OH Summer....

Summer is in full swing here... but someone should probably tell mother nature! The weather has been all over the place lately! It might be just me but I keep forgetting that here in eastern Idaho we can go from a 90 degree perfect summer day to a 30 degree freezing night all in a matter of hours! geesh!

Brandon is working at the Country Club this summer doing some course maintenance. It's not his dream job (thank goodness!) but it pays and lets both of us play for free at the Country Club which is a HUGE bonus. We do love our golf and if we can play for free (especially at a nice course) we are a happy couple!

I am the new manager at the Shelley Swimming Pool. Let me tell you it isn't a piece of cake like most would believe. I do love working at our pool, getting tan, playing in the water with little swimmers and it's a pretty laid back environment but being a manager is pretty hard work! But it's a great job and is good for me to start being in charge of a group of children. I am getting excited and very nervous about starting school (its still like 3 months away!) I'm bummed I can't get into my classroom until mid-August which has probably got me the most stressed out! I'm trying to gather things for my classroom starting now and getting things ready so when August rolls around I'm ready to go. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Pinetrest is a pretty great place to go for ideas but sometimes I just get overwhelmed seeing veteran teachers classrooms!

Last weekend we were fortunate enough to be able to attend my Aunt's wedding in Colorado. It was a great weekend, we got to golf with family, have a mini family reunion and witness the joining of a family. We are so excited to welcome in Steve and my new cousin Niki, we love them already!

We have so many fun things planned for this summer. Lots of traveling and visiting with so much family and friends! Here's some sneak peaks!

#1: Boating... lots and lots of time on the lake (crossing my fingers!!) 

#2. Hopefully in the next week or so our good friends Kim and her little guys will be able to come visit while Nick is away at training. Their little boys are so much fun!

 #3. Mexico... our honeymoon is FINALLY going to happen! and we get to spend 5 days away with my aunt and her new husband.

#4. Island Park: I'm hoping that for our annual boating trip we can get it put together and rent a cabin at Island Park for a couple days! (the wildlife there is unbelievable!)

#5. Wedding Bells! Brandon's mom, Rhonda, is getting married at the end of July to Chris. We are so excited and can't wait for it to get here!

#6. Also at the end of July one of my best friends is going to come for a visit. Annaliesa and her husband David will get to experience the fun of idaho :)

#7. And last but not least at the end of August/first of September School starts and I will get to begin my teaching career in Rigby, Idaho as a Middle School Math Teacher. I'm so excited =]

Our Trip To Temple Square

A couple Saturday's ago we had the opportunity to go visit Temple Square with our good friends Nick and Kim and their boys. I got to ride a train for the first time, I've got to say, they are very convenient! It was also my first time ever going to Temple Square, Brandon had been once before with a friend from back home. It was such a fun day!

In 11 months we will be sealed in the Logan, UT Temple :)

So beautiful

Nick, Ryan, Randen, and Kim

Playing in the reflection pool

It's been real Utah...

4 years... I can't believe just like that I'm graduating college, have a career now and are moving back to Idaho.

I started college in August of 2008. I remember the night before moving, packing up, not  knowing what was in store for me... it seems like a lifetime ago. I can't believe that I was ever that silly little girl! I found the man of my dreams, changed my major ((twice)), said goodbye to the man of my dreams for 8 LONG months while he went to training, got him back, got MARRIED, said goodbye again, fought through a deployment, [all the while still going to school!], got him back again!, had to spend a semester apart while I taught and he worked, reunited, student taught... which brings us to now.

NOW:
We are in Idaho for the long hall!
On May 5th I will graduate from Utah State University  with a B.S in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Middle School Mathematics. This is a time when I should be freaking out! I should be scouring for a job, praying that interviews went well, stressing to the max... but I'm not :D You see, I've already snagged a job! I was lucky, I got in quick and now I'm stress free (haha not really but I like to pretend!) I will be a 6th (and maybe 7th) grade math teacher at Midway Middle School in Rigby, ID. I am beyond thrilled at this opportunity.

This is how we begin the next chapter in our life.

Brandon will be attending EITC in the fall, studying to become an RN. He is excited to begin, though he still claims he HATES school! I keep trying to remind him that this isn't like the college he's been to before, but we'll see when the time comes.

Other than that we are just happy to be moving onward and upward with our lives. We are looking forward to our vacations this summer: first to Grand Junction for my aunts wedding, then to MEXICO with the same aunt for my graduation vacation, then to California for my Mother-In-Laws wedding [[so excited!!]] and somewhere in the middle will be our annual boating extravaganza, hopefully to Island Park this year! and of course all of the boating days can't come soon enough, I want to be on the lake, soaking up the rays!

The Pictures I Promised!

This blog is chuck full of pictures.. just a warning :) 

Brandon in his pretty sling :(

 

The Queen of faces!

Meet Lyric LaShawn Lacey, the most beautiful niece! 

LOVING my Lyric time!

Proud Uncle

Dad (Akilah) , Lyric and Mom (Holly)

Mom and Bronco on our hike

Dad and Bronco taking a rest

Bronco playin in the puddles!

