Date Night...

Jedd and I decided that before the Christmas season was over, we wanted to go to Temple Square to see the lights. So we made a date night of it all. We first went down to California Pizza Kitchen (one of our favorites!! and the place where Jedd and I had our first date!! AWE!!) While there, we were laughing pretty hard at a couple who were on a first date and it was not going well. Poor guy, you could just see that it wasn't going well for either of them. Jedd and I quickly laughed and thought how we were SO GLAD that wasn't us...however, we both remembered not too long ago how that awkward date was for us. Oh how glad I am those days are over. Anyway, that was a side story. The pizza was amazing. I love getting the tomato and basil pizza and Jedd loves the Santa Fe Chicken. (which is pretty good too!) After our adventures to the Gateway (yes fighting the busyness of the Jazz game attenders) we headed over to Temple Square. And yes as stupid as I am, I completely forgot my camera. However, it was as fun as could be! Jedd happened to tell me that this was his first time ever really walking around temple square with the lights (AND I FORGOT MY CAMERA! Obviously I'm still upset about it.) But is was extremely fun, and cold! It was so fun to be able to experience that with him for the first time. Jedd and I both misjudged how cold it would be, so we were freezing our tootsies off but it was still a blast! I LOVE this time of year, and how grateful I am that we live so close to Temple Square that we can go down and enjoy the atmosphere of the temple and Christmas.

It's Beginning To Look....

.....a lot like Christmas....at our house at least. This weekend between everything else, I managed to put up my Christmas Decorations. Jedd was quite glad (from hearing horror stories about putting up trees from friends) that my tree was not only pre-lit but only had 3 pieces to put together. Thank goodness for both of us! Yes, I have colors for my decorations; they are a soft lime green and a bright red . So everything I buy, I try and revolve around those 2 colors. I decided to just take a few pictures of the decorations around my house. Here is our living room.

Our apartment is not small, but there is not a whole lot of places to decorate. So I decided to put a few things on our entertainment center. It turned out pretty cute, I think at least!

The rest of the pictures are just around the house, places I found to put things on.

I would love to see pictures of everyone else's houses. It is so fun to see how everyone else decorates!

4 Months Already??!!??

December 1st, yes, that is 4 months since we got married! Holy cow! Time sure flies! I can't believe that it has been that long already. I was just talking to Jedd the other day thinking how fast these past few months have gone, and how fun they have been. Things are so different than they used to be, but I wouldn't change them for ANYTHING! Happy 4-Month Anniversary, honey!

Well, to let you all know of what a great guy Jedd is...here is my Thanksgiving weekend story (since I am reading about everyone else's.) Because I am school teacher, I got off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for my break. And you would think that it would be the best thing ever, and it usually is, unless you are sick. Wednesday I woke up with a horrible head cold and thought ok, I'll quickly get over this. By about 3 in the afternoon I was running a fever and just wanted to be in bed cuddled up with a blanket. So that's where I ended up for the rest of the day. Thanksgiving was not better. I spent all morning in bed, hoping that my fever would break, so that I could head down to my mom's for Thanksgiving dinner. Well it didn't and I ended up taking a nap at my mom's while everyone else was having fun, and the fever didn't break until about 3 that afternoon. Yes this means that I didn't really have a Thanksgiving dinner. I ate about a spoonful of potatoes, maybe a half a piece of turkey, a tiny roll, and a couple deviled eggs (which seemed to be the only thing even yummy to me). After that, Jedd and I went to his Aunt's house to catch up on the other side of the family to only find that I should really have gone home instead. We left not to much long after we got there and I went right to my pajamas.

As most of you know me, the day after Thanksgiving is spent shopping the ENTIRE day. My mom and I are usually gone from about 4-2 shopping. Yes that is 4am to 2 pm. Well this year, this was all different. I spent all day Friday laying in bed watching chick flick Christmas movies on the tv while my cute husband took care of me ALL day. I drank liquids and tried to keep chicken noodle soup down which was the only thing I wanted to eat all weekend. Depressing huh? Most people would LOVE to have that kind of day after Thanksgiving, but for me, it was PURE TORTURE!

The rest of the weekend was spent pretty much in pajamas in bed or laying on the couch. And now that it is Monday, I'm wondering when my fun Thanksgiving vacation is going to start.

