Stories of Jon & Jessica

Progress

2012-02-05T18:15:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to post that.....(drum roll please) Jon and I have a bathroom 90% completed upstairs!! This is so exciting! The other 10% will be completed this week when our shower glass is installed. I am so happy words can not even describe. We are finally making a lot of progress on our house. Our next projects are include painting the basement and getting carpet in the basement, tile in the basement and a back splash in the kitchen. I am happy to start a different project!! Other than our house Jon and I haven't been doing too much. Just been working away. Well thanks for stopping by. I will post pictures when it is finished.

Happy Holidays!!!

2011-12-31T22:28:00.000-08:00

Well once again it has been awhile. It always seems like not a lot has happened but then when I really think about it I think of the changes. I was released from Young Womens and Jon and I are now teachers in Primary. We teach the 8-11 year old boys. It has been a big change for me but I am enjoying it. It is nice to be able to work with Jon. We had a great Thanksgiving and we both went shopping on black friday and then I went to work while Jon stayed home. We also went to Park City and stayed at Hotel Park City. It was wonderful! I would love to go back. We had a wonderful experience eating at Ruth's Chris Steak House... there aren't words to describe how good it is. Needless to say we both really enjoyed it. Jon has been working on the bathroom a lot lately and we are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. It is looking amazing. Jon does really good work. We had a great Christmas! As always Jon spoiled me with fun gifts and Santa came as well. I love Christmas and I am sad to see it over. I took down all the Christmas decorations last week but I wasn't ready to take the tree down.

I am looking forward to a new year and I have been debating on what goals to set. I don't remember really setting goals ever but I think it might be a good thing to do. Of course the exercise is at the top but I started that in September and took a couple weeks off for the holidays. It is time to get back in gear for that! One of my goals is to do more reading. I don't really read books at all but I think it is time to start. As for the rest of my goals I am sure you don't want to hear them so I will just write them down and start working hard. Well I hope you have a great New Year! Thanks for stopping by.

Canning

2011-10-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since I last posted but we have been doing a lot of canning. We bottled beans, peaches, salsa, and grape juice. I also did frozen corn and my mom did stewed tomatoes. It has been a lot of fun and it is nice to have the food storage! Here are some pictures of all the fun!My sister and I picking beans! When I have kids that will be their chore!

My Dad
My Mom
All the beans we picked in the back of my car.
How pretty!
We have a fun tradition when we snip beans and that is watching Grease. My sister and I enjoyed it, I am not sure what my Dad thought. Oh well we didn't want to break that tradition!
We worked on beans all Saturday and then my Mom still had more to process on Sunday.
Some beans all done,
Here is a picture of my parents peach tree. They have 2 and they got a ton of peaches this year. Jon and I had peaches and cream for an entire week! I loved it!

Here are some peaches that are done. They are way easier and quicker to do than beans.
This is a picture of my corn. I only did 5 dozen so hopefully that will last Jon and I until next year.
These are the grapes! Jon says they are golden! He was so sad we were out of grape juice so lucky for us my neighbor said we could have all of her grapes. So we were able to get a little bit extra grape juice. It smelled so good!
I think they are so pretty in the bottles!

One day I went to Kent's to get some strawberries they had on sale but they were all gone! I was disappointed but glad to find blackberries on sale instead. So my mom came up that night and we made a few batches of black berry jam... to go along with all the apricot jam we have.

Apricot Jam

2011-08-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

When we bought our house almost 3 years ago we didn't really know what we were getting into. The house has been so much work and once it is done we will move on to the yard... which is pretty bad! One great thing about our yard is the different things growing. We have a small peach tree, a lot of grapes, raspberries, walnuts, and apricots. Jon and I did 5 batches of apricot jam and we still had our tree full of fruit. We waited a week and did 5 more batches. We still probably have a another 5 batches growing on the tree that we need to do. (YIKES) It has been fun doing the jam and giving some away. Jon is pretty particular about his apricot jam. His request is that all of the apricots need to be peeled... (ya if you ask any one that makes apricot jam, they think it is crazy) but Jon happily peeled the apricots with me. So we peeled them all and then followed the directions on the pectin box. We have over 70 containers of jam and still more to come. Jon is just hoping one day I will make homemade bread. One day! Here are some pictures of our Jam making experience!

