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!

Bowling and Halloween

My nephew Ashton had his birthday party on Saturday, and it turned out to be quite the party! It started early in the morning, but I won't give you too many details, you'll have to go to Michelle's blog for the specifics. We did go bowling and it was way fun. Orchard Lanes is where Jedd and I had our very first date so it brought back so many great memories of Jan 19th. I had to take a picture of us so I can remember it years down the road. Then the next picture is everyone that went bolwing for the party. It's a good thing I didn't bet that I'd win anyone, considering even Hailey my niece who is 3 beat me both games! Way to go girl!

It is a tradition at my mom's house that before Halloween, all the kids get to get dressed up in their costumes and they go trick-or-treating around all of the rooms. Well this year was no different and I couldn't resist taking pictures of these ADORABLE KIDS! And no I'm not biased. They are adorable! :) Yes, this is my mother dressed up as a Fairy Princess. Branson (Mickey Mouse) was hooked on my mom being a princess so we did the best we could. I think it turned out great! Sorry mom, I had to put the picture on, it was way too cute!The two princesses, aren't they cute?Because I was Michelle's photographer, I was lucky enough to snag a few pictures of her kids. I could just not stop looking at all of them, they were way too cute! :) My sisters (both Jerilyn and Michelle) are great to dress up their kids in what they want to be for Halloween. They try so hard and do such a great job! The kids are ADORABLE!!

Tagged....

My sister-in-law Holli tagged me so I thought sure, I like to read these about everyone else.

8 TV Shows I Like To Watch:
*The Office
*What Not To Wear
*House Hunters
*Hounse Hunters-International
*30-Minute Meals
*Amazing Race
*The King of Queens
*The News - for the weather

8 Things That Happened Yesterday
*Went to School
*Ate left over potatoes and gravy for lunch (thanks mom!)
*had a huge headache when I got home
*finished the laundry that Jedd started
*ironed Jedd's clothes (yes he irons EVERYTHING!!)
*Went to dinner to Grideli's with Jedd, Jedd's mom, and sister
*watched The Office reruns
*fell asleep at 9:30

8 Favorite Places To Eat
*Olive Garden
*Prairie Schooner
*El Matadaor
*Maddox
*Tasty's
*my house...if I cook
*My mom's house (should be higher on the list!)
*Jedd's mom's house (should be higher on the list!)

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
*Always the weekend
*my 2 days off this week for UEA
*Taylor's game tomorrow night
*temple night on Thursday night with Jedd and my parents
*creating my wedding photo books
*Christmas season
*day after Thanksgiving shopping with my mom
*any time I get to be with Jedd. (AWE! I know corny)

8 Things On My Wish List
*Lower gas prices for sure!
*To be more fit
*To not be addicted to sweets right now! Man I'm horrible!
*A clean house
*More time to spend with Jedd
*A vacation to.....well anywhere.... besides my house
*new brown shoes to wear to work
*for Jedd to be happy

8 People you tag:
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*Any takers??

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