19 Things I Adore About Jon

1. Where did you meet your husband?
We met in first grade.
2. How long did you date before you got married?
About four years. It took a major accident for me to realize I really liked him. :)
3. How long have you been married?
10 1/2 years
4. What does he do that surprises you?
When he plans a special date.
5. What is your favorite feature of his?
I love the laugh wrinkles around his eyes, especially when he is laughing.
6. What is his best quality?
He is always so thoughtful and I know he would do ANYTHING for me. Even puppy sit other people's dogs, make treats for my young women, build things for the scouts, draw pictures for my classes, even tie bows on invitations. He's amazing!
7. What is his nickname for you?
Hun.
8. What is his favorite food?
Pizza, pizza, and more pizza.
9. What is his favorite sport?
Golf, basketball, snowboarding and mountain biking.
10. When and Where was your 1st kiss?
I think on a camping trip????
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Anything and everything! Everything is more fun with Jon. We especially love doing anything outside, vacations, fun outing with the kids, staying up late to watch some of our favorite shows.
12. Do you have any children?
Two sweet girls.
13. Does he have any hidden talents?
He hides his super funny, sarcastic sense of humor if he doesn't know you very well. He is Mr. Fix-it from houses to cars. He can dance like John Travolta. (He claims he can't, but I've seen it!) He can juggle.
14. How old his he?
32
15. Who said I love you first?
Ummm....me?
16. What is his favorite music?
He likes the Beastie Boys, Jack Johnson, Ben Folds Five and some weird music like Japanese Rap.
17. What do you admire most about him?
His patience with our children, how hard he works to support our family, how nice he can be to me even if I'm not being nice to him, his willingness to check in his man card (as he calls it) so often to play dress up and tea parties with the girls, and best of all that he is able to live through the emotional ups and downs in a house full of girls. ;)
18. What is his favorite color?
Blue maybe?
19. Will he read this?
I'll make sure that he does.

Feeding the Ducks

Amanda came over on Tuesday with her kids. Madi and Ty adore them. We had a fun time playing around the house. We then decided to get some fresh or more like polluted, air. We headed down to the ponds to feed the ducks. The kids had a great time! It was such a beautiful day.

New Hope With a New President

I was really looking forward to watching the Inauguration Tuesday. It was incredible! Sometimes you have those moments where you are so happy to be alive, to be a part of history is quite amazing. I think that regardless of ones political views, a person can only be excited for this new president. The possibility of change at a time when our country and world seems to be falling apart instills me with hope. I thought his speech was beautiful and moving. It really did bring tears to my eyes, to which Madi replied, "It's OK mom. I know that sometimes you cry when you're happy." I know only time will tell if and how this new president will overcome the challenges and obstacles that our country is faced with at this time, but I am hopeful that he will be able to unify our country and help those in need.
I also loved that prayers were included and many references to God. It seems like we live in such a politically correct time, that you can barely talk about God (unless you're cursing, then feel free to say it as much as you'd like). How refreshing to have someone proudly proclaim their beliefs to all. I love that he ended his speech with "God bless America!" I truly pray he will.

Madi's First Time Bowling

For family night last week we took Madi bowling for the first time. She loved it! She loved going out and throwing the ball. Jon and I would laugh when she would toss it and still be five feet away from the lane. Luckily it stayed on our side. She did great! We all had a blast. I will also add the Jon barely beat me by a few points. He was full of excuses! I guess technically it was Tyli's first time bowling as well, but she wouldn't get off of our laps so I'm not counting it. You have to at least roll a ball.:)

Jami's French Mastiff Puppies

My sister Jami just bread her dog. Madi and Ty have been in puppy heaven! Neither of them have any fear for dogs. They just can't get enough. I guess I'm just the mean mom that will never let them have one. (At least not for another ten years.)

Friends For Life

Friendships change all through life. Different friends help you through different times. It seems that every stage I've been through brings someone new into my life. Often, so many friendships fade, but the ones that don't are the friends you just might keep forever. I have a group of friends that really are my friends for life. These girls honestly helped me through the most challenging years. Most of which I'd like to forget, but they don't hold that against me. Life has taken us in so many different directions, yet when we get together it really is as if nothing has changed. I love them all so much. I am so proud of the amazing things they each are accomplishing with their lives. I guess the moral of the story is... junior high sleepovers are the foundation for a lifetime of laughter.

The Very Best Time is Christmas Time

I LOVE Christmas. I love the parties, the music, the feeling of the year, the reason we celebrate, all of it. I especially love how it brings us so close to all of our family. We make so many memories and love spending time with the dear people we love. These are some of our very best moments...

Small town nativity collection and light parade
In our town right after Thanksgiving the local tabernacle displays a collection of nativities from all over the world. It really is amazing to see the different interpretations of our Savior's birth. They also have a live nativity, different performers, and kids crafts. We then go to a light parade which is mostly old cars with Christmas lights strung on them. It's always fun to be out and we are always anxiously waiting for the finale, Santa on the fire truck.

