It's been awhile ...

Well it's been almost two months since last I updated our blog and I figured I'd better findt he time to do so. Still in school (until Dec. 15th when we get our Christmas break), works been tiring but the paycheck has been good so not to many complaints there, stress in running our life but we're beginning to get a hold on things and are now just taking one day at a time. Aside from all that life is actually pretty darn good. Tom is still alive and Socrates is getting pretty fat (both have the funniest personalities EVER!), had my first doctors appointment last week and got to see our baby for the first time via ultrasound (I must admit it was pretty darn cool, I think I'm going to have a big baby though lol ... after the ultrasound it feels a lot more real and I can actually start saying I'm pregnant). Below I'll be posting some belly pics of me at 12 1/2 weeks (I'm already noticing a HUGE change in my body but after taking the pics they don't appear to be as noticeable lol go figure right... guess my eyes are playing tricks on me). Looking forward to feeling to baby kick for the first time and of course finding out if its a boy or a girl. I was kinda upset at how quickly I seemed to be showing (doesn't seem right lol) --- so I've been weighing myself (thankfully still the same weight that I've been for the last 6 or so years --- though my belly seems to say otherwise, oh well) :-) Well gotta run and get back to studying (math exam this monday - yuck!)

This is what I looked like about 2 or so months ago (I'm really sucking my stomach in right now - not to awful comfortable let me just tell you lol)

This is me relaxed and normal

(sucking in my stomach again -- my stomach was empty so not very comfortable)

(Completely relaxed)

Unexpected Surprise

Well it certainly has been an extraordinarily long time since last I posted anything new so I figured I better update before school starts getting to far underway and I get preoccupied with my studies. As many of you probably already know Jay and I are expecting. I'm really probably only about 6 weeks along, being so new and all I'm still a bit nervous that so many people knowing already, for many things can still happen to change the fact. However we're both ecstatic and so far all seems to running smoothly (a little nauseous in the morning but that's probably more me then the fact I'm pregnant, lol I never was a morning person). School has officially started and I'm so grateful that I'm only taking 12credits this semester ... it appears that 3 out of the 4 classes I'm taking are going to be fairly time consuming, especially my Anat. & Phys. class. Still no luck with finding Jay an Internship but we just found out that if he gets on the fast track (meaning he goes to school year round and takes a min. of 15credits each semester) he'd be able to determine which semester to take off and do an internship (winter, spring, or fall would all be options then not just the winter like it was originally). Since receiving this vital piece of information, we've been trying to figure out our options and get Jay on the fast track. Hopefully within the next 2 months we'll have everything worked out and underway. I need to go talk to a nursing counselor and get my semester list written up so I know which classes I have to take and which ones are not required so that I don't accidentally take a class I didn't really need. Also within another week or two I'll be setting up a doctor's appointment to see how far along I really am, make sure everything is ok, and hopefully figure out a tentative due date. Well got to go finish getting ready for work tooda loo (hmmm not sure if that's even pronounced right --- oh well).

Weekend Adventure

It was a lovely sunny day outside with a nice refreshing breeze that helped to keep the hot sun from roasting us ... perfect day for a little fun and adventure. Cody and Katie came down for a few days and we all decided to travel to Yellowstone (pictures not added yet) since Katie's never been there (plus the fact that it was only an 1 1/2 hours from our house helped some on the decision). We had a nice relaxing drive, the scenery was gorgeous, and we got to see Ole' Faithful to boot. Unfortunately we didn't see very many animals on our trip (just a few buffalo and elk) but it was still fun. Afterwards, due to the lack of animals, we traveled to BearWorld a cool park that's about 12min from our house and got to FEED THE BEARS!!! It was pretty sweet. At Bearworld we saw elk, deer, buffalo, turkeys, a moose, some pretty big trout, and of course the bears plus there was a cool little petting zoo that we got to visit after our tour of the park. Hope y'all enjoy the pics
Note: Below you'll see a "rare" white elk, a pot-belly pig that would grunt everytime you pet him, and a a bull elk with a MASSIVE rack lol enjoy

Time Flies!!!!