Cherries!

2011-08-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

Every year my mother in law gets sour cherries from Payson. This year I placed my order and she brought me back a 5 gallon bucket full of cherries with the sugar. My mom came over to help me bottle them. She stirred the cherries and then we put them in the bottles and then you just cold pack them. I was amazed at how easy it was. Next year I think I will do 10 gallons. Jon decided he wanted to help too! So here are some pictures of the process and the result!

The deal Jon and I made was that I had to learn how to make his mom's cherry pie if I was going to bottle cherries. I agreed and one day after work we went to his mom's and she taught us how to make her cherry pie! This pie is Jon's. Notice the little hole at the bottom from his finger!

This is my master piece!

The pies were delicious. Now hopefully I can make them right! I am excited to try on my own!
Thanks for stopping by!

Flowers

2011-08-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

Back in May I bought some fun flowers with my mom and sister. I planted them and watered them and then they died and Jon brought them back to life. I was so excited to have these flowers and they have been fun watching all summer. Hopefully next year I will do better at keeping flowers alive!

Park City

2011-08-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I was looking on KSL.com and found a deal for the Park City Peaks Hotel. It came with a one night stay with an upgraded room (ours had a heart shaped tub), 4 ice creams at the gift shop, sparkling cider, a snack which was 2 bags of chips and 2 bottles of water, and some other certificates for a good price. The only catch was you had to stay July 22-25. Jon and I decided to stay the 24th-25th. It was a lot of fun! We went shopping at the Tanger Outlets then after we checked into our hotel and watched tv. We decided to go to old Park City for dinner and to walk around. We took a shuttle that was right across the street of the hotel and went for dinner. We decided to go to a Deli but when we got there they closed... so we went to a pizza place. It was really good! After dinner we took the shuttle back to our hotel however we got on the wrong one so we had to get off and wait for a different one. I would not to good if I had to ride the bus around town! The next morning my mom, sister, grandma, niece, and nephews came to up to go shopping with me because Jon had to work. It was a fun weekend! Here are some pictures!

Long Time... No Post!

2011-07-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Wow it has been awhile. We are still alive and well just living life. Eating, sleeping, working. That is what has been happening with some fun weekends on the side. Well from what I have planned (which we will see if I follow through) I have some great posts I need to type up and some pictures to post. Hopefully I will do good! But for now we will play catch up. Since last time Jon had a Birthday! I had a fun weekend planned but of course it didn't go as planned but it was still great! I did a surprise party for him with his family however our downstairs fridge broke so he found the food a day early. Which worked out because then he got to help me set up and put the house together for the party. We also went and had a couples massage and it was amazing. We are saving our money so we can go back (hopefully soon). Here are some pictures from his birthday! I will try to post soon! Thanks for stopping by!

This is a banner I made for Birthdays!

Jon's presents before he opened them...

And after...

The Sun & Saturday

2011-05-22T19:24:00.001-07:00

It has been really depressing weather I think but I was so excited to see the sun Saturday! It was rainy all week. I wore long sleeves everyday to work and one day I was so cold I drank hot chocolate. I have been looking forward to Saturday all week because it was supposed to be such nice weather.... and it was. I went with my mom and sister to buy flowers and then went home and planted them in two pots for my back patio. It made me so happy to see the sun and all of the flowers. It was a great Saturday.
Later Saturday night Jon and I went to dinner with his brother and sister in law and then we went and saw the new pirates movie. I thought it was good. Jon didn't think it was great. It was a lot of fun to spend more time with him. It has been so nice having Saturday's off and being able to see Jon more. Well I am going to make this a short post but thank you for stopping by!

