Merry Christmas

Jason, I and our dog made the trek to Ottawa this winter for Christmas. It had been almost a year since I had been home last and seen all of my family. We were there for 10 days, and man oh man was it ever nice to relax and kick my feet up at home! We missed our friends and family in Calgary too, but this trip replenished my spirits in so many ways. We miss you all ready and look forward to getting together again soon.

The girls hanging out at the church gym behind my parents house. We went over there to play basketball and so the guys could fly their remote control helicopters.

Christmas Eve with the siblings. My brother's have grown so much since I saw them last. Steve had facial hair!! haha

Brace yourself- Christmas morning always brings out our best looks (kidding) I am appauled at how pasty I am and everyone else is rock'n the bed head too, with no makeup... how lovely!

It is my hope that everyone had a great time over the break with family and you felt the spirit of Christmas in your hearts amongst all the hustle and bustle this season brings. I am so thankful for my family and can't wait to do this again :)

Grand-Daddy-To-Be Caved!

Yes he did. I guess I shouldn't say he caved in but he agreed that he wanted me to personally share our good news with him. And now I don't have to stress about him finding out what we're having through some random person. I know news travels so fast and I respect him wanting to keep the surprise but I would hate to find out someone spilled the beans to my dad before me. To be honest I feel it would be impossible to have my whole family and everyone else who knew keep it a secret from him till April even if they tried their hardest, someone would have slipped.
So here it goes, our official blog announcement... Jason and I are very excited to announce that we are expecting a baby girl!!! I feel like I have bonded with her ever since we found out, and again it was a great experience and we don't regret it. We're so excited to meet our daughter and I know my dad is ever so excited to meet his little grand-daughter :)

Half way there!

Today we went for our second ultrasound, and we're 20 1/2 weeks along. Things were very postive and we have some cute photos of our little one. We DID find out what we are having but I am not going to disclose it on here... atleast yet. I'm trying my hardest to not let my dad find out because he is a little old fashion (not that that's a BAD thing!) I respect those who can wait it out. However he thinks we've missed out on some of the surprise because we know before the baby is born. Well it was a shock either way but personally I feel like I know more about my baby and can move forward with narrowing down names we like, and all the preparations. Maybe if my dad gives in and decides that he will join in on the early celebration of finding out what our baby is I'll post more details. Till then I'm making my best efforts to keep it more of a secret.

We took this photo this morning just before we left. Just before we found out!!!

*Twilight*

It felt like forever waiting to see this movie. However it was worth the wait and I was super hesitant to see how it measured up to the book. Overall I was quite happy. Obviously they leave out a lot of detail in the movie, but they stayed very true to the book and I imagine that reviews would have ripped it apart if they changed the story line too much. To my surprise I thought Robert Pattison and Kristen Stuwart were great for their characters. I know everyone has them cast in their mind already and maybe they weren't the right depiction of Edward and Bella for them, but they work great for the movie. If Stephanie Meyer approved I can't argue too much becausse inevitably it is her dream and vision they brought to life.
So none the less I am overall happy and I was sad to hear it is getting some poor reviews.
I won't spoil anymore except to add that Edward IS Dreamy! Nothing will ever change that! Let me know what you think when you see it.

4 Things Tag

4 things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. I was living in Ottawa ON, and I was half way through grade 8.
2. I had a ton of Sun-In in my hair so it was my first attempts in changing my hair colour. It was a nasty copper colour. (You must remember when Sun-In was all the rage!)
3. I played volleyball and soccer this year and had a big crush on a boy named Graham Parker. My best friend became Ainsley Donahue in grade eight and man oh man we were trouble together! This was a very dramatic school year...
4. My family announced that we were going to have a new baby brother. This was very startling for me at the time, but he inevitably brought an immense amount of joy and even thought he's younger and didn't fit in with all the older kids, he kept us young at heart and we love him dearly.

4 things on my list to do today:

1. Go home and make dinner.
2. Shower and get ready to see Twilight!
3. Work on a Christmas present I am making that has got me in way over my head and has a deadline of tonight!
4. Get to bed early enough so I can make it to work tomorrow morning on time and function on the 6 hours of sleep I am going to get. That isn't so easy to do when you are pregnant...

