Summer!

It's been a good summer here in NC, but we are ready for the fall. It's HOT here in the summer! I decided I'm not much of a hot weather kind of girl. Jesse enjoyed working at River's Edge at the USNWC and we liked the perks he got. I'm still working at the same dental office and it's going well. Jesse just had a birthday and turned 31. We went to see Mary Poppins the Broadway musical here in Charlotte. We loved it! Awesome production. And I bought him a Blue-ray player too (I like to spoil him). He got the Star Trek movie in blue-ray from my sisters and he loves it. And thanks to Ty and Dawn for the cash which he put towards an I-Pod touch 4 along with money from his parents and my grandparents. And thanks mom for your contribution towards the blue-ray player.
To sum up the summer, we WORKED and played a little. Not as much playing as I would have liked due to $, but that's life these days. We took a day trip to Blowing Rock in the mountains and had a relaxing fun day. I've spent a lot of Fridays at the pool for a few hours which has been nice. I was recently called to 2nd counsler in YW and this has been a very busy calling. Between Sundays with meetings, wends. night for mutual, and more meetings it keeps me busy. I love the YW though. And I still try to work out 3-4 days a week and cook a little. Life gets busier to older you get I think.
Jesse has been in school for 5 weeks now and the first 5 weeks of this semester were very hard. He had a rotation at the hospital in Cardio patient care. His preceptor was a very intelligent woman with high standards and expectations. He felt very challenged more so than any other rotation. But he made it through okay and should get a decent grade. I'm sure this class has prepared him better for his career, but he isn't sure hospital pharmacy is his gig. He is glad it's over. He also had a very challenging class in cancer drugs and blood disorder drugs. A lot of memorization and difficult. So he has a few new classes starting Mon to fill in for these classes, but they shouldn't be so difficult. We find out Oct 2nd if we stay here in Charlotte or have to move for the last year of school (4th yr rotations). We can put three choices down. #1-Charlotte, #2-Asheville(Western NC in the mountains), #3-Wilmington (East coast by the beach). So I'm anxious to know if we are moving and if so, where???
Jesse and I are now aunt Jenny and uncle Jesse! Charlotte had a baby boy 9-11 at 11:00 am weighing in at 12 oz and 10.5". His name is Brannick and he is so cute! He was 3 months early so he is in the NICU, but doing awesome and is a fighter. He has Char's cute nose and toes! I wish I was there to see him, but I'll get to see him in Dec. Well I think that's all our news. Thanks for reading and visiting my blog!

Spring 10'

Summer is going by quickly and so much has happened. Jesse finished school in May and we moved to a new apartment and the end of May. We are living just a few miles away from where we were, but in a better part of town. We love it in our new apartment! It's close to restaurants and shopping, they are much newer apartments, and we pay a little less for a lot more space. We have another bed and bath now, which we needed the space. Out kitties love to go out on the balcony and bask in the sun and chill with us out there. Before we moved my mom came out to visit for Mothers day for the weekend. We LOVED having her here and miss her! My mom is the best! We took her to Macs speed shop (which is the best BBQ in Charlotte) after we picked her up from the airport. Friday we went to the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC and played all day. It was a blast. She loved it there in Ashville, which we do too. A artsy, quaint town in the mountains. What's not to like. There is a possibility that we may move there the 4th year of Jesse's schooling for rotations. I wouldn't mind moving there, but I would prefer not to have to move! Back to my mom, Saturday we went to Jesse's school and looked around on campus, visited the apartments we now live in, went to dinner, and rested. Sunday was church and we rested some more and just enjoyed visiting. Monday morning came :( and I took my mom to the Flying Biscuit for breakfast (great breakfast place) and then said goodbye and the airport. We are sure glad she came to visit :) Jesse wasn't able to get a Pharmacy Intern position for the summer, so he is working at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte. They have rafting, kayaking, canoeing, biking, zip lines, rock climbing, hiking, and a restaurant. A outdoor enthusiast dream! He is working at the restaurant in the kitchen. He enjoys it, but it's hard work for little pay. But it's a job! Today is the 4th of July and he has been working all weekend. So tonight I am going to the whitewater center to watch fireworks (by myself:( )and Jesse might get a break to come hang out with me during fireworks. We both have Monday off, so we are going to go play all day at the Whitewater center. YEAH! Plus he gets to do everything free and I get a discount. BONUS. Oh, and I went to Girls Camp last week as a leader. It was a blast! The girls are so awesome. I was in the first level, which means I was with a lot of 12 and 13 yr old girls and it was there first time. We had some homesick girls and nervousness, but they did alright. I was homesick too missing Jesse, my bed, my shower, my kitties, etc. There was no reception, so I couldn't even call Jes :( That is the longest we have been apart since we've been married. We got to go Whitewater rafting down the Nanahala gorge for a few hours and it was gorgeous and so much fun. I just love the YW and I'm so glad the Lord called me to serve them. I am a Miamaid advisor by the way. That's our summer so far. Happy 4th of July!

