From Care-Free Kid to Adult?

I know I promised (mostly to myself) that I would start blogging about our adventures in Europe before I forget everything... but that will have to be postponed for yet another time.  Ki has all the pictures on his computer, so that leaves me with nothing to blog about except for the small epiphany I had at Lake Powell over this Labor Day.

I don't know when  it happened, or how long ago the transformation occured, but at some point I went from feeling like this...   (The following pictures are of my little brother, little sister, and a family friend.)

Blissful and giddy

 

totally exhilerated

& completely carefree

to the following... (The next sequence of pictures are of me with my best friend and her little sister)

Unable to breath 

doubtful about whether my body will survive

& of course just plain ol' scared for my life!

 I swore to myself when I was growing up that I would never become one of those boring adults who said that tubing wasn't fun.  I am also pretty sure that at some point my sister Kristin and I even promised each other we would tube together when we were "grown up".  But now I am forseeing the end of my tubing days approaching as tubing becomes more uncomfortable and a little less fun each year that I get older.  I am sad to admit that at some point in the last couple years I started the cross-over into being a "boring adult" like my parents.  How weird.  Only it doesn't seem as boring as I thought being an adult would feel, it is just fun in all different ways.

Now just so you all remember that I am capable of smiling, I will include one last picture in this post of me and Ki at glowstick swim night at Powell.  I would hate for any of you to walk away from this post thinking that I permanently look like I am about to poop my pants like in the tubing pictures above :)

p.s.  for the full enjoyment of this post it is recommended that you click on the tubing pictures and get the full blown version of mine and Tiff's faces while tubing!  haha... so so funny :)

I'm back!

Back from Europe, back in school, and last but not least I am back to more regular blogging.  How can I say that I am back to regular blogging with such certainty after my blogging lapses of the past?  Well this semester I have finally forced myself to take the class I have most dreaded to finish my advanced writing GE, MCOM 320.  As a requirement we are to write in a blog at least once a week.  So I should be updating this blog weekly from now on! 

So welcome classmates, and hello again to old friends & family.  For those of you that are new to reading this blog I would like to make you aware of a disclaimer I included in a blog post awhile back.  I have terrible grammar, and I don't write very well.  For the full blog post including a step by step walk through pledge to not mock my terrible grammar go here.  Hopefully as the semester progresses, my grammar and writing skills will improve drastically.  Mostly because I assume that if they don't improve I won't get a very good grade in the class :)

Now I know that I need to update the blog with the details of our Europe trip, but the thought of writing all about it gets me discouraged because there is so much information to tell.  That coupled with the fact that it is getting late I think I will save that endeavor for next week.  I am off to Lake Powell for the long weekend in the morning so I really need to go pack soon.  But first I just have to say that I am really enjoying my last semester of classes at BYU so far.  Like really, I am.  I have decided that I think I want to get my Personal Training certification at the end of the semester and work in a fitness or wellness center helping girls/women with fitness & nutrition plans.  Also, this semester I am finally taking a ballroom class like I have always wanted to.  So far it has been pretty slow moving, and mostly my feet just get stepped on by all the boys, but I am hoping that it will get more fun and more quick paced as the semester progresses.  Anyways that is it for now folks.  Hopefully I will get the motivation to write all about our trip next week :)

Life here is not that exciting but I'll write a blog post anyways :)

I've been meaning to write an update for awhile now, but just never really get around to it.   Our summer work schedule doesn't leave too much room for exciting things, which means I have even fewer reasons to update the blog :)  But one thing that we are looking very much forward to is our trip to Europe in August!  I know, the hottest time of the year, but it is just the only time we could make time to go.  It is Ki's graduation present/ my eventual graduation present to ourselves haha.  Also, we figure we just need to go before 1) Ki has a job he can't take time off work from, and 2) before we get serious about maybe starting a little family so... we are taking the leap and going!  I am a little stressed about how much money we will be spending, but it will be worth it :) 