4 things i love about my husband:

1. OH boy where do I start.... I admire first and foremost his patience. I came home yesterday after a super rough day at work and I was frustrated with a lot. He always comes to me, hugs me, and tries to calm my emotions so we can have peace in our home. I want this to but I am very emotional and put that into situations that would be better dealt with simple reasoning. He sees things for what they really are and always helps me see both sides of the story. I am so grateful for that.
2. He is soo giving. At times I am selfish and want him at home more but he is always running off to give a helping hand, teaching with the missionaries, giving his advice or expertise to anyone. The other day he worked on someone’s wedding slideshow who he barely even knew. He just sympathizes when he knows a great and efficient way to do something, and would love to share his knowledge and skills to anyone and never want anything in return. I really don't feel like Jason and I have much, but we are blessed for what we have and he often reminds me "Where much is given, Much is required" He truly loves to serve and I know he really developed that love while on his mission, but it's also just part of who he is.
3. His personality. He may have known someone for only a matter of minutes and he's ready to makes them feel welcome in any scenario, and most of all make them feel comfortable. He loves to make people laugh, and to me that is such an admirable quality.
4. His smile. Not only how he lights up but his eyes too. He has such a handsome smile and twinkling green eyes. I just think he's so stunning!

4 jobs I've had:

1. My very first job was at the Ottawa Athletic Club. I watched kids in the daycare while their parent's worked out. It was fun but I quit because the commute was so far away.
2. Aldo - I worked there for years, during high school and after. I eventually became an Assistant Manager before I headed back to school. Good times for the most part but it's hard for me to pay full price for shoes there now. I miss the 50% discount!!!!!
3. Earl's restaurant. This was my first time serving, and I'll never do it again. The lifestyle in a restaurant can be pretty shady and there is a lot of drama. It was fun at times but the shifts were very draining and stressful.
4. Medialogic Inc. I am here right now but only for a couple more months. I have enjoyed this job a lot at times, and other times I have hated it. It's a small company and doesn't have systems, and the right amount of people to do things... I won't miss being here that's for sure.

4 Movies I have seen more than once:

1. Gladiator
2. Romeo and Juliet
3. Prince of Egypt
4. Anchorman

4 places I've lived: I'll do this by geographic location (from East to West and in between)

1. The Maritimes (Gander, NFLD and Moncton, NB)
2. Ottawa and Toronto ON.
3. Richmond, BC
4. Calgary AB

I have moved so much in my life. I think that explains why I get a little stir crazy after being in one city for a couple years. I am ready to move and try something new!

4 places I've been:

1. U.S. (Utah, California, Ohio, Upstate New York and few others)
2. Roatan, Honduras
3. Mexico
4. All over Canada

4 places I want to visit: Asia, Australia, Micronesia, and Africa. That list goes on and on though.

4 T.V. shows I watch:

1. Survivor
2. Big Brother
3. The Office
4. So You Think You Can Dance Canada

4 things you may not know about me:

1. I have a little orange triangle in one of my eyes, sometimes it is very noticeable. I drank orange drink at a church function once and got it all over my face (I was about 5 yrs old) and I thought it stained my eyeball. My mom explained to me that it is just a birthmark in my eye.
2. I can blow spit bubbles off my tongue. Gross but kind of cool!
3. I used to have my tongue pierced, crazy I know. I'll admit I did it for attention.
4. I had bleach blond hair through most of high school, wore skate shoes, and huge pants that you could fit two sets of legs into. I didn't just think I was cool, it was cool!

4 People I tag: 1. Megan Comin, Amy Patterson, Catherine, and Katie K. And anyone else who wants to do this! Thanks Jess!

I Can't Wait Either!

I went to a friends blog this morning and decided to take the same quiz she had posted. Turns out we have a few things in common.... We're both excited for the Twilight movie and we're both Esme!


Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great
importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be
sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and
appreciate the kind way you always handle things.

Go FlAmEs Go!

I won't get into details about last nights game, except I'm glad we won! Seriously though at one point it was 5-0 for the flames and ended up being a close game 7-6... Okay that's enough detail, if you saw the game you already know how brutal the refs were.
Well we had a ton of fun either way, and I behaved well in not getting my usual chocolate malt icecream. I had to spare the heartburn at all costs or the possibility of being stomach sick again. I did sneak a bite of Jason's though... but I was pretty good none the less :)

My work has some pretty sweet seats, they're 9th row up from the glass :)

Harvey the Hound licking some bald guys head in front of us. Next time I'm going to suck it up and try to get a pic with him - I was to shy to ask...

Happy Birthday Hubby!!!!