3 Years

2011-05-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

Jon and I have been married for 3 years now! It is crazy to think about before we knew each other. I am so grateful to have him in my life! He is such a great husband and a good man! I am so glad he works hard to provide for us.
For our anniversary we went to Tepanyaki for dinner. I have been wanting to go for awhile and Jon said he would go but he probably would not like it... so we went. He really liked it and wants to go back. After dinner we went to Salt Lake and stayed at the Grand America. We have stayed there every year since we have been married. We enjoy going there! This year we stayed on the 22nd floor. There are 24 floors (I think) so the view was amazing. We got room service last night. Jon ordered Mac and Cheese and I ordered Creme Brulee. It was really good! We also go to Sunday brunch. Can I just tell you it is amazing!!! I look forward to it every year. They have crepes to order, omelets to order, salad bar, carved meats, smoothies, fresh juice, sushi, crab and a table full of desserts. It was wonderful! When we checked out we got a bottle of Pink Lemonade. It is good also. They gave it to us for our anniversary. It was a great weekend. I love being able to spend time with Jon. Well here are a few pictures. Thank you for stopping by!

Busy

2011-05-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

Things have seemed busy for us lately. We are refinancing our house so we have a lot of work to do fast. Speaking of work I am getting use to my new position. It is great! I love it! It is so nice to have a regular schedule and to have Saturday's off with Jon. We have been able to spend a lot more time together and it has been really nice! This weekend will be our 3rd anniversary. I can't believe it will be 3 years! Well this is going to be a short post but thank you for stopping by!

Changes

2011-04-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

It does not seem like much is going on. But when I look back at the last few weeks there has been some changes. Jon has lost some weight and is still losing weight! I got a different position at work and that starts tomorrow. It will be in the mortgage department. I am excited and nervous! I worked my last Saturday yesterday and now I will have Saturday's off with Jon. Jon got a brand new work van so he moved out of his old one. That took about a week. I am very happy he has a new van because the gas gauge in the old one did not work. He would run out of gas often and some times I would have to go bring him gas. As far as other changes not too much is different. We had a great Easter weekend with both of our families. I will probably need to go on the treadmill everyday this week because of all of the candy we have! Thanks for stopping by. I will try to get some pictures in the next post or two!

Parmesan Chicken

2011-04-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

I shop at a Maceys Grocery store near my house and each week they have a dinner with the ingredients to purchase. I decided to give this one a try and Jon and I loved it. We will make it again soon I am sure. The ingredients are:
2 lbs Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
15 Oz Bread Crumbs
5 Oz Bel Gioioso Grated Parmesan Cheese
10.75 Oz Campbell's Cream of Chick Soup
Oregano
Garlic Powder
Pepper
Milk
Paprika (I didn't use this because I did not have any and it was good without)

First preheat oven to 400 degrees
Then you combine 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1/4 teaspoon oregano, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl.
Roll the chicken in the mixture
Arrange the chicken in a 2 quart shallow baking dish
Bake for 20 minutes
Turn chicken and bake another 20 minutes
Blend 1 can cream of chicken soup and 1/2 cup milk and pour over chicken

Sprinkle with paprika and remaining Parmesan cheese

Bake another 20 minutes or until done

We had some vegetables but they didn't not get done in time. We also had left overs and they reheat very well. Hope you enjoy! If you try it let me know what you think! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday.... to me!

