4th of July

Watching fireworks from the back of Marshall's car.

Tiffany & Josh Austin







About 3 minutes up the canyon the Austins popped a tire. Good thing the boys were there because Tiff and I just sat in the shade and watched them change it ;o) It makes them feel manly.

So for the 4th of July we went camping with the Ausitns. They had access to a bunch of private land in Provo Canyon right along the river. It was a great time! We left on Friday and came home Saturday night just in time to have a little bbq and watch the fireworks in West Jordan. We always have a good time when we hang out with the good ol' Austins!

My trip to Idaho

So while Jenn was sitting at home missing me I was busy working hard trying to bring home the bacon... OK not really it was more of a vacation for me, mainly because I made my buddy Chris(chuck) do all the work. But really we had a lot of fun. A block away from where I ran the camp in Pocatello was a city park called Ross Park this park had hundreds of climbing routes all over it making it the perfect location for two guys like us, It was a match made in heaven. Each day we would fight to get through the day and then form 3pm on we would rock climb till dark. Of course we were to excited to remember to take pictures but I have a feeling that I will go back this summer. The rock is all Basalt and really fun to climbing.

After the first week we packed up and went to Massacre Rock State Park were some of the best climbing is. We camped right outside the park which we had to access via private property and I think we camped on private property as well. The Park is Across the Snake River which was really cool and there is no way to get it besides this back way. Any ways It rained the hole time, we only got 1.5 Climbs in 2 days...don't ask about the .5 This did not stop Chris and I from exploring the hole park, we hiked for a good 7 hours, seeing some really great wildlife especially Birds of pray and other types, Including Hawks, Eagles and owls. Closer to the Snake River the amount of birds increased it was pretty cool. We also ran in to a porky pine, the one thing that I will never forget was the rattle snake. We read that they were a lot out there but after 7 hours of hiking we did not see a one until we got 50 feet from our camp spot. and there it was. Let me tell you, that is a noise that you will never forget. we were coming over a rock and right when i saw him he saw me and started to rattle and coil. Scary..... Here are some pics ... Look Close he is there and he is a big one. The other picture are Flower at the State park us hiking in the rain and us climbing in Boise.

Climbing in Boise on Granite, One of the hardest Climbs ever we think it was a 5.10c great foot work as well as a Great view.... Can you see him He is up there..

jj
j

Enough Already

So, last Monday Marshall left for Idaho to run his yearly lacrosse camps. He usually only does one in Boise but this year he got an offer to do one in Pocatello as well so he arranged them to be back to back. It is funny how you realize how much you depend on someone when they are gone. I was fine for the first week. I did wedding stuff, did stuff around the house, I got myself 2 chapters ahead in my statistics class and just enjoyed the time I had to myself. Well last Friday it started to get really annoying that he was gone. I worked all day and had class until 9 but I was still really bothered when I got home and I didn't sleep very well. Saturday was terrible! I went to class in the morning but had no motivation to do anything in the afternoon because all I could think about was how badly I missed my Marshall. Sunday we had a BBQ at my grandmas and everytime we have a BBQ we all play volleyball and Marshall has a riot with it. Well, the whole time people kept asking where he was and then during volleyball they kept saying that they miss him or they need him on their team. Nothing like adding insult to injury. So anyways... this week is starting out rough. I am trying to stay busy and just counting down the days. I guess it is true what they say... Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Faux Engagements

(this one is my favorite)
The photography teacher at the school Marshall works at offered her students extra credit if they could take some "real" engagement pictures... so of course they talked Marshall into doing it. So I went and hung out at his school for a couple hours and let the kids go crazy. Some of them actually turned out pretty jazzy.

Our Arches Adventure

It was a great time to go, the weather was awesome and the breeze throughout the day really kept us going!
This is Delicate Arch, the most known arch. The hike was about 3 miles and it was not easy. You start walking on a trail and everything is fine until you turn a corner and you can see people ahead walking up a STEEP rock! Yeah... that makes you think twice about your decision.
On our first hike Marshall was being a nutt and he made us take a back way down. Well, of course we got lost.... Anywho... after a little bickering we knew we were headed in the right direction and Marshall let out a big sigh of relief and said "I feel much better going this way, at least i know we are not taking the routes the 80 year olds take". I think he was losing faith in his hiking ability after he saw how many older people were there. Too funny.
This past weekend Marshall & I packed up and went to Arches in Southern Utah. It was amazing! We had so much fun! Even though it was only a 3 1/2 hour drive a road trip gets you pretty goofy. We talked about some really funny stuff, but hey... whatever keeps you awake.

