Our Second Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, me and Travis decided to recreate one of our
first dates--To go out to Arby's for dinner and then Cold Stone Creamery for dessert.
Still, we weren't sure what we wanted to get for each other.
(We kept saying,"I don't know what I'm going to do for you" in exasperated
tones, the days prior to Valentines.) So, you can imagine my surprise when I got home from a long day of school and work to find some special surprises from my sweet
husband! As you can see, he put some red and pink balloons in our living room...

And strung them across the window...

And over our piano...

And put them up next to our bed (this really made me smile)...

Then left me the sweetest card (which was pretty darn creative)...

And got me some long stem roses (two for two Valentine's Days together)!!!

It goes without saying that I was very pleasantly surprised!

Thank you Travis for your sweet gifts and for being my sweet husband.

I'm glad that you're my eternal valentine. I LOVE YOU!!!

Now, as all women know, men are very hard to buy for. I knew that Travis wouldn't want flowers, and that it would take him forever to eat any candy I bought for him. Plus, I knew that acts of service were more meaningful to him than gifts or romantic words. So, I decided to give him the gift of a weeks worth of things I would do for him...A Valentine's Week. He'd just have to pick a day, and I would do a certain act. I know it might seem like a cop out, but I did put a lot of thought into it, and, in the end, Trav said it was a wonderful gift, so I was pleased.

Hope you all had a happy day of love!

Hey all. This is Travis. I have a pretty cool organic chemistry teacher and he likes to show us dumb videos if we have time leftover in class. Here's one that I think we all can relate to. Its called "Procrastination." Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P785j15Tzk

I guess Jenny got caught in a friendly game of tag that my sisters were playing...and she tagged me. So here's my story.

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves
C. At the end of the post, the player tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they are tagged

10 years ago I was . . .
in Jr. High i guess... exciting, eh?

5 things on my to do list today . . .
1. Go to school
2. study chemistry
3. FHE
4. hug and kiss my wife
5. sleep

4 Things I would do if I became a billionare.
- Pay for school
- buy a decent car for our family
- give some away
- save it

3 of my bad habits are. . .
1. biting my cheeks
2. procrastination
3. reading about news or politics when i should be studying

5 places I have lived
-Moscow, ID
-Idaho Falls, ID
-Grangeville, ID
-Rexburg, ID
-Odate, Japan

5 jobs I have had
-Independent Contractor for the Lewiston Morning Tribune
-Utensil Sanitatization Specialist
-umm...I worked at a movie theater. I can't think of a clever job title for that one.
-Melaleuca Customer Care Wellness Representative
-Psychiatric Technician

4 Things most people don't know about me.
- i never sleep with a pillow
- i like politics...sometimes
- i don't like it when my wife has to take the garbage out because it means i've been lazy
- i'm afriad of heights

OK, now who's it?
i guess i'm supposed to tag some more people...
(Parents, you might have to help them out a little bit.)
1. Jenna
2. Cailyn
3. Gavin
4. Kamela

i can't wait to read what they have to say.

Snow...

I don't think I've ever experienced so much snow in such a short period of time. All of you who have lived in Southeastern Idaho, however, can probably comprehend. We got almost a foot of snow one night last week, and in the past week or so, it has seemed to never stop snowing. We have even had a couple of blizzards. Luckily, the past two days have been nice. We just wanted to document how very snowy it has been for us here.

The narley icicles outside our bedroom window:


Here is our snow-ladened apartment complex:
(I mean, really, look at those piles of snow!)

Here is a view of our driveway.

A neighbor's car, showing off the recent

snow fall.

What I wouldn't give some days to be visiting my parents in Tucson, AZ.

A few of my favorite things

I had been reading Rachel's post of "Her Favorite Things"/"Love Is", hoping to do a similar thing, but never getting around to doing it on a regular basis. So, this post is about just that--What I, Jenny, think love is, and what my favorite things are. So, here goes:

A few of my favorite things:
1. Fridays.
2. The luxury of sitting and not having to think or worry about anything; to just watch the world move around you for a moment.
3. Beautiful sunsets.
4. Tide-to-go pens (they even work on 6 mo old stains on your wedding dress--a miracle product).
5. Clean jeans lovingly laundered by your husband.
6. Sleeping in.
7. Cleaning the house or making dinner just before Travis gets home.
8. Walking around in Hallmark or scrapbook stores and just looking at everything.
9. Getting a present for someone that I think they'll really like.
10. Putting on a new outfit for the first time.
11. Red Robin hamburgers and fries.
12. Girl talk.
13. Sitting by the ocean.
14. Squeezing Travis tight.
15. Shoulder rubs.
16. Getting pampered at the salon.
17. Reading a good book.
18. Being in the celestial room and knowing that families can be forever.

