Saturday, July 23, 2011

Stadium of FIRE!



Jer and I went to the Stadium of Fire with my parents and Cody. We had a ton of fun! Here are some of the highlights:

BRAD PAISLEY!
David Archuleta
the skydivers coming in with the flags
the last skydiver's flag catching on the barrier which caused him to face plant and take out an innocent bystander
Cody eating 3 or 4 churros, a frozen lemonade, a bag of cotton candy, and...I'm sure there was more, I just can't remember at the moment
no one sitting in front of us so we could put our feet on those seats
spending time with family
CELEBRATING OUR INDEPENDENCE!

Here are some fun pictures before the show began:


Yay for cheesy smiles:)


And making faces:)

Such a good looking couple!



Notice our festive 4th of July T-shirts

LAGOON!



About a week ago we went to Lagoon with Jeremy's little brother, Jaron, his mom, and his sister, Harmonie and her little girl Harper. We had a BLAST! It was a much needed break for both Jeremy and I. We've been working our little buns off for weeks straight now, so it felt SO good to get out and have a little fun. We had more than a little fun too! We're so grateful to Jaron for his good idea and his generosity!



Ready to have some fun! Woohoo!

Jaron had his heart set on doing the scariest ride at Lagoon with Jer. I forgot what it's called exactly, but basically it takes you up super far in the sky and then you pull a cord to release yourselves and then free fall while praying you won't hit the ground before being caught. Thankfully their praying paid off and they made it out safe and sound:)

Here they are flying through the sky


We discovered that even if you don't go into Lagoon-A-Beach you have plenty of opportunities to cool off from the hot summer sun. We got SOAKED on quite a few rides.



You could seriously wring the water out from my clothes after this one. I felt like I had just taken a shower with my clothes on.


BUMPER CARS!

I loved riding the ski-lift thing across the park. My feet needed a break haha.


Jaron was bound and determined to win a prize at one of the booths. We decided afterward that he should never be allowed to go gambling haha. He lost quite a few quarters, but came out with a couple prizes in the end, even though they weren't the huge ones he had his eye on. Jeremy and I also won a couple cute little stuffed animals. There was a booth that had someone guessings peoples age, weight, or birth month. If they were withing 2 years on the age they won, if not, we got a prize. As soon as we saw this we thought, "this is perfect!" Jeremy's slightly balding head makes him look older than he actually is, and people often guess I'm no older than 20. The lady at Lagoon didn't stand a chance. She guessed that Jeremy was 25 or 26 I think and that I was 19 or 20. We won Alfred and Abagail, our cute new stuffed animals. It was the perfect end to a perfect day! Thanks again Jaron!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Camilynne Jones is HOME!

This is a couple weeks late, but I haven't had a chance to post this yet so here it is...CAMI IS HOME! Can you tell I'm a little excited? I can't say the same for my husband though. He is afraid he is going to be replaced now that she's home. I keep telling him not to worry, but I don't think it's doing a lot of good.
She was supposed to come home on Wednesday June 15th, however, there were a few complications...okay a lot of complications. Poor Cami! Most of the complications were due to a volcano in Chile that sent a lovely ash cloud over Argentina. So instead of taking a plane from her area to Buenos Aires (where the international airport is) she got to ride a bus for 14 hours. Yuck! Then she got stuck in Buenos Aires for a couple days before she flew a small plane to Chile to fly to the states.
I had requested Wednesday and Thursday off work months ago when I found out when she would be getting home. I wanted to be at the airport SO badly. So when I heard that she wouldn't get home on Wednesday I had a come-apart. Thank goodness for loving husbands, because Jeremy had his work cut out for him in trying to cheer me up and convince me that everything would be okay. He was so understanding and knew how much it meant to me to be at the airport so he encouraged me to do whatever I needed to do to get work off Friday and Saturday. It took calling everyone on the phone list and begging, but I finally found someone to cover both of my shifts.
We headed down on Thursday night and got to be there the whole weekend, so it actually worked out better than if I had just been able to go down Wednesday and Thursday. Cami was supposed to get in to the St. George airport at 5:45, so we spent the day with family and running errands. At about 4:45 I got a phone call from her sister saying that Cami was at the airport. Yep. She came earlier than anyone was expecting and got to the airport with no one to greet her. Of course we all felt horrible and RACED to the airport as quickly as possible. My family and Jer and I got their first and my mom and I jumped out while the boys parked the cars. We ran into the airport searching frantically for Cami. This guy noticed us running around like chickens with our heads cut off and pointed us in the right direction. I can't even explain how happy I was to see her and give her a big hug. We just laughed and cried a little and hugged multiple times. She told me I look way different which was surprising to me. Her family wasn't far behind us and it was so much fun to watch each family member run into the airport to greet her. It wasn't the typical welcome home, but it sure makes for a good story!
The last complication was that her bags unfortunately didn't make the early flight with her. Jer and I volunteered to wait for the bags so Cami could go get released and go home and shower. We drove up to her house after and hung out with her family for a bit. I was so grateful that they let me stay and share that first night with them. I felt like part of the family and it was so fun to spend time with her.
The next day I went shopping with her and then we went back to my house so I could show her my wedding pictures. All of them. The engagements, bridals, and wedding day pictures. It took a while, but it was fun to finally share that with her. It wasn't easy for me to get married without her there, but I'm grateful she's such a good friend and is happy that I'm happy and not mad that I got married without her. Although, she does take every opportunity she finds to say "oh ya, well you got married without me!". It's true. I did. I'll let her use it a little longer.
She did an awesome job on her homecoming talk. She sounded like a true sister missionary with the pauses and missionary accent and all. It was awesome:)
It was a great weekend...I sure did miss her the last 2.5 years! Welcome home Cami!

