The Morris Family

Remember us?

2012-02-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

We're still here! I am terrible at blogging. I always have the intentions to, but then I can never decide where to start, so I give up and just read your blogs instead! Life is so good here. Gracelyn is now 4 months old, and we just can't get enough of her! She is the absolute sweetest thing. I almost feel guilty about how blessed we are to have her sweetness in our lives. Here is what she is up to lately:

Favorite toy: Dee Dee the Dragon. She just loves playing with her dragon toy! We take it with us everywhere we go.

Gracie and Dee Dee

Favorite activity: She also loves to spend time in her little play gym just batting at and trying to eat the toys.

Playing in her baby gym. Not the best pic, but you get the idea

New skills: Gracie is eating food!!! We have heard a lot of different things on what you should feed your kids and when, and we talked with her Pediatrician and decided what would be best for us. Gracie is now eating pureed veggies! It is so fun to feed her. She is getting better every day. She also loves to laugh and watch everything mommy is doing all the time. She is also in LOVE with her Daddy! Her face just lights up and she gets sooo excited when he gets home. It melts our hearts. She is getting pretty close to sitting up on her own, and also loves to stand all the time, with our help of course. Oh and she sticks just about everything she can get her hands on in her mouth. She's super slobbery.

Getting ready to have her first taste of food- think she wanted it?

Trying it out

She liked it! And pretty sure it got all over the place!

Personality: Super mellow and content all the time. We really lucked out because she is just so good. We got her shots on Thursday and she screamed when they stuck her, but then when back to playing with Dee Dee and was perfectly happy. I was floored. Can she really be that sweet? We also have to turn the baby monitor up loud enough that we can hear her movements because if we don't, we won't know when she wakes up in the morning because she doesn't cry. I am sure our next kid will be super hyper-active to make up for her calmness. She's our calm before the storm- needless to say we will be holding off for a while to have #2 ha ha.

After we got home from getting her shots

Gracie's typical day:
Wake up around 8am
Breakfast
Back to sleep until 10
Eat again
Play time! (this is when she is the most active and fun to play with)
Nap time again around 12:30
Wake up and eat around 2
Playtime! or errand time, depending on what we have going for the day
Usually takes a short nap around 4ish
Dinnertime around 5:30ish: Gracie gets to eat some baby food!
Daddy time! I am pretty sure this is Gracie's favorite time of day and I KNOW its Jer's favorite time of day
Get ready for bed: Bath, snuggles, then food
Bedtime between 8 and 9
Sleep until 8 the next day and start all over again!
It varies from day to day, but this is what we try to stick to for the most part.

Measurements:
At her 4 month checkup last week she was weighing in at 15 lb. 5 oz. and measuring 25 inches long. She is in the 50-75% range for both. Still growing like crazy! She is fitting into some 12 and 18 month clothes already! Mostly just pants. It really all depends on the brand though. For the most part she is wearing 6-12 month clothes.

After going on a run with Daddy

Rocking out Todd's cowboy boots like a true Okie!

Just sitting on the couch beinh sweet

This was actually Christmas morning. She is wearing all the bows she got in her stocking and her pink ugg boots on her hands.

Telling secrets with her bestie/cousin Cora.

Hanging out with Mommy!

That's what's going on with us!

10 Weeks!

2011-12-03T08:26:00.001-07:00

Friday was 10 weeks since Gracelyn was born. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by or how fast she has grown! I feel like I have a toddler instead of a newborn! Gracie is growing like a weed and we miss her little tiny stage. She is definitely a big baby. On Monday we went to her 2 month appointment and she is weighing in at a whopping 12 pounds 6 ounces and she is 23.5 inches long. The doc said she is close to the 90% percentile in both categories. To put this into perspective, Gracie's cousin Cora who was born 3 months before her, weighs 13 1/2 pounds, so Gracie is only a pound behind her! Ha ha we just love our little girl who is just growing like crazy! She is such a good baby and we just love having her here. She has such a pleasant personality. She never cries unless she is hungry (or those mean nurses are sticking needles in her for her immunizations). She consistently sleeps through the night and most mornings isn't up before 7, which has been really nice. The doctor says that once she reaches some big milestones, like teething, crawling, eating solids, etc. then she probably won't continue to sleep through the night, but for now I am definitely enjoying it. She has also started smiling at us which is absolutely my favorite thing. It is just so special to see her learning and growing every single day. We are so blessed to have her in our lives. She is healthy and happy and we are so grateful for that blessing. I know there are so many people in this world that would do anything to have a healthy baby or even a baby at all and we feel so blessed and humbled that the Lord is trusting us with one of his sweet children. We pray everyday for those who are struggling to have children or have children with complications. There are so many deserving people in this world and especially those friends and families of ours, we love and pray for you! We are so excited to get to take Gracie to meet everyone in a couple weeks. So far, the only family she has met has been mine and Jeremy's moms, who both flew out here and were so gracious to help me for the first few weeks of motherhood. I can't wait to have her meet her Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, second Cousins, Great Grandparents, and friends. We are so grateful for all the love and support we have received, even though we are so far away. And we also appreciate our friends here in Oklahoma who have been so kind to us. Thanks everyone!

