Braden & Jen

LDS Home Executive Day Planner AVAILABLE

2011-07-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

For the last year I have been designing my 2011-2012 LDS Home Executive Day Planner selling for $11.99. Here are some of the great features of my planner:

1. Full color throughout entire planner
2. Spiral Bound for easy to turn to pages
3. Inside pockets on both front and back covers to keep receipts, bills, coupons, etc.
4. New recipes every month
5. "Her To-Do's," "His To-Do's," and "Kid's To-Do's"
6. Weekly menu
7. Weekly grocery lists - divided into categories
8. Daily Highlights - a mini journal area
9. Dotted lines in the top corners to keep your place.
10. Address pages for Family Favorites, Mom's contacts, and Kid's contacts
11. Eight pages of notes
12. Four pages of LDS stickers (temple, date night, FHE, etc.)
13. Perfect size to fit in most purses (6x9)

The LDS Home Executive Day planner is the perfect gift for your mom, sister, friend, or any woman in your life (including yourself). It is a planner that will organize, motivate, and inspire her as she cares for her home and family. The LDS Home Executive Day Planner is a gift that she will want year after year.

This is a TWO month sample.

Summer Update #1

2011-07-24T15:35:00.001-07:00

It's been forever since we updated you all about our lives. I get on our blog just about daily to see if any of you have updated your blogs and I am so thrilled when you have. I figured I had better update you all as well. We have had a wonderful summer, I cannot believe it's almost August and Braden goes back to work in about a month! Where has our summer gone? Here are some pictures...more will follow...of what we've been up to (not in any order - sorry)

For our ward's Youth Conference we were in Salt Lake City.
Braden and Arrie stayed with my parents for a night, so since
they were so close, they came up one night for our hike up
Ensign Peak and Swimming at the hotel.

Getting ready to hike Ensign Peak

Overlooking the Salt Lake Valley from Ensign Peak

Arrie with some (extended) cousins at Crispy Creams.

She LOVED watching the donuts being made

We went to Oregon for a week to Braden's Grandparent's cabin at Wallowa Lake.

Arrie sitting around the campfire waiting for s'mores

Arrie had long exhausting days at the cabin. She napped so well we were
able to go in her room and take a picture of her sleeping without her waking up.

Arrie LOVED the deew (deer) at the cabin. Here she is looking out the window for more

Arrie is obsessed with glasses. Here is a pair she found

Her is another pair - of Grandpa's - that she found in the desk! :)

We went on a hike. Here are a few pictures from that

That's all for now, I will post more pictures later

Springville High School Lip Dub - Yeah 3x

2011-05-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

I know it's Jen that usually updates the blog, but I just wanted to post and share the latest lip dub music video my students made. We had about 300 people and it's the first ever lip dub to be done in the dark. Be sure to let me know what you think! Enjoy

Toilet Paper Art

2011-05-03T21:39:00.001-07:00

I love this! I have to do it! HERE is the link how.

American Flag banner

2011-04-30T20:23:00.001-07:00

I want to make this for this summer! Check it out HERE.

Felt flower pillows

2011-04-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

I want to make one of these for Arrie and one for my niece! Check it out HERE.

My new adventure

2011-04-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have received a facebook message from me the other day. I hope you didn't mind the little pitch for my new product. I'm really excited about this new little business I am starting. Some of you may know that I worked as a graphic designer and then, when we had Arrie I came home to be a mom, but continued to do free-lance graphic design. I had an idea about a year ago for an LDS planner. Well, since that idea hit, we have had a lot of learning take place.

I started designing my planner and approached BYU for education week. Come to find out, they do their ordering for education week in February (Education week is in August) so I was too late, but they said to come back and they would order for "next year" (now this year).

I am having them printed in China, so that has been a huge learning experience - luckily my contact Ida, understands me and I can understand her English too.

I met with an accountant and had to learn a lot of other lingo. I had to find a company to help me ship internationally and all those port fees and cargo info.

I have learned how to and how not to approach businesses that might sell my product. And some internet stuff for advertising.

It is neat what can come from just an idea. There is a lot of learning that takes place and I am so glad that I have ran with my idea and gotten this far. I love my planner, I hope others will love it just as much. It's the planner I've always wanted but could never find. AND the cool thing is it's going to change every year with suggestions from all the women who use it.

If you're reading this and have an idea - do it!!! It's great! We're encouraged to find ways to continue our education and the only way to do that is try new things - read a new book, try a new project, in my case - start a new business! :) Well, if you want to see the planner, you can go to my blog Picket Fence Publications. Thanks for reading.

Amazing video about the Ukraine Temple

2011-03-09T13:52:00.001-08:00

I miss my mission! What can I say? My brother is researching videographers for his upcoming wedding and he stumbled on this that one of them had done. He sent it to me and I loved listening to the youth testify and talk. Sadly to say, I am loosing my Russian...

This is wonderful, ENJOY! Especially you missionaries that served there!

I believe in Eternal Families

2011-03-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

I happened to turn the TV on yesterday when this woman, Rahna Reiko Rizzuto, was being interviewed on the Today Show. I absolutely COULD NOT BELIEVE what I was hearing!

This woman had an opportunity to go to Japan for six months and her husband encouraged her to take advantage of that. He would come out to visit with their two boys and then they would come home and resume their lifestyle.

That isn't what happened. Instead she came home and divorced her husband and left their two children. She said something that made me gasp out loud. If she hadn't gone to Japan and had "opened her eyes" and hadn't left her family, she said, "It might have taken me many years to say, woe, I did that thing that I didn't want to do which was give up my life for someone else."

WOW! That is the epitome of selfishness. Watch the video below, it is unbelievable people are justifying her actions and that her book is up for awards.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I teach the Mia Maids at church (the 14 - 15 year old girls) and our lesson on Sunday was about Eternal Families. Below is another video with the right perspective that I showed in class. Elder Eyring says, "The greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we experience are in family relationships. The joys come from putting the welfare of others before our own, that is what love is."

I know without any doubt that families are essential in our Heavenly Father's plan. I know that we can be together for ever and that in order to do so we need to give our marriages and our children our very best, our all, and ourselves.

Is it hard? - yes, it's hard. I have had long days when I don't think Arrie's bed time will ever come, but it does and I get to rest. But I am a wife and a mother first and foremost. I love Braden and Arrie more than I can comprehend and I wouldn't give them up for the world. I know that our Heavenly Father won't give us any challenge in life that we cannot bare. He is always there to help us.

I hope that there is not a single women out there that will allow what this woman has said to stand as a positive example to them.

Arrie Singing

2011-02-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

Arrie loves to dance and play on her piano and she recently discovered she loves singing. On Sunday we were watching Music and the Spoken Word and Arrie started singing along - so I grabbed my camera. :)

Arrie's tricks on camera

2011-01-30T21:53:00.000-08:00

So I was talking to my dad and he asked if I had some of the cute things on camera that Arrie does. He said that I might think that I'll always remember what she did as a baby or how she did things but that it would surprise me the things I will forget. I don't want to forget, so I got off the phone and grabbed my camera. Here are some of the cute things about our baby (that isn't really a baby anymore.)

We Believe 2011 YM/YW Theme

2011-01-24T12:52:00.000-08:00

I am the Mia Maids teacher in our ward and I love my calling and the girls. This year the theme for the youth is the 13th Article of Faith:

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Last week for our combined activity we watched the DVD introducing the theme. I wanted to share my favorite story we watched. It is about "when Junior, a young man in a small Florida branch, decided he didn’t want to be alone in his belief in Christ, he invited a friend. One friend joined, then another, and another…."

Funny Arrie

2010-12-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

So, here are a few funny things about our baby!

1. She LOVES toothpaste and brushing her teeth. Toothpaste and a toothbrush will keep her happy forever.

2. She loves to say prayers (we say probably 10 prayers at lunch)

3. The other day Braden came home from work and was in the bathroom. Arrie grabbed the car keys he left on the coffee table and took them to the bathroom door and tried to reach the knob to put the key in to open it. Smarty pants!

4. The last few days when I go in her room to wake her up, I find her like the picture above. I don't know when she figured out how to unzip her jammies. She obviously can't figure out how to take them off though. I know one day she will, and I will post a picture.

Bathtub Love

2010-12-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

Today I found Arrie in the bathroom. She had parted the shower curtain and was looking in the tub. When she noticed I was there, she pointed in the tub and when, "uh? uh?" (our little Seagull). I asked, "Do you want to take a bath?" She then dropped what was in her hands and tried to unbutton her sweater! I helped her and took off her sweater. Then she proceeded to take off her top by pulling it up as high as she could. Anyways, it was so cute that she new she needed to take her clothes off to get in the tub. Arrie loves to take baths.

Babooshki

2010-12-09T09:11:00.001-08:00

I saw this on someone's blog the other day, it made me smile!
(Babooski are Grandmas)

Arrie is One Year Old

2010-10-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today is Arrie's official birthday! I can't believe it has been a year. Last night we went to bed and I said to Braden, "A year ago tonight I'd be waking up in a couple of hours wetting my pants! I'm so glad it's not a year ago!" :) I did too - I woke up at 1:00 a.m. last year when my water broke. All day today I have been thinking about all that happened a year ago and the crazy and painful ordeal labor is. However, as the day is almost over now, I can remember the absolutely WONDERFUL parts.

I remember holding Arrie, I couldn't believe she was mine. I remember my parents and Braden's parents and all of our family being so proud and in complete awe of the new addition to our family. I mostly remember the AMAZING impact it had on me and Braden (our little family). We were so happy. I don't think either of us had ever experienced joy like we did then. I remember Braden had to work and film an event that first night with Arrie but he was going to be coming up to the hospital that night to stay the night with us. I went to sleep and Arrie did too :) and I remember Braden coming in. I wish I had that on video, but I can see it in my mind as if it was a video. He was so happy, so excited to be with us, so happy to see his little girl. It was so cool to have our family turn from 2 to 3.

We are still so very happy. We love Arrie so much. She amazes us every day - it is so wonderful to watch her grow. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for Arrie and for Braden. It is truly a miracle that we can participate in the Godly power of creation. We have the opportunity to feel a little of the love for our children that Heavenly Father has for us His children.

Happy Birthday Arrie!!! :)

Arrie's First Birthday

2010-10-18T10:24:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has been a whole year! One year ago today I was HUGE and waiting for our little princess to come. I am glad that experience is behind me but what a miracle came from it all. We love having Arrie in our lives. She is so fun to watch growing and learning. Today for example, she got a tea set with plastic cakes from for her birthday, and I sat down with her to have our first tea party. She was picking up the cakes and pretending she was eating them and then she would swallow and make an "ahhh" sound! It was SO cute - I didn't know she had developed a little imagination already! We had a lot of fun.