WOW it's been 2 months now since I last updated our blog... I figured I better post something new otherwise y'all might think Jay and I have completely disappeared. Here's just a quick outline of everything that's been happening since April.
1) Got a new cat, we named him Socrates. He's about 2 years old and so far he and Tom get along decently. He likes to mock-fight Tom and will come up behind him, wack him on the butt then jump back a few steps when Tom whirls around... it's pretty funny to watch. Though a few night ago Tom got real upset with Socrates and pushed him into a door box him in the face the whole time. (Don't think he's learned his lesson though since he still bugs Tom).
2) Still in school but we're now counting down the days until FREEEEDOM!!!!! (4 more weeks)
3) We were called, the VERY FIRST DAY in our new ward, to be nursery assistants. It's been a fun and interesting time. You know it's nursery time when you walk out of sacrament and start hearing kids crying lol

School is kicking out butts right now so there hasn't been much free time to do anything real relaxing so I guess that's really about all the update that I have for right now. Now.... on to a few pictures :-)

Note: My computer wouldn't let me post any new headings with my pictures so I figured I write a few quick notes about the last few. There's an Idaho Sunset that I like, and the rest are of Socrates (and yes that's the way he actually sleeps a large portion of the time--- silly kitty)

--- Love this picture of the Idaho Falls Temple
Jay and I were out roller blading and this guy and his girlfriend passed us biking... I just thought his "bicycle idea" was ingenious lol and just had to take a quick pic of him as he passed us





Some deer we saw in Provo behind Cody & Katie's apartment building

Ah School

The challenges of school has officially begun for Jay and I. Five days a week from 9am to 5pm classes will consume our daily lives. Our professors are pretty cool, and so far we are both enjoying our classes though feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. It has been so long since I've been in a pubic acedemic atmosphere, afer all this time it seems so strange caring around a backpack full of books. My five, 14 credit hour, classes are keeping me plenty busy and I was quite suprise that homework is already being dished out full-force on the first week of classes. Poor jay, who has 16 credit hours, is getting slammed at the moment will numerous 500-2000word essays and class projects. We're trying to get better organized at the moment so we don't get behind in any of our assignments as we're both striving for A's, though by the end of the semester we'll probably both be happy to just be done and alive no matter what the grade might be lol. May you all keep us in your prayers that we'll survive this semester with our sanity still intact. heehee

Rocky and now Bullwinkle?!

We've had so many interesting things happen to us since moving out here. For those who read the previous blog, y'all know that we made a fuzzy new friend last week and this week we met his partner in crime. Our little friend of last week I've decided to call Rocky due to the circumstances. Well to get to the point of this story Jay and I finally got out Idaho D.L. which meant that we could also get our fishing license. We found time today to go down to the South Fork of the Snake River for a little R&R (namely fishing). Unfortunately we didn't have to right type of bait so no bites but we had an even better encounter though... We decided to walk down to a different part of the River that wasn't so choppy and try fishing when lo and behold a young moose made an appearance from out of the trees. He just calmly walked out and starting munching on some willow branches by the shoreline just staring at us. After a few minutes he decided to take a nap and laid down only a few feet from us and dozed off in the snow. It was pretty crazy, the pictures are hard to make out since they were taken with out phone but hopefully you'll be able to see enough of this guy :-) So there you have it we met Rocky last week and now Bullwinkle this week hehe

Deciding to take a quick nap next to us

That's A Lot of Nuts!

While out for our normal sunday stroll Jay and I had the funniest experience while walking through Porter Park. This crazy and fearless little critter came bounding out from under the trees right up to Jay and I begging for some of the food that we had (peanuts lol). This little guy would stand up on his hind legs begging, and would eat right out of our hands. It was so funny! Hope y'all enjoy the pictures that we took (thank goodness I brought my camera along for this walk) ;-)

Our Little Begger

Excited For School

I just recently got accepted to BYU-I and will be going through the Spring/Fall Track... which means that my first class starts April 20th (YIKES!). I'm excited about going back to school and finishing an education but I'm also pretty nervous (I haven't been to school in a few years and haven't been in a public environment like this since 5th grade lol). My major is Nursing (ASN) and thankfully I'll be talking to a nursing counseler this afternoon to figure out which classes would better benefit me this semester (and the semesters to come) so that I can apply for the actual nursing program faster. Wish me luck

PS: Jay will probably be starting his Construction Mangagement program during the Fall/Winter track

Stake Conference & Ducks?

