The Vernon Family

Day 2: Belize!

2012-01-23T12:56:00.004-07:00

Drew and I decided to splurge on a zipline/cave tubing adventure when we got to Belize. We booked through a local company and saved almost $100. We were excited to take the opportunity as I am not pregnant, nursing, and we didn't have any babies with us. It was an incredible experience!

Matt and Melissa came with us.

Here we are riding the tender to Belize City!

Waiting patiently for the van to take us ziplining!

All geared up and ready to go!

The course had seven zipline runs. I was terrified!

We even saw some monkeys as we were riding along!

After ziplining, we went on a hike to the cave tubes. The caves were pretty dark, hence the flashlights on our heads. After we went through the caves, we were able to raft down the river a bit. Never thought I would be cruising on a river in Belize!

The company did a great job!

We had to laugh at their "Butt's Up" motto. Apparently, some of the water is so shallow through the caves that you have to keep yourself on top of the inner-tube to avoid scrapes...

Took a picture next to our mini-bus as we ate lunch.

Drew found a friend!

Here are some pictures of Belize as we drove by. The graveyard was right by the highway. Belizians usually bury their dead 6 feet deep. Unfortunately, at 3 feet, on the island, you hit water. To compensate, they added 3 feet of grass to the tops of most grave sites.

Picture of the harbor.

Drew posing in front of the boardwalk, on our way back to the boat!

Roatan, Honduras

2012-01-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

I know, I know: you are all probably thinking, "What are the Vernons doing on vacation!? They are in grad school and should be eating rice and beans, not cruising the Carribean!" Let me assure you, this was a VERY thrifty and frugal vacation (despite the grandeur of the beach), and we have eaten our fair share of ramen noodles and rice and beans, to save up for it. Long story short: every January the University of Wisconsin goes on a very awesome, slightly expensive international trip. Last year, Drew spent a little over 2 weeks in China and had a wonderful time. This year, however, Drew decided to forgo the school trip to Singapore, and spend half as much taking me on a trip! I did not complain! We were really blessed to have my mom come out and stay a week with Jenna. Thanks mom! After that, we found an awesome deal on flights to Tampa, and an even better deal through Norwegian Cruise Lines. Since we didn't gamble, drink, or go on any shore excursions, we are pretty sure the cruise line actually lost money on us! And we really had a GREAT time eating a ton of food and exploring as many places as we could.

Our first dinner on the boat: lobster is served!

Our friends, Matt and Melissa Johnson joined us on the cruise!

First stop: Roatan, Honduras! Drew and I did a lot of research to find the cheapest way to get to the beach at this stop. First, we made our way through downtown Honduras to find a grocery store where we could exchange money. Next we piled onto a $1/person local mini-bus. It was basically an old Toyota van.

Here we are boarding the bus!

At one point, we had 19 people shoved into this van with us!

It was worth it when we made it to Half Moon Bay: the only free beach in Honduras!

There's Drew out there in the water.

Another shot of the beach!

Look at all those palm trees!

For lunch we explored the local cuisine.

The menu was entirely in spanish. Luckily, the meal was pretty good!

Downtown Honduras (note the cruise ship in the background).

Watching Honduras, as we sailed away to our next location!

Enjoying the gorgeous sunset!

More to come! I am posting this as 6 inches of snow falls here in Wisconsin. It has been snowing since 10am this morning and is now almost 3pm. We are really missing the beach!

Christmas Day!

2011-12-31T14:35:00.001-07:00

We had another wonderful Christmas in Madison, WI. Although we were sad not to be with family, we tried to make the best of our own traditions! We also enjoyed Skyping and talking to some family members on the phone. I am always filled with gratitude on Christmas morning. Despite being in the middle of our 2nd year of grad school, Christmas somehow came together. We received more than we deserved, and are so grateful the spirit of Christmas and giving is alive. Among our gifts was a secret gift from Santa of $20. We had no idea how that gift got there and were so excited to have a Christmas miracle!

Jenna had SO much fun this Christmas. She was able to unwrap most of her own presents and had fun playing with her toys. It was exciting to see her so happy!

Christmas "pajama" shot!

The best part of Christmas was getting to go to church and think about the Savior's birth! We had a great musical program put together and it really set the feeling for the day.

So grateful for our little family this Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year!

Santa Claus

2011-12-27T14:26:00.002-07:00

Jenna was SO excited to meet Santa this year. She would shout, "Santa" every time she saw him on decorations, in books, and in the stores. I finally decided to take her to the Y for a lunch with Santa.

This is Jenna right before it was our turn to meet him.

You can see the happiness on her face!

All of a sudden she got nervous to sit on his lap.

She started clinging to me and would not let go.

Eventually she accepted a present from him and gave him a high-five.

This is what happened when I stuck her on his lap anyway

(little bit blurry...but you get the idea).

I guess it's good my toddler is uncomfortable sitting on a stranger's lap.

Christmas Traditions!

2011-12-27T14:17:00.001-07:00

The best part of Christmas these past two years, has been Drew's Christmas vacation! We love spending time with him everyday and getting to do some family things together.

We made another trip to the Children's Museum with Drew this past week. Jenna was particularly impressed with the legos:

So were we!

We also did some Christmas shopping, wrapped presents,

decorated the house, and made "gingerbread" houses!

As per last year, we were able to spend Christmas Eve with our cousins,
Josh and Katie.

Their house was decorated beautifully, and Jenna had fun playing with Eleanor!

The only picture I snapped of Drew and me that night.

Uncle Gary and Aunt Deb were in town! So fun to spend Christmas with them.

So sad that I did not snap a picture of Josh and Katie while I was at it.

Drew with Eleanor!

Our Christmas Eve Feast:

complete with homemade rolls, jello, tasty potatoes, ham, and green beans!

After dinner, we opened a few presents and played some games before it was time to get home to put Jenna to bed. Thanks for having us Josh and Katie!

Thanksgiving in St. Paul, MN

2011-12-19T14:12:00.001-07:00

Drew and I spent another fabulous Thanksgiving with Drew's brother Matt and his family, in St. Paul. Matt and Heather were so generous in sharing their Thanksgiving meal with us. We hope to return the favor someday, when we have a house where they can come visit us!

On the way up, we stopped at McDonalds for lunch.

Jenna took a liking to McD.

Here is the "kiddie" table at Thanksgiving!

The cousins had so much fun playing together.

The dinner was AMAZING! We had Turducken and some amazing pies.

I am so excited to try Heather's recipes out next year.

On Black Friday, we went to the YMCA to play.

Jenna had so much fun playing in the bouncy house
and going down this huge slide!

We also took a fun trip to the library.

We were sad our stay was so short and look forward to seeing the Vernons again soon!

2011 Vernon Family Slideshow

2011-12-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

Wisdom teeth and a Temple Trip!

2011-12-14T12:17:00.003-07:00

I will probably regret posting this pic, but it kind of cracks me up. I got all 4 of my impacted wisdom teeth out in November. Most people get this done in high school or before their mission (on their parent's insurance); somehow I escaped those opportunities and had to get them out at the "old" age of 26. I ate a lot of soup and ice cream for about a week. The first time I ate a sandwich it took me about an hour. Luckily, there were no complications besides an abnormal amount of swelling. Drew was stellar in taking care of Jenna over the weekend so I could rest and get better. Here is the picture right after surgery (Drew got a video too, but I was REALLY out of it, so I won't post it).

About a week after I got my teeth out, Drew and I headed to Chicago with another family in our ward to do a temple trip! We drove for three hours on Friday night, went out to dinner, and then spent Saturday babysitting, visiting the temple, and driving the three hours back. A friend of mine recently lost her baby at 22 weeks, so we spent a lot of time praying for her while we were there.

Jenna and Drew at dinner.

In our hotel room (thanks to the Jones!)

In front of the Chicago temple--

Drew grew out a beard in honor of Movember.

November Tidings of Great Joy!

2011-12-12T16:04:00.003-07:00

November was an AMAZING month! Drew had his 28th birthday on the 1st. Unfortunately, he had to go to school, so we weren't able to celebrate until the evening. In the morning, Drew got a candle in a piece of fruit for breakfast, according to tradition. He got some new tennis shoes and Mario Party (which we have enjoyed playing with friends). In the evening, we celebrated by eating Hibachi at a restaurant downtown. Happy Birthday Drew!