SO...you might ask....how does this tie into how great my husband is? Well, as much as he probably didn't want to stay at home and take care of his sick wife, Jedd did. He was so great and got me anything I wanted. Cooked me soup on the stove, got me medication when I needed it, got me drinks when I was thirsty, got me a wash cloth soaked in cold water to help my fever, and took care of me the whole entire time. What a great guy! Happy 4-Month Anniversary sweetie! And to all of you who went Black Friday shopping.....I hope you had fun for both of us!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well since it is the Thanksgiving Holiday this week, it has me thinking of everything I am grateful for. And since I don't have any pictures to go along with it, I thought I would just point out a few things I am definitely grateful for this year.

1. I am mostly grateful this year for Jedd, my AWESOME husband. We met in January and my life has been nothing but amazing since. He is such a blessing in my life and I don't really know how I got to be so lucky to have him as my own.

2. My family, my own (the Downs') and the new family I gained in August (the Cherry's). Both families are so great and Jedd and I feel very blessed to have them in our lives. I am definitely grateful for my 2 sisters who I don't know where I would be without. They truly are my best friends and I run to them whenever I have a problem or need advice. And of course I can't forget my mom who has been there for me every time I needed her. She was definitely a great help this year as I was planning my wedding and it was so great to have her there helping. I wouldn't want to do it any other way.

3. My freedom and this great country we live in. I am so grateful to be able to do pretty much whatever I want, have the job I want, worship how I want and live where I want (especially with all the modern conveniences).

4. My job. Even though some days I swear I think to myself, "Why in the WORLD did I EVER choose to be a teacher....a HIGH SCHOOL teacher?", I am grateful for my 200+ kids. (I call them my kids, I know stupid!) They teach me A TON of patience, and make me realize how important it is to raise your kids to be respectful and just "good" kids. I have learned what NOT to do, and also what to do when I have my own children. Not that I will be perfect, but it is a big eye opener when you deal with teenagers every day of the work week.

5. The Gospel. I truly am grateful to be a member of the church, especially at this great time. I am so grateful for the many different and abundant blessings it brings to my life. With all the turmoil going on in the world these past few weeks, and the many different people angry at our church, I am grateful and proud to be a member.

I hope maybe as you read this, that you start to think of what you are grateful for. This is only 5 small things, my list could go on, but then again everyone would probably get bored with reading it.... that is IF anyone reads this.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! And the countdown is on......3 days until Black Friday!

Utah Jazz Night

Last night Jedd and I went to the Utah Jazz game in Salt Lake. We were supposed to go with Jedd's friend Kyle and his wife Ashley. Well things happened and they were unable to go (we were so bummed out!) but they gave us the tickets anyway. So we decided to see if Jedd's brother Taz and his wife Aimee would go with us. They got a babysitter (grandma of course!) and came with us. We had a really fun night. We went to Crown Burger down by the Delta Center before the game, what a mad house! It was INSANE but very yummy. Here are pictures of us at the game.

Aimee is 8 months pregnant and due in a couple weeks, but she looks so dang cute! I was suprised that she was ablet to sit through the whole game, because she is having a hard time sitting for long periods of time beause of baby Natalie. She was also a great sport to walk quite a distance to where we parked.

And these are just a few pictures of the game. It wouldn't be a Jazz game without my favorite player...Korver...so he's in this first picture. Thanks Kyle and Ashley for the tickets. We were sad you couldn't make it. Thanks Taz and Aimee for coming with us. We had a blast with you!

Happy Weekend!

Ok so I don't have any pictures of this weekend, but I just thought I would tell you about our fun weekend.

Friday our weekend started out with Jedd going to help his really good friend lay down wood flooring. The husbands all went to Kyle's house to lay floor and the wives were able to spend a night out without them. Emilee and I went shopping for a little bit. We went to Tai Pan (our 2 husbands were THRILLED they didn't have to go with us), but I wouldn't take them anyway. Jedd was so happy! He said that he would gladly lay 18 wood floors down before he ever stepped in that store. And then Em and I went to the mall, DownEast, and Target. It was so fun to just hang out and look at things. (Both our husbands are not that interested in just looking...they want to go, buy, and be gone.) Then we met up with Ashley and her two adorable kids at Olive Garden (one of my favorites!) for dinner. It was so much fun and of course very yummy.