I had a bunch of pictures to post but I had trouble uploading them, so for now I will post this and pictures will come soon! Hopefully!

Gracie's birth story

2011-10-20T12:28:00.002-06:00

On Friday, September 16th around 1 a.m., I woke up to go get a drink and go to the bathroom. When I stood up, I was having some pretty strong pains- it was a contraction. I had been getting them occasionally, but this was stronger than usual. I let it pass, and then got my drink and went to the bathroom, then back to bed. As I got back in bed, I started having another contraction. It really hadn't been that long since the last. I got out my phone, and started the lap timer. 7 minutes later, I had another. Then another, and another. They continued all night, and into the day. They were all about 6-8 minutes apart. I started to freak out a little. I was going to have a baby!!!! Jeremy went to school, since it was a short day and we figured it would take a while for them to progress. He came home around 1, and I was still having them, but they were not getting any closer together yet. We decided to go get some lunch, so we headed to Ted's, our favorite Mexican restaurant. We then went to the mall and shopped a little and walked around. They still weren't getting any closer, but they were still happening. We decided to go home, and get our stuff ready and head to the hospital. We checked into the hospital's triage and they checked me out. I was dilated to a 1. They decided to keep me for an hour and see if anything was progressing. We hung out, the contractions continued, and an hour later they came and checked me again. Still a 1. I was not in active labor, so they sent me home. They said as soon as my water breaks or the contractions get down to 3-5 minutes apart, I should come back in.

The contractions continued. All day and all night, all week long. They stayed about 6-8 minutes apart, but they got stronger and stronger. By Wednesday, I was pretty uncomfortable. I couldn't just sleep through them anymore, which made me miserable. Wednesday night I did not sleep at all. I was in so much pain that I basically laid on the couch all day. I made myself a PB&J at one point and that's about all I did all day. I was really unhappy and the stupid contractions weren't getting any closer, they were getting further apart. Jeremy came home from school and he could tell I was not doing well. I asked Jeremy for a blessing and it was a very special experience for both of us. I instantly felt so much more calm than I had all week. I could feel my Savior's love and I really knew that I would be okay. I am so grateful to have Jeremy and the Priesthood in our home so we can take advantage of Priesthood blessings.

By now I was starving, since I hadn't eaten much. On Thursdays at Cracker Barrel they have Turkey Dinner Special, and that sounded so good to me. We headed over there to get some food. I kept having contractions the whole time, and I probably looked pretty silly because every time I would have one I would stand up and rest against my chair- the hard wood chairs were too hard to sit in while having contractions. At this point my contractions were about 10 minutes apart, definitely not close enough to head to the hospital. I was so miserable though, and the hospital was pretty close to Cracker Barrel, so we decided we would stop by and at least see if we could at least get something for the pain. It was 6:45 p.m. and Jeremy figured we could at least go hang out there and watch Big Bang Theory, since it started at 7 and they have TV's in the triage rooms. Ha ha. We checked into the hospital and they could tell I was in a lot of pain, so they sent me back to triage. They checked me, and I was already dilated to a 4!! I was completely shocked! The contractions may not have been close together, but they were strong enough that they were getting the job done. They wanted to monitor me for half an hour to make sure I was progressing. They checked me again a half hour later, and I was a 5. I was in active labor! They got my room prepped and moved me upstairs.

It was about 8:30 p.m. when I got all set up in my room. Labor and Delivery was pretty busy that night, but they said they would send the Nurse Anesthetist in to give me my epidural pretty soon. She was just finishing up on someone else. They came in and said they needed to move my epidural back, since someone else needed it, then they moved it again, so I had 3 people ahead of me. I was kinda bummed about it, but I was trying to be strong. They had trouble getting my IV in, and it really hurt. They had to stick me twice, and it was really tender through the entire labor process. After waiting for an hour or 2 they finally came in to do my epidural. I was dilated to a 7. The Anesthetist was really nice, and she had a nurse in helping her as well. As she started to stick it into my back, I jumped a little. I have really sensitive reflexes. As soon as I did this, the nurse that was helping came over and basically put me in a headlock. It had been a long night and you could tell she was losing patience. I was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning forward, and the nurse leaned over me and stuck her arms around me to hold me still. This would have been fine, but she was completely covering my face, and I happen to be claustrophobic (which I had told her only minutes before). I told her I couldn't breathe, but she didn't care. I was hyper-ventilating and I could hardly keep still, which is not ideal when someone is jamming a giant needle into your spine. They finally got it in place and the nurse released me. I came up all sweaty and crying. Jer felt so bad for me, and I was not very happy with the nurse. Luckily, it was the end of her shift and she headed home and a new nurse headed in. The worst was over. From here on, labor was cake!!

The next time they checked me I was dilated to a 9 and 100% effaced. I was feeling awesome. Epidurals are heavenly. Anyone who is trying to decide if they want one or not, DO IT!!! Best thing ever. I just laid there comfortably, and enjoyed thinking about the new little girl I would have soon! They told me to sleep, but I was too pumped full of adrenaline to sleep. They wanted me to wait, and see if baby girl and the contractions could get her moved past my pelvis on their own so it would be easier to push her out. I just hung out until about 4 a.m At 4 we woke Jeremy up and decided that I should start pushing!