We are flying out of Utah August 9th and will be over in Europe until August 27th.  We are going to be starting in Bulgaria because it is where Ki served his mission, and they are having an in country get together to celebrate the missions 20th year (I think) being open.  The current tentative plan is to see Sofia, Plovdiv, and Burgas in Bulgaria then to head to Budapest Hungary, then to Vienna Austria, then to Gimmelwald Switzerland, then to end the trip in Italy by seeing Venice, Cinque Terre, Florence, and Rome.  The cities are definately not set in stone because we are still in the planning stages and it may be shortened depending on what we decide we have time for/how on the move we want to be!  So if anybody has any suggestions or pointers, we would LOVE to hear about them :)  We are reading a book together every night to help prepare us for the trip and I am loving it!  I don't know why we haven't ever read at night together before it is kind of fun :)  One of the very first things the author of the book says though is to pack light, pack light, PACK LIGHT!  Haha great... anyone who knows me knows that is definately not my forte!  I pack a huge duffle bag when we go spend the weekend in Cedar City with Ki's family!  So needless to say... I've already started packing to ensure I have plenty of time to wittle down the amount of things I will be taking with me.  We are determined to only take 2 backpacks, and a expandable daypack.  Wish me luck!

Other things worthy of note-

• I cut and highlighted my hair :)  Much to Ki's dismay I didn't let him do it, but went to a local hair school so it would be cheaper then at a salon haha.  It turned out pretty good, I told the girl, I didn't want the highlights to be super chunky, so they are so natural looking you can't really even see a difference other then my overall hair color is lighter, but oh well :)
• We only have a little bit over a month left working before we head back to Utah, and then on our trip! 
• I lost our camera, hence the no-picture post, which also means another expense to tack on to our trip since we will DEFINATELY need a camera!  I would say that is a must.
• We have been stressed (especially Ki) about the open endedness of our current situation.  He almost wishes he were still in school so he wouldn't have to worry about figuring out what is next, but the key word here is ALMOST. haha.  We are trying to have faith that it will all work out for the best, and that if we keep an open mind and keep praying eventually we will fall into the path that we are supposed to take.  We are torn between trying to stay in Utah to be close to family, or applying outside of Utah where he could probably get a better, higher paying job.  There is just so much darn competition in Utah!  We also have been struggling with the decision of whether or not to stay with Linx another year... they have tentatively offered him a new position but... Ki bounces back and forth on how he feels about that!   The only thing we know about our future currently is that we will at least be living in Utah another semester so I can finish up my schooling :)  The unknown is frightening yet exciting... it mostly just feels frightening though lol.  We like to have a plan so all this not knowing starts to drive us crazy!  We will most likely be living in my parents basement for a couple weeks (maybe longer...) when we get back from Europe until we can start to get things figured out.  If we are going to be in Utah for awhile we would like to start looking for a more permanent place of residence... we shall see what ends up happening though :)  Decisions, decisions. 
• Ki is a trooper - I am so proud of him for how hard he works!  Door to Door sales is probably the worst job ever (in my opinion).  We have been so blessed to be able to do so well with Linx the last couple years to help get us started off in our marriage, but I think Ki will be so excited when he can put it all behind him haha.  It is definately not his favorite thing.
• My family went to Hawaii last week and are headed to Lake Powell this week... aww  I have to try hard not to think to long about it cause I get uber jealous!  lol.  Hopefully we will be able to fit in another Lake Powell trip in September... right mom ;) 

Haha well that is all folks.  Thanks for checking in!

I am beginning to feel like a dog...

