Jess and Danny May

Oh Canada

2010-06-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it to ~~the coldest place on Earth~~ Canada. I've been wanting to post since I first got here but we've been so busy, I haven't had time. We work 63! hours per wk so we really don 't have time to do much. For those of you who don't know, Brian Bonnett ~~suckered~~ recruited us to work in Canada selling alarm systems for the summer. It is hard work but we are having a good time and have made a lot of friends so far. There are good, and not so good things about Canada. Let me list the good and bad for you:

Things I Love About Canada:

They have Pepsi flavored Slupees!
You always take your shoes off when entering someones house... always!
All the different types of trees
Everybody ~~except us~~ recycles
The people are SO nice!
The sun goes down at 10:00 pm
So many beautiful parks!

Things I ~~hate~~ Don't Like So Much:

It's impossible to find a toilett seat cover in a public restroom
It is FREEZING, all the time.
Everything is in celsius so all I know is that it's cold but I never know the actual temp
Streets run N and S and Avenues run E and W... ~~stupid~~ confusing!
The eggs taste funny. You would think they would be the same, but the're not!
They don't have any bills smaller than a $5. Instead they have Toonies and Loonies which are $1 and $2 coins.
Mosquitos everywhere!
No mountains
It rains all the time
Everything is really expensive

This is definitely a good and fun experience but we will be excited to be back in to our home country. Oh and Danny got accepted to the American College of the Building Arts school in Charleston, South Carolina so we will be moving there in August, as soon as we get back! Yay!

This is our apartment and view from our apartment. We are 5 minutes from the mall!

Huge Accomplishment

2010-03-07T10:27:00.000-08:00

We did it! The Moapa Valley Smokin Hot Cheetas did it! Saturday I ran in the Lake to Lake relay which went from Gunlock Reservoir to Sand Hollow Reservoir. We were on a team of 5 people and the course was 50 miles total so we each ran 10 miles. That may not sound like much to some people but it was a HUGE accomplishment for me. Tiffany and I have been running at 5 every morning to train for this and after Saturday it was all worth it.

Tiffany and I went up Friday night and then we met up with the rest of our team Saturday morning. The weather was really nice until we were halfway through and then the wind picked up and it was awful! We all had headwinds for our seconds legs which really mad it a lot tougher. I can hardly move today!!!

My next goal is a half marathon. I can't decide if I want to push and do the Salt Lake one next month or if I want to wait to do the Las Vegas marathon in November... we'll see...

Gettin' Down!

2010-01-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Grandma, Savannah and Kristy who made this month's Girls Night Out super fun!

We made salt dough ornaments, magnets, etc. after pizza and root beer. Funny how we all crowded around this table... we have some talented crafters in our little group (and some good dancers... read on :).

This is when we are riding in the awesome limousine that they rented... and we are still behaving ourselves.

(This was only half of the limo... it was HUGE)

Then things got a little CRAZY!!

This is us waiting in line for ice cream at LuvIts

It was a seriously FUN night! We get together every two months and take turns planning each time. My cousins and aunts and I have all had a really close relationship and I love that we can do stuff like this together. Makes for some good memories! Who says mormon girls can't have fun??

Probst Family Christmas Party

2009-12-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

Our family has always gotten together for Thanksgiving but for Christmas each family would usually stay home and spend it with their own families so this year we decided to do a Probst Christmas Party. We had it at the ranch in Alamo and it was so fun! Aunt Lynn and Uncle Ron have really put a lot of work in to the ranch and everytime we go there is something added to it to make it even more fun. They completely re-did the little barn and made it super cute inside! Tonia and Ramondo cooked mexican food for us and then we went on a hay ride, sang songs, drank hot chocolate and then we went back in the barn for the white elephant gift exchange. The gift exchange was fun! One of the gifts had $100 bill in it so that added a little twist.

The hay ride!

No Probst party is complete without the Limbo! :)

Sleepover at Aunt Jess'

2009-12-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

Well Danny is working on a job in Winnemucca, Nevada which is really sad but good for the work. He left December 2nd and will come home the 23rd... wahoo! 2 wks down one to go! Anyways, since I was home alone last Friday I decided to give Kyle and Emily a date night and had a sleepover with the kids. (I don't have any pictures of little Presley because she was already in bed by the time I got my camera out.

Kylie and I made cookies...

...while Kade watched a movie. He wasn't very interested in making cookies (he was getting very tired).

Kylie's job was to put the sprinkles on. She went through an entire bottle of sprinkles with only 1 dozen cookies :)... as you can see, she did not miss a spot. haha

Kade fell asleep before me and Kylie so we stayed up and watched Cinderella.

It's so fun living so close to my neices and nephews. I was in the delivery room when Kade was born and watched him take his first breath. I can't believe how fast they grow. Kylie is such a sweetheart (with a tiny bit of sass). Emily said that Kylie will just randomly say "mom, I love Gecka" or "Gecka is so nice".

The kids love Danny and keep asking where he is since he's been gone. When Kade looked outside and saw the dog house that Danny made for Reggie he said "Uncle Danny is amazing!".. it was so cute.

Hopefully my next post will be a picture of me and Danny when he FINALLY gets home. It's our first Christmas together and haven't been able to do anything thogether. Although we are grateful for the work, it has been a little tough.

Girl Friends

2009-11-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to the midnight showing of New Moon -I know, I know. It was SO much fun! We made shirts last year for Twilight so we carried on the tradition and did it again this year. You can't see the back but on it we gave it a jersey look with the name 'Cullen' on it and the #17. We left at 8:30pm, got home at 3:00am, I got 3 hours of sleep and then got up at 6:00 to get ready for work. I got off work at 4:30pm and now me and Danny, Emily and Kyle are going back to Mesquite for dinner and... da da dum... New Moon - again! No, we are not fanatical Twilight fans but I think the boys secretly want to see it too so now we are going with them. :)

I just love these girls and I am so thankful for good friends! We try to go to a movie or have a girls' night once a month and we always have fun no matter what we do.

Halloween Party 2009

2009-11-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

Friday night we had a family Halloween party at Aunt Kathy's house. This has turned in to a tradition and it is really fun to see everyone dressed up. Dusty has been busy with football and didn't have time to get a costume so he was a "nudist on strike" lol, my mom was Kelly Osbourne and my dad was Ozzy, Kyle and Emily were so funny as old people, Presley was the cuttest little chicken I have ever seen, Kade was a football player, and Kylie was the "cuttest costume award" as a little indian.

Getting Danny in a costume wasn't easy but it actually wan't as hard as I thought it would be :). and, NO! I am not really prego, I just stuffed my stomach for the costume. We are the hillbilly bride and groom.

My coustins Brandon (little boy), Lindsay (Batwoman), Grant (Richard Simmons), and Bryson (toothfairy lol)

Grandma was an "old bag" and Grandpa was "Captain Buttocks" (anyone who knows Grandpa would say that that is a perfect costume for him :)

My mom won the contest for the "hottest costume" and dad won "best costume"

Kyle and Emily's costumes were great!

Grandma, Mom, Aunt Lynn, Aunt Kathy

I am already looking forward to next year...

Premade Design: Fancy Nancy

2009-10-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

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Meet Reggie

2009-10-25T17:45:00.000-07:00

Danny has always wanted a bloodhound so while he was hunting, I surprised him with little Reggie. I found her in the KSL classifieds so last Tuesday after work, I drove to Richfield and got her. Danny was so excited! She is so cute and has so much personality. I will say though that having a puppy is a lot of work!

Kylie LOVES Reggie......but Reggie loves Presley

I Lost the Battle

2009-10-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

Fall=Hunting Season

2009-10-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I survived the first deer hunt with the Mays. We had a lot fun. I went up with them Friday after I got off work and then I had to come home Sunday. The rest of the boys took this week off work so they are still up there. I am ready for the season to be over so I can have my husband back! This is something they always look forward to though so I understand. :). They are still up there but as of today, they have filled 5 out of 7 tags. Above: Danny's deer.Kirby's first deer!My brother-in-law Courtney's deer. Ok so this is a HUGE tranchula that David found for Danny while they were hiking... you can imagine my excitement... Danny loves, loves them. He lets it walk on and him and everything... ugh! I wont even go near it! So he took it home and now it is just me and this stupid spider home while he is gone... he may be surprised to see it's gone when he gets back.