With Jeremy on one side holding my leg, and the nurse on the other, I started to push. I could feel one of my legs, and I could tell when the contractions were starting so I could push, but it didn't hurt. I pushed for a little while, then the nurse said we were ready to call the doctor in. She came in, and 2 pushes later Gracelyn Jane Morris was born!! It was September 23rd, 2011 at 4:43 a.m. She weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces, 19 inches long, and had a TON of gorgeous hair!! Everyone was shocked by how big she was. We all thought she would be in the 6 pound range. She was crying and bluish, and I just kept asking "Is she okay?! Is she healthy?!" They told me it was normal for her to be that color, and they checked her out and she was completely healthy and beautiful! I couldn't believe it was all over! I also kept asking "Was that really it? That's all? She's here?!!" I just couldn't believe it. It was such a special experience and I would not trade it for the world. Jeremy was sooo excited. We instantly fell completely in love with her. Its amazing how much love you can have for a child.. Jeremy kept talking about how beautiful she was and I couldn't get over how healthy she was and how smoothly everything went. According to Jeremy I was really pleasant through the whole experience, I was even laughing and joking with the nurse between when I had to push. Just another testament to how awesome epidurals are! I also think that the blessing that Jeremy gave me was a huge help. I know that my Heavenly Father was helping me through and giving me strength.

I am so grateful that Heavenly Father is trusting Jeremy and I with one of his sweet children. She means the world to us. We love her more than anything and we are sorry if we get annoying talking about her, we just love her so much! She is truly a gift from Heaven and she just has the best spirit about her.

Thanks to all of our family and friends for all the love and support. We couldn't have done it without you!!!!

Here are some pictures from the day. Unfortunately, since we weren't planning on staying at the hospital, we did not have our nice camera with us for her birth. These pictures were all taken on our cell phones. Jeremy went home later that morning and got our camera. I will post those pictures soon too.

Getting weighed right after she came out

Making sure she is healthy

Right after her first bath

In her little bassinet cart after she came back from her bath.

Sleeping in Daddy's arms

The next few pictures I took while I was holding her while Jeremy went home to get our stuff.

Gracelyn's Nursery!

2011-09-02T19:23:00.001-06:00

The nursery is finally done! Well except it is missing 2 things I am waiting for my mom to send in the mail. My mom hand-knitted a yellow blanket for her bedding and is also sending me some vinyl letters for the center of the circle collage that say "Gracelyn Jane." I couldn't wait any longer to post though so here it is! Let me know what you think!

Thanks Cindy for the adorable wall art!

My cute friend Natalie made this bow holder!

We refurbished this chair ourselves!

It will say her name in the middle of these circles

Baby Shower

2011-08-27T17:09:00.000-06:00

My friend Karen threw an awesome shower today for me. Thanks Karen for throwing it! It turned out so cute! And thank you everyone who came and for the cute gifts!

Here are some pictures from it- we forgot to get pictures of the people there, oops! It was an owl yellow/gray theme and it turned out adorable!

My friend Kaley made this awesome diaper cake!!! So cute!!

The cupcakes were delicious! Thanks Abby!

Karen and I. I look huge next to her!

Baby bump

2011-08-27T15:34:00.000-06:00

Since we don't live around a lot of our friends and family, I keep getting requests to see the belly, so here it is in all its glory!!

Much needed UPDATE!

2011-08-24T18:27:00.000-06:00

I know I know, I suck at updating the blog! Many things have changed since the last update I did! Here are all the highlights of the past few months:

Jeremy graduated from BYU!

I had some awesome baby showers in Utah- thanks friends and family for all the great gifts!

Friend baby shower

Some of the friends- thanks Kylee and Jamie for throwing it and everyone else for the cute gifts!

Work shower

The lovely ladies that threw the shower, Cindy and Dana. Thank you!!!

I also had some family showers that I don't have pictures of, but thanks Mom, Jess, and Mom-in-Law for throwing them! And thank you family for the amazing presents and support!

We moved to Oklahoma!

Leaving Utah with our Uhaul

Jeremy's parents were so nice to drive my car out there and I flew since pregnancy and 20 hour drives are not friends.

We moved into our new place

Our new furniture!

I will post pictures of our new place soon, but I think it will need its own post since there will be a lot, and I still need to take the pictures!

Jeremy started Dental School at the University of Oklahoma

First day of school!

Jeremy ha his White Coat Ceremony, where he was officially accepted into the medical field

We went back to visit Utah for a little while and got to go to our sweet new niece's blessing!

Beautiful Cora Victoria Cox was born via Cesarean Section on Friday, June 24th at 8:03 a.m. She weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz. and was 18 inches long.

The baby has been growing and growing! I am now almost 35 weeks and we are expecting her any time- We can't wait!

Picture from one of my ultrasounds- she is sucking her thumb!

Baby bump picture coming soon!

Also, yesterday Jeremy was elected class President of his Dental class! Way to go honey!

Well that's all I can think of for now! Just a few, minor, tiny updates to our life, right? Not anything significant.... haha.

It's a.......

2011-04-25T15:18:00.000-06:00

Bye, Bye, first tri!

2011-04-06T09:45:00.002-06:00

Thank goodness I made it! It was a little rough for a while there, but the second tri is proving to be much better! And I am starting to show a little! Sorry for the crappy pic, it was on my phone.