Madi loves to guess where the nativities are from. It's quite entertaining considering she really has no sense of geography.

Jon is such a hands on dad. He is always helping the girls.

We spent more time waiting for the light parade than watching it. Santa made it all worth it.

Festival of Trees
The Festival of Trees is a spectacular experience. I am always in awe of the beauty of this collection. It really is incredible. This was was very special because there was a tree just for Steve. I never wanted to make this trip for such a personal reason. He really was such an amazing man. It made this year much more meaningful. We met the Browns there and spent time looking at the sights with Cindy, Lizzy and Ben. The kids got to do some crafts, play some games and watch some of the performers. We definitely had our favorite trees, like the one made entirely of glass or the one decorated with the Grinch. All of the money is for a children's hospital and it is a volunteer run event. This is a great way to jump start the holiday season.


Going to see the Lights
We love going to see the lights. We usually go to all of the major cities events and then the local parks. Our favorite one is close by and they lights up different Christmas and animal things. They even have monkeys that climb trees and frogs that jump in a pond. We love it! This year we went with Jon's cousins Mike and Crystal. Madi love hanging out with "little" Chase and Tyli loves Payton. We always have so much fun together.


We got to visit with Santa when we stopped to get hot chocolate! It doesn't get better than this!

Decorating Grandma Donna's tree
A new fun tradition that Madi especially loves is decorating Grandma Donna's tree. Madi LOVES the Barbie ornaments. She also love the spinning tree. We really enjoy sharing this alone time with both grandma and grandpa.

Fulks Family Party
This year we had a differnt kind of family party. We took dinner to a homeless shelter. This was very humbling to see the challenging circumstances so many familes face. It was a wonderful experience. Thank you Brenda and Darrin for organizing it. After we had a ball visiting the lights. It was lightly snowing and made for a very beautiful night.

Christmas Eve with the Gabberts
Every year we spend Christmas Eve with my family. Jon grew up listening to a recording of the Nativity Story. As we drive to grandmas we listen to this. It makes it a special trip. My mom makes yummy chili and clam chowder for dinner. We visit the Ogden lights which is really cool. They have different little village scenes decorated in some sort of Holiday theme. Christmas music is played all throught the park. It was awesome. This year everyone else pooped out except for Jami. We still loved it!
Grandma always give each child a special scavenger hunt to look for their presents, which they love as much, if not more than the actual present. She also gives each grandchild pajamas, which usually match. This year Jami surprised the old kids with cool light Sabers. It was the highlight of the night. After they were opened we spent the rest of the night have sword fights with the lights off. (The light sabors lit up.) It was so fun. Thanks Jami!


Christmas Morning
I love it that my girls can sleep in on Christmas morning. This year we didn't wake up until 9:00. They were so excited! We just have a fun morning opening presents and playing with our new toys. The girls both got what they wanted, plus a couple of surprises. Madi loved her doll that goes potty and snowboard. Tyli loved her rocking horse and new table. I also surprised Jon this year with a speedy remote control car. He has always wanted one and I got a great deal on a used one. He loved it! I guess he does enough tea parties and doll games to get a boy toy once in a while.

Christmas day with the Browns
We always spend Christmas day with the Browns. This year was so hard without Steve. Luckily we had puppy Bella to help a little. Cindy and Steve's parents made a yummy breakfast. We then spent the rest of the day playing with new stuff. We eat, relax, sleep, watch movies, just whatever we want. Jon and Michael always spend as much time as possible playing whatever new video game Michael got. This year I bought Michael a rocket set that uses mentos and a 2 liter bottle of soda. I drug everyone out in the cold and snow to watch it go off. It was so windy it didn't go as high as it should have, then it tipped over. By the time I had turned around everyone had already bolted inside. Wusses! It was funny though. Later Meg was eating Mentos and drinking soda together. I wonder which end that explosion came out. :) Christmas day is our absolute favorite time with them. It's not very often you find a day when everyone is around at the same time so I treasure these moments together!
Gabbert Family Party
Scott and Jen live far enough away that we don't get to see them as often as we like, so this is always our special day with them. We get together for brunch. Jen always makes yummy quiche which everyone loves. After we eat, the guys might plays some video games, we'll chat or watch movies. Sometimes we'll go out sledding witht the kids. It's really just a fun day that we all just hang out together.



New Years with the Pehrsons
I think for every New Years of our marriage we have spent it with Casey and Elise. Some years we have gone out, but for the past several we have just stayed home and hung out. It might seem uneventful, but we love it! It is low stress and we always have fun with our best friends. This year we all bundled up at ten o'clock at night and went outside to sled and snowboard on the hill in the back yard. The kids had a blast! Poor Ethan got stuck wearing Tyli's snow clothes. It was so funny. He was dressed up in a purple and pink snowsuit that was just a little snug. It was hilarious! He didn't care though, he was just excited to snowboard. We will bring in the new year with a lot of noise and fireworks. So fun!