Nauvoo

2009-09-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to go to Nauvoo last week to pick up Danny’s grandma (Ora Mae) from her mission. Danny and I, his parents (David and Becky) and his sister left Wednesday, September 9th and came home Friday the 18th. We drove as far as South Jordan and Wednesday night and then the next day we got up early and headed to Martin’s Cove in Wyoming. That night we stayed in Cheyenne, Wyoming. 9/11 we drove from Cheyenne to Sidney, Nebraska to go to the Cabela’s headquarters then continued on to Omaha, Nebraska. That night we went to Winters Quarters aka Mormon Trail Visitors Center. 9/12 we drove to Liberty, Missouri and went to Liberty Jail. That night we finally arrived in Nauvoo. 9/13 we went to church in Nauvoo and then went to Carthage Jail. 9/14 -9/16 we toured old Nauvoo, going through all the little houses and shops and, my favorite part, the temple session. Wow! What a beautiful temple!! This whole trip was such a good experience! I learned SO MUCH! We left Nauvoo on Thursday and finally arrived home late Friday night.

Below: These are statues of the Four Sweetwater Rescuers. On November 4, 1856 the saints came to the Sweetwater River and didn’t know how they would cross it. These 4 brave men – C. Allen Huntington, Stephen W. Taylor, David P. Kimball and George W. Grant – got in the river and helped the saint across the river. They were in the water all day helping the women and children across. The water was so cold that ice chunks were floating in it.

Liberty Jail – the picture of the key was the original key to Liberty Jail. This is where Joseph, Hyrum, Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Alexander McRae, and Caleb Baldwin were for about 5 months while awaiting trail.

Carthage Jail – what a humbling experience to be in the exact place where Joseph Smith was martyred. The picture of the door is the original door with the bullet hole from the shot that killed Hyrum Smith. The window that Danny and I are standing by is the window that Joseph Smith fell out of.

The sunsets on the Mississippi River were beautiful!

Brigham Young carved this Noah's Ark set for his son.

Danny’s dad, David, is a professional horse shoer so he got the opportunity to make a horse shoe in the old blacksmithing workshop. That totally made the whole trip for him.

The Jonathan Browning Gunsmith Shop – this was one of Danny’s favorite things! It was pretty cool too see all those old guns and take a tour through his house

Riser Boot Shop, print shop, tin shop, general store, and the Family Living Center.

What a handsome guy! :)

The sun represents celetial glory.

Making a rope at the Family Living Center.

We stayed in this cute little house right in Old Nauvoo, next to the Riser Boot Shop

This was one of my favorite stories… after the Saints left Nauvoo, John Taylor noticed that his son was really really bummed so he asked him what the matter was. His son said that he was sad because he had to leave his rocking horse behind. So, John Taylor snuck back in to Nauvoo one night and got his sons little rocking horse and brought it back to him. The family later donated the rocking horse to the church. This is the original rocking horse. What a good, tender hearted man! I just love that story.

This whole trip was such a testimony builder. I was so inspired by the pioneers and learning more about what they had to go through and the good, positive attitude that they had.

Bathsheba Smith said, "my last act in that precious spot was to tidy the rooms, sweep the floor, and set the broom in its accustomed place behind the door. Then with emotions in my heart... I gently closed the door and faced an unknown future, faced it with faith in God and with no less assurance of the ultimate establishment of the Gospel in the West and of its true, enduring principles, then I had felt in those trying scenes in Missouri". As Danny and I walked down the Trail of Hope and read that quote, we talked about what we would do in their situation and we could only hope that we would have as much faith as these saints had.

Something that I realized that really inspired me was that the saints always kept going. They didn't stop when things got rough or when they lost a loved one....they kept going. If we, in our lives today, can keep the faith and "press forward" when life gets rough and hard, we too will make it through and be stronger because of it. I am so grateful to them and their sacrifices for us.

Kanarraville Canyon Hike

2009-09-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Danny was working on a trailer so I decided to go with Kyle and Emily and the kids to hike Kanarraville Canyon. It was BEAUTIFUL! Kade, Kylie and Presley were little troopers. They didn't complain one time. It took us about 3 hours.

We weren't so sure about this "ladder" if you want to call it that. It doesn't look very scary but it takes a little nerve to climb that thing. Each step is only hanging on by one little teeny tiny nail (ok maybe a couple nails, BUT STILL)

And.... we made it....

Back in Time

2009-08-27T16:58:00.000-07:00

People say that Danny and I make a cute couple... SO.... (call me imature) I have compiled some pictures of what we would of looked like in high school, had we been alive in the 60s, 70s, 80s. (Danny would die if he saw these)

1964

1974

1972

1992

Nothing says PARTY like the Mullet and a perm!

This will probably be one of those posts that I look back and say "why did I post that?" But I have been laughing so hard as I was doing them that I thought I would share. If any of you get bored, go to http://www.yearbookyourself.com/.

Best Muffins Ever!

2009-08-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning was the first Saturday that Danny and I didn't have somewhere to be since we've been married (busy, busy), so I decided to make muffins from a cookbook that we got as a wedding present. The book is called Mad About Muffins. It has every kind of muffin you could imagine in this book. Anyways, I have been wanting to put the book to use and try a recipe so I looked through it to find a recipe that called for things that I already had and I decided on the Sour Cream Streusel Muffin and OH MY GOSH! They were SO good! I took some over to my parents house and my dad ate 3 of them and he never eats sweets. I thought I would share the recipe because they are really good and really easy!

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 egg

1/2 cup melted butter

8 ounces sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel Topping:

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, and baking powder.

In another bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add the melted butter, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Combine well. Add the sour cream mixture to the flour mixture and mix just until the ingredients are combined. Fill greased muffin tins with batter.

To make streusel topping: Mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Cut in the butter. Stir in the walnuts. Sprinkle the streusel toping over the batter. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Makes one dozen muffins.

Good luck!

Cafe Rio Pork Salad Recipe

2009-08-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Ok so I just have to brag for a second... I made dinner last night and IT TASTED GOOD! I have been trying to be a good wife and cook dinner but cooking is not that easy! Well, it's not the actual cooking that is hard but it's just the time that it takes and then the CLEAN UP! So I have cooked pretty much everyday and trying all these new recipes and I hadn't had much luck with making anything that was worth the time and effort... until yesterday. Danny loves Cafe Rio's pork burritos so I started looking for the recipe and I came across it on a cooking blog. I have tried different copy cat recipes for Cade Rio and none of them really tasted the same but this one really does! Danny loved it and I have to admit, it was pretty good. (don't you dare ask how many calories it had) Anyways, I thought I would share the recipe... For the pork: 2 pounds pork 3 cans Coke (NOT diet) 1/4 c. brown sugar dash garlic salt 1/4 c. water 1 can sliced green chilies 3/4 can RED enchilada sauce 1 c. brown sugar Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little. Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it! For the Cilantro Lime Rice: 1 c. uncooked rice 1 tsp. butter or margarine 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice 1 can (15 oz) chicken broth 1 cup water 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice 2 tsp. sugar 3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice For the black beans: 2 Tbsp. olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 1/3 c. tomato juice 1 1/2 tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro. And for the best part, the House Dressing: 1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK) 1 c. mayonnaise 1 c. buttermilk 2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro 1 clove garlic juice of 1 lime 1 jalapeno (I like it spicy so I kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds) Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That's it! If any of you try it, let me know what you think. Oh and for the tortialla strips, I just cut some corn tortillas in to thin stips and fried that (ugh, bad, I know).

