Hawaii!!!

Well I'm finally sitting down and documenting our trip...sort of. I'm horrible with the names of the places we went, especially when I can't pronounce them in the first place. For those of you who don't know, my parents took our family to Hawaii for our Christmas present. We were gone the week of and the week after Thanksgiving. We left right at the beginning of a huge blizzard so our timing coudn't have been better! Here are a few highlights from our wonderful twelve days in Hawaii!!!


all bundled up and headed to Salt Lake!


when we landed in Hawaii Morgan bought me a lei :) even the airport was pretty and tropical


this was our pool at the condo


we have tons of beach pictures...this is from the first beach we went to. Every day was gorgeous and dusk was even prettier!


I have beautiful sisters :) it was so fun to spend time with them!


I had so much fun with my sweetheart :)


Lahaina...a really cool town with tons of fun shops and touristy things


This tree grew in Lahaina...it looks like multiple trees growing close together but its all one tree. It's amazing!


The vines on the tree would reach the dirt and then grow roots in the ground




climbing down to a blowhole on the northwestern end of the island


it was pretty steep but so worth it when we got to the bottom! I've never seen anything like it

I'm starting to realize how huge this post is going to be...it'll take me a while to get it all on here so this will be the first part...stay tuned for part two!

Tears, regrets, and memories

Well it's been just over one week since I came home from work to my husband crying. I knew it had to be bad because I rarely see him emotional like that. He barely got the words out that Abby had been hit before I started sobbing. While he was working out in the yard, she had gotten into the road and was hit by a car. The person didn't even have the decency to let someone know. Morgan had to find out from his mom who saw her in the road on her way into the house. We were both devastated. Morgan especially, since she was his dream dog. He adored her! After the emotions calmed we talked about how lucky we were to have her as a part of our lives, even for a short time. She made us so happy and everyone in both of our families loved her. She had such a funny personality but was always more than willing to sit on my lap and comfort me after a rough day at work. I felt like she could tell when I was struggling. It's amazing how attached we can become to pets, how much they feel like a part of the family. I've never believed in coincidences; I always felt like everything happens for a reason. There was a reason it worked out at just the right time for us to move to a house in the country where we could finally have a dog, to find a breeder so close to home, and to find the money for a puppy all at the same time. Raising her brought Morgan and I together, and as sad as it was, so did losing her. We learned about each other, how we cope, and how we heal. My biggest regret was not spending as much time with her as I should have. Some days when I was running late, I rushed my time with her and would get frustrated when she didn't listen. When I'd get to work and find muddy paw prints all over my pants, I would be irritated. Now it makes me smile. I loved how when we got her out of her pen, she'd pee and run at the same time because she was so excited to be out and playing with us. I loved watching Morgan play with her in his parents yard, running around and being goofy. He's spin her around, let her climb all over him, laughing the whole time. I loved her puppy-breath "kisses" and the way she'd jump around Bobby (their cat), trying to get her to play. Bobby would swat at her, she'd back off for about two seconds, and then try it all over again. Even when she was naughty, she was still funny. The way she'd have a mouse or a shoe in her mouth, stop when you called her name, and then take off in the other direction because she knew she was in trouble. We have so many special memories with Abby and she'll always have a place in our hearts. Our experience with Abby made the closing quote from Marley and Me really hit home: "A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if your rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?" We're so grateful for Abby and the joy she was in our lives.

Our little puppy is growing up!

Well here are some recent pictures of Abby. She's getting so big! Only 14 weeks old and she's already almost too heavy to pick up! She's definatly a puppy though...catching mice, eating flowers, and running everywhere! But she's learned "come" and she's learning how to sit (which is very exciting!) Abby is very entertaining. She loves to play with Bobby, Morgan's parent's cat, but I don't think Bobby is a huge fan haha. We also learned that sugar does just about the same thing to her as it does to little kids. One day we were in the shop working on her doghouse (Morgan is amazing!) and I decided to let her try some cream soda. I put a tiny bit in my hand and she licked it up. At first she kind of snorted because of the fizz, but then she licked my hand dry. Next thing I know she's running in circles around her house until she ran into a table! She looked a little dazed and then started jumping around and biting the electrical cords. It was so funny! I never really had a dog growing up so I've loved her right from the beginning. I'm also excited for our kids to be able to grow up with a dog. She's already a special part of our family :)


Playing with Bobby...pretty sure she got a smack on the nose soon after


Dancing with Morgan :)




"Morgan's girls" as he calls us :)


The only time she holds still is when you hold her. She's very much a snuggler and loves giving "kisses"


Isn't he handsome!


How can you not love that face???