Pictures to come!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Wedding Pictures

Here are some late, but great, pictures of our wedding...enjoy!

Just out of the temple...We're married!
Walking around to the stairs of the temple



Thanks to all of our family and friends that came to support us!





Jeremy's buddies...



My girlfriends




Such a cool picture with the temple in the reflection of the visitor center windows



Typical me...pulling faces



So BEAUTIFUL! Great job decorating Kim, Dev and Jess!


Hardman tradition...obviously my brothers were a little clueless:)

The Hardman family


The Clayton family


So happy together!


Our gorgeous cake made by my aunt Amanda Adams...SO talented!


Mmmm....cheesecake!


I was nice...he was not:)

I LOVE this picture!


I love this guy!


Jer surprised me with a special performance. He did a great job!


My dad and I dance to "Butterfly Kisses"


Jer can't remember the song he and his mom danced to...but it was a good one!


Throwing the bouquet...over the balcony


I tricked him:) hahaha

Dancing the hokey-pokey with the kids

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Called to Serve

I've been thinking lately about my mission a lot and the blessings it brought to my life. Jeremy and I both had the opportunity to serve missions in third-world countries. He served in Mongolia and I served in the Philippines. As I've been reflecting on the blessings of my mission I have realized that it not only blessed me during the time I was serving, but my experiences in the Philippines shaped me into the person I am now which blesses my life today and will continue to bless my life into the future. Before I had the opportunity to live as I did on my mission I was a very selfish person who wanted only the best and didn't want to wait for anything. Jeremy and I are living very humbly right now, and I am so grateful for the changes in my personality due to living in the Philippines because it doesn't bother me at all. Not that we are super poor or barely getting by or anything, we are just content to go without things we don't need right now. We share a car and use public transportation (something I became a pro at on the mission), and we use the phrase "it would be nice, but we don't need it" far more often than I ever did before my mission. I'm grateful that Jeremy too had the opportunity to serve a mission and to serve in a third-world country because we both were blessed to learn how to live with little and be perfectly happy.
Another huge blessing from my mission is my testimony. I can't imagine where I would be if I hadn't made the choice to serve when I did. I was at a crossroads in my life at the time I made that important decision, and I am scared to think where I might be now if I had chosen the other road. I love the gospel and am grateful that I served a mission so that I could develop that love, and see the miracles the gospel can bring into people's lives. I am grateful that Jeremy and I both had the opportunity to teach the gospel to others because we will need those skills when we try to teach it to our children.
I think my mission has been on my mind so much lately because I have a lot of loved ones currently serving missions. Kimber, my little sister and best friend, is serving in Argentina. She entered the MTC on February 9th so she has almost been serving for 4 months. (That means she comes home in only 14 more months:)) I LOVE reading her weekly emails because I can see her learning and growing and changing like I did. She had a head start on me though, she went out so much more prepared and stronger than I did. She's been in the country for just over one transfer I think. She's with her second companion now and doing great. Both of her companions have been natives with English skills probably as good as her spanish when she got to the country. I can't really relate because my trainer was American, but I envy her because I know her language is coming very quickly. Kim worried about her teaching skills, and wondered if she would be "good enough" as a teacher to be a missionary. I don't know why she worried though because I know she is doing great. Even if she isn't a master teacher her love of the gospel can be felt each time she bears her testimony or teaches a principle. I wish I could be her companion for a day. That would be so much fun! I really miss her, but I am so proud of her for serving. I think she also worried about being homesick in the mission field, but in a letter she wrote recently she said she hasn't been homesick at all. I know the Lord is blessing her for her service.
My little brother, Christian, is also serving a mission right now. He hasn't been in the MTC even two weeks yet, but he too is doing great. He was called to serve in the Berlin Germany mission. I don't know if he ever even considered the possibility of not serving a mission. He's always been such a good kid, and a good example to me. "He did it right" as my grandma said the other day. He never did anything to compromise his opportunity to serve a mission. He also was far more prepared than I was when I went out. When he gave his farewell talk I felt like I was listening to a seasoned missionary who was about to come home, not one that was about to go out. His testimony is strong and he will do great things in Germany. He has a way with people too. Everyone seems to love Christian, and I know that the German people will love him to. It would be so fun to just be a fly on the wall in a German home and watch the spirit work miracles through him in a few months. He is already missed quite a bit, and it will be a long two years for us without him at family events, but we are so proud of him.