We also celebrated Drew's birthday by taking a small "P&G-hosted" trip to Cincinnati. P&G put us up in a hotel, fed us a lot of amazing meals, and persuaded us to accept their offer! I don't know if we have officially announced it on the blog, but we will be moving to Ohio this summer to start the job. Congrats to Drew! He has worked so hard and is amazing! Best part of the trip was...a few of our wonderful friends watched Jenna for the two nights we were gone. Thank you so much!

Here we are in the airport!
I was so excited to be going on a trip (even if it was work-related).

Drew says I need to get out more.

This is our soon-to-be home!
P&G is right in the front with the two similar-looking towers.

Drew spoiled me and took me on a horse-drawn carriage through the city!

This is Drew in front of Fountain Square, downtown. They were assembling their ice-skating rink and had the lights already set up for Christmas! So beautiful!

Madison Children's Museum

2011-12-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite things to do in Madison, is to visit the Children's Museum (especially in the winter)! We were lucky enough to get a membership gift last year from a friend, and a discounted membership through Jenna's "Birth to three" program this year. We LOVE to go with friends. If anyone around here wants to go, we are always up for it!

Jenna's friend Jacob.
I think this is how every kid feels when they come to the museum.

Jenna harvesting potatoes from the garden.

The children's museum was recently re-done, and I love all the artistic intricacies.

Jacob and Jenna had so much fun flying their own airplane!

Playing with pumpkins!

Love this sweetie!

Participating in a spanish/english class.

Driving with Audrey!

Jenna loves this "Dr. Seuss" character. She sits on it every time we go!

At Home in October

2011-11-08T13:14:00.003-07:00

October was such an awesome month, especially as we got ready for the holidays. Here are a couple pictures of our adventures throughout the month:

Jenna discovered green food coloring. Unfortunately she opened the bottle over our white couch, which caught a few green smudges.

She also discovered how to take all the blankets out of the ottoman and lie in it as though it were her bed. She does this at least once a day:

Jenna's favorite part of October was pumpkins! She was so delighted to see some carved pumpkins on our balcony!

Love that sweet smile!

Gotta love October nights!

Belated September Happenings

2011-11-08T13:06:00.003-07:00

This is a very belated post, but I wanted to get these up for my personal record. Drew and I moved back to Madison, WI in September so Drew could finish up his MBA. He graduates in May of 2012 and we are SO excited! The first Saturday we got back, we got out to Madison's Farmer's Market. We were surprised to discover how much we missed Madison while we were gone.

Drew and Jenna, in front of the state capital (Madison's hub).

A view of the Farmer's Market.

Drew was sweet and bought me a sunflower!

In September, we spent a lot of time outdoors, going to the zoo and hitting up the parks. We enjoyed the beautiful weather at the end of summer.

Spaghetti face!

Jenna and Audrey at Madison's Zoo.

Audrey, Jenna, and Jacob finding out where monkeys come from.

Playing at the park!

Trick-or-Treat!

2011-11-08T12:52:00.002-07:00

I thought I might post about a few other Halloween events. It was so fun to dress Jenna up, so we tried to do as many things "Halloween-related" as possible.

We went to a Halloween Dance Party at the Library.

Jenna danced for about an hour and cried when we had to go. =)

Here are her dance buddies.

It was impossible to get them to all look up at the same time.

We went trick-or-treating downtown with our friends Matt and Melissa Johnson.

Several of the businesses downtown hand out candy for Halloween.

As soon as Jenna had candy in her bucket, she wanted to eat some...

The weather was fabulous on Halloween night (as opposed to last year), so we took Jenna out to a couple of houses with our friends, Becca and Jacob Jones. She LOVED it. It was really fun for her to knock on the doors and get candy.

Trick-or-Treat!

Church Halloween Party!

2011-11-02T12:53:00.000-06:00

I love Halloween! Great traditions, great parties, great memories! If you minus out all the scary, gory stuff, it is a lot of fun. Especially with kids. We had a fantastic ward party to attend this year. Our ward has 500 people in it! There was so much food, so many costumes, a fantastic pie contest. We had a great time! Our family went with a Little Red Riding Hood theme. Jenna was Little Red, I went as the granny, and Drew went as the "Big Bad Wolf." I won a costume prize at our ward party for "Most Effort Put Into." I'm still not sure what that means...but it was fun anyhow!

Little Red, ready to go!

Chillin' with her buddies, Audrey and Jacob.

Cute little bumble bee!

Drew and Michael

Melanie and Audrey... two cute fairies!

Cutest family of pumpkins!

Our "red-riding hood" family! Kind of looks like Drew married a grandma...

Super Mario Bros!

Our "Trunk or Treat" had at least 50 cars! Jenna got way too much candy!

And this is the chaos of it all! So much fun!

4th Annual Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-29T15:55:00.007-06:00

It's hard to believe that it's the 4th year Michelle and I have carved pumpkins together (check out 2008, 2009, 2010).

Making the first incision.

Scooping out gourd guts.

Michelle's "Boo"

My "Mufasa's Revenge"

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-25T14:32:00.003-06:00

October is my favorite time of year, and Halloween is topping the charts as my favorite holiday! There are so many fun traditions. We headed to Sutter's Ridge in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin again this year to take a hay ride and pick out some pumpkins. Jenna is obsessed with pointing out pumpkins this season. They are so exciting to her! She had a blast on the farm.

Drew was an awesome dad and took Jenna around the track a couple of times on this little tractor.

These pumpkins kind of look like they have graffiti on them!!!

The opening to the "kiddie" cornmaze. Drew gave his own impression!

Too heavy mom!

This pumpkin suited Jenna a little better (she hasn't put it down since we got home)!

Gorgeous day at Sutter's Ridge!

Who doesn't love kittens!? So cute! I wish we could keep one!

On top of the world!

2009 Family Slideshow

2011-10-22T13:49:00.002-06:00

Last year, I created a 2010 family slideshow using iMovie. I'm working on doing slideshows for prior years, and I just finished the one for 2009, which includes Jenna's birth. Enjoy!

Pottery Weekend!

2011-10-18T10:23:00.001-06:00

After a rockin' date night to a local Haunted House (my choice) on Friday night, Drew and I had originally planned to go to a Badger Football game this weekend. At the last minute we became disenchanted with the regular vulgar chants we heard about that go on there, and decided not to go. At the spur of the moment, we sold our tickets (earning $50) and went to Madison's Fall Art Tour in the country instead. We had a great time learning from some artists and admiring some great work!

Beautiful and expensive art!

While we were out in the country, we decided to stop by an attraction I have always wanted to go see: The House on the Rock! The House on the Rock is an interesting museum with a great variety of collections. The surrounding landscape was also gorgeous in the Fall. We loved this place so much!

It was hard to take pictures inside the museum because of the dim lighting,

but here is Drew in front of a large sculpture of a whale/shark of some kind.

In the Heritage of the Sea section of the museum.

They had all sorts of collections of musical instruments that play by themselves.

Jenna especially loved dancing to the music.

Found an old newspaper article about Procter & Gamble and had to snap a picture with it.

Amazing collection of airplanes hanging from the ceiling.

And to finish it all off was the world's largest indoor carousel with 20,000 lights on it. Amazing spectacle! Among the other collections was a "Street of Yesteryear" display, complete with old cars, dolls, masks, musical instruments...you name it! We hope to go back again to see the other sections of the museum sometime soon!

To finish it all off, we got a picture of "Toddler on the Rock!"

Best part of the museum!

Thanks for the great weekend Drew!

New Haircut!

2011-10-17T14:57:00.005-06:00

I recently chopped my hair off! I haven't had short hair since I went on my mission, five years ago. I'm still getting used to it, but it was kind of a nice change. Here are the before and after pics:

Before

After

I also spent some time this fall learning to make some wonderful cheesecake truffles with my cousin Katie. They were fun to make and even more fun to eat. If you want any, come on over!

Two Peas in a Pod!

2011-10-05T14:42:00.000-06:00

One of my good friends in Madison just got a job as a nurse, and during her training she needed some help with childcare. Jenna was so excited to spend some time with her good friend Audrey. These two (8 months or so apart) were two peas in a pod. They did everything together and had so much fun!

Playing with toys and reading books!

Drinking sippys! We recently quit Jenna of her bottle.

It was harder for me than her. I really liked the cuddle time.

Chilin at the doctor's office while I got my flu shot.

Jenna recently had to have her blood drawn to do some growth tests. Thankfully all of her tests came back normal, but she is now terrified of nurses and sobbed the entire time I was in the office to get my shot. Poor thing.