Proud to be a Probst

2009-08-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

We spent this last weekend at my Uncle Ron's ranch for the Grant and Barbara Probst reunion. Everyone had so much fun and the weather could not have been better! Some of the things we did included....

Petting a baby ponies (3 days old... so cute!)

Playing horse shoes

Getting tipped over in your kayak by your obnovious son

Going off the big swing

Fishing... good job Lydi!

Movie under the stars

Loader rides... (this was actually kinda scary but really fun!)

And most important, spending time with family!

It was so fun! Everyone spent the night except Danny and I. Danny had to work on Saturday so on Friday night we came home and then I drove back up early Saturday morning. I am actually glad that I came home to sleep that night because between the mysterious animal(s) in the atic of the barn (where most people slept) and Lydia's night terror in the middle of the night, it turned out to be a rough night for those who slept in the barn (hehe). Although I was sad that I missed seeing Emily win the hoola-hoop contest!

I love my family and I am "proud to be a Probst". Lindsay put the whole thing together and she did a great job. Thanks Linds!

Happy Birthday Kylie

2009-08-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

It seems like I just barely did a post of Kylie turning 2! I can't believe she is already 3! She loves Dora so that was the theme for this years party. I put Danny in charge of getting her a present since he works in Vegas so he picked out a purple My Little Pony toy that talks and drinks from a bottle and sings. It was really cuet that he picked that out for her and she LOVED it! I don't think it is any surprise to anyone that I love this little girl! She is such a sweetheart with quite the little sassy side :). She loves to be mother hen and she organizes EVERYTHING. If she is eating candy, she groups them up by color and then lines them out in a perfect line. From shampoo bottles, to her My Little Pony's, to pennies, she lines them up in a perfect line, all facing the same direction. She is so much fun and just beams with personality...

Hot Summer Day...

2009-08-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

When the boys are gone, the girls will play... all the boys went scouting for deer so me, my mom, Emily and the two little ones (Kylie and Presley) had a girls' weekend. We had so much fun! Friday night we went to Mesquite for dinner and then came home and watched So You Think You Can Dance. Saturday we went to Henderson and met up with Aunt Kathy, Becky and Aspen at the mall; did a little shopping, went to lunch and then went swimming at Kathy's. After we went swimming, Aunt Kathy taught me how to make her famous rolls which are SO good! She made the dough and taught me how to form the rolls and then I took them home to cook. Danny was really happy to come home to the smell of fresh rolls. :). Thanks Aunt Kathy!

Marysvale

2009-08-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we went to Marysvale for the weekend. Between everyone that came, we had four Rangers and three 4-wheelers. We would get up every morning and go for a long ride in the mountains. It was SO nice up there! One of the days, we went on a 6 hour ride and got stuck in a hail storm. It made it kinda exciting but it was freezing! We all had a good time!

I can only imagine how much dirt must have been stuck to those suckers that the kids are eating haha.

The Honeymoon

2009-08-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

For our honeymoon we went on the Baja Mexico cruise. We had so much fun! At Catalina Island we rented a Seadoo and looked for dolphins. We also stopped at Ensenada but we stayed on the ship. Danny's favorite part was the 24 hr frozen yogurt.

The Wedding Day!

2009-07-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

My family... Kyle, Emily, Travis, Danny, Me, Mom, Dad, Dusty, Trish, JasonDanny's Family... Courtney, Lissa, Dad, Mom, Danny, Me, Krista, Payden, Taci, Phil

My parents

Marilyn Monroe style here. We were standing over a huge fan at the temple and it made for some really cute pictures!

The Provo Trio. Kendra and I have been friends since elementary school and Savannah is my cousin who I grew up best friends with. The three of us lived in Provo together a few years ago and made so many memories. Now we are all married and "grown up" :).

Danny did all the iron work! He made this cinderella carriage cake stand, the center peieces, plate stands, archway and panels. He is amazing! (he rents his stuff out so if anyone is interested, let me know :)

This picture is priceless! How many men does it take to hook up a train? Haha, I love it!

The first dance. My dad sang our song while we danced. It was really neat!Throwing the bouquetTara and I

Special thanks to my photographer and good friend, Tara. :). Thank you so much! You did an amazing job. I am so happy I have good pictures to capture all the memories.

Some pictures of the big day

2009-07-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Whew... the wedding is over and I we are back to normal life. Planning the wedding was so fun but it was a lot of work, a lot of phone calls, and a lot of running from Vegas to St George all the while trying to stay focussed at work. These are just a couple pictures of the wedding. I am waiting to get them back from Tara which will be very soon. I will put more up when I get them.

This is my neice Kylie who was one of my flower girls. I made little tu-tus for them to wear and despite the look on her face in this picture, she loved wearing it and she said "look! I am a real ballerina".

This was such a happy day and I am so glad I had Tara as my photographer to capture the moments. Thanks Tara!

Welcome home Travis!

2009-07-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

My little brother Travis came home from the Oklahoma, Tulsa mission. He came home on Friday the 26th. (the day before the wedding). Me and Trav have always been really close and it has been so fun having him home!

Wedding Blog

2009-06-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have spent several hours working on a blog for me and Danny and I FINALLY got it done!! So please check it out... go to www.maytherebelove.blogspot.com. Sorry for not blogging lately... life is CRAZY! As of now, I don't have a free day until June 17th. So things are a little crazy but good! After the wedding, I will be a faithful blogger again. Love you all! Jess

Addresses Needed :)

2009-05-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

Ok so the wedding plans are going great! Me and my mom have been having so much fun! At first I was really stressed out about all the planning but now that it is getting closer and things are coming together, I am getting really excited! The reception will be in my parents backyard and the colors are black, white, and pink! We are going with a fun, summer theme. Dannys is so good... he just kinda sits back and lets us plan. The big day is June 27th!! YAY! My little brother, Travis comes home from his mission on June 26th so he is literally coming home to a wedding. I got my dress a couple weeks ago and I LOVE it!! I go in for my final fitting tomorrow and hopefully the seamstress did everything right so that I can get it drycleaned and ready for my bridal pictures next Sat. (whew!) My wonderful friend Tara is doing all our pictures which I am WAY excited about! She does such a good job and she is one of my best-est friends. Next week she is doing our engagement and bridal shots in Midway which I am excited about! (I will take any reason I can to go to Midway). Once we get our pictures, I will finally put some up of me and him :). Ok so the real reason I am posting this is because I need your address... (if you are in my ward then I've already got it). Please please please reply with your address :). If you don't want to put it on here where everyone can read it, you can text it to me @ 702-286-7993 or email it to jessicajkt@hotmail.com I will keep you all posted on all the plans and I will have pictures up soon :)

I'm Engaged!

2009-03-26T17:05:00.001-07:00

Say hello to the future Mrs. Jessica May! Danny and I are officially engaged!!! Danny is the most amazing guy! He is so sweet and so good to me! The way he proposed was just like something you would see in a movie. He put so much work and thought in to it. I just have to share it with everyone…

I came home from work yesterday and I was rushing to grab something to eat and do a few things before my visiting teachers came over. They got to my house a little bit late so they visited and as soon as they left, I was rushing out the door to get to my Young Womens presidency meeting that started right before mutual (crazy). So as I was on my way to the church, I called Danny because he had called while my visiting teachers were there plus I wanted to talk to him for a sec because I hadn’t talked to him all day. So Danny tells me that he won’t be coming over after mutual because he is going to Vegas to play in a softball game. He told me to leave my door unlocked because he had made me something and wanted to drop it off on his way to Vegas. Danny does amazing iron work so I figured he had made me a candle holder or something for my house…

I went to my meeting and mutual and it got over at about 8:00 so as soon as it was over, I called Danny to see how his game went. He said that he had just got done with the first game and had a few minutes before the second games starts. We talked for a couple minutes, and right as I was pulling up to my house, he said he had to go because the second game was about to start. So I pull up to my house and walk in my front door and I will never forget that moment….