She was so fun yesterday at her birthday party. She had her own little cake and we got her down to just her diaper and panties and sat her down with her cake. We thought she'd go to town on it - she loves sweets. But she didn't! She would put her fingers in and then show everybody and then lick her fingers off! What a little lady! :)

She loved opening her presents and finding what was inside the bag or the wrapping paper. She had fun with all the attention too. I think she was a little confused with all the attention but she liked it. She didn't like the hat or the tiara we tried to put on her - but we expected that.

So, with one year spent getting to know my little girl here are things about Arrie that I love.

1. Her laugh - I love how she lets out a little scream and it's usually when she sees people (or a dog - Pogi) that she loves. I love it when "Daddy" comes home - she really screams when she sees him. Also, if you tickle her in the right place she goes CRAZY! :)

2. Dancing - Arrie gets a beat and she shakes her upper body and bounces a little.

3. Reading stories - Arrie will go and get one of her books and bring it to me. Even though she doesn't like me "reading" the story, she loves sitting on my lap and turning the pages.

4. Waking up in the morning - As long as it is on time (and not before 7:00) I love going in her room when she's awake and she is so happy when we come in to get her.

5. Walking - Arrie is a great walker and she loves to go everywhere. With that is coming more independence which I'm not sure how to handle sometimes - but she's a "Big Girl" now and it's so fun.

6. Grandmas - it's been so fun to watch my mom become a Grandma. Arrie loves both of her grandmas so much and its so fun to see her interact with them.

7. "Loves" - Arrie gives "loves" by leaning into the person (or the dog - Pogi) sideways with her mouth open until her face touches them. That is her giving "loves."

8. Learning - I already mentioned this a little, but she loves to learn. I try and be creative to help her learn. I will hide things under her crib, or in a box and she will find them. Or she has learned how to put the tiny tubs of play dough back into the tube they go in. Or teaching her where her socks go, where a hat goes, where shoes go - and then asking her where they go and she tries to put them on.

9. Being "Mommy" - I love being her mommy. I love knowing she is my little girl and that she loves me so much. I get intimidated sometimes knowing all I need to teach her and knowing how much she will need me as she grows up - and also knowing how at times she won't need me and I'll want her to. But it is truly a holy and the best calling in life. I am so grateful to have Braden as her "Daddy" and my husband to help raise her. I LOVE being "Mommy".

Well, here are pictures from her birthday.

And then Braden's parents went to a concert the other night and got all the grand kids
these fun tie-die shirts!

Grandma Andersen's 90th Birthday

2010-10-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was Grandma Andersen's 90th Birthday! We all went to see her with her all time favorite Wacky Cake! (You can get the recipe below if you want to try it). She is doing so great. We got there just as they were serving dinner so all of the residents and nurses that could have cake got a piece too! Everyone sang Happy Birthday and mom helped Grandma blow out her candle. Grandma had balloons on her wheelchair from Pat and Denny and also us. I don't think anyone didn't know it was her birthday! :) Arrie LOVED the balloons and gave Grandma "loves" - she is very good at that. I have gone to see Grandma once this week since then and she laughs when you give her hugs and I gave her lots of kisses all at once and she said, "Gosh..." and then laughed - it was like I had my Grandma back for a second. Well, enjoy the pics.

Arrie is a walking machine!

2010-09-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here is Arrie walking today!!! She goes everywhere!!!

Our Sappy Shows

2010-09-27T06:54:00.000-07:00

A new season has started with TV! We are sad not to have our "LOST" and "Jack Bower 24" but we have two new favorites and they are completely opposite from last year. We LOVE Extreme Hose Makeover and Undercover Boss.

These show make us cry! It's pathetic but so awesome!! We love the story behind all the houses that they build. And the impact it has on the families/people that they build them for. We both would love to be a part of the show or something like it. Last night they did a house for "Girl's Hope" in Baltimore Maryland. It was so touching. They sent the girls on a vacation to LA (I bet the girls had never been on a vacation anywhere) and they built a house for them while they were gone. This house is where they will live away from their families so they can focus on their education and not live in the projects with the violence and drugs. It gives them an opportunity for life.

With Undercover Boss, it is so neat that these CEO's want to really find out what is going on in their companies. The best part though is the sappy part at the end. These CEO's get to work with and really get to know some of the employees that work for their companies. They get to know their stories and their needs and their dreams for the future. Usually they are your run of the mill jobs (like hotel maintenance or hospitality, waitresses, factory workers, street cleaners, delivery jobs, etc.) so the workers usually are more blue collar and have had a rough start. The best part is at the end when the CEO reveals himself and then compliments the people he met on their performance, their hard work, their ambition and promises them things, such as a postion in the company that is better pay, a vacation with their families, paying for their education so they can do better in life, etc. It is just great!

So check these shows out if you want to see that there is still a lot of good in this world.

My Grandma Andersen

2010-09-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

My grandma is staying in Orem Rehab and Nursing. She is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's but is still always happy and laughs and says some of her good old sayings on good days. I get to go see her about once a week. The last move was hard. She used to be up by my mom in an Assisted Living place but she has gotten too advanced now and is now in Orem. But we go see her as much as possible. I think most of the days I have gone to see her she's had good days. She is usually in bed when we get there but the aids are great to get her in her wheelchair so we can sit in the dining room or go for a walk in the courtyard. It is fun to see her with Arrie. Arrie gives her "loves" and somehow knows she is grandma. Grandma talks (makes sounds) different with Arrie than with us. You can tell she knows she is "talking" with a baby. Below are clips from a couple of weeks ago...it was a really really good day. Grandma was smiling so much and made sense a couple of times. I caught her on video with mom, mom didn't know I was filming - it was just so sweet I had to capture it. Then we got her on video with Arrie. She turns 90 this October, I can't believe she is still with us. My grandpa passed away 9 years ago. Well, this is my grandma - we love her so much!

This is Funny!

2010-09-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

One day I gave Arrie a sip of my drink. I pulled the glass away and she opened her mouth and went "Ahhhh"! I laughed so hard! I have noticed since that Braden and I usually make that sound after we drink. Here is Arrie doing it. She needed a little reminding with the pressure of being on camera but she does it.

What a night!

2010-09-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

So Arrie had a really rough night last night. She had diarrhea yesterday but seemed to be doing ok by bed time. We had been easing whole milk into her bottles and so I thought MAYBE that was causing an upset stomach...or MAYBE it was because of her 3rd tooth that just came in...or maybe she just caught a bug. But anyways, she was fine around bedtime. Well, about midnight she woke up. I went into her room and it smelled SO bad. Poor girl had really bad diarrhea. Braden and I changed her clothes and sheets and got her another bottle and she went back to sleep. About 1/2 hour after that she woke up again. I went in and she had thrown up all over herself and her bed. So, I changed her into her 3rd pair of pajamas and cleaned her up the best I could with wipes and tried to rock her to sleep. I did so with her being very cuddly (that was one good side to the whole night). I didn't have the energy to change the sheets again, so after she fell asleep I took her into our bed. I was awakened about an hour later by a wet explosion in her diaper! I got up quick and rushed to her room to see the damage. To spare you the details, I had to change her into her 4th pair of pajamas, and her 3rd diaper for the night. We got back into our bed and she slept with us until morning. She stayed in bed with me until about 9:00 very calm and relaxed as I scratched her back and arms and legs - so unlike her to be still that long - and cuddly. She's been pretty slow today and while I folded laundry we had a movie on. She fell asleep just like this picture below just on the floor - she's so tired! She's never done that before. She seems to be doing better, just taking it slow today. Hopefully she can have a good night's sleep and be her busy happy self tomorrow.

having fun with the camera

2010-09-17T08:18:00.001-07:00

I was playing with Braden's SLR and had a fun time trying different angles, filling the frame and catching Arrie in some fun shots. Enjoy!

Labor Day Weekend Boss Camping Trip

2010-09-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

So, this past weekend we went on our first family camping trip. Our neighbor, Brother Bushnell was kind enough to let us borrow his 1970's El'Dorado camping trailer!

It was pretty sweet with the orange seats, the wooden/woven blinds, and the sleeping areas :) but we really loved the toilet, so we didn't have to use the public ones! It was so nice though to have a warm place to sleep, especially for Arrie. She didn't do the best the first night - she ended up sleeping with Mommy. The second night she did great and slept the entire night. But then the last night was like the first. We had so much fun with all the family. It was beautiful weather and great to do NOTHING and just be together. The last night all the adults played Truth or Dare and we had some pretty funny ones. DeLanea had to ask the neighboring camp for a roll of toilet paper. Jenell had to stick her head in the near by stream (REALLY cold water). Braden was dared to stick grapes up his nose, blow them out without his hands, and then.....GROSE....eat them!

And Jake was dared to dance for one minute, like Jenell always says he does at home. Here is the video!

It was a blast, we all had a really great time! Here are some pics!

Brittney

DeLanea

Arrie and me

My Hot Husband

Georgia

Arrie and Jackson (Arrie adores Jackson)

See, Arrie is "loving" Jackson.
She will lay her head on you if she is giving you "loves"

And one more of Arrie

Give-a-way site

2010-08-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

This is a great site. Right now they are giving away awesome facial cleansing and moisturizing products. Go to: http://www.simple-finds.com/2010/08/wash-your-face.html

And they have a giveaway closing on the 2nd for an etsy account that makes cute girl dresses! Check it out here: http://www.simple-finds.com/2010/08/just-knot-it.html

Summer 2010

2010-08-24T06:31:00.000-07:00

Braden's first day back to school

Today is Braden's official first day of school - starting at 7:30 this morning! We have had so much fun this summer and have loved having 3 months off of work! This summer has been full of relaxing, little trips and lots of yard work. Below are some pictures to illustrate.

My mom, Arrie, and I went to Gardner Village one day

We made some adirondack chairs this summer!

Arrie's first time in the pool!

24th of July in Mapleton - it's a BIG deal!

She always grabs my face like this, but usually she gets my glasses!

Arrie's first boyfriend. He is in our ward and is 11 months old.
She attacks him every time she sees him.

At the end of a LONG morning/afternoon!

Braden and his dad finished our walkway that morning!

At the beginning of August we got to all go to a friend's cabin in Heber - it was SO fun! Braden's parents, my parents, my cousin Amy Kagel, and us.

While Amy was here the girls took a day to spend in Park City!Chowin' down! She loves to eat whatever we are eating!

This is our "Super Girl!" You say that and this is what Arrie does!

Lone baby in the road!

Arrie's first car

She was not happy here - I had to capture it, she has the saddest sad faces

Her 2nd time in a pool this summer, this time with her swimsuit!

And for the biggest part of our summer....Braden put in an entire new sprinkler system! Here is our house one year ago when we bought it:

The lawn might be green...but our water bill was HUNORMOUS! The entire system, we found out this year, was run with funny pipe, there was no pressure.

