Happy Anniversary!

10 years ago today, Johnathan and I were married in the Manti temple for time and all eternity. I am so thankful that I found Johnathan. I feel like we really compliment each other with our strengths and weaknesses. When we got married, I thought I knew who Johnathan was, and I thought we had a lot of similar likes and dislikes. Now that we've been married 10 years I can admit that I am still learning and that we are not all that similar. Sometimes he still surprises me with what he doesn't like and I still expect him to just tell me what he's thinking, instead of me having to pry it out of him.

I think that's what love really is though. It grows from being "in love" to something deeper and longer lasting. I've learned that a good marriage takes work. Both spouses have to be patient and think of the other more than themselves, which is hard. You need to support each other too.

Even though I thought I had it all figured out 10 years ago, I am happy to admit I was wrong for the better. I didn't know just how lucky I was to find someone who loves me no matter what my many weaknesses are, and who never criticizes them. He never complains either! Thank you for being so patient with me, for being such a hard worker, for your strong desire to help others, and for being such a wonderful father!

Thanks for the last 10 years Johnathan! I look forward to many more years together!



Here's some wonderful quotes on Marriage:

Cherish your spouse as the greatest possession of your life and treat him or her accordingly. Make it your constant goal to add to the happiness and comfort of your companion. Never permit yourself to let down in your affection, or your respect, or your faith in one another.
-President Hinckley

What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility.
-George Levinger

The secret of a happy marriage is simple--just keep on being as polite to one another as you are to your friends.
-Robert Quillen

God didn't say that a woman was to be taken from a bone in the man's head that she should rule over him, nor from a bone in his foot that she should be trampled under his feet, but from the bone in his side, to be his companion, his equal, and his helpmeet in all their lives together.
-President George Albert Smith

Marriage is not an easy venture. It is largely a one-time-through, do-it-yourself project for the husband and wife. I repeatedly encounter the illusion today, especially among younger people, that perfect marriages happen simply if the right two people come together. This is untrue. Marriages don’t succeed automatically. Those who build happy, secure, successful marriages pay the price to do so. They work at it constantly.
-Dean L. Larsen

It's almost Christmas!!

We didn't decorate at all for Christmas before our cruise, so that was the first thing we did (after un-packing) when we got home. Now it feels like Christmas around here!

Our Cruise

This month Johnathan and I celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. We try to do something big every 5 years, and this year we decided to try a cruise. We really wanted to go to Hawaii, but the Caribbean was about half the cost, so we went with that one. (Hopefully Hawaii will happen in 5 more years) We had such a fun time!

My mom stayed at our house with the kids so they wouldn't miss school- THANK YOU MOM! She got to see how crazy her grandkids are in "real life"... Okay, actually just how crazy Jacob is. The other two are usually pretty good. When we got back, she even admitted she was TIRED by the end of the week. I felt a little justified for feeling tired every day. I should also thank Julieann and Jamie because they helped out a lot too!

Here's a run-down of our cruise on the Norwegian Pearl. We flew to Miami and set sail on Sunday. On Monday we anchored off the cruise line's private island in the Bahamas and we had a beach day and snorkeled, if you could call it that. The water was so murky you couldn't see anything, and I was trying to not hyperventilate- I have a fear of dark water and not being able to see what's in there with me...

Our HUGE cruise ship

Us in the Bahamas- Isn't the water BEAUTIFUL
I was so amazed at the color of the water

Tuesday was a day at sea. Wednesday we stopped in Jamaica. For our excursion we kayaked in the Caribbean over to Dunn's River Falls. Its basically a river waterfall that people hike up and play in along the way. We had a lot of fun until we met all the Jamaicans that try to sell you everything and are VERY overbearing about it.

The Falls we just hiked up

At the top

A Beautiful Caribbean sunset

Thursday, which was Johnathan's birthday, we stopped at Grand Cayman. We got to drive Jeep's and tour around the island. We saw a beautiful view of the ocean, the rum cake factory (woo hoo...), and Hell (an actual place on the island where you can send postcards from- Haha). After that we went to the beach where Johnathan convinced me to try snorkeling again. This time the water was crystal clear and I was able to do it! It was really fun to see all the fish. I was sure I wouldn't like it, but I actually do!

Johnathan's b-day present- driving a Jeep
Now he wants to buy one even more

Friday we stopped at Cozumel Mexico. Our excursion this day was riding 4-wheelers through the "jungle" and then going to the beach. I was most excited about this excursion, but was quite disappointed with it. We went really slow because we had to stay in a line and the road was super bumpy. We were supposed to see a Mayan ruin, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. We saw a cenote, which is a deep water hole the Mayans used for water. They would also sacrifice people in it. Then we saw a Mayan hurricane shelter, an underground cave. After that we went to the beach and snorkeled again. Johnathan followed a sting-ray around in the water and then found a conch shell in the ocean. We snuck that baby home!

I seriously LOVE the color of the water!

Now he can say he wrestled an alligator

Johnathan says I looked like a gangsta!

I learned I have super crazy Caribbean hair. I COULD NOT keep
it under control. I finally just gave up...

Saturday was another day at sea, and Sunday we returned to Miami. It was such a relaxing trip and we are glad we got to go. I'm glad I didn't stress at all about kids at home, like I normally do.
We decided we really like cruises and can hardly wait till our next one! If anyone is thinking about doing one, DO IT! I think you'll love it!

