Oh the love of a family

The past few days have been hard ones, they really have. Emotionally draining, lots of questions and anxiety over the unknown. Although family can be difficult, the blessings that come from being part of a family enormously outweigh the problems. Jared and I got home to a huge box from my side of the family today. Inside was THIS:

(well except the mannequin head. Jared couldn't resist leaving it in the shot!)

Thank you to my parents, sisters and aunt for their love and generosity! We now have tons of birthday and Christmas presents for both Jared and I! Thank you for the blessing that you are to us, and for helping to make being away for the holidays just a little easier! Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving at Disneyland!

We were able to go to Disneyland for Thanksgiving this year and we had an absolute blast! Thanks to my Aunt Sue, Uncle Mark, and my cousins for letting us crash for turkey dinner! We then spent the next two days at The Happiest Place on earth!An over the shoulder shot! We got really good at these surprise pictures. This was as we were walking and I think I did a great job!

New Orleans square - I loved the beautiful wreath!

These are the pictures we took while riding Thunder Mountain Railroad..oh yeah, in motion!

I LOVE the Haunted Mansion and even though I didn't love "The Nightmare Before Christmas" I love the decorations they put up.

My handsome husband riding the train.

SPACE MOUNTAIN!

Jared taking a jumping picture in front of California Adventure's Golden Gate Bridge

Our favorite show Billy Hill and the Hillbillies...HILARIOUS

Jared loves Mickey!

The beautiful castle all lit up for Christmas

It's a small world after all!

On a Lighter Note....

These are pictures that Jared and I took while we were at Temple Square one Sunday night. We had a great time, even if we were a LITTLE irreverent! This is a picture that Jared took of the temple reflecting in the lake, I think it turned out pretty cool!

Ah yes, jumping pictures! Jared LOVES them, and what better place to do it than where most couples take their wedding pictures. Look at the height on this kid!I look as if I am trying to fly, don't I?

Ah, what a cute couple! LOL

All in all it was a fun evening and a great way to get out of the house.

Wow

Do you ever just ask yourself, "How in the world did this happen?" or "How did we get to this point?"

That's how I feel right now, and the hardest part is that all I can be is a person on the sidelines.

Pray for me. Pray for my family.

Just a Reminder...

So, for those of you who don't know, or forgot, or don't want to think about it, I just wanted to be the one to remind you that....

THANKSGIVING IS TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!

Pretty soon we can be enjoying this:
Oooh....and these:

And my favorite:

This year Jared and I are going to my Aunt and Uncle's in Southern California. I am sooooooo excited, not only to spend time with my extended family, but also because we get two days at

I CAN'T WAIT!

A week In Sacramento

Jared's younger brother Jake was married this past week and we were able to go and visit for the event! Since both of our families are from the Sacramento area, it turned out to be really tricky to try and fit everything in. All in all, we had a blast, Jake and Brenda took the plunge and we got to spend some quality time with our families! As I am looking at these pictures though I am starting to realize that we suck at this. We have a bunch of random pictures but none of all of our families together and only ONE of the bride and groom. I think we're fired...

I am fairly certain we took this picture and a bunch of others when we were supposed to be taking a nap at my parent's house. No wonder we were so tired the whole time, we were playing instead of sleeping!

The three brothers before Jake's ceremony. I had to choose to cut off their calves or their faces - those are the kind of hard decisions one has to make when your husband and his brothers are 6'8".

My nieces Anna and Adalena. LOVE them : )

Oh Amy. Why are you such a cheese?

Miss Sydney. I love her almond shaped eyes - definitely a Joyner trait.

The only picture we got of the bride and groom. SAD! Even though their back's are pretty much to us, take my word for it...they were glowing and gorgeous! And no...the bishop is not a midget - they are humongous!

Three of my nephews doing a "jumping" shot for Uncle Jared. I think Wesley (on the right) is impersonating a ballerina...and doing a mighty good job!

Two of my girlfriends Crystal (left) and Keena (middle). I am soooooooooooo glad that I got to visit with a few friends while we were down there. Unfortunately, I only got pictures with these two, so you'll have to take my word on the rest!

This is my family, Jared and I on our way to Apple Hill. I wish I had a really good explanation for why I am doing this, but...I don't! Raise the roof!

Peace Out.

Aw....cute.

My lil' sis with her new hairdo.

My parents, Jared and I in the Apple Orchard.

Mmmmm....fresh apple fritter!

Hey! I want a bite!

All in all, it was a fun trip -even though these pictures don't do it justice. It was hard to leave Sacramento, especially since it was snowing when we got back to Utah! All my love to the new couple, Jake and Brenda!

I've Been Tagged...