Needless to say we adore our little girl :)

Long overdue

I know it's been a while but just so you know we're in our house and loving it! It's an old house...about 90 years actually, and it comes with all the surprises you'd expect from a little old house... random flooding in the laundry room, a funny smell in the basement (thank goodness for candles!!!) very few electrical outlets in very inconvenient locations, and doors and cupboards that don't close because they've been painted white about 36 times. But I'm learning to love and laugh at the quirks. I'm still working on pictures so those will be coming soon. We just recarpeted one of the rooms because the previous tenants apparently thought that dogs and carpet went well together (gross). Needless to say we got that carpet out pretty quick, so I'm still working on unpacking a few boxes but other than that we're pretty settled. It has a nice sized yard for Abby and the best part is...we don't hear people all around us all the time! We're so happy to be back in a house with a kitchen Morgan and I can be in at the same time.
Work is keeping me busy but I'm so happy to be back doing what I love, spending time with these wonderful kids! I get to go to Kindergarten with a sweet boy who calls me "Miss Lauren" and is very attentive of the other children, especially when someone gets hurt. Then three days a week after school, I work at the center with a nine-year-old boy who has Down's syndrome and has a smile that melts my heart. Don't get me wrong, he can be naughty, but when he's happy, it doesn't matter that just twenty minutes ago he slapped me in the face. He loves playing Shrek on the computer and bouncing a big exercise ball around. He thinks it's hilarious when I pretend to sneeze and if you want to see the cutest thing in the world, watch him sing "the puppy song". You'll want to take him home too! Like any job, it's not always easy but every once in a while those special kids say or do something that makes it all worth it.
Lesson of the day: life is tough. Sometimes things work out the way you want and sometimes you have those days where everything goes exactly opposite of the way you wanted. But I'm learning (slowly) that the way we react is what makes the big difference. Relationships aren't easy because they aren't based on one person and what they want. Sometimes two people need different things at the same time and they need to learn to be aware of the other person. But there's no feeling quite like the joy that comes with forgiving, kissing and making up. I don't know what I would do without my wonderful husband, who's more patient with me than I thought possible and who makes me feel like I really am special. I'm so grateful that my time with him isn't limited to this life only. We have forever to learn and grow and become better together.

Our new addition!

So there's a new member in our family! And no it's not a baby...we got a puppy! She's an Airedale and so stinking adorable! After getting everything worked out with the move and finding out we can have a dog at the new house, we decided to start looking! Morgan knew a guy on his mission who had two Airedales and he fell in love with them so when he found a puppy in Utah I couldn't say no. They're the cutest puppies and grow up into really beautiful dogs so we're pretty excited!



Isn't she cute!

This is what she'll look like when she's full-grown.

Like I said, we finally got everything figured out with our apartment contract. We found someone on the school bulletin that was looking for a place in December so we contacted them and they were really excited. They had actually signed up to be on the waiting list for the apartment complex but were told it was a long wait. Anyway it worked out really well for both of us so we're moving to a little house in Osgood on Tuesday! Rexburg was fun and we loved our ward but we're really to come back home.
As far as school and work, Morgan's keeping pretty busy but he likes his classes so far and harvest is almost done! We're looking forward to spending General Conference weekend up at the cabin and we might take Abby with us so that would be fun!
Well that's my little update...next time you hear from me we'll be moved into our new home!

Moving Frustrations

It's been a couple weeks since I've been on here so I figured I'd better give an update. First of all, I found a job!!! And I'm so happy because it's the job I wanted. I'm going to be back at the Learning Center in Idaho Falls. I'll work with children with disabilities and I'm so excited because I've missed this job like crazy! It can be frustrating at times but so rewarding! Anyway so a couple days after I get the job we find out that a little house opened up in Osgood, so we decided to look into moving. To make a long story short, we're second on a list to sell our apartment contract so we're trying to find someone to buy it but no luck so far. I wouldn't be so anxious except I felt so good about the house. We've missed living in Osgood and it would be closer to work for both of us. Plus it's cheaper...love that! Anyway I'm just venting. I know I need to be more patient and remind myself that it will all work out the way it's suppost to.

Finals...check! Now let's have some fun!

Well finals are over and it's about time! Now we've got seven weeks before Morgan goes back to school and in the meantime I'm trying to find a job. I've applied several places in Rexburg and in Rigby and so hopefully at least one will work out now that people will be quitting and moving home for the break. My first choice would be a developemental center or Maurices :) but at this point I'll take anything!
This semester definatly hasn't been the easiest. Morgan and I took a New Testament class together and it was the hardest class I've had in college so far. Lots of reading, papers, and a huge 3-hour test :( but I loved taking the class with Morgan and I felt like it brought us closer as we really studied the scriptures together. I'm so grateful for him and all he does for me. I know he's been overwhelmed with all the school work plus working at home every other day; he definatly deserves a break! We're going to the cabin for the weekend and we are both so ready! Boating, sleeping in, eating, it's gonna be great!
Well I better get back to packing...hopefully you'll be hearing from me soon, newly employed! Keep your fingers crossed :)

Wedding Pictures!