Due to my stupid work hours, my sleeping hours are always screwed up.  This means that currently most days I am taking either a nap at 10 am or 3pm.  It is definately not an ideal schedule, but it sure beats being cranky all the time :)  I am not too proud to admit that due to this schedule I have recently come down with a bad case of "naptime drool-itis".  I don't know why that is, but anytime I take naps I drool all over my pillow!  It is SO SO disgusting.  Why is that I can make it through a whole night of sleep without drooling once but the second I take an hour long nap, I drool all over myself.  It is so annoying.  There is nothing worse then waking up in your own drool.  Does anyone out there in this blog-o-sphere have an explanation for this naptime drool-itis phenomenon?  Beause if you do I am very curious to know what it is.  I would also be interested to know if this phenomenon has a cure, because honestly how gross is it to wake up in a big ol' pile of drool.  I am beginning to be empathetic toward all the species of dogs that drool uncontrollably.   Maybe they hate it as much as I do. 

Ash

Hello from Washington!

I know, I know, its about time for an update.  Even if it is only for Ash Russell who I spend every day with anyways haha!   Well we have been in Washington for almost 3 weeks now and we are liking it a lot!  I don't know yet which state we will end up liking more, Iowa or Washington but I am relieved we don't hate it as much as Oklahoma!!  

First off, the people here are SO nice.  For the most part at least... you do have the occasional crazy person (ie: guy who pulled a knife on Ki!)  but I suppose you will have those everywhere :)  We LOVE the ward here already.  They are so welcoming and kind.  If this continues it will probably end up being our favorite ward we have been a part of yet.  A couple in the ward, Brother & Sister Holle, have already had a bunch of us over for dinner, and it is now a goal of mine to overcome this stupid weakness I have called "incredible shyness" because I would love to be the kind of people they are someday.  I have always thought that would be an amazing gift to have, the gift to be able to reach out to everyone around you and befriend everyone.  It  goes against my very nature, but I am going to try very hard to improve!  Last sunday the relief society lesson was on Charity,  and it was so incredibly powerful.  The lesson was given by a lady in the ward, who has been blind since she was 23 years old.  She is now pregnant with her 5th child and I was just shocked and amazed at the spirit she had about her.  Seriously, incredible spirit.  Can you imagine the trials that you would face raising 5 kids when you are blind and hard of hearing?  She can't drive, I have no idea how she cooks, she has never visually seen what her children look like, but she was ANYTHING but bitter, or depressed.  Her strength was amazing.  I always wonder if I was faced with as great a trial how I would react.  It is hard to know, but I hope that I would eventually be able to have the optimism and bravery that this particular blind sister had.  But anyways... my point was so far we love it here :)

I know you are all dying to know the story of the guy who pulled a knife on Ki ever since I alluded to it at the beginning of my post, so I will now elaborate.  I wish Ki were home so he could type the story... because any of ya'll that know him, know that he can DEFINATELY tell a story better then I can :)  He has a knack for the dramatic ;)  ok... well we both do... but I digress.  Ki knocks doors for a living at the moment right?  hence why we are in Washington... so one day he is in the city of Yakima, WA and ends up selling this particular man Dish, and gets him all qualified.  As he gets ready to leave the house this man whips out a machete from underneath the couch and held it to Ki's neck!  (YES - I freaked when I heard this story)  He then went on to threaten Ki that if he ever sold his information (SSN & credit card #) to anybody or if he stole his identity that he would hunt him down.... uh yeah..  is this threat really necessary?!  I am relieved that Ki made it out of that crazy town alive, because the very next day one of our installers was 2 blocks away from a drive by shooting that left a man dead... uh yeah.  Crazy right?  I don't have fond feelings toward the city of Yakima.  Although, that is where sexy Rexie was born, so I can't hate them completely, which brings me to my next part of this post....



Sexy Rexie - loves to cuddle



He is so tiny, but growing so fast!

Rex is definately a momma's boy.  He loves to sleep cuddled next to any body part of Ash's.  haha foot, arm, leg etc.