I am so happy to celebrate the love of my life's birthday! Jason turned the big 24 today, and I will forever be greatful for him coming into this world 24 years ago.
I surprised Jason with Flames tickets for his birthday, and a few other goodies. I just felt bad as he opened his gift this morning, I was half dead on the couch! My mornings have been a little rough lately as I am battling with the stomach flu and getting enough sleep :(
He has been taking good care of me though. He is so wonderful, understanding and truely an amazing husband in my mind.
So Happy Birthday Sweetheart, Love you Tons! xoxo

Appointments Appointments

Monday I had another appointment at the low risk clinic. It was much better than the last visit, but I must add either way I have been so lucky to be seeing the most wonderful doctor ever. Her name is Jennifer, and she is funny, sensitive, reassuring and has really helped make the “icky” parts of this journey more bearable than I anticipated. I was measured again and she was able to differentiate between my uterus and cyst this time. My cyst comes up really high (like 2 inches below my ribs when I lay down) and my uterus measured 17 weeks as apposed to the 19 I measured last visit . My left side is slightly bigger than the right. She received my previous ultrasound report before she went ahead and made me an earlier ultrasound appointment, and decided we were okay to wait for the 18- 20 week ultrasound. This is bittersweet I suppose… I wanted to see the baby earlier, but I have a normal liquid cyst and they aren’t going to let anyone get too worked up about it for the time being. So that was better to hear than other possibilities.
At the end of this appointment the doctor decided to see if we could hear the baby’s heartbeat this time around, and we did! It was tricky to find but she found it. That put a smile on Jason’s face as well as mine. J (p.s. I have been sooo lucky to have such a supportive husband through all of this. He has been to every appointment, and even for silly bloodtests. I am such a baby, but need him there for comfort and support. I am so thankful he is so willing)
Wednesday I had another appointment but it was with the dentist- WOW. Simple polishing and scaling never hurt so much, but when you are pregnant the hormones make your gums over sensitive and mine bled a lot. It felt like she was shredding my gum lines with a mini blade. However this appointment was bittersweet too, during the cleaning, and scaling I enjoyed a leg and foot massage the whole time. It really helped me relax and felt wonderful. I was even debating switching clinics because I live far away from their office now, but they made a happy patient outta me for as long as I live in Calgary.

Stud Muffin!

I know when the baby comes along I will probably ease up on the amount of photos I post of my dog! But he's our pride and joy (for the time being) and I know he is ridiculously cute. I am sure some of you who read my blog, and aren't dog lovers yourself, most likely your roll your eyes at me, but I love dogs and animals. It also makes me sad to think that he might have a hard time adjusting to the baby, and I hope more than anything that he doesn't go into depression or a jealous fury.
On a side note, we had family photos taken on Thanksgiving Monday. Jason's Aunt is very talented. His Aunt Judy was so sweet and did a whole morning photo shoot with all of Jason's family, including nieces and nephews. It was really nice, and lately I really feel like part of their family now more than ever. It can take some time and adjusting to fit in comfortably with in-laws. But I love them and really enjoy when everyone on Jason's side can get together.
However I am getting super excited for Christmas since Thanksgiving because that will be our next huge family get together and it will be with MY family! Yaaaah!

He's actually sitting up on his butt in this picture. He is so tiny, the few leaves around him cover half of his body.

Jason, Me, and Max (I'm with both of my stud muffins) My sister keeps telling me not to complain and that I should embrace everything that comes with pregnancy but I am not digging my puffiness in the picture, especially in my face. It's still a framer though and I do love this one a lot. We all know that we're always our own worst critic.

An update

Today I had an appointment with the doctor and I measured 19 weeks, and I am suppose to be 13! She asked me if there were two babies in there, and I said "no". My doctor hadn't recieved my ultrasound report so she had no idea about the cyst, but I could tell she was a little shocked with how high I seemed to be carrying already and how big I was. Not very comforting to hear. I know it's the cyst, and the only bonus to looking way bigger then your suppose to, and knowing you have something in you that is bigger than the baby itself, is that I get to have another ultrasound earlier than 18 weeks. So we get to see the baby sooner. It was also the appointment for my first physical, and what a delightful experience that was. Today is just one of those days.

