom and I went to Boston for a day... and went to quincy market, ate seafood, Italian pastries, and visited my friend, Rachel. In Maine, I just visited family and hung out. It was nice and relaxing. The bottom pic is some dear in our backyard... I know it's hard to see them.. but it's still cool!

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

We carved pumpkins TWICE this year.. with two different friends. It was fun.. besides, can you ever do "too much" pumpkin carving?? I carved an owl and John carved a ghost. I especially like Marcus pretending to be the headless horseman.... and Jaelan's puking pumpkin. These were some of the best pumpkins I've seen! This is about all we did for Halloween, because I was out of town over Halloween weekend.

Anniversary Getaway

2010-11-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

For our 2 year anniversary, John took my to Homestead for a night. It was so beautiful up there and peaceful. There was also tons of snow! And even though it was just for one night, it was so nice to just getaway and have a fun little mini-trip together.

2 YEARS!

2010-10-25T10:15:00.001-06:00

Today is our 2-year anniversary.. It has been a wonderful 2 years. I love you, John!

Labor Day Video

2010-09-14T21:14:00.006-06:00

John got some new video editing software and we were bored on Labor Day. Here is the embarrassing result...

Bike Ride with Rachel

2010-09-12T00:27:00.000-06:00

We went on a bikeride up Millcreek canyon last weekend with our friend, Rachel. It was really fun.. and perfect weather. It felt good to be outside, since there probably are only a few more weeks of nice weather left. It was also nice to get some good exercise and spend time with Rachel. Ahhh.. I love summer. .. and I will miss it during the long winter months.

Mom's Visit to Utah

2010-09-07T14:31:00.001-06:00

My mom and my little sister stayed in town for about a week after my brother's wedding to hang out with all of us! It was sooo fun and I miss them already. We played laser tag, went out to eat a few times, met up with a missionary that used to live in our basement a long long time ago, went bowling, and had a family dinner at our house. My mom is AWESOME... It was so fun to have her here and to spend time with her.

Mike's Wedding in St. George

2010-09-07T14:14:00.000-06:00

My brother, Mike, got married two weekends ago in St. George. It was a beautiful wedding,and he married a beautiful gal! It was extremely HOT down there! I don't think I could ever live in the heat down there. It was fun times. My entire family was there, including my Nana. They flew out from Maine. I'm pretty sure they weren't used to the heat, either! My brother hid his car during the reception so that we couldn't decorate it, but we found it anyway. It was really fun to decorate. We also played lots of games at the hotel in between events.

Bonfire in the Canyon

2010-09-06T12:19:00.000-06:00

We went with some friends up one of the canyons to have a bonfire. It was really fun. This is one of my favorite things to do in the summertime. We made s'mores and chatted for a long time. It was real nice.. and I'm getting sad that pretty soon, it will be too cold to do this.

Trip to Denver 2010

2010-09-05T23:23:00.001-06:00

We got back from Maine with enough time to unpack, do some laundry, repack, and head to Colorado! We visited John's family there. It was fun times. We went to water world (the best water park I've ever been to), visited Boulder, Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, and went to his brother and sister-in-law's cabin. At the cabin, the men went on a golfing trip and bike ride. John's mom and I went on a wildflower hike and explored Vail while the men were gone. Afterwards, everyone met up to go on a picnic, play some tennis, and go for a bike ride. It was really fun to hang out with John's family and enjoy Colorado.

Day 11: Canoe Trip ... and one last afternoon at Nana's lake!

2010-08-31T14:25:00.000-06:00

On our last day in Maine, we went on a canoe trip down the Saco river. It was pretty fun. The river is sandy on the bottom, so it's nice for swimming, etc. After the canoe trip, we went to spend one last afternoon at my Nana's on the lake. We went on the rope swing, wake boarding, flew John's new kite off the back of the boat, and rode the paddle boat. A few funny stories: John flew his kite off the back of the motor boat.. when he reached the end of the string, he couldn't hold on anymore so he let go. The kite dropped down into the water, and John dove in after it! It was hilarious- I'm hoping this means John would save me or our future children if WE fell off a boat- haha.. and the last picture is my mom and John having a lazy time out on the lake, chatting. I found them this way after returning from a haircut appointment. I thought it was so cute! Ahh.. it was a wonderful trip to Maine- probably the best yet.. and we were sad to leave... and.. you're probably glad I'm finally DONE posting about Maine! Yay!