Meet Rex.  He is the absolutely most adorable little Boston Terrier puppy, and he is now Ash & Chad's baby.  I love him, and most days we are friends.  The other days, he gets me mistaken for his chew toy and we aren't friends :)  haha!  I get to co-babysit him for 2 weeks while Ash & Chad are in Europe with Ash's family in July.  I am so ecstatic... and just a wee bit nervous that I might be missing a limb by the time Ash gets back lol.  He is now almost 8 weeks old and he is seriously a heart breaker.  He is the office mascot and everybody loves him :)  He is super cuddly when he is tired, or sick, and a wild man when he is playful!  I can't wait til he learns that biting does not equal "playing"  haha.  But we will always be friends deep down because I am sure he is eternally grateful that I let him barf all over me 10 minutes after Ash bought him from his Breeder.  He had just gotten his shots poor thing and they had made him sick, so he puked all over me during the car ride home.  He had a rough day.  That is why he looks so sad in all these pictures of him... they were all taken that first day when he was not only away from his momma but also sick.  He runs the cutest out of any puppy I ever saw.  It sort of looks like a mix between a bunny hopping, a gazelle, and a prancing horse.  It is the cutest.  I wish we had a video.

I turned 22 since the last time I updated this blog, and that was pretty exciting :)  My birthday was shared with Easter, but I still got WAY spoiled by both Ki's family and my own.  Thanks families for making my birthday this year so much fun!  I love you guys!  (Also... we really NEED to start taking pictures when we are with Ki's family!) 

The Fam Birthday Celebration

I love Birthday Bowling :)

The next matter of business that needs to be addressed is that Ki is a college graduate!  Woo hoo!  We had a little scare a couple days ago because he got an email saying he was 3 credits short of graduation (cue instant panic and anger)  but it turns out it was just a mis-understanding over a class subsitution (cue instant relief)  so it is OFFICIAL he is all grown-up and graduated.  I am uber jealous... and I am sure I will be even more jealous when I am the only one doing homework next semester. 

I am a proud wifey :)

Ki and Momma Cyndi



Ki & Poppa Marty



Ki and two of his best friends all graduated in Business w/ an emphasis in Marketing
L to R:  Russ & Ashley Potter & Alyssa - James & Jerrica Cook & Olivia - Ki and I (spirit children may or may not be present haha)

my fam!

Well thats a somewhat lengthy update, congrats if you made it to this point in the post.

In summary we are doing well, and slowly adjusting to the summer sales schedule.  Jerrica Cook says it best when she states that we are "widows of summer salesman".  I feel like it is a good day if I get to spend 2 hours of quality time with my babe since we have completely opposite work schedules.  It is been a pretty hard adjustment coming from spending so much time together during the school year but I am grateful that we are able to make good money and support ourselves at this point in our lives :)  We are just trekkin along here in Washington, and although we miss our families, we are having a great time!  And I am LOVIN that there are a few more wives out here this summer.  Previous summers I have been the only female, which could get lonely at times especially by the end of the summer!  Ash and I are having fun trying new recipes for the full scoop check out her blog chadandashleyrussell.blogspot.com and having fun cooking treats for the boys.  It was just Jordan's birthday, and since he doesn't love cake, we made him a giant birthday cookie.

Creation by Ashley, Design by Ashley :)

 Well, stay tuned for more summer adventures to come!

Crazy April!

The month of April is always SO busy!  Here are just a few of the happenings at the Jensen household.