Economics

Seriously people...why are there so many yellows? I don't know one person that favors the yellow Starburst over pink, red or orange. Personally my favorite is pink... you can see that i was disappointed with this last batch. Is it simple economics??? Does it cost the company less to produce the yellow ones over the other colors? I WAS NOT HAPPY!

Big Things!!

Marshall & I Have been making some major life altering decisions lately (i feel so grown up). I have decided to go back to school for my masters and i know i talk about it all the time but i am finally doing it. I talked to a counselor at the U and got the path all paved out and I start on my pre-reqs next Wednesday at UVU. I have to take 7 pre-req courses then the GMAT then apply and he said if all goes well with these then i will for sure get into the program, and if i dont then i will just retake whatever i need to and try again. A Masters degree is on my bucket list so i am super excited to be making it happen! I am hoping to be done by May of 2011. That is if there are no hick-ups along the way, so keep your fingers crossed.

As for Marshall... he got a teaching job! He will be working as a geography teacher full time starting in August at a school in Bountiful. Which brings me to my next point... we're finally moving out of Utah County! I am keeping my job in Orem so we will be moving somewhere around the point of the mountain for a year and then we will take it from there!

We are super excited that things are working out the way they are and it makes me realize that i need to relax and not stress out so much because things seriously just work out they way they are supposed to!

San Rafael Swell Southern Utah

Some friends And I went Canyoning/repelling in San Rafael Swell Last weekend and saw some really great stuff and some really tight fitting stuff. This is the same Canyon that Aron Ralston got his hand caught between some rocks and laid there for 6 days before cutting his arm off in order to survive, he lived and wrote about it. If your looking for a good read “ between a rock and a hard place” its a good one.
I'll add more pic latter

Marshall's New Car!!!

Marshall has been looking for a Honda Element for the past little while and was getting so frustrated because he could not find one that he could afford and that had what he wanted... Until TODAY!!! This car fits Marshall PERFECTLY!!! It has a bike holder in the floor of the back so his bike will stand up-right in the back. The seats fold up into the sides so the entire back is clear. The floors are plastic and the seats are sprayed with gortex waterproofing so that if it gets dirty he can spray it out with the hose! It has seat covers that the previous owner bought from Honda and you can take them off and throw them in the washing machine. Its just perfect! We are super excited!

More pictues from my brother's visit...

Apparently they needed them ALL out, not just a few.

Reading some books...

This is Cowboy Carter and Cowboy Austin. Carter would grab his hat and wing it around and say "yee-haw"!

Wearing the beenie Grandma Debi made for him & just reading some books.

Carter

Austin

Carter grabbed the bowl and said that it was his dessert.

Quilting with the fam...

My mom started a quilt for me when i was about 4. My great grandma and her split up the squares and quilted them and for years now she has been telling me that she was going to finish this quilt... well, as soon as i told her i was getting married she pulled it out and has gotten it about half way finished!! It is awesome!! I am so excited! Marshall is super good to help out. Right when he got there he sat down and asked us to show him. He caught on super quick and did a way good job.

Family Visit

My brother, sister-in-law, 2 nephews & new baby in the oven came to Utah! They moved to Chicago about 4 years ago and it has been really hard with them gone. My mom treats there visits like a photo shoot so i will post more pictures when i get some from her. This is really the only one that i took.

My uncle Klint, brother Zach, cousin Hunter & Marshall were playing some racing game on playstation. Austin wanted to play but everyone was so into it that they just kept moving the controller from him so he would not mess them up (as you can see by the look on my brothers face, it is VERY serious). Well, Marshall didn't care... he sat Austin right up on his lap and let him help. Needless to say they came in 14th place..... out of 14 ;o)

It was so nice to have them here! They are my only nephews so i really look forward to their visits.