Day 10: Visit with Grampy

2010-08-31T14:06:00.000-06:00

We went and visited my Grandpa. He lives on a lake, so we went for a rowboat ride. We also played cribbage (my Grandpa's favorite game). It was fun.. and the lake was beau-ti-ful! Love you, gramps!

Day 9: Lobster Bake and Popham Beach

2010-08-26T16:14:00.000-06:00

One of the forts The girls with the lobster cook, himself!Popham Beach

On Day 9 (although I think the days may be a little messed up) we went to our friend's house- They live in a bed and breakfast and run it. They also have weddings there and lobster bakes. It's a beautiful house right on a peninsula between the ocean and a lake. On this particular day, it was overcast, but when the sun is out, it is heaven up there. We had a lobster bake, where you bake the lobster and potatoes and corn layered with seaweed on an fire. It was DE-LISH. We explored some old forts and walked on the really long beach while the lobster was cooking. Despite the weather, it was really fun.. Once upon a time, I worked at the weddings they had there, so it brought back a lot of memories to be there.

Day 8: The beach and Uncle Skip's Sailboat

2010-08-23T14:45:00.000-06:00

We went to da BEACH! Love, love the beach. We went boogie boarding, explored tide pools, flew a mini-kite, went for "long walks on the beach," and ate italians and whoopie pies. The weather was awesome and we even found some starfish and crabs in the tide pools. After the beach, we went on my Uncle Skip's sailboat. John was in heaven. We got the sailboat going pretty dang fast in the wind. We each got a turn sailing the boat. On my turn, I (of course) had a little mishap with a lobster trap- but Uncle Skip came in and saved the day with his lobster buoey stick thingy - and yes, I'm sure that's the technical term for it. We saw seals and lots of forts and islands! Thank you, Uncle Skip, for a fun time! The bottom pic is us coming back in on the dingy.. It was dark and rainy out by then.

Day 7: Nana's house on Little Sebago!

2010-08-23T14:25:00.000-06:00

This is probably our favorite place to spend our time in Maine. We went to Nana's house for the day and boated, wake boarded, tubed, went on the sailboat, went on the rope swing, kayaked, ate beans (Nana's a great cook!), had a fire and made s'mores, did sparklers, and much much more- it was AWESOME!

Maine Day 6: Peaks Island and Portland Head Light

2010-08-19T14:18:00.000-06:00

On day 6, we took the ferry (well, some of us took the water taxi- that's a long story) out to Peaks Island and rented bikes to ride around the island. We ate italian sandwiches and blueberry ice cream, explored an old war battery, and enjoyed the view. It was soo beautiful. After that, we walked around the Old Port and went over to Portland Head Light to see the light house. I can't believe how many fun things we got in on this trip!

MAINE: Days 3-5 Bar Harbor Camping

2010-08-16T16:34:00.000-06:00

On days 3-5, we went camping in Bar Harbor. It was really fun and sooo beautiful up there! We went on a whale watch, ate blueberry ice cream, lobster rolls, went to sand beach, ate lobster, went to a lumberjack show, and drove up cadillac mountain. So much fun! It reminded me of the good ole days when our family used to go camping up there every summer. Good times!

Maine: Day 2 (beach and engagement party)

2010-08-16T15:56:00.000-06:00

On our second day in Maine, we went to the beach to eat italian sandwiches and go boogie boarding .. it was such a beautiful day out! Then, we had an engagement party for my brother and his fiance. They are getting married in the St. George temple this coming weekend!

MAINE 2010: Day 1

2010-08-13T16:07:00.000-06:00

I haven't been feeling like blogging lately, because I was overwhelmed by the amount of pictures we took in Maine and didn't know how to post them all. I've decided to do them by day. Hopefully this isn't too torturous for everyone reading this. These pics are from our first day in Maine. We spent the day at my Nana's house kayaking, eating red hot dogs, going on the sailboat, rope swinging, and visiting with Nana. It was a GREAT day.. I love nothing more than to sit at Nana's by the lake and swimming all day.. or all summer, for that matter.

Happy 31st, John!

2010-07-15T00:24:00.000-06:00

John had his 31st birthday on Friday! He got to wear an AWESOME birthday headband.. and he even had some of his presents wrapped in pretty princess paper. John claims he is now "in his 30's", since apparently, being 30 does not fall into that category. I'm pretty sure he's becoming an old man, because he couldn't even blow out his 4 candles (3 + 1). We were supposed to go camping on his birthday, but when that fell through, we decided to meet up with John's parents for a hike, since they were in town. We also went and ate at Cafe Rio- The night after his birthday, John's parents took us out for a fun dinner at McGrath's fish house. Happy birthday, John!