It was the best holiday season ever! It was so fun to see the girls interact and share in all of the fun. It was just full of those moments that you never want to forget.

Craft Time

I don't know what it is about Christmas time, but it brings out the crafty person in me. This year I went a little overboard. I think because I've missed out the past two years. (Ty's birth one year and moving the next.) Our house was project central for many days. Here's what I accomplished.

• 50 fleece hats- I made them for my preschool students and all of Madi's friends and cousins.

• Snowman cans and kits- This are the cutest cans. I got the idea from the Festival of Trees. We filled them with a "Snowman Kit" that included marshmallows, pretzels, and a candy hat and buttons. Madi gave them to her friends.

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• Holiday purse/bags- We sewed some of these for the ornament swap and also for a few of Madi's friends.
  
• Home made suckers for all of our neighbors and friends-This was fun as loved making suckers when I was younger. My dear childhood friend Rachel spent a day with me making these. We had the best time. Although we got much more visiting accomplished that actual suckers. :)
• Home made ornaments- See previous post "ornament" swap.
• Pillows for my Brownies- I wanted to make something special for the Browns. I wanted to make a pillow for each one personally. I did a picture collage for each of the kids. I didn't expect this to be as hard as it was, emotionally I mean. I found myself sobbing more than once. AfterI got through the picture part it wasn't as hard. I was quite happy with the finished product.
  

So I might have gone a little craft crazy, but I loved every minute. (Minus the messes and the cleaning of the messes!)

Christmas Card

I have this amazing talented, cute, fun, friend, Stacy, who gave me one of her Christmas cards this year. With it she included a rhyming letter telling about her family events from the year. I LOVED it! It was so cute! I found myself rhyming for the next several days. I even sent her a rhyming email telling her how incredibly brilliant she is. I got so into it I decided to try my own rhyming letter. Although I could never match her expertise :) I decided to give it a try. I have to say I was quite impressed with myself. Of course, Jon did assist and give input. I decided to post it here because I just couldn't send it to everyone. So Merry Christmas...again!

It’s that special time of year that comes around with the snow,
The presents, the tree, and the mistletoe.
We wanted to share with you some happy tidings,
And tell you about our year with silly poem writings.

Twelve months it has been since we moved to our home.
We love it so much, lots of rooms that we roam.
The best of friends we have made, our new ward we adore.
We feel so darn happy, we couldn’t ask for more.

A ten year anniversary, Jon and I had.
We visited Cancun, yes coming home was sad.
We relaxed, read, and slept, no kids waking us at all.
It was the perfect vacation, we just had a ball.

We had a great summer, we swam until pruney.
We played so much you might think that we’re looney.
We ran races, joined parties, had picnics, went camping;
Watched movies, took walks, through the mountains went tramping.

We have four year old Madi, who’s the party queen.
I’m scared of what she’ll be like as a teen.
Friends, friends, friends; she can’t get enough!
She plays day and night, yah her life’s really rough.

To preschool she goes to learn something new.
She takes other classes like dance and music too.
She is happy, funny, kind, and so sweet.
We love her a lot and think she’s quite neat.

Tyli is two and TERRIBLE-y fun!
She likes to sing, dance, yell no, and can really run.
She is learning to talk, more words she can say,
Like “Bussh” (bus), “noing” (snowing), “peas” (please), and “pay” (play).

She’s two going on twelve, with attitude to boot.
But she keeps us all laughing; we think she’s a hoot.
She likes new adventures as long as mommy’s close by.
Her best friend is my leg, or my hip, or my thigh.

Jon’s the best dad, his girls are adored.
He plays with them, reads to them, they never are bored.
For his forts he is famous, he kisses owies away.
He sings such sweet lullabies, even bed bugs don’t stay.

When Jon’s not with his family, you’ll find him at work.
He thinks in code now, he’s a little berserk!
He enjoys golfing, biking, and a new hobby, running.
He’s handsome and funny and really quite cunning.

And as for me, I have so much going on.
It seems like I never even get to see Jon.
But I love every minute; my life is so full.
With so much to do, not a minute is dull.

With the girls I have fun, we have outings galore.
Preschool, scouts, tutoring, I couldn’t add anymore.
Then there’s facebook and blogging, how did I live without?
Who needs a clean house anyways, what’s that all about?

This year wasn’t all laughs, for we lost a dear friend.
When thinking of him, the tears never end.
Someone truly amazing called to above.
Our lives forever touched by his example and love.

This helps us reflect during this holiday season,
And appreciate the Savior, our celebration reason.
The gospel brings peace and joy for sure,
And helps us through hard times and trials endure.

That being said, we send you good wishes,
And all of our love, and lots of our kisses.
A Happy New Year, and Seasons Greetings too.
Feliz Navidad and a Merry Christmas to you!