Our Sunday Walk

Yesterday was so nice out! Jason and I went for a walk with Max around the Glenmore Reservoir between Conference Sessions. There were a lot of people on the bike and walking paths, who were all enjoying the beautiful sunny weather. It was a little bit windy but I loved it, the air was so fresh and it smelled like fall. It was seriously the best moment I have had so far in this season. There were a lot of waves in the water too which I have never seen before, it is usually so calm. But the sound of them was nice, and refreshing. I have always ment to bring my camera down there when I go walking with Max or with my friend Lindsay because it's such pretty spot and I have wanted to capture the beauty of it in pictures. I just LOVE living so close to this area. It really allows me step outside the feeling of living in a crowded city and I find a lot of peace there and gives me a chance to clear my head too :)

The joyful ride so far...

First off I just want to thank everyone for the positive, uplifitng and kind comments so far. I am just so touched :)
I want to add lots of details about this on my blog because I am not that good at journaling lately, and I find blogging a more fun and easy way to record my thoughts, feelings and experiences.
The first 8 weeks of my pregnancy were a dream! I was almost in denial that I was pregnant, except the missed periods seem to keep me thinking that it was definately a real deal. Not to mention the positive tests.
Week nine was absolutley from Hell. There's no better way to put it. I came down on a Monday night with (what I didn't know was) a UTI. I had never had one before and it kept me up ALL night with pain and discomfort until the morning came and I could send Jason to the store when it opened to buy me cranberry pills and monose powder to cleanse it out. ( I thought I could go the natural way just fine)
Anyways the powder made the discomfort subside slightly and I could nap but my stomach had sharp pains, and I was so sick and nauseas. I think going a night without sleep just zapped my body terribly because the baby took any energy and nutrients I had, and my body was fighting an infection and I was left to feel like death. I had heachaches beyond belief, chills, shakes and everything. I kept asking for blessings over and over again. This was going on for 3 days! I soon stopped taking the powder, thinking that the infection had to be done with by now, but I didn't know that the infection had travled to my kidneys and I had to go on antibiotics.
Week 10 let me see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. I gained back strength to a degree but I was still so incredibly exhausted all the time. Week 11 felt pretty much the same and now I am in week 12 and things are finally feeling pretty good. I went to the gym and did aerobics classes and want to keep that up most of my second trimester, before I get to big and uncomfortable.
Well bare with me because I am going to spend a few posts reminising the past few months and recording things that I don't want to forget about my pregnancy. I would have to say I have been really lucky. I had one terrible week and lots of tiredness but I know some women suffer harder and longer than that. My heart goes out to you now more than ever!
As of yesterday we did find out that everything is going super with the baby, and that was an answer to many many prayers. However I am worried and a little panicky because I do have a large cyst on my ovary. It's so large that the bulge I felt when rubbing my lower abdomen with my hand was what I thought to be my growing baby, but it is actually the cyst! I have more doctors appointments and the doctor doesn't want me to worry, but how on earth does he expect me to NOT worry!!! (I think it is just protocal to say that) I guess they do see them sometimes in 12 week ultrasounds and the hopes are that it will shrink, but it could continue to grow quite large or rupture. Rupturing can be mild or a very painful and sick experience. So I am praying that things will be okay, and I'm scared no matter what. If anyone had this experience before please tell me and let me know what happened in your case. Thanks again for your congratulations, and support :)

INTRODUCING......

We finally met Baby Lee today! Baby is doing awesome and we're so excited about that. I have wanted to share this "news" for a while now, but even right now I'm nervous, or maybe just really excited! My hands are kind of shaking right now while I type! haha

Well we first found out back in August but I guess I have waited until I felt reassured enough to tell the world. I'm sorry that some of you will find out on here for the first time that Jay and I are expecting, but I just don't see as many good friends as I'd like to living in the South and stuff.

It was my original plan to wait until after my first ultrasound to annouce this on my blog/ facebook sort of thing. And we had our 12 week one today.

It was such an incredible experience to see this cute little body, and these tiny flailing arms and legs, and know that this was our little one! It was a happy moment when we watched all the movement and energy in this new life and I thought about all the joy and happiness that we feel right now and all that is still to come with this baby. I know it is more than we can even imagine.

Just knowing that everything looks good brought so much peace to us. The baby sure is hyper and Jason came to a quick decision that it's gotta be a boy and that he is just as hyper and crazy as his father! I guess we'll see won't we!?

We are so excited about this stage in our lives and would love your prayers to be with us in hopes that everything stays postive throughout our pregnancy.

Just in Time!