We find out what we are having on April 25th and we can't wait! Vote on what we're having over there.--->

In other news, we are going back to Oklahoma, or at least that's what we think for now! Oklahoma counter-offered with a scholarship and we decided that's where we are supposed to be.

Also, Jeremy is graduating on April 22! We are super excited. We will be moving to Oklahoma at the end of June, so if you want to see us before we leave, let us know!

Iowhat?

2011-03-06T12:08:00.003-07:00

Oh life! How you love to trick us! So remember how I posted that we were going to Iowa? Then I posted that we are going to Oklahoma? Well guess what? We are going back to IOWA! We have been planning on Oklahoma since January and have been looking for houses and getting ready to go out there. Well Friday, Jeremy received a call from Iowa. Even though he had already told them we were going to Oklahoma, they decided to re-admit him and offer him a $60,000 scholarship on top of the $20,000 research scholarship he can get. Needless to say, we are taking the offer! $80,000 is just too good to pass up! Jeremy has always liked Iowa and it is one of the top dental schools so we are excited for this opportunity. Go Hawkeyes!

Our "Little Angel"

2011-02-28T22:38:00.002-07:00

As most of you already know, we are expecting!!!! I had my first appointment today and things are going well. I am 8 weeks, 4 days along, and the baby is due October 6th. The baby is about 2cm long and its heart rate is 167 BPM! It was so neat to see its heart just fluttering away! It made the whole thing so real. They were able to capture a cute picture. If you look closely you can see the tiny arm and leg. It looks like a little gummy bear. :)

It's Official!

2010-12-28T00:05:00.000-07:00

We are moving to Oklahoma! Surprised? So was I. :)

Go Sooners!

New Favorite Restaurant

2010-12-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas! Ours was great! We just love spending time with everyone!

This last week we went to dinner at Cafe Paesan in Orem, and it is my new favorite! This restaurant was created by the same guy that did Cafe Rio, and it is EXACTLY like Cafe Rio, but Italian food. Really yummy Italian food! I got a Spicy Apple Braised Pork Salad and it was sooo good! I recommend you go there this very second. Check out the menu HERE. If you go, let us know and we will go with you! :)

Provo Tabernacle Fire

2010-12-20T17:12:00.004-07:00

I pulled these pictures of a wife of a firefighter’s facebook page. He took these pictures with his cell phone. This picture of Christ was found among the rubble in the Provo Tabernacle fire. Pretty crazy, huh?

Close up:

Here's another one:

Umm...

2010-12-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Iowa anyone?

We're in!!!!

2010-12-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

Jeremy has been accepted to Iowa, Oklahoma, and UNLV! We are soooooooo excited! Now just to decide where to go! If anyone has any insight, let us know!

I'm thankful for...

2010-11-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

...my amazing friends and family! You are all awesome, so I just wanted to let you know. :)

This is my favorite week of the entire year. We just had Thanksgiving, which I just love getting together with family and eating delicious food! I also love Black Friday- such a fun day! We got no sleep, but it was fun to go shopping and see all the crazies, hang out with family and friends. Then today is the Holy War ( go Cougs!), tomorrow is my birthday, Monday is my Mom's birthday, and the next night we should find out where Jeremy got into Dental school!

So much craziness, but I really love it. And I love the holidays! 'Tis the Season!

Halloween

2010-11-06T15:05:00.000-06:00

I had to steal this picture off my friend Jamie's blog and post it. This was our Halloween costumes this year:

We didn't really get any other pictures, although I think our parents have some. Maybe if I can find them I will post some more about our halloween. :)

Halloween Half

2010-11-02T12:54:00.001-06:00

We did it!!! It was seriously soo much fun. I ran it in 2:18 which may not sound that great, but considering I did not train at all ( I did 3 3 mile runs the week before and no other running) and I am a slow runner, I was super excited about it! I am sad we won't be living here next year to do it again. I now have a new goal: 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours.

St. George Marathon

2010-10-23T22:17:00.001-06:00

Jeremy and his dad ran the St. George marathon again this year. We also have an achievement award that Jeremy's family does in memory of his Grandpa, Clark Morris. For more info about it, click here. This year, we had a sweet lady that got the award who was pulling out of her driveway, and her son had left the back door of the car open, so she reached out her door to close it, and accidentally took her foot off the break. She fell out of the car, and actually ran herself over. She had serious injuries to her chest and lungs. This was only in January, and she was able to run the marathon this year. It was such an inspiring story. She truly deserved the award. It was a great trip, even if it was a really tough run for the boys!

Too competitive for my own good...

2010-10-23T11:42:00.002-06:00

I have lots of things I keep meaning to blog about, but I need to upload pictures so I don't. So for now, I will just keep it short and sweet. This morning, I did this:

Next week, I am doing this:

The following week I will be doing this:

Sandy City Turkey Trot

Am I crazy? Yes. Why would I put myself through this? Well because I am too competitive for my own good. We are having a contest at work, and the winner gets a customized pair of these:

or one of these:

Wish me luck!