2011-04-07T17:54:00.001-07:00

Tuesday was my Birthday and it was a lot of fun! My mom came over in the morning and then we met Cami's family and Jon at Cafe Rio. It was yummy! And a lot of fun! Then my Mom, Cami, and I went to TJ Maxx and looked around for awhile. My Mom and I also made a craft. I then went home and Jon and I went to Ruby River for dinner. I love that place! After dinner Jon gave me some of my presents. He gave me a camera, a 16 gig sd card and a cute pink case. (Some of my presents did not get here until Wednesday so I opened them on Thursday.) Jon's parents came over and gave me a present too! My neighbor also came over and gave me a cute Easter decoration. It was a great birthday and on Sunday I get to go over to my parents to get more presents. I can't wait! Here are some pictures! Thanks for stopping by!

Decorations

2011-03-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

I put my Easter decorations out last week and now I am ready for spring. I can see some tulips coming up in my yard and it makes me very excited! I am ready for green trees, green grass, and pretty flowers. I also went to make and take and bought a table topper. It is all black and is about 3 feet long. Each month I will decorate it cute. I have pictures of how it is this month. I decorated some candles I bought a while ago and I think they turned out great! Here are some pictures of the table topper with the decorated candles and some other pictures of my Easter decorations! Now all I need is no more snow!

Enjoy the pictures! Thanks for stopping by!

Leaves

2011-03-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

Jon and I finally did our fall chores of raking our leaves. Jon's work was slow so while he waited for more jobs he went out and started raking the leaves on the side of the house. He got that finished and went to the back yard. He got a lot done. I got off work and he was still working on it so I went and helped him finish. We filled about 10 of the extra large yard bags full of leaves. Our yard looks a lot better but still needs so much work. It was fun being able to spend time together working in the yard and I know we will have countless hours ahead working in the yard together. It was such a beautiful day and I am way excited for summer weather! Now I need to get my Easter up so I can enjoy spring time! I will have to post some pictures when I get it done! Thanks for stopping by!

Wedding

2011-03-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

My brother got married last Thursday. It was very beautiful! I am very excited for him and his wife! It was a great day. They got married in the Bountiful temple and then had a luncheon at a place in Bountiful. Their reception was in a church in Roy. It was very pretty. It was a great day and they seemed to really enjoy it. I have been pondering on my wedding day and how wonderful it was. It was busy but a lot of fun! Here are a couple of pictures from my wedding. (I don't have any of my brothers or I would post them)

WRECK!

2011-03-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

So I was in a wreck on Saturday morning on my way to work. I was driving to work and about 2 minutes away when I got hit. I was in the left turn lane waiting for the light to turn green when all of a sudden a car turns left into my lane instead of the lane next to me. I looked at the guy in the car and he was looking down so I slammed on my horn and he looked up, he swerved to miss me but still clipped the left corner of my bumper. Thank heaven he did not hit me head on! He waited to see my reaction so I jumped out of my car to look at the damage. He asked if there was any damage and I said yes. He asked if he could give me his info and not call the police. I tried calling Jon and of course he did not answer so I called my dad. My dad said to call the police. I called the police and it took 20 minutes for police officer to come. (the entire time I was blocking the turn lane) He looked at the cars and said to move them out of traffic. When we moved our cars the guy that hit me got out and started talking. I got out and waited for him to finish then the police officer came over and asked me what happened. When I told him he said it all makes sense and gave me the police report to start on. I finished my report and the police officer said it would be a couple more minutes. When he came back he gave me a paper with the information I needed on the guy that hit me and told me I could go. He then said that the guy that hit me was going to be arrested for warrants and driving on a suspended license. I am glad the car he was driving was insured! We called the insurance company and have filed a claim and we are now just waiting to hear back. I hope we can get it taken care of quickly! I am so glad it was a very minor accident and no one was hurt.
Beside that my brother's wedding is this week so my mom and I are making 500 sugar cookies on Wednesday! It will be fun. I better get going!
Thanks for stopping by!

Life!