I have another brother serving right now, my brother-in-law Quinten. He had quite the trial of his faith when he was preparing to serve. He put his papers in a full year before he finally recieved his call to serve. I know that year was a very difficult one for him, and his faith was challenged and tried, but he never gave up and is better for it now. I read his emails and am so amazed at his testimony and his positive attitude. He is setting a great example for all of his loved ones, but especially for his younger brothers. He is serving in the Indianapolis, Indiana mission, spanish speaking. He is such a hard worker too. I kinda feel bad for his companions if they aren't used to working hard. They will get used to it quickly with him by their side!
There is one more missionary serving that is particularly close to my heart, Camilynne Jones. She and I have been the best of friends since high school. I had really mixed feelings when she wrote to me and told me she was serving a mission. I was happy because I knew that it was an incredible experience and opportunity, and I wanted to share that with her. I was also happy because I knew the other option was her getting married while I was still in the Philippines. But I was sad because I knew that her serving would mean I wouldn't see her for over 2.5 years. It also ended up meaning that she would miss my wedding. It absolutely broke my heart to get married while she was gone. I even tried to talk my husband into waiting an extra few months, but he wouldn't go for that haha. Even though she wasn't here for one of the biggest events of my life, I am so glad that she also took the opportunity to serve a mission. She comes home in just over a week and, needless to say, I am VERY excited! I miss her a whole lot.
I can't wait to see each of these amazing missionaries when they get home!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Blessings...

A couple weeks ago for FHE Jeremy and I sat down and pulled out our handy-dandy "FHE ideas for newlyweds" book to find an activity. We happened upon one about blessings, so we decided to try it out. That activity has been a blessing in my life. It had us both write down all the blessings we could think of in a certain time frame (I think 3 minutes) and then compare lists. We then made a master list of 100 blessings which now hangs on our fridge. It was interesting to see what things in our lives we both viewed as blessings and what we could come up with when we got up into the high 80s and 90s. Since we did that together I've really thought about how blessed we truly are. We are not rich by the worlds standards but we are incredibly rich when we count our blessings.
We both listed family at the top of our blessing lists (right after each other of course:)). We both come from incredibly loving and supportive families that would do anything to help us out.
The gospel was high up on our lists as well. Where would we be without the gospel?? Certainly not married in the temple or looking forward to raising a family with high standards and ultimately striving to be able to live with each other and our families for eternity.
The ability to go to school and gain an education is such a blessing for both of us. We both pretend to hate it at times and dread going almost every day, but we are secretly very grateful for the opportunity to learn and get a degree. One of our favorite games lately has been fantasizing about dropping out of school and getting full-time jobs and making lots of money. Then reality sets in and we know that we wouldn't be happy in the long run so we stick with it. Sometimes it feels like it will never end, but I am grateful for almost every class I've taken because I have learned something useful that can help me in some aspect of my life. This year has been a particularly stressful one for me in the education department with switching my major and running into dead-ends left and right. Sometimes I wonder if I am ever going to graduate. I know though that I have been blessed to have been able to learn so much and take so many classes without having to pay a penny for the education. I am so grateful for the knowledge I've gained.
After school comes work. We both listed our jobs as major blessings in our lives. I will be the first to admit that when I have to wake up at 4:30 am on a Saturday to go to work after already working over 40 hours that week, I am more likely to curse my job than to consider it a blessing. But after I've been up for a few hours and I am thinking a little more clearly I can say that I truly am grateful for the opportunity to work. Both Jeremy and I have the ability to work and have never really had a hard time finding a job (knock on wood). We recognize that in today's economy it truly is a blessing to be able to work and provide for our family. When Jeremy quit his job to work with a professor as a lab volunteer I became even more grateful for my two jobs. Being able to work as many hours as I am is a blessing because if I couldn't the bills wouldn't get paid. I need to do better at remembering how much of a blessing it is on the hard days when I'm exhausted:)
Those were the blessings that were high up on both of our lists, but as I mentioned before there are 96 other blessings on our master list. If you want to know what we came up with you'll just have to come take a look at our fridge:) We love visitors!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