Ok we finally got our pictures from our photographer and we love them! Then turned out beautifully! Our photographer made us a photo album that I look at at least once a day :) Anyway, here are some of our favorites! Enjoy :)

I'm very traditional so I didn't want Morgan to see me in my dress until the wedding. When we realized how busy that day would be already, I let Kim (our photographer) talk me into doing most of our couple pictures a couple weeks before. She set it up so I was in the temple. Then when Morgan got there she had me walk out. It was really special and she took some pictures of his reaction :)

This one isn't Morgan's favorite but I love it :)

This one we had framed in a gorgeous frame and it's in our living room :) It was such a beautiful (but still freezing) day and yes those are the real clouds

Love this one :)

Morgan picked out my ring :) Didn't he do a great job!

:)

Just married and so happy!

After finally getting my make-up reapplied after our sealing, I was able to hold my emotions in until I saw Courtney. I love my sister so much!

We are so grateful for all the people that came to support us on our amazing day! We are blessed to have such amazing family and friends!

I absolutely love veil pictures!


So happy :)

Thinking...

Well we're almost to midterms and I'm so ready for the semester to be over! It's amazing how time flies but drags at the same time. We're all moved in to our Rexburg apartment and while it's a lot smaller than the house we started out it, we love it! The ward is really great (other than super loud sacrament meetings lol) and our neighbors are awesome! Classes are going well...keeping us busy. Between work and school Morgan doesn't have much time left over, but we do find time to watch an occastional MASH episode or go for snowcones :)
One thing I'm realizing this semester is my lack of motivation in my classes. I have no drive to do my homework and I find myself wishing I were just working instead. I don't know if I'm just getting lazy or maybe I'm not heading on the right path as far as school work. Ultimately I want to work with children with special needs. I really miss that job; it was rough but so rewarding and I have so many special memories with the amazing kids I got to spend time with. It's so hard trying to do everything I think I should be doing, and still not feeling quite right about something. Some days I'm so frustrated, feeling like I'm not getting very far into my school work. I look at the future and see several more years of school and it feels like there's no end in sight. I know it seems like I'm complaining and I don't mean to; I really am grateful for the opportunity I've had to further my education and I've made some really great friendships up here but I feel like I just want to move on...
On a happier note, Morgan and I are doing really well! I know he's had to adjust quite a bit because of my quirks but he's such a great man and an incredible support to me! I feel so blessed to be with him and to know that we have so much more to look forward to. He can make me laugh when that's the last thing I feel like doing. He's taught me to lighten up a little bit and helps me learn to just enjoy all the blessings we have. I tend to like to rush things and I'm not very patient so he's been a great help with that as well! I just can't believe how lucky I am :)

It's Spring!

Well it's April! I just finished my finals and now we're getting ready to pack and move to Rexburg. I'm still getting the hang of blogging and I've got a lot to catch up on.
I was looking through our pictures the other day so here's some of my favorite pictures from when Morgan and I were dating...

This was on one of our four-wheeling rides in Island Park :)

Getting ready to watch the fireworks for the 4th of July in Island Park

Morgan took me to Lagoon for my birthday! We brought Courtney and Tanner along...it was so fun!

I begged him to come on a spinny ride with me. I had fun but he didn't feel too good after...

Trip to Mesa Falls with his parents. It's so beautiful there!

Making scones at his apartment (gluten-free of course!)

Carving pumpkins for Halloween

I took Morgan to Jaker's for his birthday :) We even dressed up nice!

The Beginning

Ok so here's a little background...Morgan and I went to high school together but he's a couple years older so the only interaction we had was one dance when he was in my group. We even grew up about 5 miles away from each other! Then after his mission he added me on facebook and I accepted because I thought he was cute :) So we talked a little bit on facebook and he told me he added me because his uncle, (my bishop), Wayne Jensen told him about a nice girl that came from a good family. I'm glad he took the advice! Our first date was March 21st and from the beginning I could tell he was a reallly great guy. We "casually dated" for a while but spent almost every day together. He took me to Lagoon for my birthday, I spent time with his family in their cabin at Island Park, and he'd come over to my parent's house for FHE. Then on September 7th, after a weekend in Utah with my family, he asked if I wanted to go to on a walk around the river with him. I said hes and he asked me to come over to his parents house. I was a little confused because I was on the way but I went over. When I got there, he and his dad were gone fixing a pivot so I visited with his mom til he came back. When Morgan came inside, I noticed he had changed his shirt and smelled really good :) but I didn't think much about it. So we drove over to the river, but not to our usual spot. He took me to Snake River Landing and we walked to a pier overlooking the river. It was freezing and the wind was blowing so he let me wear his coat. We talked for a little bit; he seemed kind of nervous but I didn't think anything of it. Then he said, "Do you know how much I love you?" I didn't know what to say so I held out my arms and said, "This much?" He turned me around, got down on his knee, and I started to cry as he asked me if I would marry him. I was so excited he didn't even hear me say yes! Then, after he put the ring on my finger and I composed myself a little bit, we walked back to the car where there were a dozen roses in the front seat :) Yeah...he's that good. (Thanks Brittany!) When we went back home and told everyone the good news, I found out that while he was "fixing the pivot" he was really at my parent's house asking their permission to marry me. Needless to say I couldn't stop smiling all night and I had a hard time getting to sleep :)