And watching a few minutes of Tangled together!

So cute to have these two together. We can't wait for Jenna to have a sibling someday, but for now good friends will be there to fill the gap! Next time I'll have to dress them up fancy and try a tea party or something. =)

Our First Visitors!

2011-10-04T13:32:00.003-06:00

We were so excited to spend conference weekend with Heather (Drew's brother's wife) and her three kiddos! They were the first people to come visit and stay the night at our place in Madison! Jenna had a blast playing with her cousins, and we had a good time exploring the Madison Zoo, playing games, and watching conference. Thanks for coming guys!

Heather and her youngest, Miles.

Huge Chimpanzee! The sign specifies that a Chimpanzee is not a monkey.

I guess that is an important thing to know. =)

Jenna couldn't take her eyes off that Chimpanzee!

Drew was decked out in Wisconsin gear in honor of the Nebraska game!
Go badgers!

Jenna LOVED all the animals and had a great time!

Heather and her three boys, Isaac, Jon, and Miles.

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

The egg.

Drew took Jenna down the scariest slide he could find.

She loved it!

Baby Kangaroo!

She also enjoyed her first carousel ride!

Jenna with her cousins! All blue-eyed.

Jenna LOVED Heather. Thanks for coming guys! We really had a good time!

Devil's Lake

2011-10-03T18:17:00.001-06:00

Last weekend Drew and I took a trip to Devil's Lake with our friends Jon and Annie. I had always wanted to go on a hike at this popular Wisconsin destination. After our hike and picnic, we stopped at Ski-hi orchard and got some apple cider, apple turnovers, and apples galore! It was a great weekend.

Camping at Governor Dodge

2011-09-19T13:11:00.000-06:00

As soon as we got back from Cincinnati, my cousins, Josh and Katie Wood, invited us to go camping with them at Governor Dodge in Wisconsin. Since it had been a year since we took Jenna camping, we decided we would try and make it work. Josh and Katie were already sharing a campsite with a couple from the ward (the Smiths), so we got our own campsite and invited our friends the Joneses to come with us! We had a great time playing games, sitting around a campfire, eating S'mores, and we even cooked our first dutch oven meal: a tasty stew. We are going to miss Wisconsin when it comes time to leave!

The weather was CHILLY! Jenna looked so cute in this little coat.

Sitting around the campfire together.

The Jones Family!

Katie with her daughter Eleanor.

Dad and Jenna.

On Saturday morning, Josh and Katie made us a tasty breakfast!

Jenna didn't help with the cooking at all.

She just lounged around...

And then gave up on camping altogether...

Jenna and her 2nd cousin, Eleanor.

Jenna is passive agressive.

Having fun with dad in the tent!

We went on a gorgeous hike around the lake!

What a fun trip! Would recommend that camping spot to everyone!

Birthday Pictures

2011-09-16T12:21:00.002-06:00

Babies grow up so fast. Here are a couple of pictures throughout the years:

Jenna's "Birth"day. 2 lbs 1 oz. I can't believe she was ever that small.

That day was a hard day, but it was worth it.

Jenna's 1st Birthday celebrated in Madison, Wisconsin.

She wasn't even walking way back then, and her hair was a lot shorter.

Jenna, age 2. We love this sweetie pie!

Happy Birthday Jenna!

2011-09-15T13:58:00.004-06:00

Our little sweet pea turned 2 yesterday! Happy Birthday Jenna! We had a fun day taking pictures at JC Penny and having a small party with some friends in the evening. Unfortunately the weather turned pretty cold, so the party itself was short and sweet.

Here is Jenna with some of her friends:

Brianna, Audrey, Jenna, Cora, and Calvin

We tried to light the candles, but the wind blew them out!

Cousin Josh with his daughter Eleanor.

She looks pretty cute in that birthday hat!

The loot! Thanks everyone!

One happy girl waking up the day after her birthday!

Look at all those baby dolls!

Coupon Convert!

2011-09-14T12:30:00.000-06:00

Okay, I promise I will only blog about this once, so as not to bug those who don't like the coupon convo...but I am so excited! Yesterday I got together with my friend Melanie, who taught me how to coupon. Not only did she teach me the tricks of the trade, but she GAVE me some of her coupons so I could try it out for myself. I have always wanted to do this, but have always lacked the motivation to get to work. Having someone walk me through it really helped! After planning our trip yesterday, Melanie and I got up early to get to the store and purchase our goods. I got tons of General Mills Cereal, Progresso Soup, Hamburger Helper, Yoplait Yogurt, Veggie Steamers, Pizza, Batteries, and Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls.

And the totals: I saved almost $70 on $110 worth of food. I only spent $39 for all this stuff! Yes, I am converted to the coupon way of life. I can't wait to go again next week!

Thanks Melanie!!!

The Enchanted Forrest!

2011-09-12T12:34:00.003-06:00

One of the best places to go as a kid was the Enchanted Forrest, located in Salem, Oregon. We LOVED this place. Not only does it have a whole world of fairy tale characters, mazes, slides, etc., it also has a couple of comedic shows and fun rides! It was so fun to visit again and watch the kids light up at this place. Thanks for taking us mom!!

Here are my sisters, Erica and Emily, and Jenna with her cousin Henry, on the Jack and Jill bridge. Jack and Jill are in the background, covered up (oops).

Jenna peeking into Snow White's cottage.

The Crooked-Old-Man's House.

Jenna looking really small in the Wild Wild West town.

Trotting the trails of the Enchanted Forrest.

Dressing up and meeting Abraham Lincoln!

Jenna and me riding the train together!

And here are a couple last shots of Jenna with her great-grandpa and great-grandma Brady. We were so glad to be able to visit with them in Portland.

Mini-Golf

2011-09-12T12:17:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite pastimes is mini-golf! It must be because my Grandma Hankel started a mini-golf business when we were kids and we used to play there every summer as kids. I even worked there one summer, trimming trees, vacuuming the greens, and serving ice-cream. So we jumped at the chance to play mini-golf on a triple date after all the wedding celebrations were over! It was fun to spend some time with my sister, Katrina, who I hardly ever get to see, and my friend Kacey and their husbands. It always cracks me up that Kacey also married a "Drew."

The Gals

The Guys

Gordon and Katrina Platt

Drew and Kacey Ableman

Drew and me.

Check out that sunset!

Even though Drew Ableman beat me by one point, it was still a pretty good game. My hubby Drew even scored a hole-in-one! And Baja Fresh afterward was pretty amazing. We can never find good Mexican restaurants out here in the Midwest...

Not Always Roses and Sunshine...

2011-09-09T13:40:00.002-06:00

I've been debating about whether or not I should post about this, but then I realized writing is therapeutic for me and it's nice to have the support of friends when times are rough.

Drew and I had a great summer this year in Cincinnati. We were blessed to do a lot of fun things and meet a lot of exciting people. We also lost a baby at 7 1/2 weeks, which was really hard. We didn't tell a lot of people we were expecting because I started having complications from the start. It was particularly disappointing because we had worked with a perinatologist for 7 months beforehand to prevent preeclampsia complications in the pregnancy. We also only had a small window to have this baby before Drew graduates and we have to move to another state.

I actually miscarried the baby as I was flying home to Portland with Jenna, by myself. Worst flight ever! Fortunately I was distracted by the wedding celebrations and was genuinely happy for my sister, so I was able to keep good spirits about me. Luckily, nothing was too complicated, and I didn't need to go to the emergency room. Although we are still disappointed to not be inviting a baby into our family this spring, we are comforted by the knowledge that God has a plan for us and our family. Hopefully another baby will be in our plans sometime soon.

Spending time with the Bradys

2011-09-08T14:31:00.006-06:00

It's always fun to come home and spend some time with family (and friends if I can catch them). Jenna particularly had fun this trip because she had two amazing cousins to hang out with. Here are some family pics...looks like I didn't catch too many with Tess and Dan (sorry Tess). They must have been out having fun/getting ready for the wedding.

A trip to Portland almost always includes a trip to Costco. We love this place!

I love this picture because it shows all of the kids' personalities. Charlotte always has that cute smile, Jenna is very mellow for her pictures, and Henry is having a lot of fun!

We spent the evening at a splash pad, one of the days there, and the kids had so much fun. Jenna's swimsuit was a little big, but she loved the water!

We also had a good time checking out Voodoo Doughnuts.

I had never been there before!

Here is Jenna with Aunt Katrina.