The first thing I noticed were red rose pedals scattered all over my floor. All the lights were off but the entire room was lit up with candles that were on beautiful candle holders that he had made. Our song, Your Everything by Keith Urban, was playing really softly and all the sudden Danny walks out from my room and asks me to dance…. Awww!! So we danced to our song with rose pedals on the ground, surrounded my candlelight. When the song was over, he gave me a long stemmed rose, got on one knee, gave me a beautiful ring and asked me to marry him! I, in tears of total happiness said YES!

Everything about last night was absolutely perfect! It was a setting that you would see on TV. He is so amazing and made me feel so special! I love him so much and I can’t wait to be his wife! I never thought things would move this fast but it feels so right and I know without a doubt that he is the one for me!

Yesterday was the best day of my life so far...

Whats been going on...

2009-02-25T16:19:00.000-08:00

Ok so I just read Trisha’s newest post and it totally inspired me to put up a new post as more of a journal entry rather than putting some pictures up of what I did last weekend… I love journals and I used to be so good at writing in mine but over the past couple years I have really been slacking at it. SO, being that I am a very open person and have no problem letting everyone know what I am up to, I decided to start typing… First of all, in response to my post a few weeks ago Ladies Put Your Heads Together, I just want to thank everyone haha. When I posted that, I had just gotten out of a relationship with someone that I fell way too hard for, way too fast and things didn’t work out the way I had hoped (or I thought I hoped)… I was sad at first but now I realize that it was meant to be and things couldn’t have worked out better! A couple weeks after the break-up, I had gone on quite a few dates but was feeling a little frustrated and feeling like I was trapped in Moapa… that night I decided that I just need to have fun and take care of myself, enjoy life and know that someone will come along, probably when I least expect it. The very next day I get a call from Danny, I’m sure you all know who Danny is but I won’t say his last name for his own sake haha. Anyways, I knew him from school but he is 3 years older than me so I had never talked to him or anything until he called me that day. We went out on a Thursday and then again on Friday and then the following Sunday... To make a long story short, we have hung out just about every day since that first date and I’m crazy about him! He is so sweet and he has so many good qualities! The other day, he rode in my truck and he could tell that I needed new brake pads so the next day, he called me on his way to Vegas to find out what year my truck was because he wanted to stop and pick me up some brake pads. He also said he could change them for me so yesterday he gave me HIS truck to drive (his truck is WAY nicer than mine and I couldn’t believe that he trusted me to drive it) so I had his truck for the day and he had mine but when he started looking at my truck, he realized that I had let my brake pads go too long and because of that, I needed a new rotor also so he drove all the way to Mesquite (giving me a lecture on the way) to get me a new rotor, came home and switched everything out. Poor guy spent pretty much his whole day fixing my truck for me. He was so sweet about it though and seemed happy to help me out. He came over to my parents’ house for their anniversary party yesterday and my family totally loves him, especially Kyle who is the hardest to impress! Kade (my 4 yr old nephew) gets a little jealous when I bring someone around or when I talk about dating so last night, my family and Danny and I are sitting around at the dinner table and it must have been driving Kade nuts not to know if Danny was just my friend or my boyfriend or what so all the sudden he said really loud and energetic “raise you’re hand if you have a boyfriend!”. I was dying laughing! He wanted to find out one way or another what our status was so he figured that would be a good way to get to the bottom of it haha. So anyways, things are going really good there… we’ll see where it goes. I was telling Emily the other day that I feel like I have really found myself in the past year. I am a totally different person than I used to be! I know who I am and what is important in life, I know what I want and I have total confidence in myself. Being in Young Womens has helped me so much and made me so much stronger! I have grown to love the girls so much and knowing that I have to be an example to them and that they look up to me just means so much and totally keeps me in line! I love my life and I am so happy that I have been able to grow and learn who I really am! This post is kind of random and very long but I just wanted to share what is new with me and express some of my feelings… thanks for reading J

A New Cowboy in Town

2009-02-18T13:31:00.001-08:00

If Kade isn't the most handsome little cowboy, I don't know who is! Kyle entered him in the Little Britches Rodeo this weekend! He did the muttin bustin and calf riding! Emily wasn't too excited about her little 4 year old getting on a bucking steer but Justin was there to run with the steer and hang on to Kade as he rode. Kade loved it!

Dusty has also become somewhat of a cowboy! He finally convinced my mom to let him ride one of Justin's bulls when they buck them out. He loved it and now he wants to ride in high school rodeo.... we'll see...

This is as he was getting bucked off... notice his right foot planted on the ground and his left foot is above the bull. haha.

Sad Day for Moapa Valley!

2009-02-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

The following came from the Las Vegas Review Journal:

A Mormon church in Logandale was destroyed by fire early today. No one was in the building around 4:10 a.m. when volunteer firefighters were alerted to heavy smoke and fire coming from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 3245 N. Moapa Valley Blvd., Clark County Fire Department spokesman Scott Allison said. The smoke and fire were so thick that crews could only battle the blaze from outside the building, he said. No injuries were reported.

A side office building containing the bishop's offices and church records were not harmed in the fire, he said.

Allison said the Mormon church was one of the oldest buildings in the town, about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. It was built by the community in 1951.

It's really sad to think of the valley's pioneers who spent their time there making bricks and putting the building up. There is a lot of history in that building.

Ladies! Put your heads together...

2009-01-31T16:47:00.000-08:00

Ok girls! So, Jessica Taylor is once again SINGLE. You all know that I live in Moapa and let's face it...there are not a lot of fish in the sea around here. SO that is where you come in! If any of you have any brothers, uncles, cousins, friends, nephews, or grandsons (hehe) who are looking for a really cool girl, send 'em my way! I really am not picky but I kinda like older guys and someone who is active in the church. So, put your heads together. I'm counting on you to pull through for me. :)

Disneyland!

2009-01-28T08:05:00.000-08:00

Staci invited me to go with her and the kids to Disneyland! She picked me up early Sunday morning. Staci forgot to pack her shoes so we stopped in Barstow (or Barstool, as Jayci calls it) at the outlet mall to get her some walking shoes :). We got to our hotel in Anaheim around 2:00, relaxed for a min and then headed to Newport Beach....

Me and Staci. We were FREEZING!

Monday we headed to Disneyland. The weather was PERFECT and we walked on every ride!! This is definitely the time of year to go! We went on 17 rides Monday alone! Dakota was so brave! Last time he came he wasn't tall enough to go on Screamin the roller coaster so he was really happy that he had grown and was tall enough this time! Jayci and Carla weren't so brave... they waited while we went on it... 3 times. Jayci's favorite ride was Splash Mountain and I would have to agree with her on that. I think that will always be my favorite, no matter how old I am.

Tuesday we went back to Disneyland for a few hours before heading home. We left Disneyland at about 4:00 and drove straight home! The kids wanted to stay for another week and couldn't understand why we couldn't just stay.

Above: Me and my niece Devyn waiting in line for Tower of Terror.

Dakota: mom, my head hurts

Staci: what's wrong? You have a headache?

Dakota: no, I was rubbing it on the carpet and now it hurts

I had so much fun on this trip! I don't get to see Devyn, Jayci and Dakota as often as I would like because they live in St. George so being with them for 3 days was a blast!! I hope they know how much I love them! They are such good kids with such sweet little spirits. I am so lucky to be thier aunt and be a part of their lives.

I am thankful for...