Saturday was spent relaxing pretty much the whole day. Jedd and I went and took his mom to Sam's to get pictures printed. I finally have all my picture frames in my house filled with pictures. I LOVE IT! They look so much better than the random people who are there when you buy the frame. Ha ha ha!

Sunday was spent going to church and then down to my mom's house for dinner. Driving up the road to my mom's was filled with a surprise of having ALL my family there for dinner. Jon & Holli came down from Idaho, Michelle came from Roy (Brian is out of town), Jerilyn & Jeremiah came from Lehi and Michael & Afton came from Bountiful. It was such a surprise, and I guess I was the only one that didn't know it was going to be a huge family dinner. Jedd and I walked in the house and it was such a huge shock! It was so much fun! Thanks to all those that came, I just LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing all the kids and getting to play with them. (And of course I like to see all their parents as well!) It was sad to say goodbye, but with the holidays coming it makes for more fun family get-togethers.

And that was it! It was such a great weekend and very hard to go back to teaching come Monday morning when my alarm went off. Oh well, as I am known for saying "Such is life!"

Our Reception, August 1st

So I realized that I never put pictures of our wedding reception on my blog.  And since I am kind of at a low with exciting news with us, I thought why not?  These first few pictures are of my reception.  My 'theme' if you want to call it that was stars with brown, mustard yellow and red berry.  I, of course, had calla lilies kind of everywhere as well.  It was exactly what I wanted.

My mom helped me surprise Jedd with a Cubs corner.  He had no idea, so it was fun!  

This was my cake.  My amazing sister made it for me.  Yes, she did it all by herself!  And believe me, getting the color of the frosting this dark brown was not easy! 

We technically didn't have bridesmaids or groomsmen.  We just had the sisters and brothers all kind of wear the same thing.  So here are the girls.  They were all good sports to wear the same shirt.  I at least gave them the option of picking their own skirt.  Don't you think that was nice of me?  Ha ha.  Just kidding, but really, you all do look so cute!  

Here are the boys.  Don't they all look good in their brown paisley ties? Yes, I actually made them all wear paisley!  Jedd was just grateful he didn't have to wear one.  I think they look awesome!

The rest are just random pictures of us.  I know there are a lot, but how can you just pick one?  

Yes, Jedd finally got me to do one tough guy picture.  I think I did pretty good.  He says normally I just look angry.  I tried so hard on this picture to just look tough.  I think the bat helped!  

I love this picture!  It just makes me laugh every time.  It's almost like Jedd has the look of "Ha tricked her" on his face.  Even though I know there was no tricking me, I knew exactly what I was doing, marrying the best guy I know!  Awe, I know, corny.

This was my actual wedding bouquet.  It was actually really big and heavy, but it was absolutely gorgeous.  

The famous wedding cake scene.  No, we did not stuff the cake in each other's faces.  Jedd and I don't really like that so we were really nice to each other.

And of course, the last thing is the decorated truck.  Yes, all you wives of the brothers that did this to us, I know who you are!  It was funny, and Jedd about died when he saw what was done. It was the biggest mess he has ever had in his truck. Thanks! 

This is me realizing that it wasn't just the outside that was decorated.  It was inside too.  BLAH!

Anyway, hope you have fun looking at the pictures.  I know I sure did, it reminded me of what a great day it was for Jedd and I.  At this time of year, I am just so grateful that I have found Jedd and that he is in my life forever.  How lucky can one girl be?  

Pumpkin Carving

Every year, my mom has had the boys in the family carve pumpkins on the day before Halloween. Yes, for those of you who don't know, it is a new tradition and has only been going for 3 years now. This year, Jedd was included. Well, of course, there was no other theme we could do other than the "Cubs".

I had to put this picture in here because I think it is so cute how Jedd sticks his tongue out when he concentrates. I catch him doing it so many times, and it just makes me laugh. You can barely see it, but if you look close, it is hanging out on the side. I LOVE IT!

The finished product...didn't he do an awesome job?

I pretended to help, so of course I was in the picture as well. (I didn't do a whole lot, obviously take pictures the whole time while Jedd was hard at work.) This is what it looks like with candles it in. I love it! Of course we had to show case all the pumpkins on my mom's porch before we took them all home. My brother Michael did a ship on the right side, and my brother Taylor did a skeleton face. Good job boys!