2011-03-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

Here I am again... this is amazing! These past couple weeks have been interesting. I had a bridal shower and now a sinus infection. The bridal shower went great. We served 2 salads, breadsticks, lemon bars, fudge, and upside down cake (I think that is what it is called but I really don't know!). The bride to be got a lot of good presents which will be needed in about 9 days.
The last 3 or so weeks I have been getting dizzy and my ears hurt. I finally decided I had enough on Thursday. I felt so sick! I called my insurance company and the nice man on the phone helped me make an appointment to see the doctor. I called in sick to work unfortunately, went to the doctor thinking I had an ear infection and to my surprise, I have a sinus infection. I am now taking medicine for it for 10 days. I still don't feel the best. I have been so tired, but I think it is getting better. I am excited to start feeling better!
This week Jon and I decided to lose some weight (or just make better eating choices) we are working out (except I only did once this week) and not eating late at night. This choice will eliminate our late night Beto's run or going to Dee's in the middle of the night. We are hoping to start feeling better and have more energy. We will see how we do only time will tell!
Beside that Jon will start tiling the bathroom this coming weekend. I can't wait! Well I better get going! Thanks for stopping by!
Jessica

Cleaning

2011-02-21T13:30:00.001-08:00

I spent most of the morning cleaning. I did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, front room, and bed room. I am so amazed at how long it takes to clean. It took me about an hour to fold all the laundry and put it away and about a half hour just to dust my curios. Where does all the time go? I am very happy I am blessed with a home to clean! I am also happy I haven't had to buy very much cleaning stuff since I have been married because I am still using up what I got from my wedding. It will be a sad day when I need to go purchase cleaning supplies, 3 years without buying cleaning supplies is wonderful. I also have a wonderful vacuum that works well with the hardwood, the tile, and the carpet. I recommend a Dyson to any one shopping for a vacuum. I better get going thanks for stopping by!

The Latest With Us

2011-02-17T17:51:00.001-08:00

Well it for sure has been awhile since I updated and there has not been too much happening. I guess our biggest news is that we finally have a microwave. I have lived without one for over a year and we now have one. We are currently working on the bathroom... still. We have most of the tile and we are waiting on the rest which is on back order. So it will be exciting when it comes. Jon and I stay busy working that is pretty much all we do. Which is good we are happy we have good jobs. My brother is getting married on March 17Th so I am excited for that. My mom and I are making about 400 cookies for the reception so that will be fun! We are throwing a bridal shower in about a week so that will be nice to have over. One more thing off the list. Jon got released from his calling which has been wonderful. It was a bitter sweet at first now it is just sweet. I now am not home alone all day Sunday which is wonderful. My calling is going well. I stay busy going to young women's on Tuesday but it is fun. I have really enjoyed getting to know the girls and the leaders.
My newest addiction is to make banners. I made a really cute one for valentine's day for my mom and for my desk at work and then I made one that says luck of the Irish for the shower and for St. Patrick's day. I am hoping to take a couple of pictures and post them in the near future but we will see.
Well hopefully I will start posting more and getting pictures. We will see. Until next time have a good day. Thanks for stopping by!

Well It Is Before December!

2010-10-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

I think it is funny I update my blog because basically no one reads it. But that is something I can live with. So I guess a lot has happened in the past 6 months but I probably don't remember much. I have a new job with America First! It is a good job and I really enjoy not working until 10 one night and being back to work at 4:45 the next morning. Jon is doing good. He still spends a lot of money on tools but I don't know if that will ever change. Our latest goal is keeping our house clean. Jon said if we can keep it spot less for a month we can go to the spa. So every night I clean up after myself. I have successfully completed having my house clean for a full week! It is amazing not being stressed as I go to work because my house is messy! I love it!
We had a very sad thing happen to us the past summer... My laptop was stolen!!! Yes my Mac Book Pro!!! I was devastated! Jon didn't even believe it. We are both very sad. Now I am saving my quarters for a new one. What is the worst though is all of my Hawaii pictures are on there as well as my wedding pictures and my house pictures. I still have the copies but I will have to go back through and organize them and format them.
Well the next couple months are going to be busy of course because Christmas is coming up! I really love Christmas! I love decorating! It is so much fun! I haven't completely decided what to do for Jon for Christmas. I know it won't be much because he got a snow blower last March. So if I stay dedicated to my blog I may post some pictures of my projects.