Grandpa's IPAD was a huge success.

Anytime Jenna saw grandpa sitting down with his IPAD,

she would run over to him--ready to play!

Here is a picture of some cute Brady girls and mom!

It was sad to say goodbye to the Platts.

And here's a fun family pic for good measure!

We always love going to Portland. It was so sad to leave!

Wedding Reception

2011-09-07T14:08:00.002-06:00

The wedding reception was held at the house of my mom's good friend. It was a gorgeous setting for a wonderful party. We ate ice-cream sundaes, cupcakes, candy, and met up with tons of old friends. Tess and Dan had a line to greet people for awhile and a fun video of old pictures going. I was a little disappointed that I didn't have the opportunity to show off any of my dance moves, but we still had fun. Here are some pictures of the event:

Tess and Dan eating the cake.

Jenna meeting Kevin and Alyssa Phair's new baby, Greta.

My friend Kacey Ableman and me.

Jenna couldn't get enough of princess Tessa and all the presents she got to open.

Tessa's Wedding

2011-09-03T13:04:00.008-06:00

Hello fellow bloggers! It's been awhile since we've had an update. Two weeks ago, Jenna and I left Drew to finish up his internship and headed out to Portland to stay with my family as they got ready for Tessa's marriage to Daniel Antivilo, in the Portland, Oregon Temple. Drew flew out over the weekend to be with us for the actual celebration. We had a great time with family and enjoyed meeting the Tessa's new in-laws. Here on some pictures of the event:

Tessa looked gorgeous!

Drew and me!

My sister Katrina and me!

Hard to capture a picture of Jenna sitting still...

Loved the red shoes! Great color choice Tess!

My youngest sister, Emily.

Jenna spent some time picking the flowers...

The bride and groom with nephew and nieces--Henry and Charlotte are Katrina's little ones. I just realized this is my only picture of the groom. I will have more to come.

Parents of the bride (my mom and dad).

Entertaining Jenna while we waited.

She loved playing peek-a-boo with Dad's coat, and it was pretty funny to watch.

My Grandma Brady and Jenna.

Mom, Emily, and Henry waiting to greet the bride and groom after the wedding.

We'll have some more pictures of the celebrations coming up!

Congrats to Tess and Dan!

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

2011-08-21T13:22:00.004-06:00

Drew and I are coming up on our 3rd anniversary on Tuesday! Happy Anniversary Drew! Since I am leaving on Monday to go stay with my family and help with my sister's wedding, we are going to be apart for this happy day. For an early celebration, we decided to take a sight-seeing tour on the BB Riverboat here in Cincinnati. We had a great time!

The entrance to the BB Riverboat:

looks like my finger got in here a little bit.

The Cincinnati skyline

Daddy and Jenna

Jenna loved the boat ride.

She spent most of the time waving to smaller boats as they drove by.

The BB Riverboat was declared a pirate ship after its encounter with the Belle of Louisville. Every year they race, and one year Cincinnati was disqualified even though they had clearly won the race. To justify their disqualification, the crew stole the trophy from the Belle of Louisville. They were declared pirates. Not the most interesting story, but the flag was pretty cool.

A view of the top deck.

The captain allowed us to visit him and sit in his chair!

Pretty fun to see the river from his perspective.

Thanks for taking us on the tour Drew!

Love ya!

Happy Jenna!

2011-08-16T11:13:00.003-06:00

Jenna is so funny! She likes to play this game where she puckers her lips, and when we pucker our lips in return (to imitate her), she cracks up laughing.

I love this kid!

A day in the life of a Cincinnatian!

2011-08-12T11:33:00.007-06:00

In case you are all dying to know what people do everyday in Cincinnati,

here it is:

Ever heard of Skyline (Cincinnati) Chili?

Well this is it! A delicious plate of noodles, topped with a flavorful chili and tons of cheese.

I actually grew up eating this stuff in Portland, well, at least something similar to this. My dad brought home the recipe from his early work travels, and my family ate it for special occasions growing up. So of course, when I found out we were moving to Cincinnati, I was dying to try the real thing. One family home evening night, Drew and I ventured out to explore the Cincinnati lifestyle. Our first stop was Skyline Chili. Although the chili was flavored differently than the kind we had at home, I am happy to say that after a few tries, Skyline chili is pretty amazing.

Next stop: Greater's ice cream. You can't go to Cinci without trying this stuff. Their blackberry chocolate chip ice cream is to die for!

After our ice cream treat, we stopped by the famous Fountain Square. Cincinnati does free concerts and movies here all summer long. Jenna had a blast playing in the fountain.

We made a quick stop at the park by our apartment on the way home.

And then we walked up the four flights of our apartment building to get to where we are staying (no elevator). Although living in the city with a kid has had its challenges, we have really enjoyed the experience!

Findlay Market!

2011-08-08T11:05:00.011-06:00

Drew and I had a fun weekend! On Saturday, we ventured out to see the historic Findlay Market, in a part of town called Over-the-Rhine. Over-the-Rine is notorious for it's crime, and we felt a little uneasy walking to and from the market (at least I did), but the market itself was amazing. Part of the market included an indoor section with meats, cheese, fish, gelado, and some small restaurants. Outside, farmers gathered to sell fresh vegetables and fruits. This farmer's market has been around since the 1800s, and it was definitely worth seeing!

In the evening, Drew and I got out again and walked across the Purple People Bridge. Drew, caught some amazing shots of the bridge and the city.

We enjoyed some amazing grilled cheese sandwiches in Newport, KY after we walked across.

Jenna took some pretty good naps this weekend.

You have to love these funny sleeping positions.

And last but not least, we spent some time driving around, looking for our dream house. Yeah...this one would be a little out of our price range, but it's fun to dream, right?

The Kirtland Temple

2011-08-03T11:47:00.009-06:00

Part 4: Kirtland Ohio Trip

The Kirtland Temple is, by far, the best part of Kirtland. Joseph Smith received a revelation from God that there should be temples in our day just as there were in Biblical days. The Kirtland temple was the first temple the saints built, and there are now 134 operating temples all over the world.

Many amazing things happened in this temple. After the saints sacrificed almost everything that had to build it, they dedicated it as the house of the Lord. There were several spiritual manifestations that this was the Lord's house and that he was pleased with their work. Several heavenly beings appeared here and gave Joseph Smith the keys and authorities needed for temple work: the ability to do baptisms for those who have passed on and the ability to perform eternal marriages. The doctrine of the temple is one of my favorite parts of the gospel. It allows those who never heard about Christ in this life to have a chance to accept this gospel in the next, and it allows for families to be together forever.

Today, the Kirtland temple is not a functioning temple, like the other LDS temples. When the Saints left for Nauvoo, because of persecution, they were forced to leave their temple behind. It fell into the hands of the mob and the nature of the building was changed. After Joseph Smith was martyred, most of the church went on to Utah with Brigham Young. A couple other groups split off, including a church now called the Community of Christ, which believed Joseph Smith's son should become the next prophet. The Community of Christ headed back to Kirtland and Missouri and became the owners of the Kirtland temple. Today anyone is allowed to go into the Kirtland temple for $3 and it is still regarded as a sacred place, but it is very different from other LDS temples.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but the outside was magnificent! Enjoy!

Newel K. Whitney Store

2011-08-03T11:24:00.007-06:00

Kirtland Trip: Part 3

One of the more prominent sites in Kirtland is the Newel K. Whitney store. Whitney was a devoted early member of the church, and the School of the Prophets was held on the top floor of his store until the Kirtland temple was completed.

Jenna's favorite game was picking up the barkdust and throwing it...

Here we are inside the store. I like the products sold in old stores like these.

Life was so simple in the 1800s.

Jenna enjoyed getting into everything during the tour.

She made a drum out of these barrels.

This is the room the School of the Prophets met in. Here they spit tobacco on the floor until the Word of Wisdom revelation was given right in this room! Joseph Smith's original table is in the background. As you can see, Jenna is holding a ferret skin: courtesy of the sister missionaries in an effort to keep her attention.

Kirtland is beautiful!

This was one of the fastest saw mills of its time, built by the saints in Kirtland. It is powered by a wooden wheel that churns two inches of water continuously. Next to the saw mill, was the ashery. The saints spent a lot of time purifying and hardening the ash and selling it to the east for money. I never knew that!

Isaac Morley Farm

2011-08-02T13:58:00.003-06:00

Kirtland: Part 2

For more information on the background of the Kirtland area, see part one.