So, he dug trenches (involving the trencher falling over, and then having to dig deeper by hand afterwards anyways) and laid the pipe, hooked up the heads, and then we found out we had to replace the water main! :) So he dug another trench and got that all hooked up. The grass is only green around our flower beds but here is a pic of the progress so far.

And here you can see our new mailbox!

And this is the new system! :)

The grass is starting to come back - I will post another picture when it is all green and beautiful. Oh, you can also see that we got rid of the railroad ties.

Arrie's walking!

2010-08-20T21:59:00.000-07:00

Hey, so Braden and I have been working on getting Arrie to walk by herself. Today she has done really well. This is the first we got her progress on video tonight at Dairy Queen with the family! I can't believe how fast our little girl has grown up. She will be 10 months old tomorrow! I love her so much - I still can't believe she is my baby sometimes.

She is testing the waters more and more lately to see what we will let her get away with - kids are so smart. She has been extremely defiant with eating the last two days. It is cute (now that I am not in the moment but reflecting on it) when she doesn't want something, she will turn her head as far to the side and up as she can, almost seeming to say - "NOPE, you're not getting that in my mouth if I have any control over the situation!" She does love to eat whatever we are eating though - and the good thing is that includes broccoli, beets, fruits, pasta, bread, you name it - she wants it. I think, about her baby food, she thinks: "If this stuff is so good, why aren't Mom and Dad eating it?"

She loves hide-and-seek. I will run behind the wall and she will scoot her way over to find me. She pokes her head around the wall and squeals when she sees me. She loves her grandmas and grandpas so much. She saw DeLanea and Kathy at DQ tonight in the parking lot and got the biggest smile! I swear she thinks, "What the heck! - where did you guys come from? I see you in the strangest places Grandmas!"

Arrie loves Pogi. She will try and get his toys from him and he is very good with her. When she succeeds she holds it up to show us like "look - I got it!" She LOVES ice cream - you can't feed it to her fast enough. If ice cream were dinner we would have no problems. Arrie LOVES her Daddy. Braden has had to work the last two days (Summer has ended) and today when he came home she was taking a nap. So when she woke up, I went and got her and said, "Where's Daddy?" She was looking all around. I took her downstairs to "Daddy" and when she saw him she got the biggest smile. I brought her over to Braden and she just laid her head on his chest - she was so happy to have him home.

Well, that's all coming to my mind about how Arrie is doing at this point. Enjoy the movie clip. I gotta say - it's pretty dang cute! :)

First Family Vacation

2010-06-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

We just got back Wednesday night from being up at Snowbird Resort for a few days while Braden had his Yearbook Camp. It was SO fun! We had the most comfortable bed, pretty good food, and just got to spend time away together. We put the pack-n-play up in the bathroom for Arrie because it was super dark. Oh, and a weird thing about the bathroom - there was a curtain that you could open or close right next to the shower that went into the bedroom area! Weird - who would have it open???

Well, Arrie went on her first ride there! Braden took her down the Alpine Slide and she LOVED it! When she got to where I was she stopped smiling - go figure - but she still is adorable and she had a good time. Here are some pics.

Two days later we got me a ticket to take her down again, but after riding the ski lift up and walking up to the start of the slide, they said children under 2 couldn't go down. I told them we did it two days earlier and she was fine, but that didn't make a difference. So they told me I could take the ski lift back down to meet Braden, who was waiting at the bottom. We walked back to the ski lift and they said they weren't letting anyone ride down...SO, we walked down to meet Braden and then I went back up to ride the slide. :) What an adventure! But it was fun riding the slide and then Arrie saw me at the bottom and she was a little confused, it was funny.

It was SO nice to get away and have a little family vacation and it was nice that it was FREE! :)

Andrew going into the MTC

2010-06-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

Jen's brother, Andrew, went into the MTC on May 18th. It was the end of school so Braden wasn't able to make it to take him to the MTC but here are some pics! He just left for Peru this last Wednesday and is LOVING it there.

It was so cool how they have you drop off the missionaries at the MTC now. You pull into the parking lot and drive down the hill and pass TONS of missionaries waving and cheering you on. You drive until they tell you to stop and there are missionaries waiting for the new missionary and greeting them. They let you get out of the car and give final hugs. Then one missionary becomes the newbie's companion for a short while to walk him to the front and away from us. It was so cool. I LOVE the MTC and LOVE the spirit there. Braden said he would love to be in Andrew's position and I agree. To relive my mission would be wonderful.

Springville High School Lip Dub 2010

2010-05-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

Here is this year's lip dub. We're trying to get 1 million views, so please link to this so everyone you know and they know can watch it! Peace.

Oh, and please comment! Thanks.

Boston, You're My Town!

2010-05-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

Here is Arrie again as a Sox Fan! :) I think at some parts she looks like she is actually singing - or at least thinking what the singer is singing! :)

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

Real Mothers don't eat quiche;

They don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils

Are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors,
Filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough
Doesn't come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what
The vacuum just sucked up....

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'
And get their answer when a little
Voice says, 'Because I love you best..'

Real Mothers know that a child's growth
Is not measured by height or years or grade...
It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother........

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't know everything!
14 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother? She wouldn't have a clue.
16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's so five minutes ago.
18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!
35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom...

Red Sox Fan!

2010-03-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hey, the Red Sox games start on Sunday - Here is our little fan! :) Without the flower Arrie looked like a boy - we had to keep that on her :).

4 Months Old

2010-03-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it! Arrie is 4 months old now (February 21st). Time sure flies. Everyone told me to treasure those newborn months and now they are gone. She sure is fun though now. She has found her voice and loves to talk, especially when she is getting her diaper changed...I have no idea why! :) She loves her toys and her favorite is a little doll - she likes to eat her braids. Arrie is pretty close to teathing I think, she is always drooling and she puts everything in her mouth. She recognizes toys that are above her head now and tries to grab them - and she usually succeeds - it is so fun to see her learning and growing. She has discovered her toes and likes to watch her feet and bring them up close. She hasn't put them in her mouth yet though. She is smiling all the time now and is borderline laughing. My favorite thing still is waking up in the morning and going to get her out of her crib. That "good-morning-smile" - there is nothing better!!! :) I took some video of her one morning, I will try and post that. Well, here is Arrie at 4 months.

Kung Fu Baby

2010-02-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

This video is so funny! Enjoy!!

Like Father like...Daughter! :)

2010-02-14T21:57:00.001-08:00

So, Arrie looks just like her daddy to me and to almost everybody, just she wears pink instead of blue! :) You can compare this picture of Braden when he was blessed to the pictures of Arrie in the tub - It's crazy!

Our Precious Arrie

2010-01-28T19:56:00.000-08:00

Ok, not a lot to say here - just a lot of photo updates. We absolutely LOVE our little princess. She means the world to us! A lot of our friends are having babies right now and I love reading about their little ones coming into this world. It is truly a MIRACLE. Here's our baby!

SMILE!!!

Mom, stop kissing me! :)

Sleeping with Dad and the dog

POOPY!

Merry Christmas Smile

Sweet Dreams

GO SOX!!!

Modest in the bath!

"I'm taking a bath Dad!"

It's NOT Just a Game.

2010-01-02T22:15:00.000-08:00

The following was written on January 1, 2010.

First of all, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year. As we welcome in a new decade, I hope we make resolutions that are a little more potent on our minds than just the typical stuff (lose weight, read more, serve more, swear less, etc.).

As I’m writing this, I am somewhere on I-15 between Pasadena, CA and Las Vegas, NV. And I’m not happy. The Oregon Ducks – MY TEAM, my reason for even breathing the words Oregon and Ducks and even remotely liking the 10,000 combinations of green and yellow and white and black and now “graphite” - completely embarrassed themselves and the beloved Pac-10 in the 90-something-th Rose Bowl game. And I’m not happy.

I’d say that, since I’ve had some time to cool off, I’m more disappointed than anything. So as I sit here in the passenger seat of my parents mid-size Volvo, I can’t help but think about why I feel the way I do. A brief history: I can’t remember my first Duck game, but I know I was fairly young. And I can only assume that from that point, the Ducks were my favorite team. My dad and I would get season tickets every year since before I was 10. The only time I ever missed a game was if I was dead. I’ve done the face painting and the tailgating. I’ve been on DuckVision and snuck onto the sidelines. I woke up early (and still do) to catch ESPN’s College Gameday when it’s at Oregon. I stay up late to listen to every word analysts say. I read the Pac-10 blog more than I should and check out the football page on both goducks.com and registerguard.com daily. Needless to say, I have been an Oregon Ducks Football fan “yesterday, today, and forever.”

I remember getting into an argument with one of my roommates when I was at Brigham Young University. He was mad at me because I wasn’t a fan of BYU. All I could do was laugh at his seeming retardedness and say, “Because I’m a Duck fan.” I constantly remind my mother of the same thing. As my father-in-law so eloquently put it when speaking of his favorite baseball team, “I live and die with [the Red Sox].” So it is with me and my ducks. I love my ducks. Period.

That brings me to my point of venting a little bit in this post. The Ducks losing the biggest bowl game they’ve been in almost a decade has killed me over and over again – and it’s only been a couple of hours! I keep replaying the game in my mind and think to myself if only that thing or this thing could have gone differently. I get superstitious, too, and blame the loss on my daughter because she failed to wear her Oregon Duck game attire. I blame myself because maybe I could have yelled a little louder or not gone to the bathroom during the second quarter. I should have waited till halftime. If I wasn’t concerned with getting a good picture, maybe LaGarrette Blount wouldn’t have fumbled the ball. There’s a million reasons.

But I digress. The most disappointing thing of all is when you see a team perform below their ability. The Ducks are – rather, were – one of the premier teams in the country with an unstoppable offense. They got shut down because they failed to even try hard. “Holy Moly Jeremiah Masoli” looked like crap. His throwing abilities rivaled my wife’s and worse yet, he DIDN’T even try to run. Props to the defense though, they did a great job doing the best they could. But Oregon’s best defense is scoring 42 points a game. They only scored 17.

Ok, ok. I could keep going with excuses, but I’m not going too. The fact of the matter is, Chip’s boys didn’t want it as much as I did. They were outplayed by a mediocre-at-best Ohio State team. Even the OSU fans outnumbered Duck fans at least 2:1. That’s pretty sad. Everyone will praise OSU for finally winning a bowl game and Oregon will walk about wondering what could’ve been and with a 15 or 16 end-of-season ranking.

