Married Life... so far so good!

Michael and I have been married for 1 year! Can you even believe it? I know 1 year isn't that long, but it's just so crazy. I seriously feel like we got married last month. But at the same time, it feels like it's been forever! And it has truly been a fabulous year. Michael and I have been having so much fun. We have worked hard this year, we've been insanely blessed this year, and I can honestly say we've fallen more in love this year.

Michael suprised me with a Park City get away for our anniversary. It was perfect timing. He found us this adorable condo and the suprises just kept coming. It felt like we were back on our honeymoon, which is how I think an anniversary should feel. I never wanted it to end.

In our condo. Park city is such a great town, and the outlet mall isn't bad either! We got michael a pretty smokin hot first day of school outfit. My actual anniversary gift was tickets to Lagoon! We've been wanting to go all summer and it was SO FUN!The slides are giant! It took me a minute to warm up to them. But I eventually got brave and was so glad that I did. Michael was braver-- he went on the really scary slides. michael and I also share a love for roller coasters so we had a blast in the rest of the park as well. We were just like kids! Running around the park, playing, and laughing. It was SUCH a great day! We thought this alley way was very "24 ish", so we felt the need to document our time spent there. There was cool street market downtown on Sunday and we went to check out the live music and yummy food at the farmers market. It was an over all WONDERFUL and romantic weekend and I couldn't stop thinking about how lucky I am to have such a fun husband. So-- Happy Anniversary, Mikey! Thanks for a great year and I can't wait for the rest!

The 24th Weekend is Awesome in Utah!

On July 24th, Pioneer Day, I have fond memories of stake picnics at the Thurston Chapel. There was usually some softball, hamburgers, tug-of-wars, and I remember looking forward to it. But I also remember my mom talking about how that was weak sauce compared to the 24th where she grew up... the beautiful Beaver Utah--home of the country's best tasting water. It's a big deal here in Utah. I mean, I got the day off of work! Emily had the genius idea of checking it out for ourselves this year since Beaver is right in the middle of Em and I. Oh man, was it EVER worth the trip!

You all know that Beaver is a special place to me because it is where my sweet Grandma Fern lives and my mom was raised there. So half of the fun of being there is spending time at Grandmas house and visiting with the family that still lives there. And just to add on to it all, the parade was FABULOUS and the games and exhibits in the park were wonderful as well!

Grandma was not happy with me for taking this picture, but I told her I'd get in trouble from my mom if I didn't.

The origional plan was for Michael to go stand in the street with Easton so he wasn't alone, but I think it became Easton standing with Michael so that he wasn't alone. I couldn't tell who was enjoying the candy throwing more. They were both adorable.The highlight of the parade was the grand marshals- Uncle Val and Aunt Ila! They were so adorable. I was sad my mom missed it! I'm seriously always amazed at how EVERY single person in that town knows my aunt and uncle. They deserved their moment of glory! And it was fun to watch them with their kids and grandkids- my cousins! I love this picture of Em with Caroline and Andrea, but I'm sad that I didn't get more of everyone else. They were all so sweet to us! They let us just barge in and play with them all weekend long-- thanks, guys!After all of the festivities in Beaver, Michael and I got to take the Rogers clan home with us :). Ohh it was so wonderful. I was slightly concerned when Easton asked "Jenni, what kind of toys do you have at your house?". But luckily, our grass was good enough to entertain him, because we quickly learned that our apartment is not kid friendly- sorry about that guys! Spending time with them is so special to me. Carly is giggling and walking and talking and I can't seem to get enough of her. I absolutely adore Michael and Easton's little friendship and love every second I get with Em, so a wonderful weekend it was indeed!

A Rexburg Visit and an Acceptance Email

Michael and I are always in the mood for a trip to Rexburg! We haven't been back since November and we were itching to go back, so thank goodness our friends David and Alaina were recently engaged and there was reason to throw a bridal shower!