2009-01-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

I have been a little bummed lately and very stressed so I decided that it is time to stop being negative and start thinking about everything good in my life and everything that I have been blessed with, so I made a little list. “Real life is not always going to be perfect or go our way, but the recurring acknowledgment of what is working in our lives can help us not only survive but surmount our difficulties.”Sarah Ban Breathnach What I am thankful for… o My family and the relationship I have with each of them even though sometimes we think we can’t stand each other. o My job! Sometimes I wish I could just stay home in bed but so many people are losing their jobs and I am just so thankful everyday that I still have mine! o My co-workers and my awesome boss! I couldn’t ask for better people to work for! o All of my nieces and nephews! I am so lucky to get to see them as often as I do. I love them so much! I can’t wait to have kids of my own. o For my health! I can walk, run, see, and hear! Every morning when my alarm goes off at 4:40am and I complain about getting up to work out, I am going to stop and instead be grateful that I have a body that CAN work out! o For my church calling! I am in Young Womens and it is sometimes challenging but I have grown so much from it and should feel privileged to be in there! o For my truck and freedom to get wherever I need to be. I am going to stop complaining about fuel prices and just be grateful that I have transportation!! o For freedom in general. o For the cute little house I live in. o For my sister-in-laws!! I love those girls so much!! I don’t have any sisters and it would always make me sad when I would see my mom with her twin and her other sister and saw how close they had become as adults and I thought I would never have that but now I finally have my sisters and I love them so much!! They are my best friends! o For a dad who worked so hard and sacrificed so that my mom could stay home and be there everyday when we came home from school. (I don’t know how any one can afford one income anymore!) o For all my friends and the support and advice I get from them!! o For the once-a-month movie night with the girls. o Bunkos every third Tuesday o For Kessa and her willingness to work out anytime! o For my mom! Moms are amazing and they make you who you are… whether you learn from their example or learn from their mistakes, we should all be thankful for our moms!

I almost forgot how to do this

2009-01-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

Wednesday we stayed at my Grandma's house in Santa Clara and had a little family New Years Eve party. The next day we woke up and went to Pine Valley to go sledding. We went there last year and we took the Rangers with us and we found a meadow that had snow and ice on it so we tied a rope to the Ranger and would get pulled behind the Ranger. It was really fun and we wanted to do that again this year so we went to the same place but there was way too much snow!! Kyle's truck got stuck right when we got there so we unloaded the Ranger but even that kept getting stuck (thank goodness for some snowmobile-ers that helped us tow the Ranger). So... to make a long story short, we pretty much spent the whole day getting un-stuck and helping other people who were stuck. It was still fun though! We Nevada folks get so excited just to see snow :). I wish Jason and Trish could have come... we missed you!!

Kyle's truck, stuck in the snow...

My dad's truck has a wench so he was able to pull Kyle (and every other truck) out.

Kyle and Dad trying to decide what to do while Dusty shovels haha.

Help

2008-12-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

Hey girls! I haven't done much blogging lately... I don't know if it's because I've been too busy or because I haven't done anything exciting enough to blog about :)... proabaly a little of both. Anyways, I was asked to do the Christmas lesson next week for all the Young Women combined... I am thinking about doing it mostly about Mary. If any of you have any stories or poems or anything like that that you think I could use, please let me know :). I have asked my dad to sing the song Mary Did You Know but I think that will be the very last part. So anyways, if any of you have anything that you would like to share with me, it would be much appreciated :).

Quite the Red Carpet Event...in Mesquite... who knew?

2008-11-21T10:32:00.001-08:00

My heart belongs to Kade...

Cami, Amanda, Kessa, Colton, Lonia, Me, Emily, Casey, Lyndi

...but my neck belongs to Edward! (in Colton's case, Alice)

So last night, we all went to Mesquite for the midnight showing of Twilight! The night turned out way more fun that any of us expected... Of course we have all read the books and I made shirts for all of us to wear (just to make it more fun) but we aren't some of those crazy fans, like the ladies who went to an Italian restaurant and ordered mushroom raviolis just to be like Bella. We were just going to the movies for a girls' night out... so, we drove to Mesquite and ate dinner first. After dinner we were going to go to Wal Mart to kill some time because we still had a couple hours before the movie started but we decided to drive by the theater instead, to see if anyone was in line yet... no one was in line but we could see the movie theater staff setting something up so we figured that people would be getting there soon and we should probably just stay there and be the first in line. Little did we know, what they were setting up was the red carpet!!... Make a long story short, after waiting for a couple hours, a limo pulls up and out come the actor who plays Mike Newton along with Natalia Livingston from General Hospital, and Isaac C. Singleton Jr. from Pirates and some other people. They were in Mesquite filming a new movie called Rough Hustle so they showed up for the movie. Mike Newton was sitting directly behind me and Emily, 2 rows up. It was kinda cool!

Natalia LivingstonMike is the one on the left, he was really cool and down to earth.

4th photo tag

2008-10-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

OK here's the rules: Go into your picture files and open your 4th folder and download the 4th picture onto your blog!!! Write your memories of the photo

This is me and my youngest brother, Dusty. We were on our way to Vegas to see Blue Man Group for my dad's retirement party and me and him were riding in the very back of the Denali ... I got bored so I took out my phone and started taking pictures. He wouldn't do the kissy lips.

Family Pumpkin Fest

2008-10-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a family Haloween party. It was so fun! Blake and Kessa have a pumkin patch across the street so we picked some pumpkins to carve, ate chili, had even had homemade rootbeer, oh AND we topped the night off with caramel apples (me and Kessa were going to work out after but I had to study my lesson for Sunday... sorry Kessa!). Emily decided to make this a new tradition. The kids had a blast!

I love Halloween!

Fruit Pizza

2008-10-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

For those of you who were at my house last night for Bunkos and asked for the recipe for the fruit pizza, here it is...

2 packages Pillsbury sugar cooke dough

1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip

1/4 package cream cheese

1/8 c powdered sugar Fruit

All you do is roll the dough out on a cookie sheet and bake as directed on package, let cool. As for the frosting, I don't know the exact measurements because you just kinda do it to taste; if you put too much cream cheese in and need it sweeter, add more powdered sugar, or vice versa. Spread the frosting and sprinkle fruit on top... Very easy! =)

Girls will be Girls

2008-10-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

Well, between mine and Jason's antelope hunt, my dad's Nevada deer hunt, Kyle's Utah deer hunt, and Jason's elk hunt, my family has been/will be hunting almost every weekend from August to November... SO, that leaves us Taylor girls with a lot of girl time... Friday, me, my mom, and Emily went over to Kessa's house to watch Baby Mamma (it was ok) and ate chocolate chip cookies lol, it was a fun night. Saturday, we got up and went to St George for some shopping. Emily had to get the kids Halloween Costumes and I had to go to Tai Pan. We had originally planned on going to St George to get Halloween costumes for ourselves but the Halloween party we were going to got cancelled. We were really bummed too because we, along with Kyle, were going to be poligymists and it was going to be hillarious! Anyways, when we got back from St George, Emily and I worked out and then went back over to my mom's house where we gave ourselves facials (yes, we really used cucumbers, which I think actually makes them more puffy)and painted our toenails. Kylie was watching everything we did and was loving it but Kade wasn't as excited...

Tag from Amy =)

2008-10-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

Eight T.V. shows I love to watch: 1- The Office 2- Biggest Loser 3- American Idol 4- Fox 5 news 5- Dr Phil 6- Oprah 7- Friends 8- 24 (if it ever comes on again) Favorite Places to Eat: 1- Cheesecake Factory 2- PF Changs 3- Claim Jumpers 4- Macaroni Grill 5- Cafe Rio 6- Outback 7- Sweet Tomato 8- Pizza Factory Eight Things that happened yesterday: 1- Woke up tired 2- had my AP deadline and got everything in! WHEW! 3- had lunch with Janna 4- came home right after work for the first time in MONTHS! 5- Palyed Bunkos @ 6:30 with the Moapa group 6- Went to my mom's and worked out 7- Came home and talked to Bill on the phone 8- Fell asleep on the couch while watching Oprah... haha Eight Things I look forward to: 1- Weekends 2- Winter 3- Holiday Season 4- Being with family 5- Movie nights with the girls 6- 4:30 everyday (that's when I get off work) 7- Hunting season 8- Swiss Days Eight Things I love about Fall: 1- The weather! 2- knowing that the holidays are coming soon 3- Halloween parties 4- cute fall decorations 5- Spicy smelling candles 6- It's not too hot to eat soup 7- I would say that I love all the colors but we don't have pretty colors here... the leaves go from green to light brown. 8- Holiday party planning (I'm the party planner at work) Eight Things on my wish list: 1- A new couch 2- A new bed 3- a vacation 4- 5- 6- 7- 8-