Bottom line is this: for me it’s NOT just a game. It’s a sense of pride and satisfaction. It means I can go to bed happy. It means this car ride would be a lot better. I would be excited to listen to Owl City. I wouldn’t worry about the McDonald’s I just ate making me fat. It means I would be happy. But now I have to think about what I’m going to tell all those BYU and Utah fans who say they beat the Pac-10. I have to come up with a “fun” way to tell my students what happened and act like it’s no big deal. That’s what I get for living in “enemy territory” and not amongst the other wearers of the green and yellow. And please don’t say, “there’s always next year,” because that’s a cop out. On the bright side, I don’t think I’ll have to wait another 15 years before going to the Rose Bowl again, but I think that next time, I’ll watch it from home.

I think I’m beginning to feel better.

We elfed ourselves, then each other...and we liked it.

2009-11-23T20:24:00.000-08:00

Well, in hopes to spread Yule Tide Cheer this holiday season, we once again did JibJab's forever hilarious, "Elf Yourself." Here are a couple of this year's selections.

Enjoy.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

And We're Back!

2009-11-17T20:45:00.000-08:00

After a fairly long hiatus (during which we re-evluated life, it's purpose, and our position in it) we're back. I don't just mean we're back writing posts on blogs and doing the "same 'ol same 'ol". I mean, we're back. Plain and simple.

Now before you get pretty excited to figure out what has been happening in our lives the past "x" amount of months, know this - we're back. I feel I really need to make that clear.

Ok. I've got that out of the way and I'm ready to tell you everything. At least the big things that have happened. And you should know that there are some pretty dang big things. Big. So to make this easier, I'm going to break things down into events in chronological order starting with the latest and working my way to the very latest. So sit back, relax and get ready to be amused.

EVENT #1: Teaching. Way back in August, I started teaching. I won't go into too much detail, but public education sucks - and its it's own fault. I ran into a lot of early problems that most first-year teachers shouldn't have to deal with. I didn't have a room for over a month. I didn't have any equipment (computers, cameras, etc.) and when you teach photo and TV broadcasting, you need all that stuff. So, for the first month+ of school, we couldn't do anything. I lost the students and at this very second, I'm working on getting them back. I also was assigned to run a video scoreboard that never worked and I got blamed for it not working. When it comes right down to it, I love my job - which is to teach. I just hate all the other crap that comes with it.

EVENT #2: Pogi. If you said, "Aw, cute blog header!" you probably also asked, "What is Pogi?" Well, I'll tell you. Shortly after I began work as a Red Devil, our beloved dog, Belle, got terribly sick and had to be put down. I felt I needed to actually hold and comfort Belle as she slipped into eternity, which was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Shortly after Belle's death, we felt a void in our life and had an opportunity to get another dog for a very good price. So we did. And named him Pogi. Long story short, Pogi means "handsome" in Tagalog and in the Philippines, they always say "Handome is for dogs." I took their advice and named a dog Pogi. Aside from the constant smell of poop on his butt and his breath, he is supposed to be our dog and we love him very much!

EVENT #3: Mapleton, UT. We took the plunge and bought the most expensive thing we ever have up to this point. A house. It is a quaint little cottage of a house that we now call home. It sits on just under half an acre, so most of the investment is in the land. We've already began to fix things up and will probably post more things about it as things progress. We've also had to fix things, which naturally happens with a 60 year old house. But like I said, we call it home, and it keeps us safe from the elements.

EVENT #4: Arrie (prounounced R-E kind of blended together). Up until Arrie was born, the house was our most expensive investment. On October 21, that changed. We welcomed our biggest investment into the world and it was the most incredible experience. Here is how it happened: 1:30 am, Jen wakes up - water breaks. 1:35 am, I complain that I want to sleep. 2:30 am, we arrive at the hospital. 11:15 am, Arrie is born. Basically, life has never been the same since. It's funny, much like our dog Pogi, all she does is eat and poop. She sleeps when she wants to. I have to speak for myself and say I absolutely love being a padre. That's all.

So there you have it. That's basically all you need to get caught up on our lives. As time goes on, we'll elaborate on some details. I promise we'll get back into the groove of blogging.

Like I said before...We're back.

You know that song...

2009-07-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

So, I know it has been a very long time since we last blogged. A month maybe. But I got to thinkin' about a certain song to let everyone know that "I'm Still Here" (by Vertical Horizon). Listen to it here. It kind of applies.

Anyways, if you've been missing us, don't worry, we have to! We'll be writing again shortly so stay tuned!

Arrie Jo Boss

2009-06-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

Here are Arrie's first photos!!!! Isn't she cute! :) We went to the doctor on Friday morning and It's A GIRL!!! We are so excited! Mostly we are so excited that she is healthy. Also, you will see a picture below of her right foot, so far we only can count 5 toes, but she had her toes on her left foot curled, so maybe there are 6 toes on that one! :) It was a very cool experience - I have to say, I was relieved there was actually a baby inside of me and not something else moving around and making me sick! Most people thought it was going to be a boy, but Braden has always known since he was young that his first child would be a girl! - and it is! Oh, and last night, for the first time, Braden felt her kick! VERY COOL!

THE Happiest Place on Earth

2009-06-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

I have always wondered why they call Disneyland the "Happiest Place on Earth." I mean, isn't it all relative to the person saying it? Well, I decided to give Disneyland a try to see if I too could gain a firm testimony of the famous phrase. Now that we have been home from there a week, and that I have had some time to really think of my experiences there, I think I have come to a conclusion.

But first, let me tell you how this all started. Oh, about a month ago or so, we were talking to my parents when they mentioned they were going to take Jerik, their oldest grandson, and their youngest son Dill to Disneyland. Jen wanted to go and so I made the mistake of saying we had the money to go and that was that. I just said that to be nice, but didn't really think she would jump at the opportunity. I thought she would have wanted to save the money. Anyways, the "Priceline Negotiator" got us the best deal (4 days 3 nights in an awesome hotel really close, and airfare for just under $240/person). We got Park Hopper passes on ebay for about $120/ea. ($20 less than at the park). Oh. We also got a full-size rental car (a van) for 4 days for $89 thanks to Jen's mom's "Entertainment Book" membership. That's the details, now to what we did.

Day 1: Thanks to Captain Kirk, we got on a great mid-day flight to Long Beach. Once there and the rental car gotten, we headed to the beach in Surf Town, USA - Huntington Beach. That was fun, hot, and salty, but fun. We then went a few miles east to the hotel, checked in, freshened up, then went and ate at Cheesecake Factory. Dang good shiz.

Day 2: Disneyland! Got there early and no waits in line. It stayed that way pretty much all day. Now, because Jen is "with child" and because my mom was a wuss today, they went and got the rest of us fast passes to things. But we really didn't have to wait that long for anything anyways. Dill and I had to wait about 40 min for Space Mountain, but that was well worth the wait. Food was expensive, so we split most everything. There was a parade in the evening which was fun. Weather was overcast and not too warm, but perfect in that we weren't miserably hot. Good day. Fun day. We were glad to go to bed. We did everything (seriously, EVERYTHING) at the park between the hours of 9 am and 6 pm. No regrets. "Happiest place on earth phrase" in question.

Day 3: California Adventure! And oh boy what an adventure it was. First, Soaring California twice! It was fun and I really thought we were flying. Next was the Rapid ride which was fun, but we all got soaked and due to the weather, which was overcast and colder, so we were all wet for most of the day. Next I was pleased to experience Screamin' California. FOUR TIMES! Loved it. Probably the best ride so far! The best experience though was getting my mom to ride it. She was terrified and it was great. She screamed frantically and was practically crying. I was laughing so hard I thought my cheeks were going to split open! Tears everywhere between the two of us, I couldn't talk for some time after wards without laughing hysterically. Best memory of my mom to date. Another really fun ride was the Tower of Terror. I loved the overall experience. Again, Jen got us all fast passes and was able to go on a few rides herself, including the Toy Story ride, which is super fun! Finished up Cal. Advent. around 7 and headed over to Space Mountain one last time, this time with my mom. That was a super long wait because someone blew chunks all over the ride. But, once again, totally awesome. Mom did a lot better. Then was Tower of Terror one last time, this time with mom. No fireworks tonight. But the bed felt better than ever.

Day 4: Last day of awesome free breakfast at the hotel. Did some free laundry at the hotel, packed up, and left. Thanks to the host of the old show "Rescue 911" we had a 4 hour wait at the airport. Smallest airport ever. We got home, ate, then went to bed.

So. One week later, after much thoughtful consideration, here are my "Best's":

Best Ride Waiting Experience: Tower of Terror
Best Ride Element: Indiana Jones
Best Ride Animatronics: Pirates of the Caribbean
Best Overall Ride Experience: California Screamin' (with my mom)
Most Suspenseful Ride: Tower of Terror & Space Mountain
Best Kids Ride: Toy Story
Stupidest Ride: Roger Rabit
Longest Wait: Space Mountain
Shortest Wait: Haunted Mansion
Best Food: Soup Bowls (California Adventure)
Best Place to take a Nap: Tiki Room
Biggest waste of time: Waiting to get autographs from characters (They always cut the line off when we got to the front)

Now that I've written all of this, here is the verdict: The combination of Disneyland and California Adventure really do make up the Happiest Place on Earth. For now. But also know this, we'll wait to take our kids when they are past the age of accountability (8). Jerik just got tired and didn't want to do a lot. But that's it. It was a great trip and nice to get out of Utah for a bit. It was much needed and again, a lot of fun.

First Five

2009-05-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, I just posted 3 things today, so after reading this and commenting if you want, read the next two blogs also! :)

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me!
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year.

You have no clue what it's going to be. It could be a craft, a goodie, or- who knows?

So, here is the catch:
You must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment, will get a fabulous homemade gift by me! Be sure to post a picture of what you get when you get it.

Mother's Day

2009-05-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

This is a little late, but I took these pictures and wanted to blog about my first "Mother's Day," or well - partial Mother's Day! I didn't expect to get anything, but Saturday night I came home to the following on my dresser! :) I have a great husband!! :)

Then on Sunday I got a card from my parents...

Inside it says:

"There's a miracle happening in your heart. Beyond the excitement and anticipation, already there's a love between you and your child that's unlike any other love.

It's a love that will be your forever. And there are so many mor miracles yet to come. Happy Mother's Day to a Soon-to-be Mom.

and braden's parents gave me one too..

What a grand calling it is to be a woman - and at that a Mother. We are all mothers to our own children and every child we come in contact with. Sherri Dew said,

"As mothers in Israel, we are the Lord’s secret weapon. Our influence comes from a divine endowment that has been in place from the beginning. In the premortal world, when our Father described our role, I wonder if we didn’t stand in wide-eyed wonder that He would bless us with a sacred trust so central to His plan and that He would endow us with gifts so vital to the loving and leading of His children. I wonder if we shouted for joy at least in part because of the ennobling stature He gave us in His kingdom. The world won’t tell you that, but the Spirit will."

Happy late Mother's Day to all women!

Springville High School!

2009-05-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hey! Braden got a job!!!! :) We feel so fortunate to have gotten a job. After graduation,we weren't sure what we would be doing for a little while. As Braden said in his graduation blog, even teaching jobs are hurting in this economy.

We knew we would be guided in the right direction, wherever we were supposed to be and whatever we were supposed to be doing. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of each one of us and our individual needs. He knows what is best, while sometimes we don't understand. But if we put our trust in Him we won't go wrong.

Braden had interviewed at a few High Schools that seemed very promising, but in the end they didn't work out. Then, when we least expected it, he had 3 job interviews in a matter of a week at most (Spanish Fork High Shcool, Eastmont Middle School, and then Springville High School.) Then on the 12th of this month, the day he interviewed with Springville, he had all three schools call him that afternoon and offer him a job. We were so happy!

He has decided to work for Springville High School, where he will be starting a new multimedia program and teaching digital photography and TV production. He will have the opportunity to also introduce some video production and hopefully that can grow bigger over the years. Braden is so excited and has so many good ideas for teaching and really involving the school and the community. We feel so good about this job and where we are at. We are so excited for what the future has in store.

Movie MAY-hem!

2009-05-06T13:06:00.001-07:00

So May '09 is probably one of the best movie months ever. We'll be seeing all the great shows on opening days! (It's all about the experience!) We already saw "Wolverine" on May 1, but here's the rest of the schedule.

May 8: Star Trek
May 15: Angels & Demons
May 21: Terminator Salvation
May 29: Up

If you wanna go with us, you probably have our numbers, so just let us know!

Oh, and don't forget to mark your calenders for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" in theaters and IMAX June 24!

Graduation & The End of BYU?

2009-05-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

So you're wondering what the title means, right? Well, me too. I'm sure by the end of the post, I'll figure out something to write. In the meantime, however, let me tell you that I am officially graduated from college! It's a pretty big accomplishment, especially since I'm the first grandchild on both the Boss and Washburn sides to graduate. But I have to admit, I wasn't really that excited. Here's why. See, there are many reasons why one pays thousands of dollars to learn - half of which is useless information (i.e, GE's). The other half is supposedly something you're interested in and wouldn't mind making a career out of. So here I sit with a Bachelors of Science degree in Technology and Engineering Education. I couldn't have asked to graduate in a "better" economic time when it's VERY hard to get a job. I always thought that it would be great to get a teaching degree because I could easily get a teaching job and if I decide to go into industry, I could fall back on teaching when that gets bad. Well, things are bad and everyone has fallen back on their teaching degrees. So, for the first time in a very long time, principals actually have a choice of who they hire! So the future looks bright! Seriously! I have some prospects and I'm excited for the possibilities. Also, it's important to note that with the baby coming, both our parents near, we're gonna stay here in Utah/SL counties. Wherever that'll put us.

Now, I digress. Let me refer you back to the title of the post. There is a big question about whether I will return to BYU immediately to obtain a Master's degree. Let me straighten things out so not as to confuse anyone. I will return to BYU to get a Master's degree, just not right now. First, I have to take the GRE (entrance exam), then apply, get accepted, etc. So, hopefully I can be ready come winter semester. So it's not the end of BYU for me. But I will return a Graduate Student, which means better parking!

Last of all, I just want to thank everyone who supported me (and still does) especially during the last year or so in which I have gone to school every single month. I'm tired. I'm gonna enjoy my summer for the first time in a long time.

Thank you.

Seven Pounds My Butt! - Part 2 (And a new movie review!)

2009-04-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

Alright. So it wasn't too long after the last post that we finally found the movie. It was available, it worked, and it was pretty good. I'm going to use this little bit of blog space to provide you with a brief review. If our past troubles are any indication, you've probably already seen it. So here goes.

It's a good show. I wouldn't be one to say it's great. It's good. Will Smith does a great job with the character. My favorite part of the movie was Barry Pepper, as is the case with any movie he's in. Anyways, the story was one that makes you think about what you do to serve others. The ending was bitter sweet and predictable, although how everything happened did surprise me. Other than that, there's not too much to say about it. It's semi-depressing, but at the same time, it's not. Weird.

Well, if you haven't seen it, get your act together and join the crowd. I'd probably buy it if it was less than $10. We'll see.

Now, look right to your right and read another review for a great show, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"

Seven Pounds My Butt!

2009-04-11T10:02:00.001-07:00

Contrary to what you may be thinking, my butt does not weigh seven pounds. As much as I would like it to, I'm pretty sure it weighs more. Anyways, I have to vent for a second.

Ever since the movie "Seven Pounds" came out during the holiday season last year, Jen and I have wanted to see it. However, due to time conflicts and just being totally busy with school and work, we never saw it. "We'll see it in the dollar theater," we said to each other. Well, to our demise, that was a lot easier said than done. Twice we went to the dollar theater in Provo, which seems to be where everyone else goes at night. We got there early and stood in the never ending line so we could buy tickets. Finally, when we got to the front of the line, I mean the VERY front as in, we're the next to buy tickets, we can't be helped right away because the boxed employee is putting the "Sold Out" sticker on the very movie and time we wanted. That happened BOTH TIMES! "We'll see it when it comes out on DVD," we said to each other in our frustration.

Apparently everyone in Utah County loves the movie because it hasn't been in a Redbox or Blockbuster since it came out. That is until last night! We finally found a Redbox that had it and quickly reserved in online. That was our first mistake. I went to Smiths, which is where everyone goes after their done at the dollar theater, and stood in line twice! (Smith's has 3 Redbox machines) Neither machine "A" or "B" recognized my card, which meant the movie I rented wasn't in those machines. I looked over at machine "C" only to see it said "OUT OF ORDER." I looked toward the heavens in awe of my awful luck, ended up getting a different movie and fumed all the way home.

So, at this very moment, we still haven't seen "Seven Pounds." We did get a promo code so that the next rental is free because they don't refund your money. So we'll see. Sooner or later, we'll get to see it and I'll write a review about it. Until then, wish us luck.

Better yet, if you have the movie, can we borrow it?

Movie Review - The Day The Earth Stood Still

2009-04-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

I'd like to think people read my mediocre movie reviews, but because I fear the exact opposite, I'm actually writing a post to tell you to go look at it. It's not far, just there on the right. This time it's about "The Day The Earth Stood Still." Hope it helps. If you have a request for us to watch, leave a comment and we'll check it out.

INGAT!

Oh Baby!

2009-04-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Well, this has taken me a week to post this, life has just been busy. But, if we haven't told you, we are now announcing that a new arrival to the Boss family is on it's way! Yep, we're pregnant! Well, I am pregnant, Braden is the expecting Dad! :)

I found out the day before Valentines Day. I got up before Braden to shower and get ready for work. I prayed so hard as I was waiting for the pregnancy test that it would be positive. Instantaneously it said it was, but I didn't want to get my hopes up - I feared it would fail on me. After it stayed positive for about 20 seconds the tears came. I was so happy, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't stop crying, luckily I had the shower time to regain my composure. I wasn't sure how I wanted to tell Braden. I thought I would wait until that night and do something cute and special - or maybe even on Valentines Day, but I was so happy - I decided I wanted him to enjoy the day as I did, knowing he would be a Dad. Those are hard words talking about "your baby" or "Mom/Dad" when that hasn't ever come out of your mouth before. We always pray before Braden goes to work, and it was my turn. I wanted to say something in the prayer but the words wouldn't come. So I ended my prayer and kicked myself afterwards. He gathered up his things and was going to the door when I said, wait! I forgot to pray about something. I prayed about a few things and at the end I prayed that Heavenly Father would bless our baby. I ended it and Braden was looking at me funny. He was like, "Are you serious?" And I said yes, showed him the proof and he was so excited. But he couldn't get as excited as he wanted to because we have neighbors that live above us. It was the best morning though! :)

We were going to wait to tell our parents and friends until about a month ago, but a month into my pregnancy I started getting sick and I didn't know WHAT I was doing. So, we told them early so we could get help and advice and they were all so happy and excited for us. It was Braden's idea to give them cards with a baby on the front - in my parents it said "Think about it!" - My Dad just looked at the front of the card and looked at us and said, Really? We then told him to open it. He got it right away. My mom was super excited and Andrew was like, "That is SO COOL! - I'm going to be an Uncle!" For Braden's parents, we wrote inside the card, "We figured out what to do and it worked!" :) It took a while for Braden's family because they didn't open the card until after dinner and we gave it to them for the third time, after reading it it still didn't sink in and so we had to tell them - it was awesome! :) In their defense we were playing a game and were really into it, so it wasn't their fault. :) We told our grandparents that next day and thought we'd keep it to just family because it was still early.

Well, last week on Wednesday we heard the heartbeat. Braden was there and it was truly an amazing and spiritual experience. It was really fast and was more like "swooshing" sounds but it was there, and it even moved while we were listening and the midwife had to find it again, she said that they do that - they move a lot. There is a little person inside of me and even though I am still experiencing the sick side of it, it is wonderful. Hearing the heartbeat was I think the first real evidence for Braden that this was all really real and that his baby was real. He was SO happy, and I know he is so excited to be a Dad, as I am to be a Mom.

Our baby is due on October 20th. I came a month early and Braden was born with 6 toes on his right foot - so we'll see what surprises this little one gives us! :) We will keep you updated and post pictures as they come. We love you all! Take care!

Loo-a-vull!

2009-03-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

Well, for that past 4 glorious days, I have been in Louisville, KY. I have to say that it was really nice to get out of Utah for awhile! It didn't take me long to realize that my western pronunciation of the city was, indeed, wrong. But once I got it, I got it!

Anyways, I was there for the annual International Technology Education Association conference. Basically, it's a conference for a bunch of educators, both elementary and secondary education as well as college. You pretty much just go to a bunch of workshops, see what products are new, meet new people, and, in my case, eat a ton of great food. I went to only 2 workshops over the course of 3 days, but I also had the opportunity to present some of the research I have been doing for the past year.

The presentation actually went better than I had thought. I got a really bad time. The last time slot on the last day of the conference. But, to my surprise, a lot of people showed up (20-25 people). The name of the presentation was "Technological Literacy: What does it really mean?" I presented some research findings and we had a great discussion. A bunch of people came up to me and wanted the powerpoint I used as well as a copy of the survey. So, as far as I know, my research will reach as far as Australia and the Netherlands, as well as Canada! Pretty cool.