Dental School

2010-09-13T17:13:00.000-06:00

As most of you know, Jeremy has been preparing to go to Dental school for the past few years. It has been a lot of work and even more time, but the time is almost here! We applied to 16 schools in all, and are hoping to get in and we will be leaving next Summer! It is so crazy to think that we will be moving away from all our friends and family, and I am really sad about it. But at the same time, I am excited for the adventure we have in store! Jeremy has already had an interview at the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry(go Huskers!) and he is going to Iowa this week for another interview at University of Iowa College of Dentistry. He also has an interview scheduled with University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dentistry scheduled for November. Here are the schools we are still waiting to hear from:

University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine
Baylor College of Dentistry
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Dental School
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Dental Branch
University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry
University of Kentucky College of Dentistry
University of Louisville School of Dentistry
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry
West Virginia University School of Dentistry
Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health
Ohio State University College of Dentistry

It is still really early, so we are hoping to hear from the rest of the schools soon! If anyone has any insights on any of these schools or places to live, let us know! We have a tough decision to make. We should get actual offers starting on December 1st. Wish us luck!

I left my heart....

2010-09-06T12:20:00.001-06:00

in San Francisco....

2 weekends ago, Jeremy planned a second anniversary trip to San Fransisco for us! We decided we would go this month since school starts next week so we wouldn't be able to go on our actual anniversary. It was sooo much fun! My parents came with us and we all had a blast!!

The main reason we went is because I have wanted to see the musical "Wicked" for the last forever, and Jer surprised me with tickets. It was absolutely the most amazing musical ever. We all loved it so much!

We also rode tandem bikes across the golden gate bridge, hung out at Fisherman's Wharf, ate at tons of fun restuarants, went to Chinatown, went shopping, visited famous Lombard Street (known as the crookedest street in the world), and just walked around the fun city. Here are the pictures from our trip. They are out of order, sorry. Don't know how to change them around.

Eating a Ghiradelli Sundae. Mmmmm!

Tyler and Andrea, this is for you! I found you guys a stroller!

Double Raindow all the way across the sky!

Tandem bike across the Golden Gate Bridge! It was foggy.

This was inside a restaurant. Gross.

Tiffany!

Wicked! Best show ever.

Such a good show!

The bracelet Jer got me at Tiffany and surprised me with right before Wicked started!

The bridge

It was foggy

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Eating Breakfast

Drinking a boba in Chinatown

The city

Alcatraz

These two old twin ladies- we saw them 2 days in a row wearing the same thing!

I have the best husband anyone could ever ask for. Thanks for the fun trip!!!

Back to the Singles Ward....

2010-07-06T17:49:00.001-06:00

Yes. You read that right. I am going back to the singles ward.

Don't get too sad though, I am still VERY much in love with Jer! He is coming with me! I hope I scared you all. :)

A couple Sundays ago, we got a text from Brother Davenport from the BYU 7th Stake asking us to call him as soon as possible. We had no idea who he was, and we are not members of the 7th stake, so we were a little baffled, but not for long. I made the connection that this was my old singles stake from about 3 years ago. We had a strange feeling we knew what was coming, but didn't want to be sure of anything. Jer called him back, and he asked us to come meet with him on that Tuesday night.

Tuesday came around, and we went to the Tanner Building on BYU campus for our meeting. Jeremy was asked to serve as the Second Counselor in the BYU 124th Bishopric. Holy cow.

We are excited for this opportunity, but I must admit it will be a lot of hard work and time!. Not gonna lie, it will be really weird sitting by myself in a singles ward again, especially since everyone there will be my age!

I know that this is where we are supposed to be and I am so glad that we have been sealed in the temple and are doing the things we should be so the Lord is trusting Jeremy with His keys. Jeremy is such a good example to me and I know he will do an awesome job!

What a month!

2010-06-17T19:55:00.004-06:00

It has been a crazy month! We have some interesting news which we will share in a few days, and I just can't believe the crazy turns that life takes some times!

Jeremy took the DAT a few weeks ago and we have all our applications in for DENTAL SCHOOL!!! He did a great job on the DAT, and I am really proud of all his hard work. He is seriously amazing. Now is just tons of waiting. We applied to 16 schools in all. It is crazy thinking that we will be moving out of state soon. I am so excited for the new adventure, but it is going to be way hard to be away from everyone we love and everything we know.

In other news, Jeremy ran the Utah Valley Marathon last weekend with his dad. I swear, he never stops! It never ceases to amaze me all the things he can do. I will post pictures soon.

I just realized I never posted anything from the half marathon I ran clear back in April, so I guess I should post those pictures as well.

I haven't updated this sucker in a long time, so as soon as I have my camera, the internet, and some time, I will get pictures posted from the last little bit.

Although life is crazy, it is really good. I love every minute of it. :)

I need.

2010-04-21T01:35:00.007-06:00

Instead of doing my homework, I have been researching lomography, which is something I have been interested in for a while. Lomography is a type of photography using vintage plastic cameras and the pictures are AMAZING. It is so unpredictable and imperfect, which is what makes it so great. As soon as I get my homework done, I am marching down to my favorite camera store and buying myself a Holga. I just can't wait. And I need some motivation to get my homework done! Here are a couple of examples of lomography.

I think it is just beautiful.

And now I am going to do my homework. Salt Lake Half Marathon update coming soon!