Hilton Head Island

Well spring is here in N. Carolina. The trees are beautiful with white blossoms and allergies are in full swing. With spring comes Spring Break for Jesse. So last minute I searched online for a quick trip and Hilton Head was the place to go (because it's close and inexpensive). So thanks to Hotwire.com we got a 4 star resort for $70 a night. We left Friday morning and arrived in the afternoon to our hotel right on the beach! Yipee! So of course the first thing you do when you arrive is check out your room, the pools, the restaurants, the beach, etc. We stayed at the Hilton Hotel Oceanfront resort by the way (older, but very nice and clean). We went down the road a few miles to the Sea Pines area of Hilton Head. It's full of beautiful Spanish Moss trees that are famous in the south, and people riding their bikes along the many miles of bike trails in HH. We walked along the small shops and the pier in the harbor. We also drove through the forest preserve and saw alligators sitting on the grass by the pond. It was so cool and a little crazy seeing live gators in their natural habitat. We did not get out of our car! But took lots of pics. Then we headed back to the harbor just in time to see the sunset. Beautiful. Nothing can compare with the sunset on the ocean! I will never get over the beauty of that. Then we headed back to our hotel and relaxed in the hot tub. Awww :) On our way back to our hotel we ran into a couple we knew in the University 1st ward in Utah. How crazy is that. They live in Georgia going to grad school. The chances of meeting a couple from UT in Hilton Head on the same weekend in the same hotel is so random. Fun to chat and catch up with them. Saturday we chilled on the beach for an hour, but it was chilly. So we moved to the pool area and sunbathed. Next was lunch poolside at the buoy bar. They serve burgers, sandwiches, etc. It was nice just soaking up the sun eating good food in out bathing suits. Awww the life. Then we put some clothes on and rented bikes from the hotel. If anyone ever goes to HH this is a must. We rode bikes right on the beach and along the bike trails through the neighborhoods. So much fun. The beach there is very wide and the tide is very low in the day. So a good part of the sand is compact and easy to ride on. It was so relaxing and fun. I hadn't ridden a bike for I don't know how many years. You always remember how and it comes right back, thankfully. Then we ate leftovers and chilled in our room for the evening. We were pooped from the sun and riding bikes. Sunday came and it was cloudy. We were planning on riding our bikes and maybe chillin by the pool for a few hours after we checked out, but it started to downpour right as we were checking out. So in the rain we returned our bikes sadly and left the hotel. I wasn't ready for the vacation to end, so we decided to go to Savannah, GA and eat at Paula Deen's restaurant. It's only 30 min away from HH. So we arrived there around noon and found the restaurant called Lady and Sons. They take reservations outside, which I didn't know you had to have a reservation. So the next time they had available was 3:30. That just didn't work for us so we went into her store next to the restaurant and looked around. I was so disappointed not get a chance to eat there that I thought I would try to persuade the host and get a seat. Inside the store leads into the restaurant and I saw a host inside. So I walked up to her and told her our situation and she seated us right then, no wait. It was awesome! Charming restaurant and better yet they had a buffet that day. So we ate a lot of great southern food! It was my first time trying black-eyed peas and collard greens. I'm not over the moon about either, but not bad. Great fried chicken, pulled pork, yams, mashies /gravy, mac and cheese, peach cobbler, gooey cake, etc, Wow it was "deelish" and we left happy with very full stomachs. Then we headed home for the 4 1/2 hour drive. It was a short but wonderful and relaxing trip! I'm ready to go back!

Christmas!

Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas! Christmas Eve we went to the mall for a few hours in the madness. There were a few things I needed to get. Then we came home and I started cooking away. Christmas Eve dinner was wonderful. I made my homemade Spaghetti and a great salad and garlic bread. I used my new Christmas dishes that I bought myself with my birthday money. They are so pretty and simple. I love them. After a quiet dinner we chilled on the couch and watched the tube. Next thing we knew it was Christmas morning. So I woke up around 8 and woke Jes up. We opened all of our gifts and were so blessed. Out big gift we need this year is a new camera. So we received money from our parents and have enough and more. Thanks! So with the extra money we are buying a new microwave too. Ours is stupid and the door doesn't shut all the way unless you push it in. Which isn't a problem until it blows the circuit and resets the t.v.,cable, DVD player, and Internet. Not good for the electronics. Jesse surprised me with a Kitchenaid hand mixer. I love it. It's so quiet and works so well. It's stainless steel too. Used it Christmas morning! My brother and sister-in-law gave us a flat electric skillet that is so nice and we used that Christmas morning too. Here's a list of everything else I got: a Ped Egg, a Perfect Brownie pan (which is totally popular this year and hard to find. Can't wait to use it, I've been wanting one), itunes gift card, Sleeping Beauty, The Cosby Show season 6, a Charlotte Russe GC, complete works of C.S. Lewis, a recipe book compiled by the 2010 hygienists at Weber State (my sister put it together), and binoculars. Jesse got: Harry Potter: The half blood prince, Newsies, workout pans, pajama pants, Jones soda, a crooner hat, and a target GC. And we also a GC to Olive Garden from my uncle. So all in all we were spoiled! We made Christmas breakfast after opening gifts. I made homemade scones from scratch that are so delicious, eggs, bacon, and orange julius. So nummy! Then I took a much needed nap while Jesse watched the bonus disc of Harry Potter. Then we got ready and went over the the Butchers home for dinner and games. They are in our ward and we had a great time over there. Dinner was wonderful and games were fun! Then Christmas was over:( It was wonderful and not so lonely this year. We are so blessed to have wonderful families, friends, and most of all a loving Heavenly Father who sacrificed his son for us so we can live with him again. I love the Savior and this time of year to celebrate his birth and life! I love him and the gospel! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Birthday Pics!

Thanksgiving/Jenny's 29th Birthday

So Thanksgiving was wonderful and busy for us. Wednesday night was our traditional ward Thanksgiving dinner, which I helped with. I am on on the activities committee now. So lots to do and cook! We didn't think we would have enough food due to how many people came. About 250 people came, which is wonderful and there were a lot of investigators there as well. So we worried that there wouldn't be enough food due to more people than we planned for. But the Lord blessed our efforts and food and multiplied it. I don't know how there was enough, and everyone got plenty. So I am truly grateful for a mindful and loving Heavenly Father. It turned out great and was a fun activity. Thanksgiving day we went to the Baker's home for Thanksgiving dinner. It was so nummy! I love turkey dinner, it's my favorite. A few other ward members were invited as well (the Thackers and Giffords). So it was wonderful to be with families this year. Not lonely or depressing, although I miss my family terribly. After our wonderful dinner we played games and the kids loved it. We are grateful for our ward family who has taken us and and loved us! I love the Matthews ward! Friday I took down Autumn decor and put up Christmas decor. What a job. But my home sure looks festive and cute. That evening we went out to a appointment with the missionaries and then went to see A Christmas Carol at the theater. I has Jim Carrey in it and we liked it, but decided it would be very scary for kids. I must admit it got a little scary for us. We are wimps. We saw it in 3-D at the IMAX theater which is amazing. And my ticket was free because it was my birthday, or close enough to it (the night before). Saturday was my Birthday! I woke up and put up the Christmas tree while watching Hallmark Christmas movies. Then did chores around the house (yes I still have to do chores on my b-day). Around four I opened my gifts! I loved everything I received. I am so blessed to have a generous and loving family including my in-laws. I mostly got money, but also a few other things. Jesse gave me a parfume that I've been wanting since we discovered at Disney World. I smelled it in France @ Epcot and loved it, which I don't love perfume. Well I thought we could just get it at a department store, but no one carries it. It is rare and imported from France. So after searching in stores and online he found it on e-bay. It's called Eau De Shalimar (not the original Shalimar). I love it. Cami gave me a GC to Kohls, which I bought a sexy cute gray pencil skirt and gorgeous black heels. Char made me a custom watch that is so cute. I love it! I was wanting a new watch too. Thanks Char. I love watches! And the rest is $. After presents we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I love it! And then did some shopping at Southpark mall, which Jesse wasen't in the mood to do, but barley endured it because it was my birthday. So it has been a eventful Thanksgiving break and tomorrow it's back to work. I am excited that it is officially the Christmas season. Now it's time to go shopping:) And also I started selling Gold Canyon Candles again. They are the best candles and I've been burning them for probably close to 10 years, so why not sell them. I sold them for a few years in UT and decided to start again here in NC. Most people here have never heard of them, so that is to my advantage. Happy Holidays to my Family and Friends! May you remember the reason for this time of year and give thanks each day for a loving Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ!