Twenty-Two and Counting

Monday was Jefferson's birthday. I bought him a badge that read "Birthday Boy" while simultaneously blinking a red light (this was after he bought a badge for me that reads "21, Finally!" ...I might help him lose that one...). I made him promise to wear it all day and he received many a chuckle (especially when he used the excuse that his wife is making him wear it).

Previous to that day, I had been hiding his present at my parent's house, and the Sunday before, while we were visiting, I had my sister sneak away and wrap it and then bring it out to me. Jefferson kept trying to sneak peeks at it all the way home, and we live less than five minutes away!

He got home before I did on his actual birthday, and I made him swear over the phone that he would not even breath on the bag his gift was in, let alone touch it! When I walked through the door, Jefferson was trying to act all nonchalant, but he was truly excited about his birthday present (I mean it was his first birthday home from his mission, and his first birthday with me, and I was pretty excited, too!) and had been itching to open it. Not being a cruel wife, he got to open it almost as soon as I walked through the door, and got my cute little camera all ready, of course!

the big moment

how'd that get in there?

(It honestly wasn't part of my gift, my mother slipped it to him!

How did she know Almond Roca's were one of his favorites,

 that's what I want to know! You're making me look bad, woman!)

lots of letters from loved ones

(Not to mention facebook posts!

He was loving all the attention!)

ta-daaah!

(A brand new coat! And he loves it!)

After present opening, we went to Olive Garden (on a gift card from Jefferson's mom) and then came home and played a couple rounds of Super Mario Smash Bros Brawl on our new Wii that we got on black friday.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy! I love you!

Giving Thanks

What a lovely first Thanksgiving! The night before the festivities, Jefferson and I wrote things that we're grateful for on little paper leaves and hung them on a garland I made using this cute post I found on another blog! (Forgive the fuzzy pictures. I just got this camera for Black Friday and am still trying to figure out all the settings!)

Our leaves say things like, "Two working cars," and "late nights, ice cream, and The Office--combined". 

(I think it would look better with pretty curtains, 

but our landlords don't want too many holes in the walls)

one of my favorite leaves

For Thanksgiving, we went to my family's. We swam in gravy, 'tatoes, and good conversation with savory turkey and cranberry sauce! Ahhh! That's the life!

We are so blessed and grateful for everything we have and all the things we share! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Brilliant Inventions

This past weekend, my cousin Blake got married to his sweetheart, and consequently, his family came in from Kansas for the happy nuptials. They got in on Thursday, and Jefferson and I were there right after work and class to visit and catch up, but we could only spend a couple hours and I wanted to really catch up! I mean, these are cousins I used to see only once a year in the first place, but now that I'm married, the annual trip to Missouri to see family is going to be less and less likely (a) because the trip is expensive and time consuming (all that driving, you know) and (b) because we want to start our own traditions and vacations, too. Needless to say, to have these rarely seen relations be so close and not visit would be a crime!

Another crime: hanging out and not having our traditional tea party! So I packed up the tea set that Angie (Jefferson's mom) gave me a couple months ago, and took some Belgian Dark Chocolate Cocoa, mini marshmallows, and vanilla flavored coffee creamer. Oh my goodness! Hot chocolate will never be the same again! Whoever invented the stuff was pure brilliance!

This whole chilly season (starting in October up to the present) we've only turned our central heating on once when it got so cold I couldn't stand it! Why have we kept it off? To keep our gas bill down, of course! (If you want to know the truth, we spend less than $20.00 a month on gas. Who gets that?) Anyway, another inspired idea that I am so grateful for: the plug-in heaters! We keep one in our room and it'll heat up the entire space in less than thirty minutes! It makes it so hard to get up in the morning and face the freezing temperatures just beyond the bedroom door! And the thought of taking a shower is so disheartening that I just snuggle deeper into the blankets and Jefferson has to literally push me out of bed!

Another thing I'm grateful for: long weekends! Jefferson had to work this past weekend, and the weekend after Thanksgiving he'll be working, too. It's a total bummer on our weekends, but it leaves me with plenty of crafting time! I'll soon be posting pictures of projects, but I am so grateful for the modern sewing machine! Not only is it an enjoyable hobby, but it's so convenient, too!

And hot glue guns? Who came up with those? I wonder, because they are so handy (unless you're not used to them and burn yourself...a lot...like I did when I first figured out how to use one!)!

Anyway, there are so many neat things that we have today that I am so grateful for because, not only do they make life more convenient, but they're just plain brilliant!

Sweet Surprises

"Only two days of class this week," I told myself as I rolled out of bed this morning and hit the shower. "You can make it." I'm behind on all of my household duties and had stayed up later than usual last night so that Jefferson and I could have some clean clothes to wear and dishes to eat from (Bad Housewife Award Winner right here).

Anyway, today was a day where makeup looked like too much of a hassle than anything else, so I just skipped it and didn't even bother to bring my makeup bag along (Sometimes, I get to work/school and slap some on then). Needless to say, I got to work and groaned aloud, "Why did Jefferson let me out of the house this morning? I look awful!" But who's the real one to blame? I mean, really!