Alaina was my roommate last summer and David was her boyfriend. Michael and David fell in love. And I mean fell in love. They becamse great friends very quickly and seem to miss each other when they are apart. Luckily- Alaina and I hit it off too. So, we have been waiting very patiently and anxiously for this engagement! They are SUCH an adorable couple and the bridal shower was a great time! Alaina was probably the most hilarious opening her special gifts. And it was wonderful to spend a day with my old roomies!Naturally, we went to Horkley's the night we got into town at like 12:30. Oh how I miss that place.Bromance-Michael and I are both really excited to see David and Alaina married in less than a month!The bridal shower crew. Alaina's ring is SERIOUSLY beautiful. That is not an exaggeration. While we were in town we decided to throw a little suprise birthday party for Anessa! Her birthday isn't until August, but we wanted to celebrate while we were all together. We suprised her reallll good considering it was a month early. hahaha! We had dinner, cake, AND snoasis!! I could NOT leave town without my red rasberry snoasis. YUM!Well, David and Alaina were going to be one huge bonus to the idea of moving to Rexburg, and even though we will miss them and all of our other Rexburg friends...

MICHAEL WAS ACCEPTED TO THE ACCOUNTING PROGRAM AND WE WILL BE STAYING PUT!! KEEPING OUR JOBS, KEEPING OUR APARTMENT, AND STUDYING ACCOUNTING!!! yayyyyy!!!!! We feel so blessed and thank you all for your support and prayers! classes start August 1st. We'll keep you posted.

Mom and Dad Came to Visit. Come Back!

Now that my dad is a retired man, my mom and dad ventured out on a road trip! First stop, OUR HOUSE :). I was so so so excited for them to come. I wanted my mom to see my new place, and I needed them both to help me fix it up! Also, now that we have 2 bedrooms, we were excited for our first guests. It was a wonderful couple of days and I wish they'd come back!

We started off the visit right by having dinner and sittin out eating Oreos. Things just got better from there (minus the part where Michael's bike got stolen the next morning... BOOOO). We ate at all our favorite places to eat, mom and dad came to see my work, we played scrabble of course, mom and I shopped, and mostly we worked worked worked on cuteifying our new place! Seriously- my parents are MIRACLE workers!!! I am so happy with it! Remember the shelves that nobody could ever hang? DAD HUNG THEM! They hung all my pictures, hung my curtains in 2 rooms, fixed my pantry door, put together an adorable over the toilet shelf, cooked, cleaned, AND had time to play and laugh with us. Seriously- they were so good to us while we were the ones who should have been hosting them! I found it comical that dad had to sleep on the futon because our guest bedroom full sized bed was too small. hahahhahahaha! Welcome to our lives for the past 10 months! I knew exactly how they felt, so I didn't blame him! We are SO happy with the way our apartment looks now and I will post pictures soon.

Another huge bonus of the visit was going up to SLC to see Courtenay and Johns new baby Everett. OH. MY. HEAVENS. Talk about a perfectly precious gift. I was in love with him at first sight. He is perfect and Courtenay looked fabulous. It was so fun to visit with her and LeAnn.

I was an idiot and did not take nearly enough pictures. As soon as I steal them from my mom I'll post them. But mostly, I just wanted to share how wonderful it was to have my parents visit. Michael and I felt lonely after they left. We had a great time. I can't wait until the day that we get to live closer. Thanks so much for coming, mom and dad! We love you!

What You Said?

The title of this post is my favorite quote from Mr. Easton Rogers, and also how I felt when Michael received his response from the accounting program. Yes- thats right, we got a response.

Remember 6 months ago when they wrote us and told us to wait until July 12th. Well, we waited VERY patiently. FINALLY- July 12th came. Michael called me from work... "Jenni, I got the Email and I want you to be on the phone when I open it". My heart is racing! I had no idea that I was so passionate about him getting in, but now that the moment was here, I was praying praying praying that he would give me happy news. So, he reads the email... "Thank you for your application to the BYU School of Accountancy, you have been placed on the waiting list.".

WHAT YOU SAID?????????

If these people make me wait one more stinkin' day I am going to FREAK! After I composed myself, I decided that this is much better than hearing "you have been rejected"! Obviously they like Michael enough to have him in the program, which is very happy news. In the email they encourage us to go ahead with our back up plan and if we are admitted they will let us know. How it works is that if anyone who was accepted drops out, we will possibly get in. We got the vibe that there are 10ish or less people on the list, although they wouldn't tell us outright, and the people who were admitted have until July 22nd to accept, if they haven't by then - we're in. SO, July 22nd is the new date we're waiting for.