Now the reason I went to only 2 workshops is because during the conference, there are also competitions between then different attending schools. I was on the "communications" team, which means we made a video. It was supposed to be about the watercraft of the Ohio River. Only problem, this is the one time a year where there are practically no boats on the Ohio. So that meant it was a lame topic. Anyways, we had fun with it and the following is what we came up with:

Needless to say, our video didn't even place in the top 4. Here's why. All the people who judged the video were also those who competed in other events. The TECA presidency. None of them have any background in video production so none of them know what a good video looks like. Also, the paper work (in this case, the storyboards) are weighted almost 3 times heavier than the actual video itself. Some of the schools had binders full of essays and color drawings and photos of ALL their ideas. We just submitted the required storyboard. I told everyone at the beginning of the competition that if we didn't win, it's not because ours wasn't the best. And let me tell you, ours kicked the crap outta ever video there. I'm not just saying that because its ours. After all the awards were handed out, 4 or 5 different schools got mad that ours didn't win. So yeah, there needs to be a lot of changes in the judging.

Moving on, there isn't that much to really talk about. There's not really that much to do in Louisville this time of year. We did go to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory which was interesting. I got to hold some of the bats they were making for some pro baseball players. The picture below is the worlds largest bat. We did eat at some good places. I got a freakin' good bratwurst from a guy on the side of the street. We ate at a Thai place that was amazing. Other than that, everything was pretty chill.

So yeah, that's about it. It was a good few days. It was a vacation that was much needed and looked forward to, although it would have been better if Jen was there.

I don't want to drive to Heaven in a Sports Car

2009-03-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

I can't wait until I'm 60! Let me explain...For church, we had an enrichment night on Tuesday, and it was a birthday dinner. We have a very mixed ward with newlyweds to widows. At this birthday dinner, one woman from each decade in life (one representing those in their 20's, 30's,all the way to 80's) stood up and listed the top 10 things about being that age. As each woman got up, as each woman got older, their list became more priceless and so meaningful. I always thought that getting old would be so hard, but after Tuesday, it seems like life is finally comes together. They expressed how they've experienced their joys and sorrows with children, work and life; watched their kids grow up and raise children of their own. These family members adore them and their life is so full of meaning and purpose. They have drawn closer to their savior and can spend more time doing the important things. They can take the time to sit and talk with friends, console others, serve others, take a nap, serve at the temple, etc.

We go through life learning the things and overcoming the trials that will get us to that next step that we need to be at in order to complete the next task. There is a purpose and a plan for our lives. Our Heavenly Father knows our needs and wants us so desperately to return to him. He gives us these stepping stones to get back to him. And on that path back to him, hence the title of this blog, I would like to quote Marjorie Pay Hinckley, on how I want to arrive to meet my Savior:

"I DON'T WANT TO DRIVE UP TO THE PEARLY GATES IN A SHINY SPORTS CAR, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want o drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

Teaching Video for BYU

2009-03-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been working on this little project off and on for the last few months. It actually started in October-ish and a presented a rough to the TEE department at BYU in January. I haven't worked on it since then - until today! Check it out and tell me what you think. It's my first project done in After Effects, so that is an accomplishment if you know anything about AE. Everything, including the smoke and earth, was produced be me. Enjoy!

License Plates & Initials

2009-03-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

So back when Jen and I first started dating, she got me looking at license plates to see if I could find my initials. At first I flirtily complied, but before long I found myself looking at every passing cars in hope of finding the letters that defined my name: BWB. Well, as seems to be the case with practically everything in my life, things happen when I least expect them to, or even want them to. Anyways, I went to pick up one of my good friends and there, in the parking lot of his apartment complex, was a lone car. The license plate caught my eye as it was an Oregon plate. Feeling a sense of pride, I moved closer to the butt end of the car where, to my surprise, were my initials - BWB. Now this whole thing was kind of a double-whammy because a) there were my initials and, b) it was on an Oregon plate.

So now I can cross that off of my list of things to do/find before I die. You should try it out too. Who knows, you might find it. And if you're really lucky, you'll find it on the state of your choice. And if you're even luckier still, you'll find it more than once.

Finally!

2009-02-18T11:42:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone, we are alive and doing well! It's been a long time since we wrote! I get on each of your blogs when I see there is a new post and I love reading about all the new and exciting things going on in your lives! I then see "Braden and Jen" listed under your blog lists and a small "2 months ago" under our names and I say, we need to blog, it's been that long?! So, I'm not going to let us get to three months old on your blogs.

Here's a quick recap and rundown since we blogged last - a lot has happened! We had wonderful holidays! We spent Thanksgiving in Idaho with Braden's mom's family! My birthday was December 11th and I am now a quarter of a century old! :) We spent Christmas with my parents in South Jordan, and then we spent New Years at Braden's Parent's in American Fork. Braden started Student Teaching at Alta High School, and will soon be done with that and moving onto a middle school in Alpine. We got a brand new primary class of fun and eager to learn 4-year-olds. We have started our two TV series for the year: LOST and 24 - oh my gosh - SO GOOD!!! So good in fact, I was getting butterflies this week before we watched 24! Since we blogged last we have also gotten a new President of the United States and celebrated Valentines Day and President's Day, which Braden got to take the day off and got to sleep in (a much needed break.) We went to the open house of the new Draper Temple which was beautiful. We also had our one year mark of being engaged on January 8th, man time sure has flown! We are so happy and doing so well. I love going home every night to my wonderful husband. I've learned so much about him, and me and love him more and more everyday. Life is so exciting and wonderful.

I know this was quite the list, but if I don't blog about it all now, I'll just need to keep catching up and never get to it - like my journal! :) Now we can blog regularly from here on out. Below I will post lots of pictures. For now, I have a small link and picture of a give-away that I found on a new crafty website! I think the aprons are really cute! Click here to go to the website.

One of our dates - we had a picnic in a homemade tent! Peanut butter sandwiches, cream soda, and frosted grahm crackers!

We get to babysit Braden's nephew's, Jerik and Jackson and we have so much fun!

We came home one Saturday and a family on our street had this in their front yard.

Thanksgiving in the church in Idaho! Left to right, Lu, Brittney, Gibson, Tim, DeLanea, Dill, and Braden

2008-12-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

I thought this was pretty funny. I'll probably try other songs too!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Our First Christmas Tree

2008-12-07T22:26:00.001-08:00

Yay! Our first Christmas Tree! We were really lucky, we got Braden's sisters' old tree and it fits' perfectly in our apartment! Our ceiling isn't that tall, the tree is a 7 footer. Then, second bit of luck was that Tim and DeLanea (Braden's parents) gave us our Christmas present early and took us to Walmart to pick out our ornaments. I have always loved those really fancy trees and I married into the perfect family for that. Jenell, Braden's sister worked at an interior decorating store and that was her job for the Holidays. She did our tree, hers, and Britney's (Braden's other sister). She wants to start a business decorating trees - I think she'd do great! The night she decorated it, we had the whole family over and we all helped while we watched Christmas with the Kranks, I was going to take a picture of the event but forgot until after everyone left.

Having the tree lit every night is so calming and really getting me in the mood for Christmas - since the weather doesn't point to the season being here at all (not that I'm complaining.) :)

Speaking of the lights on the Christmas tree, I LOVED what President Uchtdorf said tonight in the Christmas Devotional. He talked so wonderfully of our Savior and of the Christmas season. He started his talk by saying how, "as a child I associated Christmas with light. As I have grown in my understanding of the Gospel, I'm even more convinced that Christmas truly is about light...Let us ever remember that Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. May we remember the humble dignity of His birth, His gifts and His life. May we, through our simple acts, of kindness, charity, and compassion, fill the world with the light of His love and His healing power. I testify that Jesus the Christ lives today." If you click on the above "Christmas Devotional," you can watch the entire thing, or click on Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk and just watch that. It was truly inspirational.

The Next 4 Years

2008-11-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

Well, if you have paid any attention at all to the news as of late, you know that our country will see its first African-American president, Barack Obama. I love the fact that we have really embraced, or at least made another huge step towards true multiculturalism, but there is more that we need to be aware of than just one's race. Now, I wish I could join in with half the country and say I'm excited about the next four years, but I have to be honest and say that Obama's "change" is not the kind I'm looking forward to.

Ok, ok. Before a lot of you go off spewing out threats and wondering how in the world I am against change, let me tell you that I'm all for change, but no matter how you look at it, any of the candidates would be able to change what we currently have. That's not to say that President Bush is a bad president. Sure he has made some poor decisions, but heaven forbid he makes mistakes. Further, heaven forbid he actually attacks many of the problems that are facing our country. Too many people would not have done what he did and who knows what the outcome would be if we just stood still and let bad people do what they wanted. Maybe its not seen now, but in the future sometime, we'll look back and really see the good that Bush has done.

As far as other political ideas go, I'm glad that Prop 8 in California passed. A similar proposition passed also in Arizona and, if I remember right, a couple of other states. It's really comforting to know that there are still people that believe in true family values. I'll even take it as far as there are still people who believe in God, a figure that is seemingly getting crowded out of our country's interests. With that, may I turn your attention to the Book of Ether, found only in the Book of Mormon. For those of you unfamiliar with the Book, the people in the Book of Ether are some of the first people to inhabit the American continent. But it wasn't just that they were here and they lived. The following is a few verses from chapter 2:

And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.

For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.

And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.

Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

The other night, when Jen and I were discussing this topic, it came to our minds that throughout the Christian timeline, whether in the Bible or the Book of Mormon, the times when society has been its most wicked, the times when people have forgotten God, there have been many prophets sent to declare repentance. Today there is a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson. However, he alone can't go throughout the world and especially throughout this nation and declare repentance. I assure you he is doing that where he goes, but to have the impact of the prophets of old, the call goes out to us. We must be the source of truth and light. We need to, more so now than ever before, to make our voices heard. We need to stand up for that which we believe in. We need to enforce the principles and fundamentals upon which this country was founded. If we but remember God and serve him, no matter what your faith may be, then the promise is there. We will be fine and we'll have nothing to worry about.

In closing (I know this is terribly long) may I just say that I will support President Obama as far as what he does is in the best interest of the country, as long as what he does will reinforce the almost lost principles the Founding Father once declared. Will he be perfect? No, he's human. Unfortunately, there will still be people who worry about their mortgages. People will still wonder how they will afford gas. Rich people will still get rich and poor people will still be poor. God gave us our agency. If we rely on the government to act upon our agency for us, then we have completely misunderstood our purpose here on earth. I believe in this country. I believe in the ability of good people to do what's right. As mentioned above, the opportunity is ours to make the difference - to make the change Obama foresees. But, in the end, we need to make sure that we are serving our Heavenly Father, for only then are we promised freedom and success.

Thank you.

Our Primary Class

2008-10-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we finally have pictures of our primary class. We were missing Georgia today, but when they're all there, maybe we can have a big class picture. First there is Grace, then Page, Leah, and Debony. They all have such different and unique personalities, it is amazing to learn from them. They are all five and already know so much about the scriptures.