Still Here

2010-04-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

I had no idea it was last October since I got on here. I guess a lot has happened. Jon and I moved into our house! It was very exciting however... it is still under construction. We have a beautiful kitchen but we still need a bathroom... with a toilet. It has been interesting not having a bathroom. I can't believe I am living without one. Our basement is almost done being painted and today Jon and my Dad hung doors upstairs.
My birthday was on Monday! It was great! Sunday we went to my parents and had a nice dinner and an Easter egg hunt. After we had cake and I opened my presents. I got a lot of fun stuff! On my birthday Jon took me to Ruby River and gave me my presents. We were going to go to a movie but I was tired and so we just stayed home and Jon watched a movie and I slept. That is usually how it goes with us! Jon's parents also came over on Wednesday and gave me a present and we had milk shakes! That is pretty much everything that is going on with us. Maybe I'll get on here and do another update before December!a

NeW bLOg

2009-10-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

My friend Kelly started this new blog called giving what I am. It is so cute and fun. I think it will do a lot of good for the people that are following it. Here is the link if you are interested http://givingwhatiam.blogspot.com . By mentioning her diaper cake give a way I get to enter her drawing. You should do the same. It is way cute!!

Hard Wood Floor

2009-08-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

Last saturday Jon and his friend Ben went to the house and started our wood floor! It is looking really good! Jon and I slept at the house tuesday, wednesday, and thursday last week so he could work on the floor and go to bed. All of the hard work is paying off. It is so exciting to see this progress. Hopefully it will keep coming together so well!

SHEETROCK!!!

2009-07-27T14:32:00.001-07:00

The house now has sheetrock! We are very excited and anxious!!! Hopefully the workers will finish the mud and tape by the end of this week. We also ordered all of our doors today! Some should be here friday so it is coming along a lot quicker! Next week I have girls camp so hopefully I can come home and be surprised with paint... (if we could find a color we both like). I will have to take some pictures and get them posted!!!

Life

2009-07-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

So basically this summer has gone by sooooo fast!! We got insulation in the house last week and hopefully Thursday (keep your fingers crossed) we will have the sheetrock started. It is getting really exciting! I just went to Youth Conference last week and it was a lot of fun!!! Today my mom, Cami, Sage, Asher, and I went to the gateway on the tracks. It was a lot of fun. Sage played in the fountain and I bought some clothes that I probably don't need but really wanted. I am so sad it is already July. I haven't done nearly as much as I wanted to because of the rainy June weather. Two weeks ago Jon's friends Kevin and Sarah invited us to Park City for a night. It was a lot of fun to relax and spend some time together with friends. I feel like I never see Jon! It will be wonderful to get in our house and see each other more then 10 minutes a day. The picture is kinda random but I took it at my mom's house a little while ago and thought it turned out okay!

HouSe UpDatE

2009-06-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

Jon has been working very hard on our house and has made a lot of progress with the help of both of our dads! We are currently working towards sheetrock which means we need the electrical done and the bath tubs framed in. Hopefully it won't be too much longer so we can get going on finish work. It is really fun to see the progress as time goes on. I think the framing was really fun to see because now it is coming together. Hopefully we can get a lot done on the weekends. When I say we I mean Jon, his dad, and my dad. I am usually the cleaner and go behind them and clean up their messes!

OnE yEaR!!!

2009-05-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe Jon and I have been married for one year! It has gone by so fast. I thought I would take a minute to say how great Jon is. He is basically building our house with the help of our father’s. It is so great to know that he will provide for me and always take care of me. Because I have been so sick with mono I haven’t been able to work much and he didn’t ever complain. He is so great and works so hard! I love him so much! To celebrate one year we are going to the Grand America Saturday and coming home Sunday. We are both so excited for a mini-vacation and to actually be able to spend time together. It will be fantastic!