Kids...

2010-04-19T16:17:00.002-06:00

So I was riding in the car with my sister and her 2 little boys, and we were just talking. She asked her boys "If we were to get a baby in our family, would you want a baby brother, or a baby sister?" My cute 2 year old nephew responded "I want a baby sister because girls don't have hairy faces." I just love him.

This is him at our wedding. He is now bigger and even cuter!

Can someone please tell me why?

2010-03-19T16:38:00.003-06:00

I just want to know why the ugliest clothing items are always the comfiest? I find this is especially true with sweats. It seems like no matter how many cute sweats I get, I always seem to default to my favorite "ugly" sweats. Now let's talk about them.

So I have these sweat pants. They sound like they would be cute, they say "Park City" across the butt, they are dark blue, no holes, nothing really wrong with them. Until I tell you who the original owner was. MY DAD. That is right. My dad bought some sweats that say "Park City" across the butt. Real cute, Dad. Needless to say, he really didn't wear them. I liked the idea, so I took them, and I just LOVE them! They are the comfiest sweat pants of all time. They have the elastic bottoms and everything. Classic. I love that I can fit my feet inside them because my feet are always cold. Just talking about them makes me want to go put them on.

Did I mention they are a Men's XL?

Jeremy really hates them. :)

Salt Lake Half Marathon

2010-03-13T10:18:00.006-07:00

So I am crazy, and last Saturday I decided to run the Salt Lake Half, not realizing it is only 5 weeks away (now 4 weeks, eek)! My work will sponsor it, and I want to get back into shape! Needless to say, I am trying to get trained quick! I have only gone running 4 times so far this year, but I am already up to 6 miles, even if I am slow. I have to get up to 13 though, so 7 more! If anyone has any good ideas how to get in running shape fast, or if you want to go on a run, let me know! I plan on being sore for the next month straight. Also, sign-ups are still open, and I really want someone to run with, so you should sign up. Do it. Now. :)

Also, I am trying to find a good way to track runs. So far I have tried Nike +, dailymile, runkeeper(iPhone app) and Jer's Garmin GPS watch. If you run, and have a good way to track it, I want to know!

Fabric!

2010-03-06T11:40:00.002-07:00

So when I was younger, I used to sew a lot with my neighbors and my mom. I haven't done it in years, but I recently got inspired. I have a project in mind, but I need to find some cute fabric, and this is where I need some help! I don't want some basic fabrics- I want some cute, current fabrics that I could find on etsy in shops like this one, but I was hoping I could find stores here that carry them. Anyone have any ideas?

Also, about 10 minutes ago I signed up for the Salt Lake Half Marathon. I don't know what I'm thinking! Better start training!

A New Year!

2010-01-02T12:10:00.021-07:00

2009 has been a pretty good year, but it's definitely been a busy one! I have not blogged much even though we have had a lot going on, just because I haven't had a lot of time, so I will try to summarize our year the best I can in this SUPER LONG post. If I already blogged about it, I just linked it to the original post:

THIS POST IS STILL IN PROGRESS! I am still trying to get all my pictures in 1 place. :)

7 day Cruise to the Caribbean with Jer's family and the Dental offices

The fam in front of our ship

Crazy gymnast for one of the shows

Jer and the Monkey

Me, Britt, and Candice playing on the volleyball court. It was windy!

In Honduras

Parrots!

It was sooo pretty there!

Eating IGUANA!

Move to Provo from Murray

Jeremy Ran the Top of Utah Marathon and St. George Marathon

Jeremy's Birthday: Jeremy's New Roadbike

4th of July Races: Britt 10k and Jer Bike Tour

Anniversary

Trip to Texas for BYU vs. Oklahoma

BYU Season Tickets

New Nephew

My brother Eric and his wife Suzanne gave birth to Chandler Bates Mortenson on 10/28, at 6:53am by C-section. He weighed 8 lb 15 oz and is 22 inches long. This is him 2 days after he was born.

Christmas

New Car

We got hit during a snowstorm and so we decided to get a new car! On December 31st we bought a 2010 Nissan Sentra! It is pretty sweet if I do say so myself. It is espresso black, with keyless ignition, bluetooth, iPod interface, CVT transmission, and all sorts of fun! More pictures to come.

I almost forgot all the weddings! We had a lot of friends and cousins get married!
Here they are in all their cuteness!

Whitney and Brendan

Maria and Sam
Ashley and Tim

Kylee and Russell
Natalie and Trevor

Kim and Scott

One year down, eternity to go!

2009-10-01T06:43:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was our 1 year wedding anniversary!!! I can't believe that it has been a year since I married my best friend and we just couldn't be any happier! To top off a wonderful year, we had such a fun night!

Jer took me to the Melting Pot and it was completely AMAZING!!!!! We had Spinach and Artichoke cheese fondue, California salad, an assortment of really good meat and veggies (including Fillet Mignon, New York Steak, and Shrimp), then we had flaming turtle chocolate fondue that they actually lit on fire! It was seriously the best meal we have ever eaten. He was so completely sweet. He got me roses, a new green iPod nano and a really cute BYU hoodie for the games!

It was seriously just a perfect night. I just wish I didn't forget my camera! We did take some video though, since the iPod he gave me has a video camera! I am so grateful for such a hardworking, loving, and thoughtful husband. I can't wait to spend forever with him!