Drew is a direct descendent of Isaac Morley, which is a big deal in Kirtland. In fact, one of the missionaries said he was of "royal blood" around that area. =) Isaac Morley was a prominent figure in church history. Many revelations took place in his barn while Joseph and Emma Smith lived with the Morleys for a year. At the church's 4th general conference, held on Isaac Morley's property, the first high priests were ordained. Below is a picture of the house built on the Morley land. We took a walk through the designated trail behind the home and enjoyed the history of the place.

And here are the descendants of Isaac Morley: Drew, Jenna, and a little Froggy puppet that somehow made it into the picture (don't mind Jenna's funny smile).

John Johnson Farm

2011-08-01T17:36:00.012-06:00

It turned into a Church history summer this year! Since Cincinnati is only 4 hours from Kirtland, OH, Drew and I decided to take a drive up there to see the sites. I had never been before and it was a great experience. Someday we'll have to go back when our kids are older.

For those of you who may come across this and don't know about LDS Church history, here is a little background: Kirtland was the first gathering place for the saints after they left New York (where the church was organized in 1830). The most significant thing that happened in Kirtland, was the building of the Kirtland temple. Upon it's dedication, there were many visions and sacred revelations that took place there. This building is owned by the Community of Christ church.

A lot of revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants were received in Kirtland; specifically at the Newel K. Whitney store, the Isaac Morley Farm, and at the John Johnson Farm. Joseph Smith (the organizer of the church) was also tarred and feathered, in that infamous story, by a mob outside of the John Johnson Farm.

Enjoy the pics!

Part 1: John Johnson Farm

On our last day in Kirtland, we headed to the John Johnson Farm as above mentioned. The house was restored to its original appearance in 2001 after Gordon B. Hinkley came to visit it. Upon restoring the house, they found a lot of the original wall colors on the inside of the cupboards. Above the fireplace is a feathered style design which was painted on all of the doors of the house: a sign of wealth. This is the original fireplace. Sister Johnson would bake 16 loaves a day inside the oven on the right. Pretty amazing!

Here is another example of the feathered print on the door. Joseph and Emma Smith lived with the Johnsons for a year and walked on this original floor.

This is the bedroom Joseph and Emma Smith stayed in. In fact, they were sleeping in here with their two twins when the mob broke in and grabbed Joseph from his bed. They poisoned the dogs so nothing would alert their coming, beat Joseph pretty bad, tried to poison him, and then tarred and feathered him when they were unsuccessful. Emma fainted when he came back into the room because she thought the tar was blood. Despite his wounds and bruises, nothing could stop Joseph from preaching to his congregation the next day, which happened to be a Sunday. What an incredible story about the cruelty of men, and the selfless nature of Joseph Smith. Sadly, one of the twins passed away due to exposure from the cold that night.

We especially liked the original flooring in the room. I didn't get a picture of the room upstairs, but Joseph Smith received many revelations about the plan of salvation as he studied the King James Bible up there. Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants was received in that room: it details a strong testimony of the living Savior.

Jenna and me outside the John Johnson Farm.

It was amazing to come to Kirtland and see the place where the church got a lot of it's structure and organization. I often take for granted the sacrifice of the saints in building this organization, and it was a great reminder for me as we visited Kirtland.

A few more sites to come!

Miami Whitewater Forrest

2011-07-29T10:59:00.004-06:00

Drew and I are finishing up Week 7 here in Cincinnati. We can't believe we are over halfway done! Drew had his mid-point review last week and things are going pretty well for him. He likes his job and has had the opportunity to do a lot of fun things with the company, such as, tour the Great American Ballpark, drive around in pink limos, and even eat dinner at the CEO's house! Drew has also been enjoying daily workouts at P&G's gym, and is recovering from a minor fall on the treadmill (I have pictures of the wounds if you really want to see them). Jenna and I, thoroughly jealous of all the fun things Drew gets to do, have been enjoying the sunshine by going swimming and heading off to various parks around the city. We have made a good circle of friends here and are excited to be heading to Oregon in just three weeks for my sister, Teressa's, wedding.

I feel like all I have been posting about lately are the various parks we have visited. But seriously, what better way to spend the summer than by enjoying the sunshine in free, beautiful places! A few weekends ago, our family headed up to Miami Whitewater Forrest. They had a fun splash pad that Jenna had a blast running through. She wasn't afraid of the water at all! I also got soaked while chasing after her. We had a picnic at the park and then rented a paddleboat and went out on the lake for awhile. It was an amazing Saturday!

I wish I'd taken more pictures of the splash pad. It was really cute and fun, but I was worried the camera would get wet. You can kind of see it in the background here.

Jenna's first time on a boat and in a lifejacket.

She loved it! Even tried to steer the boat for us!

Ault Park

2011-07-28T06:35:00.003-06:00

Complete with beautiful gardens and fantastic play structures, Ault Park is one of the more famous parks here in Cincinnati. A lot of people get married at this park, and they have 4th of July Celebrations and such here. It's definitely one of the greenest places I have seen around the city, and I would highly recommend it as a place to visit!

Glenwood Gardens

2011-07-26T06:28:00.002-06:00

Last week, Drew and I headed up to Glenwood Gardens to check out their "Big Bug" exhibit. We've been trying to get out to some of Cincinnati's parks on the weekends. We loved posing next to these huge bugs, and afterwards, Jenna had fun playing at their playground.

Paddlefest and Tree Climbing

2011-07-23T13:28:00.004-06:00

On one of our first weekend's here, Drew and I ventured to Paddlefest at Coney's Island here in Cincinnati. Paddlefest is an event where thousands of people paddle down the Ohio River. They celebrate it by racing cardboard boats and eating good food the night before. Drew and I made a date night out of it, bought Jenna some cute sunglasses, and enjoyed the park.

We also entered a contest for a free tree climbing experience. And...

We won!

I've never won anything in my life, so I was shocked! Since neither of us had been heavy-duty tree climbing before, we weren't really sure what to expect. We drove out to a park in Alexandria, KY, leaving Jenna with our friend Jessica to baby-sit (thank you!), and enjoyed the climb!

Here we are signing away our lives before we climb...

This is the climbing tree. Up to 16 people can climb at a time for $57 a person. We scored!

Don't mind the stuffed monkey I'm carrying...
Actually, we were divided into teams and supposed to place the monkeys in hard to reach places. Then, we were supposed to try to retrieve the opposite team's monkeys. Drew was amazing at hiding and retrieving the monkeys.

I'm the one on the bright green rope.

That's me again in the center! We actually had a lightening storm in the middle of this climb and had to evacuate the tree. Scary!

Here is Drew right before take off.

Climbing a tree is harder than it looks. Apparently we burned 900 calories in 2 hours. After that it was time for a little lunch. We were surprised they don't call it KFC in Kentucky. Here they just call it FC. =)

Parky's Farm!

2011-07-22T07:54:00.004-06:00

There are a lot of parks and recreational areas about 30 minutes outside of Cincinnati. A few weeks ago, we decided to go visit Parky's Farm with some of the other moms and kids in our ward. We went to participate in their pony program for kids.

Here is the pony!

And here is Jenna...

She had more fun running around the farm and playing in the dirt than grooming the pony. Maybe she'll be more into ponies in a few years.

Freaky looking scarecrow!

Jenna liked poking his belly.

They had a really fun playground area...

And lots of picturesque fields to run through!

Jenna really enjoyed the wagon ride with her friend Renae! All in all, it was a very fun day. We look forward to going again.

Gymboree!

2011-07-19T13:36:00.004-06:00

I'm a sucker for Groupon. When I found this deal for a month of unlimited Gymboree classes for only $35 (regularly $117), I jumped on it! Totally worth it, right? Actually, it has been really nice for Jenna to have some interaction with other kids, since we are in Cincinnati and don't know a lot of people (and since those we have met are probably sick of us begging to come over all the time). It also does wonders for her development, which has always been a little on the late side, because she is so tiny for her age. We are sad as our month of Gymboree comes to a close.

The first two weeks Jenna would not do anything,

unless she was holding onto a ball.

It took her a while to warm up to the other kids.

It was more fun to play basketball on her own.

That is until they broke out the air log! That thing is way too fun!

(Jenna is in the pink shorts)

Bubbles, parachutes, and music?

You can't ask for more when you're a kid!