Two of my classes were canceled today, so I ran to the library to catch up on a little math homework. My math class is almost paperless, choosing instead to use an online program for homework, so I pulled out my little laptop and popped it open.

Surprise!
=)

Said a sticky note inside my computer! I grinned, but there was more:

I Love You Baby

Said sticky note #2, and the third one read:

Have a good day, You're Beautiful!!!

Makeup-less and sitting in the library, I couldn't stop smiling!

I love, Love, LOVE my husband!

Goals of Our Lives

For Family Home Evening on the 1st of the month, Jefferson and I sat down and set some serious goals. That morning we had gotten in a bit of trouble for being tardy to work, so "Being on time to work" was definitely on our list. We also put down things like "Exercise regularly" and "Follow budget."

Of course, with every set of goals, there has to be a prize at the end and so our prize is a puppy! If we follow the budget, we'll have enough saved up to get our Kerry Blue Terrier in about a year and a half, just enough time for us to find an apartment that lets us have pets! Having never had a pet of our own, we are way excited and that excitement has helped to get a start on these goals!

after an evening

full of goals

Halloween Party

For Hallows Eve this year, Jefferson and I hosted a little party at our even littler apartment. 

cooking food galore...

I spent most of the day in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning up my cooking messes. I was so worried that we wouldn't have enough food for ourselves plus four guests (two other couples) so I cooked so much that there was no way we were going to eat it all! This was the menu and the names we gave them (it was Halloween after all):

Witch Digits (Troll Toes)

Oreo Truffles (Ogre Eyes)

Bean Dip (Banshee Barf)

Chips (Dried Dragon Scales)

Veggie Tray (Vile Veggies)

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups (Putrid Pumpkins)

There were also several drinks with similar Halloween themed names, like Ghost Tears and Vampire's Blood

...and setting up nasty decor

This was scene that Jefferson set up at the front door. Needless to say, we had very few trick-or-treaters. He bought the head at some Halloween shop in Arkansas and stuffed a shirt and pair of pants to look like a body. Whenever I answered the door, I tried to open it as little as possible!

a gangsta'

a princess

Snow White

(Jefferson couldn't believe how much

I looked like her once I got the garb on!)

(It's kind of hard to see in the photo,

but these cookies looked so real! So real in fact,

that our guests hardly touched them!)

(These are the Oreo Truffles and I came up with the

 idea to disguise them as eyeballs. They didn't look as

realistic as the toes, so people actually ate them!) 

guests #1 & 2:

an elf and an accident-prone hick

guests #2 & 3:

"love the leg-warmers" and "nice ascot"

We had so much fun, eating and chit-chatting. We watched the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Trouble with Harry, a mystery/comedy. What a fun way to spend our first Halloween! 

Chapter 9: All Caught Up

Finally! We've covered from the first date till the present day! All the posts from this point on will be things that happened more recently, projects that were finished, places we've gone, and events we've attended. I'm super excited to keep this little record of our life together!

Chapter 8: Montana Getaway

In the beginning weeks of August, we took one final vacation before school started up. Where did we go? Montana and I have to say that I loved it! I've heard some horror stories about the winters there, but the
summer was gorgeous! Rainy and cool, not anything like the boiling summer months of Utah. We went with Jefferson's family and stayed with his grandparents, Grammy and Grandpa Harvey.

We did quite a few things while we were there, including visiting Yellowstone National Park, the Lewis and Clark Caverns, and Virginia City, going fishing and school shopping (There's no sales tax in Montana! What you see on the tag is what you pay at the register!), getting my ears pierced, and eating our hearts out at Famous Dave's on several occasions!

Just a couple funny stories before the pics:

1) About the whole ear-piercing thing, we were shopping at the mall in Bozeman, and we kept passing the Claire's Boutique. There was a little stand set up for ear-piercings and I guess you could say that spurred my imagination.

I kinda want to get my ears pierced...but I don't want to do it on a whim and without asking Jefferson first...maybe I'll do it...we'll see...

We continued shopping, and by "we" I mean the women-folk (The men-folk were shopping, too just in sporting goods stores. Boring!), and when we got to JCPenneys, Angie (Jefferson's mom) asked me which earrings I liked the most (she was shopping for a birthdya gift). I looked at all the earrings and pointed out a set of seven pearl studs, all different colors. They were so cute and little and they would look so good if my ears were pierced! I thought. I told Angie, pointing out the pearl studs, that I thought those were adorable.

After joining back up with the men, we had dinner and called it a day. That night, I asked Jefferson what he thought about my whole kind-of-wanting-to-get-my-ears-pierced idea. He totally supported it, which took me quite by surprise.

"I like to see you making your own decisions," he said.