Well at least I managed to squeeze in another post in the month of September. But like I said in my last post, September didn't give us a chance to slow down. I have been meaning to post these pictures for some time now but Jason has messed around with the computers and recently brought another one home that is currently operating on our dining room table! Errrrr. I have my own lap top that I could work off of but for some reason it can't read an 8GB card and that is what I take all my pictures on because it never seems to run out of space!
A couple weeks ago I went to Lizzie's baby shower. I finally met Laila and she is so cute! I love her hair too. Lizzie got a ton of baby clothes and other cute things, she seriously cashed-in in my mind. Which is good becuase baby's are expensive!
I also had the chance to go to Waterton and Cardston just over a week ago and we attended Treyden's baby blessing. He has gotten so big and is such a smiley guy now. We had a great time down there, and I just love staying in Waterton. It is simply gorgeous in it's natural beauty and Jay and I even got to stay in the same resort lodge that we stayed in on our wedding night, however this time we shared our room with his little sister Kristin :)
Well now we're back and trying to catch up from all the craziness. On the weekend I caught up on what seemed like a year's worth of laundry and it is hanging off of chairs and drying racks all over my house. I can't wait to tackle the rest and organize my home but the time doesn't seem to be available for some reason!!!
Amanda put gel in Treyden's hair and that it why it is sticking up like that. He had the cutest little tux on for his blessing.

Lizzie, Me and Laila. Lizzie looks soo good and I only hope I'm that lucky one day!

What's New

Well time has been flying by again, I can't believe we're half way through September! This is such a tricky transition time because you want to dress warm when you look out your window each morning and cringe to hope there isn't frost on the ground. Even though we've been lucky to not have faced that YET you know you want to bundle up a little more just in case. However by mid afternoon it gets pretty warm and you feel waaay over dressed! The C-train and bus are crowded and humid and you feel like you are over heating once again! The thing I can't stand about Calgary is that it doesn't really have a true Fall season. For a period of time the day is half winter and half summer, and eventually the summer part fades out, leaving us with a full blown winter cold. Ugh.
Anyways I am at the threshold of whether or not to pack up my summer stuff yet and make room in our tiny closets for bigger sweaters and stuff. Maybe this issue wouldn't be so dramatic if our place wasn't so tiny.... yes I believe a bigger place would solve a lot of my problems!

Well there's been some new changes in our world recently A good friend of mine moved into our building, which I am rather excited about. But I don't blame her if she isn't thrilled about hanging out with someone who's married. The YSA scene is way more entertaining for her than I am (sad but true) Jason got sustained last Sunday to be the Young Mens Pres. in our ward. I am excited for him and I know this calling is so good for him and the youth, they just love him and think he's a pretty cool guy (thats how I feel too) lol. We also have booked our tickets home to Ottawa for Christmas which I am SOOOOOO Excited about! We're going home for 10 days and are able to bring our dog with us too. My family has never met him before. It was super tough being away from family last year for the first time at Chirstmas so I think this year is extra special for me. It is Jason's first Christmas away from home too since he's been married. I hope it isn't really hard for him to be away, but if it is I can sympathize at least.

I think that is it for my update this time. Jason is off the shut down the cabin in B.C. this weekend and then we are headed out Cardston in the next week or two ( I forget exactly when) because my new nephew is getting his baby blessing. After this month I hope October slows down a bit. I was hoping things would be less busy as soon as August finished but I was wrong!

Our little singer...

Well it's either that or he thinks he's a wolf!
Jason's alarm clock went off this morning after he had already woken up and Max was still sleeping in our room. Jason ran in our room because he heard Max making the strangest noise, like he was in severe pain or something. To his surpirse he found him in full song, howling to the alarm. It kind of reminds me of the duck in the movie Babe who tried to crow before the rooster did so he had "purpose" as a duck - maybe Max was trying to out-do the alarmclock! haha

I reset the alarm this evening so I could tape him :) I hope you thinks it's cute as I do.

How terrible

I never thought I'd get so neglectful with my blog! I am not a fan of this. Now I have waited so long it's going to be difficult for me to track the events that have transpired over the last month...

To list a few...
Jemaica's Bridal shower was at the end of July and so was our Ottawa reunion bbq at Edworthy Park. The August long weekend we went out to the cabin in Shuswap with all of Jason's family. We came home for a week after the cabin and went back with my sister and her husband + Jenna, Kara and Bruce. it was a lot of fun both times but they were very different.

Well we're back into the swing of things now and trying to hold onto the beautiful weather we're enjoying in the later part of August. It is kind of sad for me to think that frost will most likely be on the ground in 2+ weeks, at least in the morning before the suns out... A few other exciting things have transpired recently as well but that will have to wait until another post.. or two!