Eden Park

2011-07-18T11:59:00.003-06:00

Eden Park is one of the "must-see" areas in Cincinnati. Along with the Krohn Conservatory and the Art museum (both of which are free), it hosts spectacular views of the city and of the Ohio River. Drew and I went recently went on a drive for Family Night to check out Eden Park and the surrounding neighborhood of Mt. Adams. We also spent some time playing around with our camera and caught some good shots.

View of Kentucky and the Ohio River

Picky Eater!!!

2011-07-13T16:16:00.005-06:00

Jenna is a picky eater! That is why she is such a skinny little twig (well that and her prematurity). Love her to death, but feeding her has never been easy, especially when it comes to vegetables. Most veggies are too crunchy and hard for her to eat anyway. The other day, however, I was cutting up some spinach for a soup I was making, and she was very interested. I reached down, gave her a leaf to eat and, low and behold, she LOVED it! Here's a cute picture of Jenna with her leaf:

And here's another one of her rocking her sunglasses!

As for veggies...any good ideas out there about how to get picky toddlers to eat them?

The 4th!

2011-07-12T14:06:00.005-06:00

I've decided the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. You don't have to splurge on presents (aka spend a lot of money you don't have), and you get a day off of work! It's a great day to enjoy summer, think about America, and spend time with family.

Unfortunately, we woke up to rain on the 4th. So instead of going to a community parade in the morning, we opted to head to a Ault Park later in the afternoon. The equipment wasn't too wet and Jenna had a blast. Here are some of the pics:

Love that smile!

We spent our evening at a party with some of Drew's co-workers. It was fun to spend some time with friends. Unfortunately, we missed out on the amazing view of fireworks from her house because Jenna was too tired. But we did catch some fireworks on our way home.

She couldn't take her eyes off of them!

Reds Game!

2011-07-09T06:18:00.000-06:00

Happy 26th!

2011-07-08T11:06:00.005-06:00

Yep, July 3rd was my 26th birthday. I am definitely not in my early-20s any more. Although Drew says I can still say I'm in my mid-20s, which is better than late-20s, right? Since my birthday fell on a Sunday, we decided to celebrate on Saturday by heading to the Cincinnati Zoo (we had free tickets given to us by Drew's manager-thank you!) and then heading to a Reds game! It was a great day! Thanks to everyone for the birthday calls, facebook wishes, and gifts too. Nothing feels better than being remembered on your birthday.

I came up the stairs near my birthday to discover one of my dear friends had sent me flowers! I was so surprised! Thank you so much Melanie!

Cincinnati Zoo

It was a very HOT day.

Jenna had more fun than this picture depicts!

After Jenna's nap, we headed to the Great American Ball Park!

I hadn't been to a Professional baseball game since my teens.

This ballpark was gorgeous and situated right on the Ohio River. Go Reds!

We were so HOT after sitting in the sun for three hours. We were literally dumping bottles of water on Jenna's head to keep her cool. She ate all of my snow-cone too!

I have to say, it was pretty cool when everyone celebrated my birthday by doing "The Wave" and singing "Take me Out to the Ballgame." At least, I'm pretty sure they were doing all that for me.... Thanks for the great birthday everyone!

Hamilton County Library!

2011-07-07T12:25:00.004-06:00

One of my goals this summer, was to get out of the house in the mornings as much as possible (for as little money as possible). I made this goal not only to make the most of our experience here in Cincinnati, but also to make myself get out of my comfort zone and meet people here. So far, it has been great!

One of the first things Jenna and I did here was visit the library. We wanted to check out the children's center and sign Jenna up for the summer reading program. The Cincinnati Library is one of the oldest libraries in America and it is huge! There are also a variety of people who hang out at this library to escape the summer heat: I saw some sort of chess tournament going on as we made our way to the children's area.

The children's area was completely with games, toys, and books. Jenna cried when we had to leave. She has also won a couple of prizes for reading books with mom, which has helped since we weren't able to bring a lot of toys down here.

The Children's area!

Jenna made this chair her own and would not let go of that doll!

Music Class!

2011-07-06T11:34:00.004-06:00

For the past couple of weeks I have been taking Jenna to a music class, run by one of the ladies in our Cincinnati Ward. This past week, we learned about different types of instruments and I had to break out the camera and snap some pics. It was TOO cute to see how excited these kids were about musical instruments. It was also, really hard to catch a good shot of them looking at the camera. So here is a candid view of our weekly music classes:

Mom, can I really touch this?

Jenna's first look at the violin!

My friend Sheena and her son, Bryce.

Sweet Maria explores the violin!

Maria, Bryce, and Jenna at the piano!

Christy, their teacher, showing them a few notes.

So nice of her to teach this class! Thank you Christy!

Doesn't she look like a pro?

Can't wait until she is old enough for the real thing!

Butterfly Exhibit

2011-06-30T14:04:00.011-06:00

Our first week in Cincinnati, we were so excited to get out and explore the city. Unfortunately, we were met with some summer rain storms. After looking for some great places online to escape the rainy weather, I stumbled across mention of a butterfly exhibit at the Krohn Conservatory. Better yet, the conservatory was free!

Unfortunately, the pictures I took at this place, turned out terrible! I didn't take a stroller in because of the rain and the parking situation, so trying to take good pictures, while watching a furiously fast Jenna dart everywhere, was a challenge! I was also dying to catch a picture of Jenna holding a butterfly on her finger, but I could hardly do that and stop her from smashing the poor creatures. So I snagged a couple pictures off the web to give you an idea of what it looks like, and the pics I took will have to do:

The outside of the conservatory: complete with butterfly decorations.

Gorgeous indoor waterfalls!

Hundreds of butterflies were flying around this room!

Beautiful array of greenery!

A view of the ceiling decor.

Jenna taking in the plants.

Chasing butterflies!

Cincinnati, OH

2011-06-27T12:07:00.010-06:00

Our adventures in Cincinnati have begun! Drew started his internship with Procter and Gamble a few weeks ago and he is really enjoying it. They flew him out to Seattle right away and then whisked him off to New York, so Jenna and I have had really had some time to ourselves to explore the city. Our first week here, we spent a lot of time walking around the city! We are enjoying the experience of living downtown, exploring museums and restaurants, and checking out some of the main attractions here! We have also been wandering through Kentucky a bit, as it is right across the river!

Here is a view of the city:

And here is Procter and Gamble!

Our first week here Jenna and I took a walk across the Purple People Bridge. This is a famous pedestrian bridge which connects Cincinnati to Newport, Kentucky, via the Ohio River. In Newport, there is a movie theater, aquarium and a mall. Fun place to walk to! This is a view of the International Friendship Park from the bridge.

Jenna on the Purple People Bridge.

Tourist!

We decided to save the aquarium for another day (since the walk took over an hour). Jenna opted for a balloon animal instead. By the time we got back to the car she had somehow let all the air out of it...

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-25T12:57:00.004-06:00

Father's Day is a great time to honor our fathers: something we can never do enough of. Jenna is lucky to have such a great dad, who helps take care of her and who is THE BEST at playing with her. Jenna came home from nursery on Sunday with her first Father's Day present for dad. It was a bunch of candy wrapped up in some paper. Of course, she didn't wrap it...but it sure was cute when she gave Drew the present. Jenna loves to walk out of her bedroom in the morning and come searching for Dad. She cried today when he left on a business trip. Thanks for being a great Dad Drew!

PS. For those of you who haven't heard, we have relocated to Cincinnati for the summer and these pictures are taken in our new apartment. More to come on these adventures later!

A picture of Jenna for Drew's desk!

We gave Jenna some spaghetti for the first time.

Dad helped her eat it...

Huge mouthful...

We also honor Drew's dad, Alton Vernon, on Father's Day. Drew's parents just got their mission call to Ventura, California. They are already there, serving for 12 months!

And Happy Father's Day to my dad, John Brady! We are excited to see my dad and mom at my sister's wedding this August!

Also...I don't think I did as extravagant a post for Mother's Day (because I feel weird talking about myself), but happy late Mother's day to my mom and Drew's mom as well! We love you all!

2011-06-25T12:45:00.002-06:00

One of my friends gave birth to a stillborn baby around Mother's Day. I always get heartbroken when I hear of stories like this. They named the baby Valere Hope. Another friend came up with the idea of making the name out of everyday objects in order to help my friend know there were people out there thinking about her and Valere.

The link to the project is:

http://aprongirls.blogspot.com/2011/05/valere-hope-project.html

Check it out because it explains it better than I can here.

I made this out of pennies I was getting ready to deposit.