Uncle Todd, Me and Brandon on my baptism day.

Annaliesa and I after the "dunk"!

Finally a Time to Post

I don't think my life has EVER been this crazy... Okay maybe it has like when I was planning a wedding and a deployment... or teaching and getting ready for Brandon's homecoming. I was probably this busy and stressed, but boy oh boy how crazy it's making me now!

Since it has seriously been probably like two months or so since I've posted heres a run down of our lives!

Brandon has been healing nicely from his accident. He just finished physical therapy last week and goes back to see the doc. this Friday so he can tell Brandon he's all fixed :) Today was Brandon's first day back to hard labor with his uncle. Since the accident Brandon has done a bunch of busy, office work while waiting for his elbow to heal and gain some strength. He said he was very excited to get back outside but is totally beat tonight!

Bronco's doing well. He is growing like a weed and losing baby teeth all over the place! For the most part Bronco is the best puppy we could have ever asked for, I just have to keep telling myself he's still a puppy! We went on an 1.5 hour long hike behind our house last Saturday and he had a BLAST! There were some good sized puddles that he just plunged right into! I can't wait to see him this summer at the lake! But for now, he'll just continue dozing at my feet :)


I have 2 more weeks of actual teaching in my student teaching. I can't believe I'm really almost done! I love my 5th graders and have had the best semester. College just flew by, it's amazing that its already graduation time!

I am an AUNT to the most beautiful baby girl I've ever seen. She totally took both Brandon and my heart before we had even met her. Honestly I love her with all of my heart. She is perfect. Her name is Lyric, I wasn't sold on the name but from the first minute I saw her I just realized she is Lyric and no other name would have fit!


Last Friday was a pretty exciting time for me and my family. I was able to be baptized in the LDS church.  I can't even describe the feelings that I have in my heart. I have an wonderful sense of peace and joy in my life. I know that my decision to be baptized has allowed me and my family to receive some pretty amazing blessing. I can't wait for a year from now, when my family can be sealed together in the temple.

I have more to come but don't want to bog everyone down TOO much =] stay tuned for more info and pictures!!

Love you all
Jess

Not How I Planned on Spending Today

Today was supposed to be a great day. I was off from school, got to sleep in, was going to get a whole bunch of projects done today..... So far, not so good.

This is how our day SHOULD be going: 
Brandon got up and went to work, I get to sleep in!!
I would get up and do some grocery shopping, get my hair trimmed.
At noon Brandon would get to come home and spend the rest of the afternoon with me and pack for his trip.
I would spend the day sewing and getting tons of the little projects done that I've been meaning to do.
In the evening, we would take Brandon to his uncles so they could pack up the car and drive to LA where they would fly to Hawaii for a week long work trip.
I would come home and get ready for my next week of teaching.


This is how our day HAS gone:
Brandon got up and went to work, I got to sleep in till 9 (fabulous I know :] )
I played with Bronco and then went and got my hair trimmed. 
As the stylist was finishing up my trim, Brandon called.. twice. I didn't answer thinking he was just calling to tell me he got off work early or was going to leave earlier in the evening. I thought it could wait. It couldn't.
When I listened to my voicemail he told me to go to the hospital right away. I knew something pretty bad had happened if he was going to the hospital. 
I called and called him as I started to drive, no answer. The whole way there, I prayed and prayed that everything would be okay. 
I called our Uncle (who he works for) and got our aunt. I asked her what happened to Brandon and she said she didn't know that it was Brandon but that someone had fallen off of the scaffolding (It's a masonry company) and wasn't doing very well. 
Not something you want to hear. Luckily the hospital was only a 5-10 minute drive from where I started. 
When I got to the hospital, I learned that he had fallen from the 12 foot scaffolding and fell in a 2 foot wide space. He had fallen on his left arm and from the look of it, he had probably broken 6 bones or more. 
His arm looked terrible. He was in SO much pain, I've never seen him like that. Brandon is a tough guy, even when he's hurting he doesn't like to show it and just sucks it up. Not this time, which is why I knew that it wasn't good. 
We got the X-ray's back and somehow, someway there was NO broken bones. Brandon had dislocated his elbow (pretty badly) but from what they could see, there was no other injuries. 
Through talking to Brandon and the other guys at the job site we still couldn't figure out exactly why he fell. Brandon thinks he might have stood up to fast and blacked out, causing him to fall. 

Through this whole thing all I can think of is how lucky we are! A fall from 12 feet with a nail gun is serious. We can deal with a missed work trip to Hawaii, with a 2 week splint and sling, and we will count our blessings that, that is all we have to deal with. Thank you to whomever is looking down on us from above.

Owls are on my mind!

I LOVE the new owl trend! They are SOO cute! My sister found this owl on Pintrest (here) and asked if I could make it for her baby Lyric. I was so excited to take on this project. So here is my first project with my new sewing machine :)

 The after the eyes are put on

 Putting things together.

 Almost done!

All Stuffed!

Allie the Owl (my name for her =]) Turned out soo well! There are little things I need to get better at but for my first project I'm very pleased with the results! Owls part 2 is coming soon!