This one's a "wow-er"

2008-09-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, this video is kind of long but it is SO cool!! Yes, I cried when I watched it! Oprah found this girl from youtube videos and invited her on her show and now she is singing duets with Celine Dion, Andre Bocelli and many others... she is amazing!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2008-09-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend at Disneyland!! We had so much fun! Me, my mom, Aunt Kathy (my mom's twin), my cousin Becky and little Aspen decided to have a girls' weekend and go to Disneyland. We left early Friday and went strait to Disneyland. The first ride we went on was the new Nemo ride which was only about a 20 minute wait. It was a cute ride but I would never want to wait an hour for it. Aspen is only 3 but she is very tall for her age (the doctor says she'll be over 6') so she was tall enough to go on every ride. She was a trooper until we dragged her on Tower of Terror... after that ride, she didn't quite trust us anymore and wanted to stick to rides like Peter Pan and Whinnie the Poo. We were there Friday, all day Saturday, and half of Sunday before driving home that night. Becky got a little online book from ebay that was written by a guy who works at Disneyland and it has some fun little facts about Disneyland... Did you know that the average person walks 5 miles per day at Disneyland?? Also, there are over 100,000 light bulbs and every one of them gets checked every single night and when the bulb is 20% used up, they replace them; also, every hand rail is cleaned and POLISHED every night. AND, this one killed me; they get all their Coke products for free as long as they don't sell any Pepsi products... SO, why is it that they feel like they need to charge $2.50 for a bottle of Coke? What a rip off. Another thing he said is that many couples think they have privacy on Pirates of the Caribbean and do naughty things because it's dark but they actually have infrared cameras all over and you are being watched all the time... If any of you are wondering if that is true, the infrared part, it is... on Saturday night, everyone in our group was shopping at the little gift shop and, believe it or not, I am not much of a shopper, so I decided to just go on Splash Mountain by myself because I was getting impatient so I go on it and I have the whole log to myself because no one else was even in line so I get on and I had my feet up on the seat in front of me because I didn't want to get wet, so I'm going along and right before the big drop, the music stops and a little voice comes through the speaker "please put your feet down!" It was quite funny actually... SO YES, they really are watching you. SO, note to self, don't do anything crazy when you think no one is watching. OHH! One more thing that I forgot to add... we went into this library where you sit at a little computer thing and it takes your picture and then you answer a few questions and then it tells you which Disney Character you are... of course I was hoping to be Cinderella or someone cool BUT, it said that I was most like the fat little teapot from Beauty and the Beast! I was not very happy about that... so I did it again and got Mulan... haha. ** I will have a picture of us on Tower of Terror soon... I need to scan it. **

Sharing Time Help?

2008-09-16T10:17:00.001-07:00

Ok Girls! I need your help!! It is my month to do sharing time in primary this month and I need your ideas... the topic is, I can pray to Heavenly Father, and He will hear and answer my prayers. Keep in mind that I teach Sunbeams so there really isn't much they can do to help and be involved and also it will be junior primary so not many of the kids can read... Any ideas would be greatly appreciated :)!

Chuck Norris Facts!

2008-09-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so everyone has heard those Chuck Norris jokes... right? Well, when I first heard them, I was at work and I printed them off and was reading them to Janna, Russ and Becky and I was laughing so hard because they are just so stupid, but so funny. SO, ever since then, it has become the joke around the office that I have a thing for Chuck Norris. Every year for Christmas, someone here will get me a Chuck Norris movie (which are still in the package because I actually have to interest in actually watching them) or a Chuck Norris shirt. So anyways, Janna and her husband Digger were in Mesquite yesterday and Digger saw these two posters and told Janna that she had to get them for me. Haha, yes, even the spouses know about me and Chuck. I came in to work today and saw them hanging in my office so I had to take a picture!

This is the more girly side of office... haha. Some of my favorites are...

When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn't lifting himself up, he's pushing the Earth Down

Chuck Norris does not "style" his hair. It lies perfectly in place out of sheer terror.

Chuck Norris has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoloy card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game UNO.

Chuck Norris sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Chuck roundhouse-kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn't stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month.

The Five Tag!

2008-09-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

THE FIVE I got tagged! So here it goes! 10 years ago I: 1. Was in 8th grade 2. Became an aunt 3. knew everything 4. hated school 5. thought the "problems" I had were actual problems. 5 things on todays "to do" list: 1. stop blogging and get to work 2. Finish my A/P for the 10th. 3. Work out after work 4. go to Weight Watchers at 6:00 5. laundry 5 snacks I enjoy: 1. yogurt 2. wheat thins 3. licorice 4. chocolate 5. oreos 5 things I would do if I were a millionaire: 1. pay off my debts 2. buy a house in Midway for myself and my family 3. travel the world 4. buy my dad a Harley and my mom a pink Smartcar 5. charity 5 places I have lived: 1. Henderson, Nevada til I was 5 2. Logandale, NV when we moved from Henderson 3. Cedar City with Tara and Whitney 4. Provo with Savannah, Kendra and 2 CRAZY chicks! 5. Moapa, NV all by myself 5 jobs I have had: 1. store manager at Tiffanys... FUN! 2. Receptionist at Geneva Pipe 3. Pre-school teacher at Ab Initio Academy in Cedar 4. Payless shoes in Provo 5. Back to Geneva doing accounting I tag Haley, Rachel, Katie, Emily, Amanda. Rules:Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

It's Raining!

2008-09-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

We finally got some rain yesterday and Kade and Kylie were LOVING it! Of course, I had to snap some pictures... and a video... Also, for the record, Kade is not actually cross-eyed, he does it to be funny as soon as I pull out my camera. He's so funny!

Notice Kylie's face when Kade and the dog start running and bump into her the first time. Haha, I love it!

Swiss Days 2008

2008-09-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

Both of my grandparents grew up in Midway, Utah so every year for Labor Day weekend we go up there for Swiss Days and a family reunion. We all love it up there! We still have a lot of family that lives there but most of my intermediate family lives in Nevada and we all wonder how that happened? How did they move from beautiful little Midway to Las Vegas?? If you have never been to Swiss Days and like crafts and decorating, I suggest you go! It's every girls dream. Cute stuff everywhere!!

We usually stay at the Zermatt or the Homestead but this year we stayed at the Inn on the Creek. It wasn't bad but we all agreed to stick with one of the others from now on.

My cousin Becky was staying at the Zermatt so we took the kids over there to ride the merry-go-round. Kylie wasN'T happy when it was time to leave.

At the reunion... Alivia, Savannah, Aunt Lynn, Mom, Me, Brooklyn

I just stole this picture from Emily's page because I didn't get a picture of it when we were there... anyways this is the "mushroom house" or the "smurf house" in Midway. This house has been there for as long as I can remember and we all love it so we always have to drive by the Mushroom House whenever we go to Midway. Isn't it cool?

Thanks for the tag Haley!

2008-08-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

Is this random enough Haley?? My eyes are trying to escape from my head...