Love is...
Doing the dishes.
Giving a back massage.
Soft kisses.
Little notes left around the house.
Making dinner.
Grabbing you a glass of water.
Stroking your hair.
Paying attention.
Laughing at your cheesy joke.
Giving you a chance to win the game.
Holding your hand.
Watching a chick flick/action movie.
Warming up the car.
Tucking you in.
A sincere compliment.
Opening your car door.
Praying for you to do well on your test.
Saying: "I forgive you," "I appreciate you," "I love you."

Ba-rok-on!

On Tuesday night, Travis and I attended the Democratic caucus in Madison County. Over 200 people showed up and crammed into Madison Middle School's library to give their vote. It was a much larger crowd than expected (Madison being the "reddest" county in the country). Everyone was pleased with the turnout. Although we lean toward the Republican side, we still thought it would be fun to participate in a caucus (the Republican caucus isn't until May). Trav has really been following the 2008 election, so it was nice for us to be a part of the process even in a small way. It was also neat to see fellow BYU-I students, as well as BYU-I professors there--and overall, people just being politically active. The result: 2 delegates for Obama, and 1 for Hillary Clinton. Idaho overwhelmingly voted for Obama (thank goodness). It was a fun night. =)

Attendees discussing politics:

Two Obama supporters discussing the issues:

Travis' old calculus teacher trying

to recruit Travis to give an "appreciation"

vote for John Edwards.

Here we are, waiting for the caucus to begin.

The "V" here is for "voting."

At the end, we got to vote for people from the

caucus to represent us at the state convention.

Aren't you so glad that we live in the USA and

can take part in our country's politics?!

A weekend at Bear Lake

In January, we had the fun opportunity to hang out with Travis' family in Bear Lake for the weekend. It was an especially nice treat because Travis' brother, Jason, and his family were there (up from Texas), as well as his parents, brother, and sister. I finally got to meet Jason's wife, Mindi, and their two cute girls--Cailyn and Jessica. It was Trav's first time meeting Jessica too. I love my in-laws, and enjoy any opportunity we get to hang out with them. We had a fun time visiting, swimming, and playing games. Thanks for having us along Jason and Mindi! We love you!

Here's Trav with our cute neice Jessica.
She is such a doll!

And already a social butterfly. =)

Here's Mindi reading to her daughter Cailyn,
(the book Cinderella, of course). Me and Cailyn
had fun being ballerina's later on and twirling.

Cailyn was a super helper, and helped "Papa" make
pizza, and "Lita" make rice crispy treats. Thank you
Cailyn!

Trav and Jason had a good time jamming together.

They share similar tastes in music, and so were able

to play a lot of songs together. These two brothers

are so much alike, and a lot of fun to see together.

Thanks for entertaining us guys!

We were so glad to spend time with y'all, and

hope to see you again soon!

I've been tagged!

Thank you, Mindi, for tagging me and giving me an excuse to do a fun blog post!
Here are the tag rules:

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves
C. At the end of the post, the player tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they are tagged

And here are my responses:

10 years ago I was...
Just beginning two new phases of life--young womens and middle school. I was also taking my first art class.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Go to school
2. Go to work
3. Do homework
4. Go to the Democratic caucus with Travis
5. Email my grandfather

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Travel everywhere!
Own my own house and decorate it however I want.
Own two cars (that are less than five years old, and have less than 200,000 miles).
Own a really nice camera and take pictures of all the places I visit.
Put most of the money in the bank for mine, Travis', and our kids' future.
Donate to charities in my dad's and mom's name.

3 of my bad habits are:
Napping when I shouldn't.
Leaving my snow-covered shoes on when I walk all over our apartment (much to Travis' dismay).
Allowing Travis to do the dishes more than I should (he is so good about doing them!).

Places I have lived:
Issaquah, WA (age 1-19, in the same house no less)
Rexburg, ID (I'm going on my fourth year of school here, and am now a registered voter here!)

5 Jobs I have had:
YMCA--swim instructor and life guard.
Cold Stone Creamery--server.
Lakeside Montessori--teacher assistant.
Title Nine--retail assistant.
BYU-Idaho Writing Center--writing tutor.
Two jobs that I'd like to forget: ROC and Melaleuca

Things most people don't know about me:
I love Jane Austen books and movies.
I love the idea of being a stay-at-home-mom as my career.
I get excited about checking the mail every day.
I despise onions, tomatoes, and medium rare meat.
My favorite animal is a pig.
I'm married to the most wonderful man in the world (in my book, anyway).

So, who's tagged now?
Travis
Chelsi
Tia
Brandon