• I have been applying for internships for next Fall semester.. not so much fun.
• I registered for my final semester of classes!  woo-hoo!  Atleast it is joyous to think about after-the-fact.  Really though, at the time what should have been a triumphant moment was marred by the fact that I forgot to hand in an ecclesiastical endorsement...  which for those of you who don't attend BYU means that you have a hold placed on your account and you can't register for classes.  I almost DIED because two of the classes I needed to register for to graduate had less than 10 seats left.  aaah!  But thanks to my husband who didn't complain when I woke him up sobbing at 5 am, Brother Davis who scheduled me for an interview asap, and thanks to Jaelyn Morse, Michael Murdock, Mandie Maughn, Jake VanDeMerwe, and Ashley Potter's sister who all held classes for me I can now graduate after next Fall semester as planned :)
• Finals - ugh.  I am thrilled that this is the last April (aka month of my birth) that will have to be shared with the stress of finishing up Finals.
• My cousin Amy got married to Jason Evans!  My professor let me take one of my finals early so that I could go to her sealing and all the other wedding festivities.  I am so totally thrilled for Amy & Jason they are so good together :)  And I absolutely LOVE weddings. 
• I am now officially 22.  My birthday was combined with easter celebrations this year on the 24th of April which pretty much rocked, cause then I got candy AND clothes for my birthday :)  This birthday was so fun, cause we got to spend time with both the Greenwood, and the Jensen families!  Thank you family for making my birthday weekend so special! 
• Ki graduates, and is done with school (for now at least) on the 29th of April with a degree in Business Management with an emphasis in Marketing.  I am so proud of him, but am now antsier then ever to be done with school myself!  At this point Ki is hoping to go back and get an MBA in a few years but we shall see what ends up happening!
• Ki's mom graduates with a Bachelors in Nursing.  Go Cyndi!
• Ki's twin brother and sister Brady & Kenzie's birthdays are April 28th and they will turn 18 :)
• One of my dear old roomates Holly is marrying Troy Stogsdill, April 28th!  I can't wait to go to their reception, because again.. I LOVE weddings. :)
• Andrew, my little brother is turning 15 on April 30th, which also happens to be the day we are moving to KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON.  Yuck... I hate moving more then anything.  It really is the worst!  We are off for another summer with Linx, Satellite, Ki as one of the regional sales managers and me as the office gal.  We are pretty excited to be going to Washington though!  And I am way stoked for this summer because there are going to be other married couples in our office, AND one of them is my bf Ash and her husband Chad! Also, on that note, if anyone needs or knows of someone who is looking for a 2br apt in Orem we are trying to sell our contract!  call, email, text, blog comment, or FB me for the details.  seriously!  The couple that said they wanted to buy our contract just backed out, and we are moving out on Saturday!

So as you can see our month has been action packed with a little of everything.  I think we will survive moving week... but we shall see.  If any of you are dying to help move boxes, pack boxes, or deep clean an apartment give me a call ;)

And now... because I can't leave ya'll without posting a picture or two, I will post a couple pictures from Amy's wedding :)  Because I always forget to take pictures when with Ki's fam, and all the pictures my dad took of my birthday are on HIS camera. 

Amy & Jason smoochin

Mr. & Mrs. Jason Evans



BFC's Forever (BFC=best friend cousins haha)

I love her!  Congrats Amy!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I remember when I was little, my mom would make us green eggs and pancakes, and I would wear my favorite green shirt on St. Patrick's Day.  But this year, the Jensen household is pretty boring.  I didn't make any green food, and I didn't even wear green!  Although, it was fun to have an excuse to wake up Ki today by pinching him! :)    He was confused because he forgot what day it was and asked why I was pinching him, so I had to remind him by saying "cause its St. Patrick's Day and you aren't wearing any green!"  Then he was like neither are you... so I admit it... I lied, and pulled out that old Jr. High trick and said "yes huh!  My underwear are green!"  He must have been really tired still, because he didn't even notice that what I said couldn't possibly be true with G's being white and all :P  haha... I am sure I will get a retaliation pinch when I get home from school :)  Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Just a Thought...