A Day at the Ranch

2010-07-09T15:52:00.001-06:00

We went to a cattle ranch with some guys who work with John on the same project at work. His boss has some relatives that own a ranch, so we went and spent the day up there. We had a picnic lunch, rode the tractor (and drove it too), paddled canoes around, and shot guns. It was a fun day and a nice break for John and his co-workers. We did have to watch out for lots of cow pies, but it was a really beautiful place.

Motorcycle Ride to Silver Lake

2010-07-09T13:50:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday night, John and I went for a looong motorcycle ride up to Silver Lake. It was so beautiful up there- and a lot cooler, too. We walked around the lake- and even spotted a moose! John thinks the moose may be friends with some of the moose in Maine.. haha..

POOL PARTAY

2010-07-09T13:25:00.000-06:00

On Monday, we had a barbecue and pool party for the 4th. It was waaay fun. We ate tons of food, swam in the pool, raced on our floats.. We are lucky enough to have a pool in our apartment complex, and trust me, I make good use of it.. hah. Lots of friends came and it was a fun day off.

4th of July 2010

2010-07-04T20:42:00.000-06:00

We went and watched some fireworks after going tubing down the river. It was pretty fun. We rode the motorcycle over, ate some italian ice, and watched the fireworks. We actually got really close to where they were launching the fireworks because John wanted to see. It was pretty cool and there was ash everywhere and pieces of cardboard dropping all around us. I'm so grateful for the freedoms we have in this great country. Happy 4th everyone!

Tubing the Provo River

2010-07-03T19:11:00.000-06:00

We went tubing down the Provo River today with some friends from our ward. This is probably one of my favorite things to do in the summer. It was a bit on the chilly side for it, since the water is pretty FREEZING.. Usually, we go when it's at least 90 degrees out.. It was only about 81 degrees today, but it was still really fun. Definitely glad we went!

Lagoon!

2010-07-03T18:54:00.000-06:00

Last week, I went to Lagoon with some girlfriends. We had fun and the rides were awesome. We ended up chatting for a lot of the time, which was fun too. We joked about the fact that we paid all this money to get into the park just so we could all talk. We decided that next time, we should just go out to eat or something. haha.

Christin's Graduation

2010-06-28T10:17:00.000-06:00

Our sister in law, Christin, graduated last week. We are so proud of her!

Camping

2010-06-08T11:02:00.007-06:00

We went camping last weekend up Spanish Fork Canyon. It was right next to a little stream.. My brother and his wife came and so did 2 other friends. We camped out, made dutch oven peach cobbler (mmm), off-roaded in my brother's truck, went fishing, and shot my brother's guns. It was really fun. We also got our first sunburns of the year. Summer is here!! Wahoo!

My Brother is Engaged!

2010-06-07T11:07:00.000-06:00

My brother, Mike, got engaged to his girlfriend, Amanda, this past weekend. They are getting married in St. George in August. We are so excited for them!

Memorial Day BBQ

2010-06-07T11:03:00.000-06:00

On Memorial day, we had a bbq with family and friends. We drove up Provo Canyon. It was beautiful up there. We ate burgers, played frisbee, wiffle ball, etc. It was nice to be outside and the weather was awesome.

Family Dinner

2010-06-07T10:48:00.001-06:00

We had all of our siblings over for dinner last Sunday. My sister, Laura, was in town visiting from BYU-Idaho.. and my brother, Nick, was visiting from Colorado before he left for Maine to work at a summer camp. It was soo fun. We played games, ate, laughed.. good times. I also took a pic of Mike and Nick since they were dressed alike and were both texting on their phones. The last picture is my brother Mike and his girlfriend, Amanda. It was soo nice to all be together and visit.

Batting Cages

2010-06-07T10:35:00.000-06:00

We also went to the batting cages with Laura while she was here. It had been an while since I've done this, so I was a little rusty. It was pretty fun. I plan on doing this more often, considering it's fairly cheap and right around the corner!

Rock Climbing with Laura

2010-06-07T10:21:00.000-06:00

My sister, Laura, came to visit for the weekend. We did so many fun things (more posts to come later).. and the weather was sooo nice. We went rock climbing with some friends up Mill Creek Canyon. This was our first time rock climbing outside.. it was pretty fun, except that the rock we chose was pretty sharp. It was still really fun.