Rules: Name 5 random things about yourself, then tag 5 people. Make sure you comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged!Plus - If you want, add a random picture.. kinda makes it more fun! 1: When I was like 7, I accidentally killed the family dog that we had had like forever (long story) so as my punishment and a way to teach me responsibility I had to do the dishes by myself every single night for like 3 years!! As a little kid, doing dishes all alone for a family of seven was complete torture!! It would take me hours to do them. I would sit at the table and take as long as I could to eat dinner just to put off doing the dishes. THEN, when my parents finally decided that it was time for me and my two older brothers to take turns, my brothers would pay me $40 per year to do the dishes for them… what a RIP OFF!!! SO, to make a long story short, I HATE when dishes fill up in the sink. Whenever I cook dinner, I usually wash all the pans and everything before I even sit down to eat. 2: One time me and my brother Travis got into an argument and he was standing about 10 feet away from me, next to the pool table and he got so mad that he grabbed a pool ball and chucked it at me, hitting me in the lip. I had a purple lip for weeks! 3: I am a major chicken!! I have gotten a lot better since I’ve moved out and live alone but I will not and can not watch a scary movie! I could when I lived at home or with roommates but I would seriously have a nervous breakdown if I watched a scary movie now and then came home to an empty house. If I get home at night, I have to call someone to talk to me while I walk from my truck to my front door and if I can’t get a hold of anyone, I run as fast as I can. The funniest part is that I am not scared of people or anyone in my house, like I don’t even lock my door and once I get inside I am fine but what I am scared of is a mountain lion getting me. HAHA, I know, I know but I live away from everyone else along the mountain and supposedly there has been one spotted around my house. So I FREAK out! 4: I hate the movie The Notebook. That is a totally random thing but I have watched it like 5 times trying to convince myself that it is good but I just hate it! I remember telling Savannah that once and she was like really upset about that. haha 5: One summer, when me and Savannah were 14 or 15, we snuck to San Diego with 5 guys who were all in there 20s for about a week and our parents had no idea. Well, actually her mom ended up finding out but my mom never knew until like last year. My aunt was cool and didn’t tell on me. I told my mom that I was staying at her friend’s house or something. (this was before everyone had cell phones). We had a blast until one of the cars broke down on the way home and all 7 of us had to pile in a little TINY 4 seater BMW. It was awful! I think all of the blogs I read have already been tagged but if not then I tag Amy, Candace, Emily, Trisha, Lauren... and everyone else that wants too :)

1 successful hunt = 2 happy hunters

2008-08-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

YAY! I got one! We had SO much fun this weekend! Jason and I both drew tags in the same area so we all headed up to Kalamazoo Friday after work. There was Jason, Kyle, Dusty (all my brothers but Travis :(, my parents, and my three nephews, Dakota, Logan and Kade. Jason got his Saturday morning and I got mine Sunday morning. All I know is those suckers are fast!! By the time you get your gun up, they are already gone so it got a little frustrating. Kyle was chasing some on his 4-wheeler and he said they were going 62 mph! It was way fun though! I took him down in one shot! It was really exciting! I missed a couple bucks before this one though, for one of them it was too long of a shot for my 30-06 so I used Jason's 300 Ultra Mag which left a nice bruise on my shoulder haha. Everyone but me and Jason left Sunday afternoon but he and I stayed to scout out some elk for Jason's elk hunt in November. It was a blast!

Goin Hunting

2008-08-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

I'm going antelope hunting tomorrow and I haven't really shot my gun since last years deer hunt so me and Dusty went out practicing today. I'll be back Monday night so hopefully my next post will be pictures of my prize.

The Trio...

2008-08-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

Jess, Ken, Vannah

Savannah, Kendra, and I wanted to have a girls night out before Kendra and her husband move back to Logan for school on Friday. So we met at Town Square in Vegas and ate at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen). While we were eating we decided that we wanted to go to the movies. We all agreed to see Mama Mia (I've seen it twice already and LOVE it!) but it was starting in 10 minutes! So we hurry and paid for our food and headed towards the theater... we had to stop at Yogurtland for some frozen yogurt, because no matter what kind of hurry you are in, there is always time for that, so we got our yogurt with a lid on it, stuffed it in our purses so we could sneak it in the theater and were walking as fast as we can (in heels, of course) to the theater. We finally get there about 15 minutes late and they said "that showing of Mama Mia was cancelled"! I said "are you kidding?? we just rushed to get here, how can you just cancel it?" (I kinda turned on the brattiness) so he called the manager and we ended up getting to see another movie at no cost! Sometimes it pays to raise a fuss! So we watched Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants II. It was pretty good... lot's of drama, but it was a good, girl movie. I'm gonna miss Ken but at least I still have Savannah.

Kolob Reservoir - Sorry guys! I've been slacking on my blogging!

2008-08-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we all wanted to get out of the heat for the weekend so me, Kyle, Emily, Dusty, and the kids headed up to Utah. We had a lot of fun. We left Friday night and stayed in a hotel in St George and then got up early Saturday morning and headed for Kolob mountain where we just hung out at the reservoir. The weather was SO nice, it was nice to have a relaxing weekend!

Kylie did this little pose on her own as soon as I pulled out the camera.

Good morning! The first thing they do when they wake up is give eachother a big hug. It's so cute! Then they fight for the rest of the day.

Of course we had to stop at Cal Ranch... my brothers love this store! Getting all set up at our little spot. There were people everywhere!

Time to relax!

Kylie LOVES her new boots! She looks so cute in them!

I think Kade was tired of me taking pictures. Everyone get's a little annoyed with me and my camera. haha.

Dusty caught a cute little frog... Kade didn't want any part of it but Kylie didn't mind. She held it and then put it in her shirt.

The Witch Doctor

2008-08-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here, at work, in such a good mood and just feeling so good and happy… Work has been crazy and stressful lately and I have been more irritable than usual. Today is different! Why is today different? Let me tell you… Some people may think I am crazy but I am all about “the secret” and the power of a positive attitude. For the past year, I have been going to an energy doctor; some people may call him a witch doctor. He is licensed as a chiropractor but he works with your structural, emotional, and chemical health; he calls it “unique wholistic chiropractic care”. I have been going to him for awhile and he has helped me so much. I originally went to him because I have shoulder problems but he ended up helping me in many more ways than just my messed up shoulder. He is amazing, I would recommend him to anyone with an open mind! A couple weeks ago, someone told me about a lady who also works with your body energy so I thought I would give her a shot, just for someone different, a change. She is a health practitioner, iridologist, and intuitive consultant. I made an appointment and went to her yesterday, WOW! She knew more about me than I knew about myself. It was incredible. It was almost like a two hour therapy session with a physic. She pin pointed everything! Every part of your body is connected to an emotion and those emotions could go back to the day and the way you were born. I know it sounds crazy!! Everything she told me was exactly right though. She made me cry and I absolutely hate crying, especially in front of anyone, she made me laugh, and she had me talking about things that I would not normally talk about with anyone, especially a complete stranger. I’ve never had a hard time making friends but I’ve always had a hard time opening up and just letting someone in. I’ve always kind of kept my distance and I just thought it was because I was independent. She said that it is not because I am independent, it is because I am lonely and that I cover it up but by trying to be “independent”. Without me telling her anything, she said that there were things that happened when I was 6, 11, and 17 years old that reiterated my loneliness. Boy was she right… at age 6, my youngest brother was born and I wanted a sister SO bad. I knew it was my mom’s last baby and I was sad that I was gonna be the only girl forever (now, I wouldn’t change it for the world). At 11, I was in middle school and I HATED middle school! I was depressed, kids at that age are so mean and my best friend and I were always getting in fights and not talking to each other. I begged and begged my mom everyday to home school me so I could stay home and not have to go to school. When I was 17, my best friend since 3rd grade graduated a year early and I was going into my senior year without my best friend and worried about which “click” to hang out with. This lady, without me telling her anything, could tell that something was going on at those three ages that was causing loneliness and therefore making it hard for me to open up to people. It was so cool! That was only one example, we talked about everything and I can honestly tell you that it has already helped me!! Even by me posting this and letting everyone know what total kook I am shows improvement. Today I woke up happy and ready to start my day. I feel like I could take on the world. I absolutely love my life and I just wanted to share that with everyone. Sometimes I wonder if all this nonsense is true and real but even if it’s not, and even if everything that these doctors are telling me is just a coincidence, the same thing that they tell everyone who comes in their office, who cares? If I leave feeling better, with a positive attitude and feeling like a better person, why not? Why not have an open mind and find peace of mind in any way we can? “The only opponent to finding our greatness is ourselves!”

Happy Birthday Kylie!

2008-07-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

Kylie has entered her terrible twos!! I think she's been there for awhile though :). She's such a sassy little thing but that is what makes her so stinkin cute!