Jem's shower: Nikki, Me, falisha, Megan, Rachael and Jenn. It's so fun to reunite!

Jemaica sporting some of her new presents with a poster I made in the background. We played a game called "Pin the Groom" and I put Troy's head on some WWF guy's body and we pinned little purple flowers on him that were suppose to be boutonnieres.

Zoo Fun

Jason and I had the oppertunity to go to the Calgary Zoo with Amanda when she was visiting and I wanted to post some pictures. We missed a chunk of animals that I really wanted to see (grizzlies, wolves, cougars etc) all the large Canadian wildlife. However we still saw some beutiful and amazing creatures. Amanda - I'm sad that I don't have any "nice" photos of usat the zoo!

This was a very hard photo to get. I felt so bad for this baby too, the big sister gorilla dropped it and picked it upside down, and rolled it around and around... The poor baby was being mangled!

Too Fast!

I cannot believe there are only ten more days left in July! The summer is going by too fast, and the weather hasn't helped. I mean it hasn't been raining like it did in June but we haven't had any crazy hot days and loads of sunshine to help my pastyness fade away :( I'm sure things will more then compensate when we finally head out to the cabin though! Well as for an update we've been pretty busy again. Amanda (my sister) left over a week ago. We were watching Zeke (Megan's dog) for over a week and he is back to his family now. Amanda and Dalyn's baby boy arrived Friday night- very exciting!!! I have been going to the gym and moving around furniture at work a ton so that has kept me busy almost everyday. This week alone I'm pretty flat out again too. I have the gym, getting together with one of my girlfriends tomorrow, crazily running around to get things for Jemaica's Bridal Shower that I am throwing and Amanda's baby shower is the same weekend. Wish me luck! Anyways I'm going to post some photos and they may not be incredibly interesting to everyone but I know my family appriciates them...they are a bit random too, enjoy :)

I didn't think it was a problem to post this picture of Treyden. Almost everyone has seen the pictures on facebook and I know my mom and dad would appriciate seeing what he looks like. I can't wait to meet my new nephew! Isn't he precious??!!

Yes it's not news to anyone that we're obsessed with our dog and treat like he's a spoiled "only child". He's all we've got right now and we're just "those people" who treat there dog like true family! I'm mommy and Jason's Daddy!

Again... More Max. His hair has finally grown out and he doesn't look like such a rat anymore. We only shaved him so short before because Jason attempted to cut his hair and it was the only way we could fix the disaster he created. I wish I had gotten a before and after photo - It was BAD! But he's always cute no matter what :)

Jason and his "little guys" They look pretty similar huh? Well they are both yorkie mixes thus they both have tanned heads and silver backs. Zeke is a bit bigger than Max but they look like brothers! They are best buds for sure.

Busy Busy

Well another week flew by and this one is going just as fast. My younger sister Amanda has been visiting for the last 10 days and it has been so nice having her around. We celebrated Canada Day, Stampede, my b-day and many fun adventures in between. I think she likes it here :)

Thanks for the many people who joined us on Saturday. It was nice to see everyone! Many thanks and lots of love to my sweetheart Jason. I got a very pretty watch and some new free weights to start toning up finally. I also an very excited about my new gym membership. The day after my birthday I signed up for a membership at Spa Lady... I am stoked to get in shape and try all the classes they have. My first visit is tonight and I am meeting with a personal trainer to set goals. I will keep you posted on my on going visits/ hopeful success!

Such a cute Cowgirl! You'd think she was from the West not the East... ;) She is so much fun!

And I hope everyone has had a great start to their summer so far and enjoyed the Canada day celebrations and Stampede!!!

MY HUSBAND...... If you read this consider yourself tagged!