San Francisco

2010-06-01T23:41:00.010-06:00

Welcome to San Francisco! and cable cars!

Eating Chinese in Chinatown

Lombard Street (the crookedest street)

Sight Seeing in Style

Who are those dorks?

Sipping Chocolate- as in, straight up melted chocolate chips

Alcatraz

Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39

Muir Woods Redwood Forest

Oakland Temple

We went to San Francisco (if you couldn't tell). John had a google conference for work, so I met up with him for the weekend. It was sooo fun.. but cold. We did so much: rode cable cars, drove the crooked street, saw wicked!!!(so awesome), visited the temple, drove across golden gate bridge, saw redwood trees, went on a segway tour, saw sea lions, toured alcatraz, ate in chinatown, ate chocolate drinks at ghirardelli square, and much more. It was sooo fun and I"m glad I tagged along. It was so fun to be by the ocean and do so many fun things.

Biking, As Usual

2010-05-31T23:04:00.000-06:00

John and I figured it was high time we went biking.. since it finally stopped SNOWING here. It was soo nice out and green up in the mountains. We ended up going on a much long ride than planned, but it was fun. I'm still sore!

Real Salt Lake Soccer Game

2010-05-09T21:56:00.000-06:00

We went to a real salt lake soccer game with some friends. It was really fun.. we even got free food, which was awesome! Everyone and their mom was eating all the hot dogs, burgers, pretzels, and sodas they could eat. And.. they won!! It was sooo awesome.

Tulip Festival

2010-04-26T11:51:00.000-06:00

We went to the tulip festival at thanksgiving point with some friends. It was so beautiful. It made me really excited for summer to come soon! There were soo many flowers, it was unbelievable.

Waterfall Walk

2010-04-23T23:54:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday, we had some time on our hands and it was such a beautiful day out... so we decided to go on a motorcycle ride up to a waterfall. It's a short hike.. or I should say a short "walk." It was nice and cool up there.. and so pretty. We met up with my friend, Rachel, which was really fun. We took some pictures and talked for a while.

Empty Nest

2010-04-18T16:51:00.001-06:00

Laura left for college this weekend. I drove her up to rexburg, helped her get set up , and said goodbye. It was kind of hard to do.. She's all grown up now... my little sis.. who's always seemed so much younger than me. ( not so much anymore). We wish you luck, Laura, and we'll miss having you at our house. Come visit soon!!

Mom's Visit

2010-04-11T16:26:00.000-06:00

My mom came to visit a few weekends ago. It was soo much fun. We visited some friends that used to live in Maine, played frisbee, rode the motorcycle, ate dinner together, played games, wrestled (mom did not partake in this event), mini-golfed, and went to the arcade. It was good times had by all. My mom even faced her fears and rode on the back of John's motorcycle.. she would only go if it was "to the stop sign and back." When she returned from her short trip and was asked how it was .. she replied with.. "awful." hahah.. pretty funny. My mom is the best. We love you mom and will miss you til we see you again!!

Goodbye, Leilani!

2010-04-06T21:29:00.000-06:00

My good friend, Leilani, had to move far, far away this past weekend. I am so sad. We had a goodbye dinner for her and her husband. I cried when she left.,. I mean .. I got some cleaning spray in my eyes right before we said goodbye. Bye, Leilani- we will miss you!! Come and visit soon.

a visit from some Jenson's

2010-04-06T13:37:00.000-06:00

John's parents and his sister and brother in-law and their family all were in town this past weekend. We had lots of fun going to some of the sessions of conference, eating at the lion house, and playing games. It was fun and so good to see them all! I should have taken more pictures!

Eastah

2010-04-05T22:37:00.000-06:00

We had a fun Easter. We went to conference, had my brothers over for ham dinner, went on an Easter egg hunt (they were well hidden by John!), ate a bunny cake, and dyed eggs. It was good times!! P.S. The first picture is me pointing out that there are many hams left at walmart. Laura was sent to the store earlier that day and could not find ham, despite asking many walmart workers (both of which only spoke Spanish). Happy Easter everyone!

Life Lesson: Leave Hair Highlighting to the Professionals!

2010-03-29T20:59:00.000-06:00

I tried to highlight my sister's hair with an at-home kit.. As you can see, it didn't turn out so well. I thought if we used the cap, it would be fine... not so much. She had to go get it fixed by a professional. Don't worry, I'll never do it again.