Yesterday in my Family Finance class before my teacher started the lecture, he shared a thought with us that really struck me, so I thought I would write about it on the blog so that I can remember it.  :)  Obviously, I won't be stating anything quite as elegantly as he did, but I will do my best.  He started off by telling us which general  authority's talk he had read that particular morning on the subject, but I missed which general authority it was and what the talk was called, because usually during his 10 minute spiritual thought I half listen/ half do my hw that is due at the end of class so at that point, I wasn't giving my full attention :P.  But after a couple minutes, I started to really listen and was touched by what he was saying, and knew  it was something I needed to hear at the moment.  He  was talking about how in life, it is easy to see the bad things rather than the good, especially in the people with who we associate.  It is easy to see the flaws in people, or to get stuck on the quirks they have that totally just rub you the wrong way.  This is true with people you work with, friends, siblings, parents, co-workers, spouses, EVERYONE!  My teacher went on to say that if his wife were to focus on all of his flaws, and shortcomings, rather than his good qualities, she would be one frustrated wife.  That when you focus on one flaw suddenly you find 100 more and all you are noticing are the things that drive you crazy.  But likewise, when you concentrate on a good quality in someone else, it is more easy to see the other good qualities that they have until the good blots out the bad.  I guess it just totally hit home for me because I realized that Ki and I had been allowing ourselves to only focus on the things that were bugging us about this particular person in our life instead of focusing on all the things he/she did that were good/virtuous/praiseworthy.  I realized how true what my teacher was saying really was.  That once you focus on one thing that bugs you about another person, suddenly everything they are doing is just downright driving you nuts!  So right then and there I decided I am going to try to focus on the positive in the people around me, in the good of my life, instead of focusing on the things other people do that drive me crazy :) 

This post might make me look like I'm a terrible person who judges other people, and I hope I didn't lower anyone's view of me as a person because I don't consider myself to be either a terrible person OR one that is constantly judging others.  But every once in awhile, I am prone to being annoyed at someone else because of something that they've done that just bugs me.  But I know its wrong to do so because I have a million flaws and shortcomings of my own, so I am going to try to see the good!  I am going to try to be better at ignoring the things that annoy me, and searching for the good in everyone, and I am going to try to work on my own shortcomings instead of looking at others'.

This is all, I just loved his thought, and realized it to be something that I could definately apply to my life.  Please don't think I am a terrible person :)  I am definately far from a perfect person, but not a terrible person I hope!

Also, on an unrelated note, do you like the new & improved blog background/colors?  I decided my old background was SUPER girly... and since Ki is technically an author on this blog (even though he hasn't updated it since like 2 years ago) I should maybe do a less gender specific background.  This one is still girly... but at least it isn't pink with hearts and birds right?  Hope you all are having a fabulous Saturday!

Hallelujah!

Alrighty folks, it has been a fantastic week and let me tell you why!  For some time now, like MONTHS, we have been saying we need to look into better options for car insurance because we felt like we were paying out the ears for it!  This week, we finally decided to take action, and thank heavens we finally decided to.  We have officially gone from paying $168.20/month for our 2 cars, to $72/month!  SERIOUSLY.  Would I really joke about something this serious?  We have been giddy all day about it.  That is almost $100/month we will be saving!  Ki made a comment earlier about how he used to always think that the ecstatic people on the car insurance commercials on tv that saved $ by switching companies were so cheesy, but that now he could be on one!  Haha, that made me giggle just thinking about it :)  We switched to Bear River Mutual, who are a little more strict about the people they insure but luckily since neither of us have any tickets/accidents on our record, we have good credit, and we don't drink or do drugs they approved us!  woohoo!  We also decided to just insure our Dodge Neon with Liability instead of Liability & Comprehensive because with it being a re-built title and all its market value isn't really that high, so we felt like it wasn't worth it to pay for comprehensive coverage anymore.

The second reason why this week has been fun and unique is because it just has!  I don't know why, but I've been in pretty good spirits :)  Not that I'm not normally in a good mood, cause most the time I am, but this week I've been in an extra good mood!   It always helps when you have a husband as cute as Ki though :)  Yesterday after I went grocery shopping I called him to have him come out and help me cart the groceries up our 3 flights of stairs, and when he came out he surprised me with a rose!  It was so unexpected, that it gave me butterflies and made me feel all giddy!  They were selling them at his school, and he decided he wanted to buy one for me :)  I love being married to someone who is always thinking of things he can do for me!  He is the best friend ever.

The third reason this week has been awesome is because the weather has been soo beautiful!  :)  Blue skies make my heart glad.