What is his name... Jason Murray Lee
How long have we been together... We have been married 1 year and 2 months. If you want to include the time we dated it will be 2 years as of this October.
How long did you date... We dated almost 4 months before we were engaged
Who eats more... Sadly I do. Jason is diciplined to stop eating when hes satisfied. I often eat to the point of complete bloating... Over eating is BAD I know!
Who said I love you first... Aha tricky! Jason asked me if I loved him (sneaky I know) and I said yes BUT he replied with "good, because I love you". So he officially said I LOVE YOU first. I think it should be the guy first too. But if you know Jason well enough he says it the other way around.
Who is taller... Jason - Thank Goodness!
Who is smarter... Jason is very book smart and I am Fountain Smart
Who does laundry... I do more and finish what he starts. It's less of a disaster when I do it!
Who sleeps on the right... If you are looking at the bed from the foot, I sleep on the right.
Who mows the lawn.... We don't have a lawn of our own. Although Jason is in charge of mowning the property around our buildings or in charge of getting someone to do it.
Who cooks dinner... I love cooking! I just wish I had more time to practice and learn. Jason does have a special dish that he cooks sometimes.
Who drives... We share one car for now and he drives 99% of the time. However if we are driving a standard car I take the wheel.
Who is the most stubborn... Yikes! We can both be stubborn about certain things I can't say one is more than the other... but for the simple cause of humbling myself I will say that I am a lot more :)
Who kissed who first... He kissed me first on our second date.
Who asked who out first... He asked me to go golfing with him. But told me NOT to call it a date... But it was a date, he was so cute and romantic! He only told me to not call it a date because I had to turn down a date to go out with him and it sounded better to say that I just had "plans" already. I just like to tease him about that.
Who proposed... He did of course! We have a video to prove it to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbCvjD9kEWs
Who has more friends... I have friends all over the map but Jason has tons of friends in Calgary and does a lot more with his friends. So I would say he does...
Who is most sensitive... Haha need you ask??? I cry over everything.
Who has more siblings... Its a tie! He's the middle of 5, and I am the second of 5.
Who wears the pants... He does for the most part but I am the one who works away from home 9-5 while he's at home working, sometimes cleaning and playing with our dog. Tables will turn and he will completely wear the pants soon enough!

More Utah and Other fun stuff!

No... I didn't take this photo. But we saw these girls perform last night!

Well I mentioned that I would add pictures of mine and Jason's trip to Utah. I know that is has taken me a little longer than I anticipated to add them but we have been sooo busy! And its not going to stop yet... We actually just arrived home from Edmonton today. Jason and I drove down to visit Amanda and Dayln. Jason and Dayln spent all day Saturday working on installing kitchen cabinets, Amanda and I put together a few but spent the evening at Cirque de Soleil. It was very cool to finally see such an amazing show. It's really incredible what the human body is capable of. Anyways we're back now and have another busy week ahead of us. I am trying to get my house ready for my sister to come and visit. Not to mention it is the end of the month and I have visiting teaching plus some baby showers and other fun events. Yipee! Please don't think I'm complaining because I look forward to all these things. I really do! I just can't remember the last time I had a free Saturday...

FUN TIMES IN HIGHLAND...

The Wimmer's (our cousins) seriously have the sweetest backyard ever. We had a ton of fun playing soccer that night. We miss all of you very much! Thanks again for a wonderful time!

UTAH WEDDING:

Jordan and his studly groomsmen. (Jordan, Seth, Jason, Dave and ?)

Jason and I in front of the waterfalls.

The reception was held at Thanksgiving Point. It's a beautiful 65 acres of garden room and golf course. The front of thei Garden room had waterfalls, a little stream that ran down the side. It was simply breathtaking!

Our dinner table at the Joseph Smith building. Jenn and Dave Low, Austin and Lisa Gough, Derek and Courtney Lee and, Jason and I.

The Beautiful Bride and Handsome Groom- Such a cute couple!

There are about five different wedding parties on this side of the temple alone competing for shade. Photographers were yelling over one another and it was simply chaos! It was really weird and something you'd only find in Utah. Like I said the Salt Lake Temple is a bride and groom factory! Someone mentioned that there were approx 45 weddings between 9am - 2:30pm!