One year ago, right after we got sealed!!!!

It's about time....

2009-08-29T08:54:00.007-06:00

I am really not very good at updates! I think it's time for one though. Jer and I have just been enjoying our 2 weeks of Summer since Summer semester ended and we're getting ready to go back to school on Monday. It is going to be a crazy semester, since we both have very full schedules. Jeremy is taking a ton of hard classes, doing BYUSA, getting ready for the DAT, job shadowing, volunteering, doing research, and everything else that he has to do, and I will be working full time and going to school. If we disappear for a while, that is why. :)

On a happier note: I GOT MY CANON XSi!!!! I love it! I am taking some classes so I can really learn how to use it and I will hopefully be posting a lot more pictures! It is such an amazing camera.

We are also going on our Annual Labor Day Camping Trip next weekend which will be tons of fun!

OH! We also got out BYU SEASON TICKETS!!!! GO COUGARS!!! We are so pumped to go to all the games and support our team as well as spend some time together.

I can't think of anything else that is too terribly exciting.

4th of July races

2009-07-07T22:37:00.003-06:00

We had a really fun holiday. We got the day off to a great start by doing some races! Jeremy did the Riverton Bike tour which was 25 miles and I did the Riverton 10k. I just found out about it the night before so I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked to be, but it was still fun.

My mom was struggling to take some good pics, but I love her anyway!

What camera should I get??!?!?!!

2009-06-26T21:33:00.000-06:00

So I am hoping to get a new camera so I can start really getting into photography. I am deciding between the Canon XSi or the T1i. If you know anything about cameras, please give me your opinion! Also, I am not completely against the idea of getting a Nikon, so if you think that is better, please let me know!

Update!

2009-06-23T09:21:00.000-06:00

Just a little update for ya'll! Jer got ANOTHER 4.0 this semester! Yay!!!!!

He just started the summer semester yesterday, so we are trying to get through another semester. He is doing so well in school and I am so proud of him! Also, an update on my half marathon progress- I am doing good! Last night I ran to Utah Lake from our house on the Provo River Parkway trail. I am really starting to actually like running!

I must say that I am a little disappointed in the Nike + iPod I have been using. It worked pretty well for my first run (although it was about a half a mile off), but ever since then I haven't had it work properly, which stinks because it is such a great idea, just not very well executed. Darn. The website they have is pretty good though. I think I will still use it to track runs.Life is good here though! That's all I've got.

Rock Climbing

2009-06-16T22:32:00.000-06:00

This last Saturday we went Rock Climbing with some friends in American Fork Canyon. It was lots of fun! We got out of there right before it started raining- perfect timing! Here's some pics from the event.

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

2009-05-28T16:20:00.000-06:00

Tuesday was Jer's 23rd birthday! It's crazy to think that just a year ago Rose and I were making Jer a Big Stupid Cupcake for his birthday and we secretly left it on his porch and now, a year later we are happily married! We had a fun day together. To start the day, Jer got a 98 on his biology test! Then we did some shopping, went to Old Spaghetti Factory with his fam, and then we went to see Terminator Salvation. We would also like to thank Nana for birthday breakfast on Saturday at Market Street Grill and my parents for birthday dinner tonight! It's like a week of birthdayness! Here's a few pictures from not only this year, but also the Big Stupid Cupcake from last year.

Rose and I with the Cupcakes

Birthday presents and cake!

This year's German Chocolate Cake. It says "23" if you can't tell.

What is it?

A new running shirt!

What could it be?

It's a laptop!

Jer's new laptop! Wooo!!

Jer and I at Old Spaghetti Factory

Blowing out the Candles! Nice action shot huh?

Top of Utah

2009-05-12T21:14:00.000-06:00

So Jeremy is running the Top of Utah Marathon on September 18th, and so I have decided to run the Top of Utah Half Marathon on August 29th! I am also considering possibly doing the Provo River Trail or the Hobble Creek Half Marathon instead, which are also in August because we wouldn't have to find accomodations in Logan for the night. I am getting pumped for it. I just started my 16 week training. Wish me luck! If anyone wants to run it with me, or if you are already planning on running one of those, let me know!!! I also have an awesome training schedule if you are interested. :)

4.0!!!

2009-05-07T20:39:00.000-06:00

I would just like to brag about my cute husband getting a 4.0 this last semester. Way to go! He is amazing! :)

Life as we know it

2009-04-11T17:41:00.000-06:00

Life is sooo good! Quick update on what is going on with us. I am still supervising at 1-800-CONTACTS at night and Jer is getting ready for finals this next week. He also just quit his job, so he can go to school full time so we can apply to Dental School within the next year!!! Ahh! It is so exciting and crazy at the same time. Jer is doing awesome in school. He currently holds a 3.9 GPA, just got appointed Associate Director of Student Activities at BYU, presides over the Provo chapter of Operation Smile, and is basically just all around amazing! We are hoping to get into Dental School within the next year and then we will be leaving Utah for a long time! Our top choices right now are San Antonio or Iowa. It is pretty crazy! He is planning on going on to become an Oral Surgeon or some sort of specialist so we will be in school for another 10 years or so. Ugh! It will be worth it though. Other than that, life is not too terribly exciting. We recently celebrated our 6 month anniversary and we are loving every second of being married. We were spoiled in our first few months of marriage and got to go on 2 cruises, but now we are really just buckling down and working hard to get through school. That's it for now! More to come when I think of it!