TIRED

2009-03-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

A lot has been going on yet it feels like nothing happens!!! I feel like I work all the time although I don't get many hours. I think it is because I go into work about everyday! Don't get me wrong, I love my job!!! School is at a climax right now and I hope it starts declining soon! I hate it when professors think that all a student has to do in life is school. I don't think they realize someone has to pay for the student to be there and in my case it is me. I have a professor who has crazy assignments with no information on how to do them. They are pointless and not relevant to the class. Oh well... there is nothing I can do about it! Basically I am ready for a break from school! I can't wait for warm weather! It will be very exciting!!! I think I just need to go back to bed and try the day over again!

BLeSsiNGs

2009-03-10T16:41:00.000-07:00

So I applied for a different position at the pool. I have been thinking about working on Sunday's and thought it wasn't to big of a deal. Then I really thought about it and decided NO! I talked to Jon and he assured me I won't work Sunday's. So in my interview I said I wouldn't work Sunday's. So a little sad news... I didn't get that job. Instead, my wonderful boss was able to create a position for me doing the same thing except I don't have to work on Sunday's. I think it is so amazing! My boss said if I would have said I could work Sunday's I would have had the job. It is such a blessing to know that if I do what is right I will be okay. I am so grateful for such a great husband that supports me and would rather that I don't work at all instead of work on Sunday's. He is such a great support in my life and keeps me on the right path! I am very excited to start my new position and I am so happy that I can still do what is right and keep the goals I have made a long time ago. I am so amazed how tempting it is to just work on Sunday's. I never thought I would even give it a second thought. The Lord is great and definately blesses everyone for the correct choices they make!!!