Snowshoeing

2010-03-14T21:14:00.000-06:00

Can you tell I've been putting off some blogging? We went snowshoeing... TWICE! This is a combo of pictures from both times. It was really fun. We went wiht some friends.. and my sister, Laura, came along too. The first time, we went up to Aspen Grove. It was so pretty. We hiked to a waterfall (a frozen one) and it was snowing the whole time. Really pretty!! The second trip was up Millcreek.. and it had a nice view! Fun times.. now we want to own our own snowshoes.

It'd my Dirt-Day

2010-03-14T21:07:00.000-06:00

We celebrated my birthday by going out to eat with some friends, having ice cream cake, and playing games. It was fun times. I got some fun gifts. A few nights later, we celebrated AGAIN with my brothers by going out to eat at the Pie.. mm mmm.

You Lika de peppah!

2010-03-14T21:01:00.000-06:00

We made yummy meatball subs the other day, using my dad's meatball recipe. My brother's all came over for dinner, but I forgot to take pictures once they got here. Anyway, the subs were delicious!!! Laura and John were good meatball rollers!

John's grandma

2010-03-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Life hasn't been all too exciting lately, but John's mom did come for a visit. She came out to visit John's grandma for her birthday. We went up to play games and visit with Grandma Morgan. She is a sweet lady and always has good stories and wisdom to share with us. We had a fun time with John's mom for a day and a half.. and Happy Birthday to Grandma Morgan!

Love is in the Air

2010-02-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

For Valentine's Day, John got me some beautiful tulips and surprised me with a candy-gram!!! It was so cute and I loved it. He was very sneaky about making the candy-gram and even got Laura in on it. The last picture is my flowers just two days after John bought them. They apparently ran out of water... I couldn't believe how drooped they were!! Not to worry, though, we gave them water and they were back to normal that night. hha. Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

Rock Climbing

2010-02-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

We went rock climbing at a gym with some friends the other night. It was really fun. I am so out of shape. There were some crazy walls there.. we mostly stuck to the easier ones. We even did some bouldering. That was fun too.

My Sister's Birthday

2010-02-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

My sister is living with us for a few months until she starts school at BYU-Idaho (go BYU!). It was her birthday last weekend, so we celebrated by going to Texas Roadhouse with some family, eating ice cream cake, and playing games. Laura even got to ride the saddle at Texas Roadhouse.. pretty funny.

Nickelcade Night

2010-01-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

We had "nickelcade night" with our friends, Jaelan and Leslie. I was pleasanlty surprised at how much fun we had! It was a blast. Between Jaelan and John riding in a semi together and Leslie and I horseback riding, we got quite the workout. We also rode a jet ski and went canoeing.. all in one night... haha.Anyway, I'm all for having another nickelcade night soon!

Sledding

2010-01-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

We went sledding with some friends over the holiday weekend. The hill was a bit icy.. but it was still fun! I'm glad we went.

Fondue Night

2010-01-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

We had a fondue night with our friends from the ward the other night. It was really fun! There was cheese, broth, and chocolate.. and by the end of the night, we were all stuffed! I never knew how many different fondue dips there are or how many THINGS to dip in fondue there are!

Cleaning Out CLosets is fun to do to do to do

2010-01-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

This week, John and I were cleaning out our closet in the spare bedroom because my little sister is coming to live with us for a few months. While going through all the junk, I found this beauty deep in the closet. It's a hat from Russia/Ukraine.. that John bought on his mission. Pretty funny! John told me I would make a good Russian woman.. I'l take it as a compliment.. even though I'm not sure I should.

New York, NY!

2010-01-11T15:37:00.002-07:00

So.. on our way out of Maine, we went on a little 3-day trip to New York to see my good friend get married and to hit up a broadway show or two. It was realy fun.. but FREEZING there.. I told John we'll have to go back in the spring or summer sometime. I have always loved New York.. I'm not sure I could ever live there, but I sure do love visiting there. It's just such a happenin' place and it kind of gives me a thrill! John and I went to the Ellen Stardust singing diner, saw the statue of liberty, took a ferry to Staton Island, saw Phantom of the Opera (it was amazing), walked across the brooklyn bridge (insanely cold), and went to my friend Adam's wedding (so glad I got to go). It was fun. Needless to say, we are done with traveling for the time being. We've had our fill... at least for now, that is.

Christmas in Maine

2010-01-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

Christmas in Maine was AWESOME! We spent Christmas eve at my grandpa's house, Christmas day at my family's house and Nana's house. All the aunts, uncles, and cousins on my mom's side came. It was great to see everyone. We also went ice skating, tubing, laser tagging, ate baked beans at nana's.. and we went to the ward New Years party. John played cribbage with two other guys named John.. pretty funny.