ABC Tag

2008-07-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I just completed this whole survey and I just realized that all the questions start with the letter in alphibetical order... THAT'S why it's called an ABC Tag. No wonder it asked me 'x-ray or ultrasound'. I swear, sometimes I wonder how I survive in this world. Anyways, thanks for the tag Lauren! A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Attached and love it B. BEST FRIEND? Taryn, Amy C. CAKE OR PIE? Definitely cake! I’m not a pie person. D. DAY OF THE WEEK? Friday. I love Friday nights when I know I can stay up as late as I want and not have to get up for work. E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? My phone F. FAVORITE COLOR? Pink G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? Eh, I’d pass them both up… I’m not a fan of gummy stuff. H. HOMETOWN? ‘The Village or sometimes its known as Happy Valley’.. really Lauren? I didn’t know people called it that haha. All I know is that Moapa has some kind of bitterness towards the Logandale people which I didn’t know about until I moved to Moapa and everyone was saying that I crossed the “iron curtain”? I. INDULGENCE? Chocolate, anything with chocolate. J. JANUARY OR JULY? July! I love the summer!! January is a little depressing because the holidays are over. K. KIDS? Someday but not yet. L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? Good ol’ country music. M. MARRIAGE DATE? Whoa, you’re jumpin the gun there. N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 4 brothers… (2 big bros, 2 little) O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Hmm, I like them both but I would probably say apples because they aren’t as messy as oranges. P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? Loosing someone in my family, cockroaches, and grasshoppers. I also have a weird phobia of growing plants… it’s not live plants that bother me but it’s when a new sprout comes in overnight and just starts growing that I don’t like. I don’t think it’s a phobia because I’m not actually scared of it but I get tingly all over and goose bumps. I’ve got the chills just thinking about it. Ah, I hate it. Q. QUOTE? “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” – Albert Camus R. REASONS TO SMILE? There are so many reasons to smile… when Bill tells me he loves me, Kade and Kylie yelling my name and running up to give me a hug when they see me, coming in to work and seeing a nice cold diet coke on my desk that Janna` brought me… I could go on and on. S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? Batman. T. TAG 5 PEOPLE? Emily, Lindsay, Rachel Urie, Katie, Candace U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME? I was born in a car… a Ford Thunderbird on the way to the hospital. My mom delivered me while my dad was driving like a madman. V. VEGETABLES? I love vegetables, especially cucumbers! W. WORST HABIT? I’m a major procrastinator! X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? This is a weird question. Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Baked potato, I love em! Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Gemini

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

2008-07-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything new for awhile and I saw this on Andrea's page so I guess I will fill it out too... afterall, I do live quite an exciting life ;) 20 YEARS AGO...1. I was 3 years old, living in Henderson. 10 YEARS AGO...1. I was getting ready for my 8th grade school year and SO excited for it to be my last year in Middle School!! Flew to Reno with Taryn for a week. 5 YEARS AGO...1. Just graduated H.S., trying to figure out what I was doing with my life, working at Tiffany's with Amy and LOVING it!! Went on my first cruise. 3 YEARS AGO...1. I was living in Cedar with Tara, working at Ab Initio Academy, getting ready to move to Provo with Savannah and Kendra. Went on my third cruise, to Hawaii this time!! 1 YEAR AGO...1. Working at Geneva, living at home but getting ready to move into an apartment in Overton which I only lived in for 2 months because of the spiders ahh! SO FAR THIS YEAR...1. Still working at Geneva, moved into a house on the ranch in Moapa, started dating Bill, am accomplishing a huge goal (ask and I will tell). YESTERDAY I...1. Went to church, picked Jason up from the airport TODAY I...1. woke up really tired, went to work, am still at work, after work will go to my water aerobics class and then get on the elliptical TOMORROW I...will go to work and then go to Vegas to go out with Savannah IN THE NEXT YEAR I...Will have accomplished my goal, will get to see Travis!!

Just for fun...

2008-07-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

Tag - Here are the directions: 1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses...so fun!!!!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

2008-07-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we all went to my Uncle Ron's ranch in Alamo... it was really fun! Especially the swing that swings you into the lake.

Some of my neices and nephews... Madeline, Jayci, Kade, Dakota

That's me... so fun!

Not a care in the world...

Kylie and Kade

2008-07-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

I was at my mom's house swimming last night and I took this picture of Kylie; she looked so cute, I had to put it on here...
Kade cracks me up in this picture!

Yellowstone!

2008-06-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone was amazing! We arrived at our cozy little cabin in Afton, WY on Wednesday night. Thursday we went to Jacksonhole and did a little shopping and then watched the Bar J Wranglers (very good!!). Friday we spent the whole day in Yellowstone... we saw 3 black bears, a grizzly with 2 cubs, a wolf, antelope, elk, moose, buffalo, deer, and a fox! It was so awesome! Saturday we went to Teton Village for a gondola ride that took us 2,700 feet up the Teton Mountains. It was beautiful! We were all sad to leave on Sunday.

Kade, Emily, Kyle, Me, Mom, Dad, Dusty

Kade is my bud! He told me, "Jessica, you are the best-est aunt I never had". He also asked Kyle, "Dad, when I grow up, can I marry Jessica?" He was such a trooper on this trip!
The Alpine Slide! We go to the one in Park City every year so we were excited to see one in Jacksonhole.
Old Faithful

My brother Kyle and little Kade

A baby moose! So cute!

Another black bear!

Traffic Jam!

Savannah and Ryan's Big Day!

2008-06-21T23:46:00.000-07:00

After 3 years of dating, Savannah and Ryan are finally Mr. and Mrs. Seastrand! I am so happy for them! Savannah and I are cousins and about 5 weeks apart so we grew up very close; she is one of my best friends and I am so excited for her! The reception was absolutely beautiful with several dozen roses in each centerpiece alone! She had asked me to sing 'Daddy's Hands' for the daddy/daughter dance, a duet that I do with my dad (he accompanies me with the guitar and sings harmony on the melody). I felt honored that she would ask me to sing and I was really excited about it. The night of the reception, as it was getting closer for my time to shine, I was getting really nervous. I was able to calm my nerves though as we started the song... only to find that we had some serious mic problems. The mic kept turning off and on and making that loud obnoxious screeching noise. I didn't know if I should drop the mic and run to a hiding place to cry or just keep chuggin... so I decided to act like a pro and just keep going (the dj was trying to make it work but something was definitely wrong). This was the biggest crowd I had sung for and it turned out to be a train wreck! I felt bad for Savannah more than anything because the daddy/daughter dance is an important thing and all the attention was on the messed up microphone rather and her and my Uncle Ron. With the exception of the disastrous performance and the scorching heat, the reception was absolutely perfect!

Brooklyn, Kade, Kylie

The girls waiting for Savannah to throw her bouquet

BFF Britney and Kylie

Kade just learned how to go cross-eyed...

not such a good thing because he does it in every picture now.

The twins working on the centerpieces (my mom is on the right)

...And the rest is history.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

2008-06-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

Savannah is tying the knot! YAY! Friday was her bachelorette party and it was so much fun! First we had dinner at the Grand Lux Café at the Palazzo and then danced the night away at club Tao in the Venetian. Brittany and Rachel made Savannah wear a veil and the rest of us had to wear feather boas. It was so fun walking around the casino as a big group with those on because everyone was shouting at us, telling Savannah congratulation, and even asking to take pictures with us. By the end of the night, our feet were killing us… me and Kendra even took our shoes off on the dance floor but the bouncer made us put them back on (I imagine you could lose a toe if someone stepped on you with stiletto heels). Despite the fact that we could hardly walk from the club to valet because our feet were covered in blisters, it was a really, really fun night!!!

Home Sweet Home

2008-06-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is my litte home... I thought I would put some pictures of it for those of you who have never been to my house. The outside needs a little work but the inside is acutally pretty nice. It's 3 bedroom, 2 bath. The wallpaper is a little wild but I try to make it work. If you haven't been over to see it yet, you need to!! Mi casa su casa!