Our Fabulous Trip

Well I have plenty of photos to come but a lot to say as well. Jason and I had a great time in Utah and the weather was sooo nice! I was happy to hear that Calgary got a break from the rain earlier than expected too. Summer started incredibly late this year, and I am happy that it finally feels like it is hear to stay :) (My fingers are crossed) We arrived to Salt Lake City late on Thursday afternoon. We took a shuttle to Rugged Rental and picked up our hot little car, it was a touring edition Sebring. We called it the blue Ferrari! Than we drove to his Aunt Christie's house, who lives is Highland UT. I can't fully explain how much fun we had with them, and how sweet and awesome they are. They have a beautiful home, and a huge backyard that we enjoyed playing soccer in. One of their neighbors had chickens, and the other had a mule! So it was a nice balance of country and suburbia living, my kind of heaven! Jason and I enjoyed some shopping at the Park City Outlets on Friday...actually A LOT of shopping. The deals there were incredible. Jason got some very nice golf apparell which I am assuming that he can't wait to sport properly on the green... Lets hope he gets enough school done first :) Saturday we spent ALL day celebrating Jordan and Trisha's official sealing and wedding party. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple and let me tell you that place is like a bride and groom factory! They were everywhere!! I think there were over 40 sealings on that one Saturday. Imagine how many weddings happen through the whole summer let alone the whole YEAR!?! But their wedding was just beautiful. The sealer mentioned that even though we see many weddings happening all around us we can't be blind that there are a lot of divorces too. When we are married in the temple we have a lot of adversity to deal with still because Satan is detemined to have it not work out and it will seem very hard at times to make our marriage work. But the tools are there for us, and it can work. We have to use the tools given to us continually. By doing so we can have a successful marriage. I loved hearing that because I know marriage is tough and it is really hard for most people, but we have so much promised to us and so many blessings that our Heavenly Father wants to us to enjoy with our Eternal Companion. We just have to do our part, and going to the temple and hearing the blessings that are promised to you in a temple marriage makes the work seem easier an so much more worth it. "To Infinity and Beyond!" (haha the temple sealer ACTUALLY quoted Buzz Light Year in the sealing room, he said, "now I know that's not scripture, but it's GOOD!") He had an intersting sense of humor... but either way I liked it! We enjoyed consistent beautiful weather during our stay and enjoyed just being able to relax a bit even though sometimes there was a lot going on. It was hard to leave none the less but we will visit again soon, hopefully! I have many many pictures and as soon as I sort through them I will be able to post them. My next post will be mostly photos with captions so check back soon.

Our hot little car!

Utah Weather is looking Fabulous!

I am soo happy right now! My mood just changed very quickly because a moment ago I was ready to curse this blasted weather again!! Our T.V. keeps going fuzzy because the rain is coming down so hard and the satalite is losing it's signal. It looks dark, ugly and very wet outside so I have been couped up all evening with Max. It would be soo nice to go for a walk and enjoy the evening, but no it is pouring STILL. Anyways if you are still wondering what changed my mood all you have to do is read the title of this blog. :) When we arrive to Utah on Thursday it is going to be +20'C AND sunny, then on Friday it will be 25 and 29 degrees on Saturday!! WHOO HOOO!!

I am crossing my fingers that I might even get a little bit of a tan!!!

Calgary is suppose to rain continually until Monday next week, and that it when we come back home. So for all of you stuck here in the rain till then I hope you find some way to enjoy it. Sorry for rubbing anything in there but I can't hold back the excitement. Seriously. :)

Congrats to the "Almost Newly Weds"

Our good friends Jordan Allred and his bride-to-be had their pre-wedding reception on Saturday. It was very lovely and to be honest it was soo nice to attend a lovely wedding where I didn't really have to do any work. In the last year I, my sister and some extended family have gotten married and between setting up and taking things down and doing lots of driving they can leave you a little exhausted afterwards. However I am sure Jordan's mom did herself in more than I have yet in this life. The reception was beautiful and the food was delicious! It was kinda nice because there reception reminded me a lot of my wedding. Jason and I had our reception at the same golf course, around the same time of year, and it was even the same weather we had - lots of RAIN!!! But that is suppose to be good luck :)

They had a pre-reception in Calgary because they were getting married in the States next weekend. I forget the terms or "technical" reasons behind this, but after they are married in the States I don't think Jordan can leave the U.S. again until he gets his greencard.

Akiyah - The Beautiful Flower Girl, and Me ( I think shes giving me a little attitude in this pic though)

I got to see some familiar faces there too. My roomate Lizzie was there with her husband and I hadn't seen her in a long time. She is about to have a baby in 2 months and it was my first time seeing her pregnant too. I am very exicted for her and her husband. It was really nice to catch up. We used to share the same room before we were married and would talk about boys and everything else that was important as a YSA until we fell asleep! So catching up to her on Saturday reminded me of all our good old chats we had while living together.

Life moves so fast it seems. Everyone is all grown up, getting married and starting families and it is really exciting. This is where we find some of the greatest joys we've been waiting for in this life! I am super happy for Jordan and Trish, they make a great couple and are soo in love! Brings back those feelings again from your own wedding day. Even though marriage can have a ton of ups and downs in the first stages and so on. I remember how excited I was to be sealed to Jason for time and eternity. I sure do love him and I am so happy to share my life with him.

Sorry for getting a little sappy there!!!!