Gingerbread Houses

2010-01-06T11:01:00.002-07:00

I got together with some friends to do gingerbread houses. It was a blast! We got Christmas socks, made a huge mess, and ate a nice dinner. On the way home, my roof kept falling off. It was fun times and I'm pretty sure my house was the messiest.. haha

Skiing

2009-12-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

John and I went skiing with a 2 for 1 pass at Snowbird. All I have to say is- Snowbird is NOT a good mountain for beginner skiiers.. I ended up in tears after the first run down. It was not good! I ended up having fun later on because we found one tiny little easier trail. John went up to the top afterwards and went down on the harder trails by himself. Let it be known- I will not be returning to snowbird for skiing purposes in the near future. I think I prefer the other ski resorts.

Christmas Cookies

2009-12-18T22:39:00.001-07:00

Our friends Jaelan and Leslie came over for dinner. We made sugar cookies after and decorated them. Some of us got pretty creative!! (ha hah).. Anyway, it was fun times had by all.

Seth, Carol, and Merlin's Visit to Utah

2009-12-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

John's brother, Seth, and his parents all came for a visit to Utah. His parent's were visiting family and Seth was here for a conference. We had so much fun! We celebrated Seth's birthday by going out to eat at McGrath's Fish HOuse.. Seth had to wear a sweet hat. We all went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert with Natalie Cole, too! It was amazing. After the concert, we walked around temple square to see the lights and we also got an up-close of Natalie while she was signing CD's.

My Parent's Cars

2009-12-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

So.. right around Thanksgiving, I got a text from my mom saying a tree had fallen on their cars and smashed them. I had no idea it looked like this! Apparently, there was some crazy wind and a tree in our driveway broke in half and fell on top of both cars. In one car, the rear windows even blew out from the trunk hitting. My mom has a new prius.. that is only about a year old.. and it also got hit. She is so sad. Just thought the story was crazy and wanted to share...

Florida!

2009-12-09T22:08:00.005-07:00

Our hotel had 3 pools and one had a slide and little waterfalls!

Our hotel also gave us bathrobes.. so we modeled them

I should have been in the movie, obviously
The hulk roller coaster- John and I are on the right
We went to NASA

This is where they keep the spaceships!!!

People say John looks like Jimmy Neutron...
rarrr...

This pic is supposed to be turned so it looks like John is behind the dog.. but.. I can't get it to work

This is what I look like RIGHT after crazy roller coaster rides.

.. and our sweeeeet hotel!

Okay- I know, I know.. we've been traveling A LOT lately.. It's been fun. John had a conference for work in Orlando, Florida the week after thanksgiving. I decided to tag along. We went to universal studios and NASA.. It was fun.. the hotel was awesome and really nice!!!.. and universal studios had crazy roller coasters that I lOVED. We even had great weather.. it was awesome and I"m really glad I got to go with John.

One Last Thanksgiving Picture

2009-12-08T08:50:00.003-07:00

John modeled the headband I made with some of our neices. He's too funny!

Thanksgiving in Colorado

2009-11-29T14:42:00.006-07:00

the men watching football GO BYU!

the neices and nephews playing games

making hair barrettes and headbands! Thanks, Debbie!

going to see the Nutcracker ballet

making weird faces with the neices

John's sister, Laura, making a "Mary face"

pumpkin waffles for breakfast- YUM

slumber parties

playing tennis

planning out black Friday

some of the nephews

the after-dinner nap

and.. there you have it- thanksgiving dinner itself

We spent Thanksgiving weekend in Denver with John's family. It was so much fun. We had Thanksgiving dinner, went to see the Nutcracker ballet, played games, played tennis, and lots more. John's whole entire family was there, including neices and nephews. The weather was amazing, so we played tennis OUTSIDE in November!! The Nutcracker ballet was amazing (thanks Carol and Merlin!). It was so fun to see family and spend time with them. I am so grateful for the wonderful families John and I both have and I feel blessed this Thanksgiving. Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday!

Mama DiFiore's Visit to Utah

2009-11-29T14:24:00.003-07:00

My mom came out to visit us all in Utah. We played tons and tons of games, went bowling, had a mini Thanksgiving dinner, and worked out at the gym. It was so good to see her and spend time with her. Even though the trip was low-key, I think we all had a blast. We miss you already, MOM!