The next day, I announced my desire to have a couple of holes punched through my ears. Angie and the girls were super excited for me. Grammy told me about her ear piercing story (She was at the same mall shopping for earrings for some friends with Harvey and their son, when Harvey saw the eir piercing stand. He asked Grammy if she had her ears pierced. She answered a negative and it just didn't make sense to Harvey for her to be buying all her friends earrings and not herself. So, with the help of the son, they plopped her in the chair and a few holes later, she could buy her own earrings!), and assured me that it doesn't hurt that bad.

We went back to the mall that day and I sat in the chair at the piercing stand, nervously clasping and un-clasping my hands in my lap. The girl from the counter came over and I started to seriously doubt my decision. She drew dots on my ears and had the others verify that yes, they were even....well...even enough...

Ahhh! What am I doing? I thought as she lined the little gun up to the dot. *pahunk* One ear down. Too late to turn back now! *pahunk*  And with that, my ears were forever changed. Grammy and Angie had disappeared while the actual piercing was taking place, and when we met them at the car, Angie handed me a bag from JCPenneys. Wouldn't you know it? The seven sets of pearl earrings! I was so excited! Then I remembered I had to wait six weeks before I could change my earrings!

2) When we went fishing, my fishing pole didn't work, so Jefferson and I were taking turns with his. Neither of us have very good luck because we hadn't caught a single fish in the time it took Jefferson's little sister, Megan, to catch five! It was Jefferson's turn with the rod, so I was standing on the bank of the Yellowstone River, when Grandpa Harvey walks by and says, "Hold my rod for a minute." I took his rod and was surprised to feel a jerk on the line: there was a fish! I thought that was so sweet of Grandpa, even though we lost the fish (Grandpa's line got tangled with Jefferson's and it snapped under the weight of this huge, I kid you not, HUGE fish!), to give me his line right when he caught a fish!

Anyway, here are some pics:

the gateway to Yellowstone

moving right along...

...footloose...

...and fancy-free!

getting there is half the fun...

...come share it with me!

sulfer hot springs

stinky!

elk! deer! moose!

(whatever it was, it just sat there and let people

 get really, REALLY close to it.

This was as close as I let Jefferson push me!)

waiting for ole' faithful

the big moment

the wind was blowing....

...and people were running!

the Palmer brood

(With my dark hair, I look like an Indian Squaw!)

oh the barmaid and the cowhand should be friends!

We drove home after having extended our trip by several days, and the last stop (at 11:00 pm, the first stop was around 2) was my parents house. I'd tried to cover my ears with my hair, but it didn't work and my sisters and my mom noticed the piercings right off the bat! In that moment I planted a seed: if Genny can pierce her ears, so can I seemed to be written on all of their faces. We'll just have to see what happens!

Chapter 7: To Granny's or Bust

When my mom called and told me that Granny (my mother's mother) was in charge of the family reunion this year, I coaxed Jefferson and even got my big brother to take a weekend off work and make the arduous trip to Missouri by car.



I was so excited to have Jefferson meet my extended family. "But didn't he meet them at the wedding?" you might ask. Well, he met an Aunt here, an Uncle there, maybe a handful of college students (aka-cousins) but the main part of my family had been unable to make their way out here. I couldn't wait for him to meet all the people who love me and wanted to meet him so badly, too!

the trek

cousins

Aunties and Uncles (and my mama)

Aunties and Cousins

my husband, trying to eat my hair?...not sure

more cousins

cousins and siblings

Auntie

the newest newlyweds

(with my brother as backdrop)

It was a fun break from work to hang with family, and a nice way to ease Jefferson into the family, too, because lots of people were gathered. It wasn't a sit-down-and-get-to-know-you experience, but there's always next year for that!

Chapter 6: A-Camping We will Go

My family spent a lot of vacation time camping. I remember being really little and camping in tents, the girls with Mom and Dad, and the boys in the tent next door. When we got older, and my parents came into a little more money, we would go in our little 70s trailer, the boys still in the tent next door, the girls in the suburban and the babies in the trailer with Mom and Dad (Coming from a family of nine here. It's hard to find a trailer with nine bunks!).

Anyway, for our one month anniversary Jefferson and I took a little camping trip. Our goal was to find a really romantic camping spot and we found a perfect alcove hidden under the boughs of a pine tree. It would've been even more perfect if Jefferson had stopped telling me that a bear was going to climb down the trunk of our tree and eat us while we were sleeping!

setting up camp

Jefferson coming to take the camera away because

I was taking pictures instead of helping

(sorry, it's the scrapbooker in me!)

guitar around the campfire

we <3 smores!

flashlights and scary stories

That night, we wore our matching Gorilla hoodies that we got at the San Diego Zoo, snuggled up under the sleeping bags and gazed up at the stars that were twinkling between the branches of our pine. If it hadn't been so cold, it would've been so romantic.

The next morning dawned and we packed up camp and headed for home and the shower!

good morning sunshine!

packing up camp

who needs a tent?

It's hard to see in the photos, but our spot was completely hidden from view until you were practically standing on it! Yes, I will admit, we lost our campsite once or twice! But it was oodles of fun trying to find it agian! What a fun first camping trip!