I'm Thankful!

November is always a month that I really reflect on all I have. I was going to post something every day, but so far that hasn't happened, so instead I'll do a big post about everything I've been thinking about this month.

First of all, I am so thankful for my husband and kids! I married so well! We really compliment each other with our strengths and weaknesses. I am so grateful I found & married him. Our kids are wonderful too. Each one of them brings such a unique personality that I love.

Next I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is such a big part of my life and I feel lucky to have been born with that knowledge and very blessed that I can follow it's teachings and try to be a better person. With that, I am thankful to have a loving Heavenly Father that knows me personally. He knows what I need and the progress I am making and he cares about me. I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is such a wonderful example to pattern our lives after.

I am thankful for my parents, and for Johnathan's parents. I thought it would be hard being a parent, but now I know (a little anyways). I'm thankful for all the sacrifices they made for us. Also for all they taught us. Thank you for your years of service!

I am very thankful for Johnathan's job! We feel so blessed to have such a good job that he loves so much. He often jokes that he goes to work and "plays" for 2 days and then gets to come home for 4 days and be with us. (He actually works REALLY hard at work, but he loves what he does-well, maybe not cleaning toilets)

I am thankful for great family & friends that are always there for me! Their friendship means so much to me and I appreciate their examples of goodness.

I am thankful for my health, and my families health. We really don't have many problems and I feel lucky!

I hope that you will also look at your life and notice all the things you are blessed with. I know it makes me happier when I look at the good things I have instead of the negative. I truly am blessed!

Hee Haw Farms

One of our yearly traditions is to go to Hee Haw Farms. We like to go in October with my cousin's family. The kids look forward to it every year and afterwards keep asking to go back. It's so fun to look back at picture from previous years too. My only regret was that we got there kind of late, so it got dark on us. Half of my pictures didn't turn out because my camera is on it's last legs :(

This year the kids got to ride a pony. They were more than excited!





Our kids get pictures by this sign every year. It's fun to measure their growth each fall! I've included their first years picture of going, because it's fun!

Jayden- age 8

Jayden- age 4

Ashlyn- age 7

Ashlyn- age 3

Jacob- age 3

Jacob- 5 months

They always have this big slippery slide the kids love to go down over and over. These were the best pics I got (even though I took about 20- DANG CAMERA!)

This is a big box full of corn kernals. Fun to dig in and bury each other in. When Jacob got home and took off his shoes, he left a big pile of corn on the floor for me :)

Hay Ride

Super fun cousins! Perfect ages too!

One of my favorite parts of Hee Haws is the corn maze. They always do a cool design and we love to let the kids choose which way to go, and then Johnathan (who has an amazing sense of direction) gets us out of there! This year, since we went so late, it was totally dark when we got to the maze. I was slightly (okay, maybe more than slightly) nervous about doing it in the dark, but Johnathan talked me into it and it was still fun. I only wish we would have brought a flashlight... I need to thank Johnathan for walking behind us girls and protecting us! And for not making fun of my fear of being in a dark maze with who knows what!

Happy Birthday Ashlyn!!!

Yesterday, the blog wouldn't let me put pictures on, so this is posted a day late...

7 years ago, Ashlyn Marie joined our little family. We were so excited to have a girl! So much has happened since then, and we are so happy to have this sweet & spunky girl in our family!

The things I remember most about when Ashlyn was little was her blue eyes (that everyone commented on), her bald head until she was about 2, her love for babies since she was very little, her ability to make people smile, her fiesty personality at age 2 (and 3 and 4 and 5), and her special bond with her dad.

Ashlyn has become such a sweet girl! She loves animals, especially babies, and whenever she sees a baby animal she says "Awww". She has lots of pet stuffed animals that she loves to play with. She also loves school and playing with her friends at recess. One thing I have been surprised about is that she does not like being the center of attention. (I wonder where she got that from...) When she was little, she loved it and was not afraid of anyone. It has been so fun to see Ashlyn growing up and learning new things. I can't believe it's been 7 years!!!

It was so fun to look back through pictures of Ashlyn and have so many memories come back to me. I know that I'm very biased, but do they get much cuter? I think we are in trouble, because I already think she is gorgeous, and she's only 7!

Here are my favorite pictures over the past few years.

This is the first picture we took of Ashlyn after
finally buying a digital camera
(Now we need to scan all the other pictures)

Wearing dad's cowboy hat

This one shows her personality as a toddler!

This picture shows off her little piggy-tails on top.
She FINALLY got hair around age 2 &
I was super excited to do it!

FINALLY a big sister!

Seriously, do they get much cuter?!

Playing dress-up with best friend/cousin McKayla

All dressed up for the Daddy Daughter Ball

Starting 1st grade

Decorating her birthday cake

Happy Birthday Ashlyn! We love you!

Temples

This is my last post about our California trip. While we were out there, we decided to go see the temples nearby. We like to take a picture of our kids in front of the different temples and hang them up in our house. We were able to visit 5 new temples on this trip and we are all excited to put them up on our wall!

Las Vegas Temple

San Diego Temple

Newport Beach Temple

Los Angeles Temple

Redlands Temple

This brings our total pictures to 13 temples! Sadly, we realized that we don't even have a picture of the closest one to us, the Provo Temple. We will fix that shortly!