P-town

2009-01-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

It's official. We are now Provo-ites. We moved in last weekend and I had a hard time at first, but I am starting to warm up to it. Our apartment is what Jeremy likes to call "cozy." Needless to say, my pretty new table doesn't fit very well. :( When we first started moving in I was so sad and so worried about it because I thought it was just going to be horrible. But now that I have decorated it and made it our home, I actually kinda like it, which my family will be happy to hear. I was rather grumpy about it last weekend. Jer was so sweet to practically move all our stuff himself. I went to work Friday afternoon and when I got done that night he had m0ved all our stuff in with a little help from his parents. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband! I will post some pictures soon, but I never blog unless I am at work which makes it hard to upload pictures. When we get back from the cruise I will just have to have an uploading party and get all our wedding, honeymoon, Christmas, apartment, cruise, etc. pictures all posted! How fun!

2009-01-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

So we have started blogging again! We are now happily married, and have been for almost 4 months now! I now work nights (2:30-11pm) so I have a lot of spare time at work so I decided I would blog! Well here's the update with us. We are moving down to Provo this week, where Jer is going to BYU. We are still both working up in the Salt Lake area though so we are coming back and forth all the time. Its pretty crazy. The highlight of our life right now is that next Sunday we leave on a 7-day cruise to Mexico and Honduras and it is going to be a blast! Well thats us right now. I will try to get some pictures uploaded sometime....

Our Engagement Story

2008-07-06T18:47:00.000-06:00

So for all who are wondering just how I did it, I thought I would let you know. So, I picked Britt up at her house at 5:45 pm and we went up to Salt Lake City and got some dinner at P.F. Chang’s. After dinner I had a horse drawn carriage lined up outside for us (which was 45 minutes late by the way) and road up to Memory Grove together. While we were up there I commented on how it would be a nice place for us to build houses and be neighbors (this has been kind of an inside joke for the last couple of weeks). She then got a little mad and said how she didn’t want to be my neighbor, so then I pulled out the ring and said that she would need it if we weren’t going to be neighbors. Of course we were both excited enjoyed being engaged for a little bit before we got to the end of our ride at Temple Square where both of our families were waiting with each member of the family holding a big red rose to give to Britt. It was just precious! And there you go, there’s the story. I have copyrighted it so if any of you guys are thinking about it, you owe me five bucks.

Our Story!

2008-06-30T18:55:00.000-06:00

So, due to high volume of requests to know how exactly it happened, we have decided to document it for everyone. So stop asking!! Just kidding, here it goes.
We met off the internet, or as Britt likes to say, "In the pre-existence." Actually we have known each other for quite a long time. My little sister, who coincidently is also named Brittany, has been friends with my Britt since they were in elementary school. We have chatted a little since then and kept communication as we each grew up. Then I went off to Taiwan to serve my mission and Britt moved down to Provo for school. The spring semester after I came home from my mission I moved up to Logan to attend school at Utah State. While I was up there, I was introduced to this wonderful website known as Facebook (maybe you’ve heard of it). After a while I saw that I had a friend request and it happened to be Brittany Mortenson and we started talking and catching up on each others lives. A couple of weeks later, I came home to Riverton to attend General Priesthood session of conference with my family and I saw this radiant light emanating from this purple Mazda on the road. When my eyes adjusted, I saw that it was Brittany and thought it was fun that I saw her. I told her later when I got back to my apartment that I saw her and we continued to chat. The week that I moved home I got an email from Britt saying that her leg (which had been broken and in a cast) finally was better and that now that I had gotten home that we should do something. I gave her my number and she gave me hers and that day she invited me to come to her house and watch the Jazz playoff game with a bunch of friends. We had a good time later on I said we should all get together and watch a movie at my house. Well when I said “all get together” I really meant Britt and I. We went to Jamba Juice and then watched Rush Hour 3 at my house. Britt likes to point out that we sat about 3 feet away from each other the whole time. After that we started texting a lot and I asked her on another date and we went to see “The Forbidden Kingdom” (another Jackie Chan movie; our relationship is based on Jackie Chan movies) and after a lot of work and stress, I held her hand! The rest is, as you can say, history. We continued dating and fell in love and now we are engaged. It is really amazing to us how this whole thing happened and how quickly it happened. I wasn’t supposed to come back to Riverton this summer, but through much prayer I felt that I was supposed to be here. Britt was the same way, she had a lot of plans for the summer that all fell through and she just happened to be right where I was going to be. We know that God works in many mysterious ways and have felt His guiding hand throughout our dating and courtship. We are grateful to be together and are excited to spend the rest of our eternity together.

We're getting married!!!!

2008-06-30T18:50:00.000-06:00

It's true, we are tying the knot and we couldn't be more excited to spend the rest of eternity together!

We are getting married in the Salt Lake Temple on September 30th, 2008. A reception will be held that evening from 6-8pm at The Gathering Place at Gardner Village. We hope you can all join us!