What's our back up plan you ask? 2 options, study finance in China, or study accounting in Rexburg. This is a TERRIBLY difficult decision for us. We have been up late most night hashing out the pros and cons of each and it is really, really difficult. I never actually realized how much I love our life here in Provo until the threat of having to move was in my face. I love my job, I love my new apartment, I love my ward, I love my friends.... I'm not ready to move. There have been tears indeed, but both of us are 100% certain that each option is excellent and after lots of prayers, we will be guided to the right place for us.

CROSS YOUR FINGERS THAT HE WILL GET IN ON JULY 22nd!!!!!!

That's the update!

Happy 4th of July -- Coeur d'Alene style.

I LOVE THE 4th OF JULY! I get really emotional during the fireworks especially because I think it's really beautiful that all over the country, citizens are celebrating our freedom. And I'm so thankful for the people that have made/make it possible for us to live freely in this country.

For the 4th of July this year, Michael and I got to go to Coeur d' Alene, Idaho for the first time. What a beautiful place! Thanks to Shellie, that is where the Woodmansee family reunion was going down and we did not want to miss it! The reunion was a week long, but we could only stay for 3 days, bummer! But, I will say that the time we had there was well worth the 12 hour car ride! It is absolutely gorgeous up there and we had a great visit with Michael's family. This was my first time meeting a lot of his cousins and such and I am so glad that I did! They are all so friendly and have ADORABLE children! So I was definately entertained.

We spent a day out on the boat and it was a blast! And once again, even though it was freezing, Michael was in the water with no problem! hahaha- what am I gonna do with this guy?! He's very entertaining, so I guess we'll just let it slide We stayed in a beautiful house right on the lake, what a view! Shellie really got this whole thing together and we are really grateful to her because it was so nice to see the whole family. Michael and I really love Shellie and Judd and they are so good to us, so we're sad it had to end. We also got to spend some good quality time with Mama and Papa Woodmansee. They were super adorable in their tourist hats, and I might add, smarter than the rest of us. I kept saying that I wish I had a sun hat because I sunburn far too easy! Cheri even brought ear plugs for me so that I wouldn't have to listen to both of our husbands snore all night long. AND- she went without make up to encourage me in my new skin plan.

The fireworks were beautiful, the kids were adorable, the company was fabulous, the drive to and from was really fun and Michael and I had a good chat about how grateful we are to be free Americans. Watching so much 24 makes me especially grateful to be free these days. Don't laugh, I'm serious! So, Happy 4th of July! I hope yours was fun too :)

Happy Retirement, Daddy!

My father worked for Union Pacific Railroad for 45.5 years. WOW! If there has ever been a reason to celebrate, I believe this was definately it. My mom planned a fabulous party and I was lucky enough to be able to go! We stayed the whole weekend at Marc and Connie's which was SUCH a treat! They were so good to us and those boys are an absolute delight to play with!

We went on a train ride starting from Hood River. Everything was perfect. My mom had us all wearing bandanas, engineer style, we decorated the train, the boys were wearing engineer hats, and the conductor even anounced my dad's special day to everyone on the train! We went all out to celebrate my dad and it was all such a blast.

The train stopped half way, so we stopped, had lunch, and broke a train pinata. The whole hour and a half train ride back, Joseph sat in my lap ooooing and ahhhing and the trees, grass, water, mountains. It was so adorable! The best part was laughing and catching up with everyone on the train. It was so nice to enjoy each other, and on a train at that!

Our little conductors- how adorable!The Retiree and Party Planner!It was awesome to get to see the Mitchells for a bit! And I love this picture below if Marc & Connie, Darren & Jill. ADORABLE!

Tina and her family came :) After the train we stopped at Multnomah Falls and it was absolutely beautiful!Pretty much the most tender thing I've ever seen is when Joseph started to cry because he didn't want to leave, and Kellen immediately hugged him. Those cousins are so sweet!

ALL the family who couldn't make it was GREATLY MISSED! And we were thinking of you guys. Thank you, mom for planning such a great weekend! It was a complete success!!