The fourth reason I love this week, is that I reconnected with my dear old roommate Holly who I haven't spent time with in way too long!  Ki and I met her and Troy (her fiance) at a frozen yogurt place where we stayed for 3 HOURS!  When we left I couldn't believe it had been that long.  It is always so fun to catch up with people you love dearly, but haven't seen in awhile.  It was also great to get to know her new fiance Troy and see how perfect they are for each other :)  I am so glad they are getting married April  28th (the day before we move) so that I can go to her reception!

So yeah, life is good, in our neighborhood, and since I don't want to do the homework I am supposed to be doing at the moment, I thought I would quickly blog about it :)

But since I STILL don't want to do my homework, I think I will keep blogging :)  (Also I will keep blogging because Ki is at UVU working on a project, so he isn't here to stop me and help me be productive! mwahahahaha)

A couple weeks ago, on February 24th to be exact, we celebrated our 2 year first date anniversary!  It is an easy day to remember, because it is also my parents wedding anniversary!  (cool huh?)  I know it is so cliche to say, but my first date with Ki, was the best first date I had ever been on!  Immediately we got along so well, and could talk about everything.  Those who know Ki, aren't shocked because he is the outgoing one, but for me, this NEVER happened on first dates!  For those of you who don't already know, our first date was to a Jazz game, and I don't even remember who they played, but it was so fun!  My favorite part of the date, was that every time the opposing team would shoot a free throw I would scream AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-MISS!  I was being such a dork, but seriously it was working!  Finally Ki was like, "you are so lucky, I can't believe that is working!  If they miss the next 3 free throws you scream AAA-MISS during, I will buy you dippin dots during half time."  Of course I was game for that challenge!  Lucky for me, my luck held out for three more free throws and I won dippin dots!  The second most memorable thing about this date was that while we were waiting in line for my dippin dots during half time, we saw this man that looked just like you would picture Santa Claus to look but we are in real life!  We both laughed about it, but then Ki upped the ante and said, "If you go up to that man and tell him what you want for Christmas, I will buy you the biggest size of Dippin Dots and anything else you want."  And... I did it!  Oh my goodness I am kidding, there is no way I would ever do that!  I would feel mean... and stupid... and I am way too chicken!  But its all good I still got my Dippin Dots :)  Then on the way home from the game, we had some pretty personal conversaton and it was just so great to connect that way with someone!  He even got me to tell him my most embarrassing secret!  Which I am pretty sure he is one of a select few to know!  I would share with the class, but... it IS pretty embarrassing... and I am afraid you would all be disgusted haha.  Anyways, thanks for letting me ramble and reminisce about our amazing 1st date!  Sometimes I get carried away with the details nobody probably cares about, but since this is the closest thing I have to a journal, I tell myself it is okay.  Anyways, to celebrate our special 1st date day, we went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and then since Tiff & Jake happened to be in Orem, they came over and we all skipped out on homework obligations!  It is so fun to have such good friends :)  Welp... I think that is all the HW procrastination my sleep deprived brain can handle.  I better buck up and get to it!  But to end this post, I will of course leave ya with a few pictures.

I had our fantastic neighbor Seth take this picture for us before we went to dinner :) Notice how color coordinated we are?  Sometimes we like to be matchy!  Well...I do at least! haha and Ki knows this, so he usually asks me what he should wear on special occasions and lets me dress him.

And for picture #2 I had our waitress take a picture for us :)

The End!  Thanks for reading that incredibly long post!

Valentine's Day!