One time we were teaching that we need to obey the laws of the land. We asked what color meant stop - they all said "red." We then asked what color meant go. Debony said, "white!" :) What? We asked her what she meant. Very confidnetly and almost in a tone of "why are you asking," she said, "when there is a red hand it means stop, when there is a white person, you can walk." Smart!

Another time in church we asked Debony to say the closing prayer. She was so funny, she said, "...and please bless that we can have treats." :) Luckily we had cookies, but that was so funny.

Grace in our class is so fun and sweet, but she is also very sensative. One Sunday we didn't call on her to say a prayer and she didn't look up after the closing prayer - she was crying. We asked her what was wrong and through her tears she said she had wanted to say a prayer and she didn't get to. So we decided we would have her say the opening prayer the next Sunday, well we did and she said she didn't want to say the prayer...Oh, they are so fun.

Well, we'll keep you updated on other funny things they do. I know they aren't our kids so it's not as cool, but for now... :)

Oh, also, we should report on the Body Worlds exhibit we went to. I don't think I'll tell you what we saw cuz it sounds grose but it isn't - PROMISE! It's so cool and educational - we loved it. However, if you're planning on going, plan for 2 + hours, and of that it takes about 1/2 hour - 45 minutes to get through the lines - even with pre-purchased tickets. But, it's cool. Well, for now, take care and we'll write again.

37-inches of pure awesomeness!

2008-09-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

Doesn't the title just say it all? :) That's right we made our purchase of our first 37-inches of pure awesomeness! And soon we will be watching TV in all of it's HD glory. We saved up all of our gift cards to Target that we got for our wedding and added a little that we saved and got the beast! She fills up the entire space on our entertainment center, minus 1/4 in on each side! Previously, we had a nice, silver, 13 inch TV but now we don't have to lean forward to watch a movie! It was funny because the day it came, Braden was home and got it all put together before work. It was the Friday after we got back from Oregon, the TV wasn't scheduled to come until the next Monday or Tuesday. I rushed home to get ready because we were meeting Braden's family at the Timpanogos Temple. I ran in and said Hello to Braden and he was all smiling, I made a comment about him being happy and asked what was up, "Nothing." was his reply. Then I was getting ready and he came in the bedroom, again ALL smiles, "what?" I asked. "Nothing" he replied! :) So, I continued. He just kept looking at me and smiling, so I finally went over to him and said something like, "Ok, something is up, what?" He asked why anything would be up. I told him it was because he was SO happy. He said he was always like that but I didn't buy it. I was finally ready and I said, "Ok, let's go!" He just stayed in the living room on the couch. I went in, and you could guess, still smiling. "Ok, something is up!" I went in the kitchen to see if something had changed - then I saw the VIZIO pamphlets on the table. THE TV! :) I looked in the living room - past Braden and YEP, There was the TV - Big, Black, and filling up the entire entertainment center. How did I miss i? The TV came I said - YES!!!! Braden said. Man it sure took me long enough! But it was fun and we love it now. Now we're just waiting for the TV connection - we're going with Dish.

ORYGUN

2008-09-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

I know. I know. It's been awhile. Ever since school started (I'm back at Boy You're Ugly) things have been pretty crazy. But, we do have a lot to share with you because the last few weeks have been pretty eventful.

For starters, we should probably tell you about our trip to Oregon. It was Jen's maiden voyage to the Treehugger state. In the short 5 days we were there, she got a pretty good shellacking of very non-Utah culture and a pretty severe case of Duck fever. It didn't start out, though, as all fun and games (Jen learned to play Ripple!). After being (Grandpa was driving) in the car for 8 hrs on a trip that usually takes 5, we were spent. It was nice in good ol' Nampa, Idaho. We stayed at my Aunt Jean and Uncle Steve's place. Too make that long story short, they got a new 4-wheeler and wanted us to take it for a spin. I glady accepted and took it by myself for a good 20 min. ride around farm land. The view wasn't much, but it was a fun ride. I came back and got Jen and we headed out again. All of the sudden, out of nowhere, when we were in the middle of a dusty farm road, a huge dust storm hit and we were getting pelted by dust at, like, 30 mph. It was crazy. Well, we eventually go back safe but not after getting sand blasted.

Well, the next day saw green like you only see in pictures in Utah. Trees were everywhere it was nice!! The place of my origin! We did lots of stuff. We ate at Papa's Pizza (some of the best pizza, and a plain old tradition), played lots of Ripple, talked lots of football and went and saw the sites of Eugene. That took all of about a day. With nothing else to do, we went to the "Coast" which Jen thought was kind of funny because everyone calls it the coast. Not the beach, not the ocean - the coast. Anyways, that was fun except for the fact that it was all fogged in. But it was still, like Jen said, "Beautiful though." NOTE: Grandma got lost in the bushes trying to find a trail and got all cut up and muddy. We found her by the trail in her huge purple coat. It was really funny!!

Ok. After all of that, the day of days finally came. It was Saturday and Jen's hazing was almost complete. To be completely initiated into true Oregonianism, Jen had to see true liberals. A.K.A. hippies. So we went to the Saturday's Market in downtown Eugene. Among a lot of cool things to buy, we saw more dreads than Jamaica, a man in a dress, a guy singing a song about people wearing shoes (all he said was, "He/she's wearing shoes" over and over again.) It took him 20 years to come up with those, so he said. A fully grown, straight man, was wearing a skirt and mid-drift t-shirt. Jen had never seen hairier legs - on women. And the air smelled so good that I can't really remember what happened for the next few hours. Maybe it was all the weed?! Once making it through that, Jen was ready - ready for her coronation into the family - The Duck game!

Without a doubt, this was the part Jen was most excited for. I was like, "Oh, it'll be pretty fun." But Jen showed me a side of her she has never shown, probably to anyone. She couldn't even sleep the night before. I don't know why. It was only a football game. She even wanted to paint her face. The game wasn't until 7pm but she insisted that we get there at 4 so we could see the team, hook up with some REAL tailgaters, and just see the stadium and everything. The best part was, once we got into the stadium, it didn't take long before we heard the student section taunting the Washington fan's and team by chanting, "F*** the Huskies!" over and over and over again. What surprised me the most is Jen's willingness to join into the ruckus. I had to hold her back and cover her mouth. It was embarrassing, but once she really got going, I couldn't do anything but join in also!! So there we were F***in the Huskies over and over and over again! It was great. Needless to say, the Ducks won their home and Pac-10 opener by a lot. It couldn't have been better! NOTE: The preceeding message was completely falsified. Braden was actually the excited one (in case you didn't already know) and there was no f***in from us. We promise.

The next day, we flew home, got to Utah in the worst rain storm it has ever seen, and slept at Joe and Kathy's place. Monday was Labor day, so we cleaned out the fridge, picked up Joe and Kathy from the airport, and enjoyed the rest of the day/holiday/vacation. The next day saw work and school and that's been the story ever since.

Update by Jen

2008-08-14T14:35:00.001-07:00

Hello! I haven't written on here for a while, it's usually Braden :) which is great cuz he's really good at it. But, I thought I'd take a minute and update you all on our life.

Yesterday, Braden finished his finals and hence finished his Summer semester!!!! Whooo! He did so great in all of his classes, especially his industrial design drawing class. Now he has 3 weeks off and I know we are both going to really enjoy it. Especially because for a week of that time we get to go to Oregon, which I've never been to and it's where Braden grew up. The two highlights he's been talking about the most is a donut shop in Eugene and the opening Oregon Duck game which we will go to live!!!! - along with my first ever tailgate party. We will for sure post pictures when we get back.

We had both of our parents over for dinner this last weekend - My parents and the puppy came for Sunday dinner, and Braden's parents came for Monday dinner. We had so much fun! Both nights we played a game we got for our wedding - In a Pickle, both our dad's won! With my parents we checked out the highlights on YouTube of the TV show, "Wipeout." If you haven't seen it, it's so funny. Then on Monday night we watched a movie, Drillbit Taylor. It was funny with a moral of how the bully get's it in the end.

I know I'm going backwards but that is how my mind works! :) Sunday we also accepted our calling in church to be Primary teachers. We teach three little girls - they are about 5 or 6 years old. Only two of them were there this last week, Page and Grace. Again, we'll take pictures and post them.

Last bit of news is that one year ago Braden and I met. I can't believe it's been a year. I have so much to be grateful for and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in my life than in our basement apartment with my wonderful wonderful husband, Braden. I don't know how I got so lucky. We tell each other we were good missionaries - cuz as I heard the Elder's say a lot, "gotta work hard for those "Hot Wife" points" - or in my case "Hot Hubby" points! :) Yep, I must have worked dang hard! It's been a great year, I'm so grateful to our Heavenly Father for bringing us together and that we are now an Eternal Family.

Until next post, we love you all TONS and hope to see and hear from you all soon. Oh, and thanks for voting on our new hair. Braden actually has even newer hair now. He buzzed it for the summer - I think it looks hot! :) K, C-Ya!

It's Summer Time!!

2008-08-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

Ok. I know what most of you are thinking. You're thinking, "What the crud Braden, it's been summer for, like, the last 3 months." I know. But, for me, today is the first day of summer!!! See, for the last calender year, I have been a faithful member of BYU classrooms. That's right. I have been going to school. But yesterday, I finished my finals (did pretty well too!) and today, well, today I get to do pretty much nothing - only what I want to. I'll be spending the next couple of weeks sleeping in, making movies, writing books and reports (that's my job), paying serious attention to the olympics (we don't have cable so I'll watch it online), watching a lot of movies, going to Oregon, seeing the Ducks play, spending time with Jen not doing quizzes, and more. Then, when all that is done, guess what? Back to school. Yup, only two weeks for me. But hey, come April, I'm done! Anyways, I just wanted to let you all know. I hope you all have had a nice summer. Peace.

p.s. don't you just love the picture?

Do the Do!

2008-08-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

So, it wasn't but a week ago that Jen and I had our one month anniversary. I know I know, a lot of you are saying, "Whoopdeedo. It's a month." But if you really think about it, many marriages, especially celebrity marriages, don't last that long. So I think that we're doing DANG good! Anyways, for our anniversary, we decided to get new hairdo's. Jen cut her hair short, which I love! I darkened my hair up a bit. So, it's somethin' different for the both of us. Let us know what you think!

Wedding Day!

2008-07-14T12:07:00.001-07:00

Alright, I know that some of you have been anxiously waiting to see some pictures from our wedding day. So here are some. I hope that you enjoy them. They really turned out nicely. Our photographer, Joanna Taylor, did an amazing job. I recommend her to any who are looking!

Needless to say, the day was perfect! We couldn't have asked for a better day! Thanks to everyone was able to come to the temple. We love you all. Stay tuned for more pics from the reception and BBQ!

Sorry about the wait!