HaWAii

2009-01-17T09:22:00.000-08:00

Recently Jon and I visited Kona Hawaii!!! It was amazing. We went to Hawaii with a lot of Jon's family for his brother's wedding. It was a lot of fun to be there with a group of people!
On our first day in Hawaii we went snorkeling! We saw a few sea turtles and a lot of neat fish. Snorkeling was new for me and I had a hard time getting use to the salt water. Once I got over that it was amazing. After snorkeling Jon and I went home and rested for awhile. We later went to the farmers market and bought some pineapple, tomatoes, avocados, and Jon's favorite... Passionfruit. When we returned home Dave grilled a pineapple and it was wonderful!
Our second day there and a day before the wedding we set out on an adventure! We drove around the entire island making short stops! The first stop was at a smoothie shop. They had great smoothies I think although Jon didn't like his very well! The shop had lots of trees and plants. The banana trees were neat and they had an avocado tree as well as a flower tree that had the flowers you put in your hair. That was my favorite! As we made our way to the other side of the island we past a lot of beautiful scenery! Our next stop was a waterfall. Unfortunately the fall wasn't very big because there is a drought occurring! However it was still very pretty. At the falls there were some really neat trees with vines all over them. They made me think of Tarzan! We got back in our rental car and continued on our adventure to the Volcano crater! It was not what I had expected. It seemed really dry and foggy. It was really neat to see! We soon left the crater and headed to the lava flowing in the ocean. Because the lava has changed directions of flow, we weren't able to see it flowing into the ocean. We did get to see little splatters here and there so that was fun! An interesting fact is when you look up at the moon when you are by the lava, there is a ring around it. Don't ask me why but it was really fun to see! On our walk out from the lava we stopped at a vendor who husked and opened a coconut for me. I then learned that I don't like coconut milk or coconut flesh. I decided I like the fake coconut from Utah! Jon and I headed back to the other side of the Island so we could go to bed. We didn't get back until about 1 in the morning but it was definitely a great adventure!
The next day which was Tuesday December 9th, 2008 was the reason we went to Hawaii. Jon's brother Paul was getting married. Jon and I both got ready for the wedding when Jon said he needed to sit down and rest for a minute. He didn't have much time because we needed to go so we wouldn't miss the wedding. I finished getting ready and when I went to see if Jon was ready he was throwing up. He had to miss the wedding. The wedding was beautiful and a lot of fun. I wish Jon could have been there! Instead Jon stayed home and threw up the entire day.
Jon was feeling a little weak on Wednesday so we didn't do too much. On thursday we decided to go back to the volcano with Jon's parents and Dave we also met Naloni and her family on the other side of the island. On our way over we stopped at the black sand beach. It was really cool but different to see a whole beach black rather then the normal sand color. After wandering around for awhile we got back in the van and headed toward the volcano. We went to see the crater again and this time you couldn't see it because of fog. We ended up going to a lava tube. It was so neat. We walked through it to where it collapsed so no one could go further. When we walked through the lava tube we had to have flash lights other wise you can't see your hand right in front of your face. After that fun we headed back to the car where we drove to the house Naloni's family was renting. We made hamburgers and the boys went snorkeling. We had to end our visit because there was a bad storm coming in and we still had a two and a half hour drive ahead of us.
Friday morning we woke up and decided to pack up because we were going to stay with Jon's cousin Kellie and her fiance Ryan. After we packed up we went out to lunch with Jon's parents and Dave. After lunch Jon and I went shopping and looked at pearls. I think we are pretty close to experts when it comes to pearls because of all of the stuff we learned. When we got back from shopping Jon wasn't feeling good (again). He had a bad ear infection and it was getting worse. He called Tom to save the day. Tom called in a prescription for ear drops at wal-mart. We left the house to go to wal-mart with all of our stuff because Jon's parents and Dave were leaving for Utah. Wal-mart took so long to get the prescription that we were late getting to the temple. Neither of us had our church clothes on so we got dressed in the car. Jon was putting his ear drops in so I ran up to the temple and walked in. The workers said they would hold the session for Jon so he could be there because it was the last session for the day. The temple was beautiful. Words can't even describe how amazing it was. The workers were so friendly and everything about it was perfect. After a great session we went to dinner. We went to Boston Basil's. They were so nice to let us eat there because everywhere else was closed. It was wonderful. The bread was amazing and the dessert was really good. After a great day we went to Jon's cousin's appartment and went to bed.

The next morning we woke up and Kellie (Jon's cousin) and Ryan (her fiancé) made us french toast with some really good bread. We then got ready and went to the city of refuge. It was pretty fun but after we went snorkeling! It was a lot of fun. We stayed for a while and saw so many cool fish. When we went to get out I had a hard time because there is a rock that you need to get on to get out and for some reason I couldn't do it. So this nice man pulled me up on it so I didn't have to stay in the Ocean forever. After getting out of the ocean we packed up our stuff and headed back home. We stopped at a cute little bakery and got some yummy treats. We decided to get some sandwiches for lunch and took them back to Jon's cousin's apartment. We started eating and that is when it happened. I got sick. I ran to the bathroom and couldn't quite make it. I threw up everywhere. It was pretty disgusting. After I felt a lot better so I cleaned it all up and Jon and I went back to the house so I could shower. I still felt sick and ended up throwing up all night. It was horrible. We didn't get to go to the Christmas parade because I couldn't stop throwing up. Finally I feel asleep and I decided in the morning that I wasn't going to be sick and I wanted to enjoy my last day in Hawaii. For our last day we didn't do too much. We did our shopping and packed up. We walked along the beach and wished we could stay longer. I also went boogie boarding in the ocean with Naloni's family while Jon sat on the beach and watched! It was a lot of fun! I couldn't believe I was going home so soon. Our flight home was okay. It was long and I didn't sleep too much. When Jon and I got home we were both wishing we could be back in Hawaii on the beach. We both miss it and hope to be able to go back real soon!