Happy Anniversary

So, Wednesday is our 9th wedding anniversary. Time flies. I thought it would be good to document some of our history together. I found myself having a hard time remembering all of the details for some of the questions - it's amazing how you think you'll never forget....

Where did you meet your spouse?
Jeff and I met at BYU in a Spanish class. It was an accelerated class, so we met every day in the bottom of the HRCB (Harold R. Clark Building). Jeff served his mission in Brazil and spoke Portuguese, but felt like he needed to take a Spanish class. So, class was a little difficult for him, because he was always mixing the two languages together :) Hence, I got the higher grade.

What was the first thing you said to your spouse?
“Yeah” . On the first day of class, Jeff walked in totally late and decided to walk all the way across the room and sit in the desk behind me. Then, he leaned forward, and whispered, “is this Spanish 101-102?” I turned around and the first thing I noticed was the freckle he has on this nose – I love that freckle! Anyways, I responded with a “yeah”.

Where was your first date?
Our first date wasn’t for over a year after we first met in Spanish class. We both had significant others at the time of the class, but remained in touch off an on. So, once the significant others were out of the picture (aka - on missions) we started hanging out the following year. We bumped into each other at the Fall Fling Dance on campus after the summer away from school. After the dance Jeff stopped by my place, but I wasn’t home, and I think it was the following Monday, we ended up going to play racquetball together at the Smith Fieldhouse. We hung out with each other every day after that.

Where was your first kiss?
In my apartment, it was after the previous day's attempt to kiss me, where he ended up getting my check or shoulder instead. I totally dodged it - I think I was playing hard to get. I guess what sealed the deal for me was the slurpee we got at 7-Eleven. Jeff has always been a big spender :)

Who said I love you first?
Jeff - I'm not the type to put myself out there and make myself vulnerable. I remember hanging out on the couch in my apartment, just talking and relaxing, and thinking that it sounded and felt like his heart was racing. I asked him, “ Why is your heart beating so fast! Listen to how loud it is!” I swear I could audibly hear his heart! I couldn’t figure out what was going on, until he told me he loved me. I responded with, “thank you”. Pretty lame I know.

Did you have a long or short courtship?
We dated for 4 months, and then got engaged, and then married 4 months later. So, for LDS standards I guess it was normal to long.

Where did you get engaged?
We got engaged at Temple Square in Salt Lake City while looking at the beautiful Christmas Lights a few days before I went home for Christmas. We were walking around, and I was totally clueless, but Jeff kept saying, “Why is it so crowded, what are all these people doing here. Man, it’s really busy tonight.” I couldn’t figure out why he cared until he got down on one kneel in front of them all and proposed.

Where were you married?
In the Oakland, California temple at 11am maybe??? I can’t remember the time! I just remember that I had to get up so early to get ready, and then drive to Oakland with my family for 2 hours in rush hour traffic, and then have breakfast with both of our families before the sealing. It seemed like a marathon morning.

Where was your honeymoon?

We drove down the coast of California for one week, stopping whenever and wherever we wanted. We stopped in Monterey, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Catalina Island, and even went to Disneyland for a day :) Once we got back, we got on a plane and flew to Alaska where we worked for the summer. We had a great time in Alaska, and were able to do so many fun things from hiking to white water rafting to glacier cruises.

That was so much fun writing those memories down. I challenge everyone who reads this to do the same when their anniversary rolls around. Jeff - thank you for being a great husband, who is constantly aware of all of my needs. I appreciate all you do for me and our children.

Major Bummer

On Thursday during my Photoshop class, I noticed that my left shoulder/arm was kind of sore, it felt like I needed to pop it. I rotated my arm a few times and tried to think what I had done that day that might have bothered it. It felt like a pinched nerve. I tried to forget about it, and go on with the evening. Unfortunantely, the pain has gotten so much worse, to the point that I am taking 800mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day, (also trying to sneak in a couple 1000mg of tylenol on the side). I hardly slept a wink last night. At 1am last night I asked Jeff for a blessing because I couldn't sleep and the pain was just rotten. I bring this up because in one week is my race, and after training this much for it, I don't want to miss it. Luckily our run this morning was only 8 miles, and if I kept my arm at a perfect 90 degree angle smashed to my body, it didn't hurt that bad, but I was extremely nauseated from the pain afterwards. The hardest thing was actually trying to get my darn sports bra on and off using one hand. I practically needed Jeff to cut it off of me, but after many screams and funky yoga moves we got it off. Poor Jeff has been my personal assistant by helping me get my clothes on and off as well as helping me put on my deoderant - which is impossible to do one handed. My great friend Sheila brought over some IcyHot for me to try. It actually helped a little, because my mind was concentrating on my skin stinging, rather than the throbbing :) It's so my luck that this would happen right before my race :(

Well, earlier this week I had made an appointment for us to get our family photo taken at the mall because I had a coupon, and we don't have a current photo of our family with Baby Belly. Perfect timing since I was only able to do my hair one-handed, but since we had an appointment, we decided to go. Big mistake. The only thing worthwhile about the entire trip, was the cleaner air I was offering everyone in the building because of my menthol reeking body which was covered in IcyHot. Not one of the pictures turned out well enough to warrant hanging it in my house for all to see. I was totally disappointed, so we came home and snapped a couple of pictures ourselves, which didn't turn out great either, but were actually better than the "professional" 16 year old at the mall.

If Baby Belly looks a little weird, it's because I'm still working on my Photoshop skills. She didn't cooperate when we were trying to take our photo, so she got Photoshopped, and looks a tad odd. Hopefully practice makes perfect.