Melissa and Valere, we are thinking about you.

Spring Tailgate!

2011-06-21T11:43:00.006-06:00

I have been trying to catch up on some of my blogging from spring of 2011. The next three posts detail some of the things we did in Madison before the summer started.

One of the fun things we did was attend the spring tailgate! We ate brats and threw a couple of bean bags around. Jenna enjoyed the bubbles and the other kids there. We ended up not staying for the game because the weather was COLD and Drew had homework!

Here are a couple of pictures of the event:

As most of you know, Jenna finally learned to walk early this year!

This is a cute walking shot of her sporting the W hat.

Daddy, can we go now?

Trying to show some school spirit...

I only caught one picture of the other people who were at the tailgate. It happened to be of Matt Johnson.

School spirit (and a cowboy hat)!

It's cold mom!

You are supposed to throw these in here? How about I just drop it in?

Making Bread with Becca!

2011-06-21T11:37:00.003-06:00

These are a couple of catch up blog posts from the spring. Early this year, I got together with one of my friends here in Madison. Becca is amazing at baking, and I really wanted to learn some of her skills. Here are some of our efforts:

They turned out great (because Becca made most of them while I watched)!

In the spring, one of our favorite Elders (Elder Daughtel) got transferred. =(

And Jenna finally wore the gift dad brought her from China!

Crafty Spring Ball!

2011-06-21T11:31:00.004-06:00

I got really into crafts this winter. Drew started a business and bought me a sewing machine so I could help with his project! In the meantime, I decided to branch out into crafty hobbies. My first project was to fix a dress I had found at a thrift store, into a beautiful gown for the spring ball. Sound like Cinderella? The dress originally had a gross magenta colored skirt at the bottom of it. I had to watch a lot of youtube videos to figure out how to replace it with a black skirt:

Not too bad!

This is Drew and I right before the Spring ball. It's an annual thing for Wisconsin students and was held at the Menona Terrace on the lake. They had games, appetizers, and dancing. We had a great time.

Jenna even got all dolled up for it!

The Last of our Utah Trip...

2011-06-17T11:56:00.005-06:00

We were sad to leave Utah. I wish I had taken more pictures of the people we saw there and the things we did. We were happy to eat at Costa Vida (our favorite restaurant) a few times before we left. And we were glad to see some old friends.

Here are a few last photos:

Jenna, of course, was exhausted from all the traveling.

Jenna enjoyed playing dolls with her Great Grandma Nelson.

She also had fun crawling up and down the stairs as the adults talked.

Drew with his Grandma Nelson.

This one is small, but we were happy to visit my Aunt Diane and Uncle Gary while we were there.

P.S. Sorry to everyone else that I did not get pictures of! I will try to be a better photographer next trip!

Grand Staircase National Monument!

2011-06-15T12:10:00.004-06:00

After we stopped at Uncle Mark's house, Drew and I headed to Southern Utah to see his sister, Lisa and her family. We spent a few days with them (sadly, no pictures) and had a great time! Lisa and I were able to make some cute bags which I will try to post later! Later in the week, Lisa watched Jenna (thank you!) while Drew and I headed to Grand Staircase National Monument, close to Escalante, Utah. Drew had been here before with a good friend and he wanted me to experience it.

This was rugged hiking and camping. We are talking: no trails on the hike (just markers here and there), no campsites (just wilderness), no people around (we didn't see any people for a good 18 hours or so), and (of course) no toilets. And despite having to do half the hike barefoot, because I brought bad shoes, we actually had a great time!

Drew, wearing his "Brat Fest" shirt. I got this in Madison at the largest Bratwurst (pronounced "Braughtworst") Festival in America. Last year 209,000 Brats were consumed. Anyway, I will try to post more about that later.

Amazing slot canyons in Escalante. This hike was called "Peak-a-boo."

This was right before we entered the "Spooky" slot canyons.

There were some parts of this hike, that actually made me freak out (like Drew is doing here). For example, the part where we had to shimmy down a 15 ft drop into the canyon, and when we had to climb over a 20 ft wall to get into the canyon. I told Drew a couple of times that I wanted to turn around and go back...

This was the wall we had to climb up!

Rugged camping...

Beautiful sunset. The clouds actually did clear up and we had a nice view of the stars.

On the way home, we got stuck behind hundreds of cows. Despite the delay in our travel time, it was an amazing sight to see!

Utah Trip!

2011-06-10T10:33:00.006-06:00

We just got back from a trip to Utah to visit family! Drew flew in from Kobe, Japan and I flew in from Madison, Wisconsin. In between Drew's marketing project to Japan and his internship with P&G, this was our only time to squeeze in a vacation this summer. Our first stop was Uncle Mark's house where we had a wonderful Sunday dinner and where Jenna was able to hang out with some of her 2nd cousins. Thanks to Uncle Mark and Aunt Danette for letting us stay with them. We will have more Utah posts to come!

Jenna and her cousin, Sophia

Jenna with her 2nd cousins

Uncle Mark and the kiddos

Sweet Sophia, my cousin Brenda's daughter.

Sophia was a preemie like Jenna, born at 35 weeks.

Sophia and Brenda

Riding the carousel

The whole bunch at Pirate Island for lunch!

Henry Villas Zoo!

2011-05-22T19:58:00.005-06:00

Jenna and I have been trying our best to keep busy (and sane) while Drew is working on his marketing project in Kobe, Japan. Last week we headed over to the Henry Villas Zoo with our friend Amanda and her two kiddos. The best thing about the Madison zoo is that it is FREE! Jenna demanded to walk the zoo (instead of ride in her stroller). She did a pretty good job and we sure had fun!

Kobe 2011

2011-05-21T06:07:00.002-06:00

I'm in Kobe!

One of the great things about working for a luxury hotel is that you get to stay in a luxury hotel! They also gave me meal vouchers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 15 days!

My team.

There was a festival downtown and I got my picture taken with this alien looking thing (I think it's actually a bird or something.)

Today I got to explore by myself so I went to an onsen in the mountains and also found this waterfall.

Nauvoo, IL

2011-05-09T12:17:00.005-06:00

This weekend we took a little church history trip to Nauvoo, IL. Nauvoo is the last city in which members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints lived before they were forced to leave on their long trek to Salt Lake City. We enjoyed seeing the sites of these early saints and learning more about the early history of the church.

Since Nauvoo is only 4 1/2 hours from our house, we were able to explore the city in a weekend. We drove in Friday night, as the sun was setting.

Sunset on the Mississippi

Mother's Day weekend was the perfect weekend to go since all the tulips were blooming.

Statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in front of the temple.

Beautiful artwork by Drew

The Nauvoo, IL temple

Joseph Smith was martyred before he ever saw this temple completed.

It is one of the most beautiful temples we have ever seen.

Happy Mother's Day, mom.

Wagon ride tour through historic Nauvoo.

Jenna, outside the visitor's center.

This is in a garden that has 12 or so bronze statues built as a tribute to women.

So fitting for Mother's Day.

Thanks for taking us Drew!!!

Carthage, IL

2011-05-09T12:07:00.003-06:00

Most of our friends know that we are Latter Day Saints and that the man who founded our church was Joseph Smith. On our way home, we stopped at Carthage Jail to see the place where Joseph Smith was martyred. It was hard to hear about the injustices of his death: how the jail was unlocked when the mob attacked and how the guard had only blanks in his gun and didn't defend the prisoners properly. We saw the window Joseph jumped from and the original bullet holes in the door, through which a bullet killed his brother, Hyrum. It was amazing to experience the reality of the martrydom.

Statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in front of the jail.

The bullet that went through this hole killed Hyrum Smith.

Jenna discovered her first dandelion outside the jail.

And then threw a fit in the grass and wasn't able to go on the tour.

Poor Sick Baby...

2011-05-06T10:05:00.003-06:00

After spending the whole day cleaning up sickness and doing tons of laundry, Drew captured these cute pictures of Jenna. Despite being sick (I will spare too many details), she is such a sweetie.

She looks a lot like Drew here!

Pad Thai!

2011-05-01T13:27:00.002-06:00

Turns out when Drew and I have some time together...we like to cook! Who would have thought?

We recently scoured through some recipes online and came up with this: pad thai and spring rolls! It was worth the effort of finding all the ingredients and taking the time to cook it!