Halloween Party

My mother-in-law's ward had a Halloween Party last night, so Jedd and I went along with his brothers and sisters and families. It was so fun to see at least Hailey in her costume. The night started out with dinner (Debbie made her amazing Enchilada Soup! YUMMY!) Then it was around to the rooms to play games and then trunk-or-treating at the end of the night. I only was able to grab a few pictures of Hailey and Kallee, Jedd's nieces, because my camera's batteries were dead. Oh well, here they are. Hailey is a "Nice Witch" and don't dare call her anything else! Cute Kallee wouldn't dare put on her costume.

After the cake walk, the girls totally devoured their cupcakes. Jedd even helped Kallee drop her's on the church carpet by chasing her! It was too funny.

Here is the girls getting ready to go trunk-or-treating.

My AWESOME husband Jedd

My sister tagged me so I thought this is a great opportunity to brag about my husband! I love him more than anything!
1. Where did you meet your husband? We met on a blind date. Jedd's mom set us up, she works as a sub at the school I teach at.

2. How long did you date before you married? We dated for 7 months before we were married. We met in January, were engaged in May, and married in August.

3. How long have you been married? Coming up on 3 months! Can you believe it?

4. What does he do that surprises you? Without fail, Jedd makes me laugh no matter the situation. I love to laugh, but Jedd can get me to laugh and never stop if he wanted. However, he tries almost daily to get me to laugh so hard that my drink comes out of my nose and mouth. I told him I used to do it often, so he has made it his personal goal to see me do this.

5. Favorite Feature? His smile. Every time he smiles, I can't help but do it as well.

6. Favorite Quality? Jedd is the best person I know. He is always there when someone needs him. He is strong in the gospel, and pushes to make me be a better person. He is absolutely HILARIOUS, and loves to make people laugh. He is honest, has a loving heart and is loyal. Do you want me to go on??

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Awas. (thanks to my nieces and nephews)

8. Favorite Food? Jedd really loves a lot of things, so it's not easy to find out what his favorite food is. It's hard to say, but just as long as he doesn't have to pick, then he loves it!

9. Favorite Sport? Is there any question? Baseball.....playing and watching. He loves to play golf, and also loves to watch sports, mainly football when Baseball is not on.

10. When and where was your first kiss? April in my apartment. Yes, I had to make the first move! :)

11. What is your favorite thing to do together? Man, there is too many to list. Mostly, just as long as we are together, we are happy doing ANYTHING. However, Jedd would say watching Cubs games are the best.

12. Do you have children? Nope not yet, we've only been married 3 months. And NO, this is not an announcement, and no there won't be one for a WHILE! :)

13. Does he have any hidden talents? Jedd hates to sing; however, he loves to impersonate singers. His new found favorites are Neil Diamond and Aaron Neville. It is absolutely HILARIOUS!

14. How old is he? Just turned 28.

15. Who said I love you first? Well that is kind of a hard question. Jedd was the first one to actually come out and say "I love you", but minutes before, I said it in a round about way because I was afraid that I might scare him. (Hopefully that makes sense!)

16. What is his favorite music? He loves tons of things. However, if you ask him, Neil Diamond is the greatest song writer of all time. He loves listening to all kinds of alternative stations, and KOSY 106.5. Yes, and as much as I hated it, he has me listening to it as well. However, recently he has really started to like Sports Talk Radio. He listens to Jim Rome and another guy, I can't remember his name.

17. What do you admire most about him? I admire the way Jedd treats me as his wife. There are so many people out there who don't respect their wives, or treat them as lesser people, expect them to do everything, and jump at the chance to talk about their wives and thier bad qualities. Jedd has always put me first, no matter what, and is always WAY TOO GOOD to me. He has never once said anything bad about me, and I have never heard once a word come out of his mouth that was demeaning or rude. He is more than I ever dreamed I would EVER deserve.

18. What is his favorite color? Chicago Cubs Blue.

19. Will he read this? Probably not.

20. Who do you tag? This is such a great opportunity to write and brag about your husband. If anyone reading this hasn't written about their husband, I hope you will!