Field Trip to the Farm

Today Missy's Kindergarten/1st Grade class was able to go on a field trip to Fog Willow Farm. Missy was so excited to ride a bus again (in November her class went to a play downtown). The bus apparently "shakes your bottom" and you "bonk your head on the window". And, you don't have to wear seat belts- so it's really cool riding on the bus.

Once we got there we met Farmer Joe and found out what we would be doing at the farm. All the kids loved Farmer Joe. When he needed them to be quiet, he asked them to be cows, and to "let him see their horns". You can see some of them showing their horns in the picture below. He said, "You cows need to listen, because cows that don't listen go to McDonalds, and not through the front door." LOL!

Missy and Little Dude were able to pet baby chickens, rabbits, goats, lizards, turtles, and Missy's teacher Mrs. Sancedo even got to feed a baby cow. The kids had a blast seeing all of the animals.

The Scottish Highland Cattle were my personal favorite. Seeing them brought back so many fun memories of being on vacation with my family in England and driving through the country-side and little villages in Scotland. Thanks Mum & Dad!

There were also fun science projects for the kids, they made gak and saw rockets shoot, and planted lots of seeds to take home. Missy wasn't too sure of the gak they made - I think it was a texture thing:)

We had a great day and really feel like genuine farmers after only 3.5 hours! On the way home Little Dude started wimpering in the back seat because his allergies were acting up. "My eyes are swallowed", he really means swollen, but whatever :) We came home, put him in the shower, and gave him a bottle of Benedryl to drink. I think that's about all the country life we can handle. :)

Missionary Moment

Jeff and I had a great Sunday yesterday. Along with it being our Ward Conference, we were able to take our neighbors to a Cottage Meeting, which is a short 1-hour devotional about our beliefs given by the Mission President in our area. What a great opportunity it was. We have asked them a few times if they would like to go, and this time they were able to. I think we were both a little anxious and excited to see what a Cottage Meeting was (as we have never been to one - a little scary taking a non-member) and to see what they thought about it. The talk given by the Mission President, President Huff was fantastic as well as a short video clip of President Hinckley sharing his thoughts and testimony about Joseph Smith. I was extremely impressed by Jeff, who pulled out true missionary form, and while on the drive home, amid chit-chatting about completely random things, said, "So, what did you think about the message shared tonight?" Way to go Jeff! I was going to completely avoid the topic unless they brought it up. Before we left for the Cottage Meeting, Jeff felt impressed to print out and read a few of the Conference talks from General Conference. One of them being "My Words....Never Cease" by Elder Holland. Some of the things Elder Holland talks about and explains in his talk, were exactly the things that our neighbors brought up and had a hard time understanding, specifically that there could be additional writings from prophets after the book of Revelation. Jeff was able to share the things Elder Holland explained, as well as his testimony of the Holy Ghost bearing witness of things to be true. I am grateful for a husband who is a worthy priesthood holder and who acts upon his promptings from the Holy Ghost. I am grateful for the simple missionary moment we had. No matter what our neighbors choose to take from the message shared that night, Jeff and I came home feeling joy and happiness from sharing the gospel, and grateful for our testimonies in the Savior, that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Him, and that we have a modern day prophet on the earth today.

A Wii Surprise

My creative writing juices are starting to flow as you can tell from the title - jk. Last Friday night at the Goold's house, I stripped Jeff of his manly man pride when everyone decided to break out the Wii. Jeff and I have wanted a Wii since Christmas, but have lost interest in trying to track one down at the right place at the right time. They also are a little on the pricey side, so we gave up searching for one. But, we watched and played a few games that night and had a great time. Until, that is, Jeff challenged me to a game of tennis. I wasn't feeling much like tennis, but wanted to box. "You sure.. you get kinda tired while playing" Jeff mentioned, but yes, I really wanted to box. This was my first time playing the Wii, and I wanted to start off with some excitement! The end result? After (it felt like 8) a few rounds and a bunch of combination punches and uppercuts, the boy was down for the count. I LOVE the Wii or I love that I won. So, a few nights ago, Jeff walks in the door after mutual holding a Wii. "Hey - I found one at GameStop" he says while quickly opening it up and unwrapping it, muttering something about a re-match. So, for the past few days we have been playing Wii. The favorite with our family so far has been boxing (except maybe for Jeff - jk). Missy even played Jeff in boxing and knocked him out, all the while I am laughing hysterically. He must have been practicing his form, and not noticing all of the kidney punches he was getting from his daughter as she laid on the couch shaking her fists in the air. We may have tapped into a hidden talent of hers - WWF here we come.

Same Ole' Stuff

Well, Tuesday was my monthly vinyl project night - and it turned out well. Kristen was over on Tuesday morning and shared a great idea about possibly doing a give away that night - just for fun. I have thought about it before, but never did anything about it. So, after she left I sat down and designed a little family plaque for the prize. I really liked how it turned out - Jeff even said it was one of his favorite things I've done. So, I guess I will be making another one for us :) Shauna's sister, Kathy, visiting from Washington won the prize. (Sorry about the glare on the photo - I take horrid photos - but luckily, I will soon know how to fix them, as I'm taking a photoshop class. Brace yourselves to soon be blown away by my totally awesome blog pictures :)

Last night, I was trying to find Juliet, our cat, to put her in the garage for the night, and found her tucked away with Missy in bed. The poor thing misses our other cat Romeo, who died about 6 months ago, and takes advantage of snuggle time from anyone she can get. And, if you look closely at the picture, you will notice how Missy is sleeping ON TOP of her covers, with just a blanket over her. She does this for the sole reason of not having to make her bed in the morning and having it already made and ready to go. Part of me says thata-girl for being efficient and thinking ahead and the other part of me thinks- wait a minute- why do I wash your sheets every week -?