So... I wrote this post like the day after Valentine's Day, and then I forgot to post it. So...  Happy Belated Valentines Post! :)

I have to admit.  I am a sucker for Valentine's Day :)  It is fun to be over the top romantic and fun to exchange heart felt notes/cards/gifts.  I love, LOVE!  Always have.. haha.  Yesterday, when I went to Wal-Mart to get a few last minute ingredients I needed for the dinner I had planned for Ki, it warmed my heart to see the hundreds of men there making last minute purchases of roses, chocolates, over-sized stuffed animals, cards etc for their loved ones!  It brought a smile to my face lol.  Ki surprisingly was not among the last minute shoppers, he is SUCH a planner.  We are so different that way.  He gets excited about holidays and plans what he is going to get for me/do for me before I even realize the holiday is approaching.  I found my Valentine's Day gift that he had hid in our spare bedroom a week ago while searching for our missing marriage license (we're trying to get my passport changed to the right name)  Don't worry, for once I didn't let my curiosity get the best of me, and I didn't sneakily open it.  Remember the time in July 2009 when I searched Ki's room every day for a week trying to find my engagement ring, and ended up finding the receipt for the diamond and mapquest directions to Nauvoo where he proposed?  yes... I am a terribly curious person which often leads to me to be a stinker and spoil  his surprises.

This Valentines weekend was perfect :)  The best Valentine's Day to date!  On Saturday, Ki took me up to Park City to go skiing/snowboarding with my family and to hang out for a couple nights.  It was a blast :)  We sure wore ourselves out though!  Not to mention we forgot sunscreen, and we both got FRIED!  Seriously, my face was so sunburnt from below my eyes down, that it was like a cancerous purple-red.  I don't know how I managed to get more burnt then my fair-skinned and red-headed love, but I did!  He claims, that he is so white, he reflected the sun off himself onto me. ha. 

For Valentine's day itself we didn't do anything too fancy since we already had spent a lot of money to go up to Park City for the weekend but it was still a fabulous day.  Ki cleaned the house, and did the dishes (which honestly is probably the best V-day gift ever, or any day gift for that matter) and of course got me a gigantic box of chocolate :) yum...  For Ki, I decided food was the in-expensive gift he would like most.  So for dinner we had steak with these potatoes and a salad, followed by these incredible lindt lindor cupcakes!   It was so delicious!  We then hit up Nickelcade with our neighbors, where we became addicted to the arcade game Deal, or no Deal, and eventually with our ticket winnings purchased matching tatoos :D  Upon arriving back at our clean, and aromatic abode, we exchanged our V-day cards and then watched  The Bachelor! :)  Yes.... I STILL watch the Bachelor haha.  Is it a total waste of time? ... yes.  Is it completely over the top dramatic? ... yes.  Is it crazy, and maybe a tad unrealistic that a relationship starting on reality tv could actually work? ... yes.  But I still LOVE every second of it haha.  That is one of the things I LOVE about Ki.  He watches so many chick movies/tv shows with me.  And he never complains!  Even when its his turn to choose a tv show, or a movie, he'll still pick what he knows I want to watch.  (Granted, we do watch plenty of the action packed macho movies as well) But it is still just so sweet.  I love him oodles :)  I wish we had a pic from Valentine's Day, but both our faces are suffering the after-effects of the severe sunburns we got on Saturday, so I didn't much feel like documenting my face as it currently is white from the eyes up, red from the eyes down, and nastily peeling at will.  Here are a few pics from the ski trip though with my fam!

From left to right : Momma, Andrew, Shay, Nate, Ash (me haha), Ki, Kristin, and Tristan

Dad was of course taking the pic, so he is missing

Heck yeah, double black diamond!  We are THAT hardcore!  Well... my family is at least... after the pic, I went down the easier way haha.

Left to Right: Kristin&Tristan, Ash&Ki, Nate, and Andrew

My dad got some "action" pics :)

Ki in action

My momma, sissy Kris, and myself enjoying a carmel apple.  (My mom promised treats if any of the boys, could hit one of the signs from the lift with a snowball.  Ki miraculously pulled off a hit for the win)

I realize I look like a grease ball, but I still think its cute... even with the red faces and smushed hair.

haha atleast we all look in desperate need of a shower together :)

Last, but not least, I AM the fruit ninja!  This is Andrew and I battling it out for the win!  But I guess technically we are both fruit ninja's... cause although I beat him in Multi-player, he just recently passed up my high score of 383 that little stinker... I've been trying to beat his highscore of 392 all week!