Thanks Tiff for the tag! Now I just have to think of 10 truths about myself...this could be harder than I thought. You're right though, we did have A LOT of fun together at The Sign Post. Well, other than the fact that we had to work at The Sign Post! Bleh, those are days I will NEVER miss.

Okay, here goes....

1. I LOVE Disneyland. I mean, LOVE it. I have no idea what it is about that place, but I have been more times than I count. Since Jared and I have been married (just over two years) we have been three times and we are going in November and again in January. I think it's a borderline obsession, but what is more fun than being a kid again in a place that holds great memories?

2. I cannot drink anything warm. I mean it, no cocoa, no cider, no Theraflu, NOTHING. When I was little and feeling nauseated, my mom would have us drink warm water to make us throw up. Now, I associate everything with that feeling and I GAG when it's warm. Crazy, huh?

3. Nine times out of ten I do not listen to music in my car when I am driving. Some people feel uncomfortable with silence, but I actually love it. When Jared and I were first dating he thought it was so WEIRD that I didn't have the music on in the car so he felt the need to fill the silence. For me, quiet does not equal awkward.

4. Children I do not know make me extremely uncomfortable and awkward. I don't know what it is about kids, but if I don't know them...I FREEZE UP! I subbed in Primary one week for my friend Elena a few years back and it was honestly one of the worst experiences of my entire life. Who knew that five year olds could be intimidating? Now, once I know the kids...it's a different story!

5. I have one of the worst memories of all-time. My family and friends have an on-going joke about my memory. For some reason, I can never remember family trips and vacations that we have taken. Funny stories? Out of the question. Old boyfriends' names? Forget about it. Unless I am in a picture, I will probably deny it ever happening. One good thing about this quality is that I am really quick to forgive because...in a week I can't even remember what happened!

6. I dance in the bathroom at work. Oh yeah, I DANCE! I don't know what it is, but sometimes you just have to go crazy and, after sitting for hours on end, dancing is one of the best ways to get out my energy. I have only been caught once and yes...she thought I was insane.

7. The only reason I go to buffets is because of pot roast. I love pot roast and for some reason it's always best at a buffet. This summer Jared and I went to Las Vegas and to a really fancy buffet. If you are wondering if they didn't have pot roast so I basically spent $30 on a salad, don't worry...I did.

8. I cannot quote movies. It doesn't matter how many times I have seen a movie, or how much I love it, I couldn't recite a full line if my life depended on it. When Jared and I were dating (well, and even now) he and his family would quote movies constantly and I never have any idea what is going on. Maybe this goes back to my lack of memory or...maybe I just suck at quoting movies.

9. I hate Jack Johnson's music. As soon as he comes on the radio I swear I fall asleep. Wait, I think I hear him...~SNORE~

10. Although I had several proposals I graduated from BYU unmarried. Not that you can blame me...there are some SERIOUS weirdos in Provo! LOL

Okay, that's me in a nutshell! Now I tag Tiffany A. and Jessica!

Woe is me....

Do you know what I love? WEDDINGS! I just found out that my brother in law Jake is engaged! Woohoo!! I have met Brenda one time, but I think she's pretty awesome and I am excited to have her be a part of our crazy family. There is only one downside...

Do you know what I love more than weddings? MATCHMAKING!! LOL So.....unbeknownst to Jake I was secretly planning to hook him up with my friend Jessica. She is one of my co-workers and pretty much the COOLEST person ever! I mean, what is more fun than someone who will bust out singing songs in Spanish with you (Cielito Lindo, anyone?)? Or who shows you Web sites like TFLN? Or makes the most AMAZING chocolate chips cookies, EVER!? NOTHING.

But Alas, Jake had his own plans *sigh*

I guess this means I need to move on to my next victim... Any takers? ;)

Take me out to the ballgame...

Saturday we all had free tickets to go and see the Ogden Raptors play! It was a lot of fun. They are the farm team for the Dodgers. It was a lot of fun to go and watch the game, it was mildly ghetto but it made me feel better because how can you finish off summer without any baseball!? We met the Norton's there and we had a blast. The boys were really into the game, they even brought their mits to catch fly balls. I got to play with the girls when they started losing interest. All in all, a fun time...until it started raining right after the seventh inning stretch!



About the bottom of the fourth inning, things started getting CRAZY! This is a picture that Katherine took of Uncle Jared...YOWZA!

Katherine begged to have her pig tails taken out and so she looks like she just escaped from an insane asylum!
Amy being a big goof! I think she's bored, what do you think?

Is that Amy licking the nachos carton? Oh yes, yes she is!

All in all we had a lot of fun, ate lots of yummy baseball food, and didn't catch a single foul ball!