2008-07-01T10:44:00.001-07:00

Alright. I know that many if not most of you are just dying to see pictures and what-nots from the wedding. All I can say is just wait. We'll get some posts up, but pics might take another week or so. Also, if I can get the file small enough, I'll try to get some of the wedding video up. The last week has been absolutely amazing and perfect. Thanks to all those that helped and came. We love you all and we we'll get more up here soon!!

Bahstun

2008-06-12T07:12:00.001-07:00

Hello, Greetings from Bahstun! We haven't written in a while cuz we've been so bussy! :) We just enjoyed an ahsum vacation in Massachusetts with Jen's family. Her Aunt and Uncle and Grandparents live on Cape Kahd (Cape Cod) out on the tip of Massachuestts. We left on Saturday the 7th early in the morning and flew to Denver and then to Baltimore and then arrived in Providence, Rhode Island. When we were down at baggage claim we heard our first really thick Bahstun accent - hence, the funny spelled words in this entry - we'll try and give you a sense of the culture. ha! It was then a two hour drive to the Cape - so it was a long but very fun day! We totally relaxed on Sunday and just enjoyed the family. Boy the humidity was amazing! Jen's hair got really frizzy! :) Monday was a packed day - we went in to Bahstun and took a tour of Fenway Pahk - where the Red Sox play. We got to sit in the Press Box where the newspaper reporters sit. We were both reporting from the Boston Globe. Braden got to ride on his first subway - on the "T" as they call it here. We saw the Boston Commons and we rode on the swan boats. We ate at a great little pizzer place recommended by a cop! It was fun finding it and knowing we couldn't get it back in Utah! On the way we saw "Cheahs" - Chears - the bar from the TV show. We then walked the freedom trail ALL over the city! It was great to see the history of Boston. We saw old grave yards, some headstones were from the early 1700's! We saw the USS Constitution - and timed our "tour" perfectly. I think it was all closed for the day when we got there, but they had this HUGE group come through that we blended right in with! It was great. After the USS Constitution we had one more stop to make - Bunka Hill Monument - we were so so tired and when we saw where the monument was Braden offered to get a cab! :) My mom asked if we would be disappointed if we didn't go see it. I gave her a big hug and said thank you! We then walked back to Quincy Hall for dinner. That is a cool place - it's just a huge eatery with foods from all around the world. Outside it has quaint shops and souvenir stores. One of the last things we did there before we left to go back was Braden found a great Red Sox hat! He is definitely allowed into the family now! :) Tuesday we took it easy again. That evening we went to a local beach on the cape. It was so pretty as the sun was setting! We played frizbee and got covered in sand! Wednesday morning Braden and Kathy (Jen's mom) left for home. Braden has finals this week and next and had to get back. We can't wait until we don't have to say good-bye anymore! TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!! :) I hope you're all ready to party hard with us! Well, be watching for some pictures from the trip. Jen will post them soon. We love you all! See you soon!

Wedding Video Stuff

2008-05-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey Hey!!!

Well, as things are beginning to get closer and closer (really that's how it's always been, just now we're REALLY excited!), we are getting down to the nitty-gritty stuff. One of those things is a wedding video produced by yours and yours truly - US!! We kind of want to take a whole new twist on the idea of matrimonial cinema and let all of you have a say in a portion. So this is what we're asking (Plus, this is a good way to get feedback, also, on the blog!):

Leave a comment on this entry and ask us any question you want about us - it can be specifically about Jen, about Braden, both, or general questions too. (i.e., how'd we meet, first kiss, holding hands, likes, dislikes, how'd we know each other was "the one", and etc.)

There's really no good or bad question. The better the question, the more likely it'll end up in the video. So c'mon, be creative and have fun! We are! Please get us the things you want to know ASAP because we're going on this next week. Thanks and we can't wait to hear from ya'll!

Luvs :)

Jen's Graduation Video

2008-05-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

I know this is long overdue, but I've been really busy as you can imagine. But I hope you like it. Let me know what you think!

The Last Little While

2008-05-07T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone! So, it's been a little while since either Jen or I have written, so I figure it's about time we update you on everything that has gone on. Since Jen has been home, things have really began to roll forward. We always knew that they would, but now that we're in the thick of things, we realize how crazy things can really get. So, here's the scoop on what is happening, and what has happened, I guess, in the order they happened. Here goes.

Joe and Kathy went to Italy for two weeks. They're back now. That meant that Jen was to run the business. I helped where I could - packaging things and servicing. But through the thick of it all, Jen and I were able to spend a lot of time together. Andrew was there too. We did a lot for the wedding as well. We finally got registered at Target and Bed Bath & Beyond. That was extremely tiring and I'm glad that's out of the way. We got the invites ordered and they're on their way. Watch out for those soon. Overall, things went really quite well while Joe and Kathy were gone.

My mom, DeLanea, graduated. After about 10 years of school, she's done. No, she's not a doctor, she's a mom!! I can't tell you how proud I am of her. Her perseverance and determination are an example to everyone.

Jen got a job! She'll probably tell ya'll about it in another post, but I'll briefly explain it. It's at a place called Cedar Fort Inc., in Springville, UT. She'll be one of their graphic designers doing posters and book covers and things. It's a great job that will make things a little easier in the first year of marriage. With that said, I'll appease eveyone's frustration and say that we got an apartment. This time we're sure because we've already paid the deposit. It's a great place a few blocks east of BYU. Jen's job made the place possible.

I think that's about it really. I started school again, but that's nothing special. I'm making a website for one of my classes, so when that's up and going, I'll send you all there. Other than that, nothing much. Life is going still. Only a few weeks till Boston, then the wedding. So, we'll keep you "posted" on things happening between now and then. We love you all, and until next time...

Together At Last

2008-04-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

Last week, a whole week ago exactly today - I (Jen) graduated from BYU-Idaho with my bachelor's degree!!!! It feels SO good! It was great, my mom and dad came up along with Braden and his parents. I hadn't thought I'd want a big deal made out of my graduating, but as it got closer, and especially when I was sitting with all the graduates in the Hart Building, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of great accomplishment. Education is so important, my dad stressed it's importance to me all throughout my growing up, and he made me promise I'd finish and get a bachelor's degree. I am honored to say I have and I will encourage our kids to do the same. Elder Ballard spoke at the Convocation Ceremony and talked a lot about communicating and being missionaries. With the technology available today, we can be missionaries and examples of what we believe every minute practically.

At the Commencement Ceremony - where I received my amazing diploma "cover," we had performances including an interesting chicken/rooster opera! All of us were wondering, "What the heck?!" It was pretty funny! :) We went out to dinner to Craigos - a great pizza buffet, then went to my apt., packed up my things, came home that night and - Braden and I have seen each other every day since!

Last Sunday, was one of my last companion's homecoming - Sister Palmer - I can't believe she's home. It was so good to see her and her Russian - AMAZING! This Sunday is the homecoming of the first girl I trained on my mission, my greenie, Sister Brunson. I can't believe how fast time goes by. I look back at my time with each of them and it didn't feel like it would end, that I would always be a missionary in Ukraine. Now, believe it or not, I have been home for just about 9 months.

Monday we received hard news that over the weekend, our "soon to be landlord" forgot about us and gave our apartment away to a couple getting married this weekend. It was really hard news to take, but I feel like we have grown a lot together because of it! So, we're on the hunt again for a new place. If you know of anything, please let us know.

Yesterday and today have been really fun! We have been taking or engagement pictures! Dad did them and now our only problem is going to be too go through like 400 pictures to find only a few as our favorites- having to eliminate!

Braden is finishing up his finals! Today was his class's film final and we watched their final movies! - and tomorrow his live "Operation game will be done and we get to play it! :) Well, for now, I'm signing off. Take care everyone!

Conference Weekend

2008-04-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, this last weekend was General Conference and it was really good. First of all, let me say that Jen somewhat surprised me by coming down from Idaho on Wednesday, a whole day earlier that usual. That was awesome. She had to finish a project so on Thursday, we got down to BYU at 6 AM!!! 15 hours, a website and a good chunk of my research paper later, we called it quits and finally got to relax. I relaxed so much, that my immune system took time off and let in a nasty head cold. As I'm writing this, I have a cool movie-announcer voice and frequently have the opportunity to blow my nose.

Anyways, we had the priveledge of watching Genereal Conference. I won't talk of any specifics, but I want to mention a few things I thought were really cool. I don't know if it's been done before, but I loved how we were able to sustain all the General Authorities. We had the chance to actually stand up and sustain Pres. Monson, the 12 Apostles, and other general authorities. The spirit, at least for me, was really strong and I knew that those I was sustaining were actually called of God to do what they are doing. Another good experience was the Priesthood Session. I overcame some early tiredness and was able to really enjoy what was said. All the messages, for me again, pointed towards knowing our divine potential - that we can be with and like the Savior and Heavenly Father. It just really motivated me to be better and to help others also.

I loved conference. Admittedly, I was always waiting for Pres. Hinckley to get up after Pres. Monson, but it was still awesome. I can't wait to start studying all the talks further.

As far as other news goes, Jen and I were able to secure our first "home." Its in north Provo by the riverwoods. For those that are interested, it's in Donny Osmond's stake. Cool, eh? Well, until next time...

Easter

2008-03-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! I can't believe it was in March this year! It was such a great Easter though - I'm not complaining. Braden's family had my family over for Easter dinner and we all brought some food. Oh, it was all so good! Then we had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard and the boys had so much fun! I took some pictures and thought I'd post them of the boys on their scavenger hunts!

Ok, from top to bottom are Braden's nephews: Jackson, Jerik, and Gibson! :)

Now this last boy had a lot of fun early that morning at my house! The Easter Bunny found him and surprised him by hiding his first "hidden" Easter Basket! :) As tradition goes at my house, the Easter Bunny finds a new tricky hiding place for our baskets each year and this year he had one for Braden! It was so fun watching him search our house! :)

2008-03-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

Kathy showed this video yesterday and I thought it was hilarious because it's so dang true!

The Blog Title

2008-03-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

Alright. I'm guessing that you probably know us, so you get the title of the blog. But just in case you've been "out of the circle" we've made a little room so that you can squeeze into it. Jen and I (Braden) have been engaged anxiously for just over a month now. Up until we actually get married, the 8th of every month will be our "engagement" anniversary. I guess that cold February day will always hold a special place, but when you're not engaged anymore - when you're actually married - it's more a memory than a day of celebration.

So now that we got that cleared up, here's Jen. Well, right now our time together consists of weekends and well, nights on the phone from 9:00 until we start falling asleep. Seeing as it is Sunday, the weekend is ending and I'll be heading back to BYU-Idaho, so we wanted to get this blog started for you all. This way you can find out all about us! :) We will both be adding to this whenever we feel like it - so stay tuned...