If you want the recipes..let me know!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T13:55:00.005-06:00

We had a fabulous Easter this year! We dyed eggs with some friends on Saturday night and had an amazing meal. Jenna enjoyed her Easter basket in the morning, found some eggs on her own and put them in her easter basket (she caught on to that really fast this year)! She even figured out how to brake open a few eggs and got to the jelly beans before we could get to her. Church had an amazing musical program and video presentation. And we had a nice Easter dinner with Josh and Katie and some friends. All in all, it was a great time of year to celebrate life, the Resurrection, and spring!

Here are a couple of pictures from the morning:

Drew came up with this creative egg:

"Once I dyed an easter egg and this is how it turned out..."

And we couldn't resist a photo shoot with Jenna in her Easter dress.

I used to wear one of these Easter hats when I was a little girl, and couldn't pass up the chance to let Jenna wear one like it.

This video is for grandmas and grandpas mostly!

COMPSTUMES!

2011-04-20T20:12:00.004-06:00

A couple of months ago, I found out about KickStarter, a web site that matches entrepreneurs with regular people to help fund their businesses. In exchange for a small financial pledge, those who contribute to a new business idea are rewarded by the entrepreneur with some kind of swag (usually whatever the new business intends to sell). The catch is that the entrepreneur has a limited amount of time to raise their pre-established funding goal. If they don't raise enough, they don't get anything for their business.

I decided to pitch an idea to KickStarter, and they liked it and agreed to feature it on their web site! After many hours of hard work, I'm proud to announce that I have officially launched the funding project for my new business on KickStarter. Check it out HERE!

Summer Plans 2011

2011-04-11T19:12:00.001-06:00

I finally received my assignment for my summer internship. I'll be working on the Beauty & Grooming category for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati. I'll be working in one of the Ivory Towers downtown. Michelle, Jenna, and I are all very excited!

Things are going well for us. I'm busy with classes, two projects for school, and starting my own business. Michelle is busy teaching piano, going to the YMCA, doing crafts, and taking care of Jenna. We're enjoying Wisconsin, excited for Ohio, and miss all our friends in Utah and Oregon.

Friends...can't live without them!

2011-04-08T13:49:00.004-06:00

In March, Drew headed to Washington D.C. for the weekend to work on a marketing venture for a hotel in Japan. To avoid being lonely and so Jenna wasn't bored to tears, I volunteered to get a lot of babysitting in! We have been so blessed to have AMAZING friends here in Madison. Here are just a few of Jenna's friends and their adventures (please ignore Jenna's interesting outfits and her macaroni and cheese face).

I love these two together! Jenna and Audrey.

They look like twins even though Jenna is technically 8 months older.

Hi mom!

Love these two!

And this is Jenna with her "big sister," Brianna.

Jenna wants to do everything that Brianna can do!

And she sure loves that goofy hat.

Fun times!

Three Years Ago

2011-03-30T13:34:00.002-06:00

The other day after Drew came home from school, little Jenna walked down the hall to say hi to him. Right then I remembered that Drew and I met about three years ago. Thank goodness for BYU ward activities, right? Although interestingly enough, neither of us had been in that ward, and we had both ended up at the event rather randomly. Anyhow, I know I have told this story a million times, but it never ceases to amaze me that two people can end up in the same place at the same time and that moment can change their lives forever. Three years ago, when I met a nice boy at a ward activity, I would never have imagined that our little girl would walk down the hall to say hi to her daddy just a few years later.

Love you guys!

The Kalahari!

2011-03-19T11:57:00.007-06:00

In all our years at BYU, Drew and I never got to experience any kind of spring break. So this year at UW was extra special! We decided to celebrate the vacation by heading up to the Wisconsin Dells where they have America's largest indoor waterparks. It is Wisconsin and still a little chilly here, hence the "indoor." These parks are AMAZING though and not too expensive. They are heated to a perfect temperature have some pretty fun slides. To add to the fun, Drew's brother, Matt and his family were able to join us for the trip. We had such a great time with them! Here are the highlights:

This little turtle was a lifesaver!
Jenna played with it the whole trip, in and out of the water.

Here's the kiddie section of the park.

And here are a few of the slides.
The blue one was our favorite!

Jenna had fun playing in the fountains.

She got a little tuckered out, but was not afraid of the water AT ALL!

We had a blast!

If anybody wants to come visit us in Wisconsin next year, we are totally up for going again!!

Chicago!

2011-03-08T14:32:00.005-07:00

Drew and I have been meaning to get down to Chicago since we moved here! It's the 3rd biggest city in America and it's only 3 hours away. Unfortunately, with the snowy weather, we haven't been able to travel much, so we were excited to finally get to experience a little bit of Chicago.

Jenna had a sweet time!

Drew bought some Twizlers for dessert, and Jenna found them...

The weather held out long enough for us to walk around downtown for awhile.

This is the famous "bean" statue at Millennium Park.

We ate at a popular breakfast restaurant, "Yolk."

It kept us full for the rest of the day!

Yum!

We had planned to see the Shedd Aquarium, but the line was out the door!

After waiting in the cold for nearly 20 minutes, we changed our minds and went to see the Field Museum, which was a lot of fun and a lot less crowded.

This is "Sue" the T-Rex.

I guess this is the largest collection of T-Rex fossils that has ever been found (named after the lady who discovered it). We were also able to walk through special exhibits about soil, gold, and horses. We had a great time!

Jenna 18 Months!

2011-03-06T17:42:00.008-07:00

Jenna will be 18 months this month (16 months adjusted at the end of March). Quick update: She is nearing 17 lbs., is 27 inches tall, and is walking! She has learned to say dada, bear, and baby (among other babbles), takes amazing naps, and loves to "read" books.

This is her serious pose.

Our first time trying mac and cheese. She liked it!

I bought this for Easter, but she found it and loves to wear it.

Jenna went through a phase where she would cry every time I put her in this walker. Now she has learned to crawl up and into it herself, and it seems to be much more fun. She also enjoys putting the snake around her neck and reading, apparently. I swear, she did this all by herself!

No Joke Price Paintings

2011-02-23T15:45:00.006-07:00

I finally got the paintings I bought in China framed. I decided to put them on the same wall with the two from my last trip to China. Here's how it looks.

In other news, today I came home to these items sitting on the table.

Apparently I haven't done a very good job of telling Michelle what products to buy since landing a spot at P&G.

"What was I supposed to get?" she asked.

Pampers, Bounty, Always, and Pantene. Duh.

She did get me this for Valentine's Day, for which I was grateful.

Finally, just for fun:

Polar Plunge!

2011-02-19T14:21:00.004-07:00

Today I jumped into a frozen lake for the Polar Plunge! Thanks to all of my friends and family who donated $213 to benefit the Wisconsin Special olympics!

China Trip 2011!

2011-01-30T17:20:00.005-07:00

I recently went to China for a study abroad with my MBA program.

Check out the pictures from my trip!

Shanghai and Guangzhou

Hong Kong and Macau

Happy 2011

2011-01-19T13:42:00.006-07:00

Here we go with the first post of the new year! Drew and I recently returned from some amazing trips: Drew went to China with his school and in the meantime, Jenna and I traveled to Portland, OR to see family and friends (pictures to come).

But first (since I am behind), here is a review of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day:

We spent most of the holiday with our cousins Josh and Katie who live close. On Christmas Eve we all got together to exchange presents, eat pizza, play games, and watch the Muppet Christmas Carol.

Josh and Katie brought an especially exciting present for Jenna:

Jenna loved her teddy-bear and couldn't stop hugging it!

Santa did visit our grad-school stricken apartment.

Jenna has perfected the sleepy eye look, as she digs into her presents.

Drew received some obvious gifts...

And some not so obvious...

Jenna loved her toys!

And I loved my new Snuggie!!!

All in all, we had a fabulous Christmas. I still can't believe we are already into the new year! Hope everyone is enjoying 2011!

The Christmas Season

2011-01-03T12:06:00.010-07:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We can't believe how fast those holidays flew by. Here a few of our December happenings. I'll have to post the actual Christmas shots in a few weeks when Drew gets back from China!

Jenna has become a pro at waving "hi!"

She is usually dressed as an eskimo due to the freezing Wisconsin weather.

This is the view off of our balcony. We had a white Christmas!

Drew and I made gingerbread houses with some friends in the ward.

We also went sledding (but I don't have pictures of that).

We got our first "big" Christmas tree this year.

Please ignore Jenna's runny nose...it was still a cute picture!

We visited Santa Claus!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas Season!

Here's looking forward to next year!