So Happy Together...

Only in St. George is November 6th a gorgeous, warm, sunny day. Perfect for a wedding. Originally I wanted to get married in early October (in fact I still think that would have been a fantastic time to get married), because we would've been the same age if we got married after his birthday on September 30th and before mine on October 19th. Unfortunately I don't always get my way, and it worked out better to get married in early November. It was a beautiful day though, and I don't have any complaints about our wedding day...except that I was older than him:)
We were sealed in the St. George temple, which is only fitting because we both grew up in St. George and that's where our relationship began. I absolutely love the San Diego temple and I've often thought of getting married there, but it just wouldn't have felt right nor would we have been able to share the day with as many family members and friends.
I honestly don't remember too much of that day unfortunately. What I do remember very clearly though is entering the sealing room in the temple and seeing all the faces of family members and friends that had come from near and far to support us on our wedding day. I remember my eyes filling with tears of joy and gratitude for the role each of them had played in our lives. It really was an incredible feeling.
I also remember something that was said during the ceremony that I would like to share. The sealer said that I was to be the heart of our home and family. That really touched me because I'd been kind of worried about getting married and becoming a wife and mother (eventually). I was worried that I wasn't caring or compassionate enough; that I wouldn't have enough heart for the job. I have always been teased by my family for not crying when I watch sad movies or read touching books or stories. They told me I had no heart. I know they were always joking and I never took it personally, but I did have a fear that my heart wouldn't be big enough for the job of wife and mom. I take great comfort in knowing that even if I'm not there yet, someday I will be made equal to the task, and I will be the heart of our home and family.
The rest of the day is kind of a blur, but I do remember being incredibly happy and having a lot of fun. We had a wonderful luncheon with friends and family between the ceremony and the reception thanks to Jeremy's family and friends. And I have to say that our reception was AMAZING! I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I want things the way I want them. So I'm sure Kimber and Devin were at least a little nervous about being put in charge of the decorating, but they did an INCREDIBLE job and I couldn't have been happier about the way it turned out. It was perfect! We had a blast seeing everyone and talking to friends and family.
Another highlight of the evening was the father-daughter and mother-son dances. Dancing with my daddy and singing the words of a song I grew up singing around the house was a memory I think we will both cherish. I actually let my dad choose between 3 songs about dads and daughters. Each would have been a great pick, but my dad chose Butterfly Kisses because he remembered me singing it around the house or in the car when I was younger. It was fun to watch Jer dance with his mom as well because they have always had such a close relationship, and it had been hard on her to feel like she was losing some of that to me.
All in all it was a perfect day and I couldn't have asked for anything more. I am so grateful for the pictures we have to help us remember it all. Thank you to all who supported us that day, and have supported us all our lives...we love you!

Long time no see...

Hello again! I knew from the get go that I wouldn't be very good at this blogging thing. I am done with school for the semester though so I'm going to be good at updating this for a few months at least.
Just a quick update on Jer and me over the last few months...
  • Got married on November 6, 2011
  • Went on our honeymoon to Park City
  • Moved to PG (Pleasant Grove)
  • Finished one more semester of school:) (Jer is at BYU and I'm at the U)
  • Jer worked at Response Marketing until a couple weeks ago when he started working in a lab with a professor on campus
  • I work at America First Credit Union and Primary Childrens Medical Center
  • Jeremy works with the Young Men in the ward as the Priest Quorum Advisor and I'm with the Young Women as the Young Womens Secretary
I think that covers the very basics and I promise more details on the important points in the next few posts. I just wanted to make sure everyone is up to speed for now and knows that I'm back in the blogging world:)