February Flowers

Hilarious Office Prank

So... Ashley runs past my office today and says "Jenn, come here" so we look out the window in another office (that is vacant 98% of the time because it is one of the owners's offices) anyways and a cop car is behind a car that is parked right under the window and a guy is on the ground with his hands behind his back and the cop has the tazer pointed at him. So long story short... we end up with 8 cop cars in the parking lot including 3 sheriffs and a K9 unit and the guy is arrested and sitting in the back of one of the Sherrif cars while all the cops search the car. Well, channel 5 news shows up and this thing is turning into a huge deal. We watched them search the car and they found drugs. It was sad, the guy had to be in his 50s and he looked totally normal. In the mean time one of the accountants that works afternoons pulls up and we see him coming so Nancy, the office manager (who is watching the whole thing with us) hides under the desk. Kip asks what is going on and i begin to tell him that the cops came in looking for Nancy and they cuffed her and took her and she was in the cop car and they were towing her car. It was HILARIOUS!!! He bought the whole thing... then he said "she was acting shady yesterday, she stayed late waiting for a personal call from a bank or something" and his eyes were huge. Then the phone rings and its Nancy's husband so Ashley gives the phone to Nancy, who is under the desk and then Kip walks out when we all bust up hysterically and says "You better watch your back on April fools day". Most entertaining day at the office in 3 years, hands down!

Here is the link: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=5641358

Happy Valentine's Day to ME!

First of all i would just like to say how much i adore Marshall. He is such a sweet heart and i have no idea how i made it 21 years with out him in my life. So, with that being said, for Valentines Day Marshall told me he would make dinner for me. He came over and texted me to go into my room. About 10 minutes later he told me he was ready so when i walked into the living room it was completely dark and he had pushed the coffee table into the center and lined about 8 candles on the edge of both sides of it. He had gotten Chinese food and had it all arranged for us. On the edge of the table he had a frame with a picture of him thinking and then it had the little thought cloud (which was in the shape of a heart) with my picture in it and it read "When i am not with you i am thinking about you. I cherish the time we are together and i look forward to spending the rest of my life with you". How cute is that! Oh, and he had "our song" playing. Eric Clapton "I feel wonderful tonight". He had also gotten me a black frame and he told me that when i got my bridal pictures he wanted to take on of them and print it in black and white but have the boquet have red roses and he thought it would look great in the frame. And last but not least... he had gotten me a pair of shoes that i have been SEARCHING for! I couldnt find them in my size anywhere, including the internet so i dont know where he got them but he sure did. What a sweet heart!

Marshall's Valentines Day Surprise!!!!!

Marshall is a HUGE Jazz fan, he just loves them and last year he was super bummed out when he couldnt go the the Jazz vs. Lakers game (because they are rivals). So this year I thought I would be on it. I had to jump through hoops galore to get my hands on tickets but i did it! I have had them since November and I didnt tell Marshall AT ALL. Which is great for me because i am not good at keeping "good secrets". So i told Marshall that i would plan our Valentines Day this year to give him a break, i waited until last week and i told him my friend at work had a great idea so i got us tickets for Wednesday night. He didn't really care what we did, until he figured out that it was on the same night as the Lakers vs. Jazz game. He tried to go along with me and not upset me that i had made such a terrible mistake but he didnt do a very good job at it. So we got up to Salt Lake and we found the Macaroni Grill and he asked me where this "event" was so we could park in the middle of the 2 places. So i pulled out the tickets and it went like this:Jennifer: Oh no.... Oh no Marsh
Marshall: What? Whats the matter?
Jennifer: These aren't the right tickets... I don't know what happened.
Marshall: Why, whats wrong with them, what do they say?
Jennifer: They say the Jazz vs. the Lakers
Marshall: (mad voice) Shut up, they do not (he was mad that i would tease him about such an important event) Let me see them.
(Jennifer is all smiles at this point)
Marshall: (ECSTATIC) I'M GOING TO THE JAZZ LAKERS GAME? I'M GOING TO THE JAZZ LAKERS GAME? (He looks at the tickets, he looks at me (he didn't believe what was happening)) I'M GOING TO THE JAZZ LAKERS GAME? (he even started to get a little teary eyed... he will deny it, but take my word for it, IT HAPPENED)
Jennifer: Happy Valentines Day Marshall
Marshall: I never thought i would say this but i LOVE valentines day

So at dinner the kid couldn't stop smiling. You would think i just bought him a house. It was adorable. Later that night he said to me.."Jenn, do you remember when i told you that i was so in love with you that i didn't think i could ever be more in love with you because i just didn't think it was possible?" I said yeah... "well, i think i just fell more in love with you". How cute is he. It helped that the Jazz WON!!! 113 to 109. By far the best game i have ever gone to in person and one of the best i have ever watched! It was awesome! We seriously had the time of our lives!