Today was our Stake Conference and might I just add what a glorious day it was! Still a tid bit nippy but wonderful. Our ward building was so packed they had to open up the other chapel - I couldn't beleive how HUGE our stake is!!!! The choir was outstanding, and the talks given gave us alot of insight into things we need to improve and thankfully things we're actually doing (phew) it's made me want to be a better person and serve more faithfully. We are so blessed to have been able to attend both the Saturday night and Sunday Stake sessions... what a great valentines date to be able to attend Stake Conference together.
Afterwards Jay and I came home, ate some lunch (Cashew Chicken.. yum yum!), then went to a park we found Friday when we went to the Animal Shelter. There are all these ponds with TONS & TONS of ducks! We had a blast feeding them, some would get impatient to be fed and would start pecking at our pant legs. One duck actually would grab the back of Jay's pant leg and shake it until he turned around and gave him a piece of bread lol. All in all it was a great day and a true blessing to be able to spend with my hunny :-)

Engagement

I just found out 2nights ago that a really good friend of mine (Tim Richardson) just got engaged!!!!! YAY ---- To a track star from ISU no less (and from what Jay & I read on the ISU website she's freakin' FAST!!!!) But anyway, I'm pretty excited about this news :-)

What a Coincidence

So I went to the bank to deposit Jay's first paycheck (YAY!)and it was pretty funny cause the girl that helped me saw the contractor's name on the check and asked how long Jay has been working for him. Come to find out her husband use to work for Jay's boss in the same company and acording to her it sounds like he's a really nice and easy going guy who is very willing to work with you if you're going through school or going on vactation etc. What's funny is not only did her husband work for the same guy but he's also going through the same construction management program at BYU-I that Jay is trying to get into and on top of all that.... the girl's name was Brittany, it was even spelled the same too. LOL how crazy is that

Before & After

The Deed Is Done (inside joke for ashley hehe)
I've finally come around and decided after much debate (mainly... Jay sucking my hair in at night causing him to choke + when he'd hug me he'd accidently yank my head back cause my hair was just so darn long) that I've come to the conclusion... it's time for a haircut. Yesterday was the dreaded day (Jan. 27th), I went in at 11:30am and after an hour and a half I walked out about 13in. shorter and what felt like pounds lighter lol. I'm not to dissapointed in my choice, though it defintitely feels different and will take me a bit to figure out the best ways to style my new do --- (I'm hopeless when it comes to styling so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated) ;-) So... here's the new me --- enjoy

Updates

Just some quick updates since getting out here to Rexburg,ID ...

1) Saw a BALD EAGLE! while driving back home from Panguitch,UT
(Jan.7)
2) Saw some Swans in a river in St. Anthony,ID (Jan.18)
3) Jay got a job working construction (Jan.21) -- it's only temporary (his boss only guaranteed him 3wks of work framing a house cause it's the slow season but we're praying that Jay will be able to get on another project and keep working for this guy)
4) Our first trip to the mountains since getting here and on the way back home we sink all the way up to the door on Jay's truck in nice fluffy white snow ... and we we're stuck to say the least. We did see some deer though right next to us actually. It was starting to get dark out and poor Jay was outside trying to shovel the snow out of the way to make a path for the truck to drive through. Thank goodness there were still a few snowmobilers out and they stopped to offer assistance (otherwise it might have been a very long and possibly cold night), they hooked a tow chain up to Jay's truck and helped pull us out with one of their trucks. Once we got home we saw the humor in our previous situation ;-) (Jan. 20)

Winter Fun

Late afternoon is when the snow started and it hasn't stopped since then. It's around 27degrees outside and we've already gotten over 6in. of snow and counting. Roads are slick, the wind is cold, and we just had a blast out in the canyon playing in the snow. We had mini snow fights (or I should say Jay did I ws just trying to dodge his snowballs... unsuccesfully I might add lol), in fact while trying to run away I sunk into some waist-deep snow, fell forward (right when Jay was throwing a snowball), it was suppose to hit my back but because I was already falling forward it beaned me inthe back of the head (I had a huge lump of snow tangled up in my hair after that one). We slid down a hill (on our butts since we had no sleds --- hmmm I think we need to invest in some soon), then ate some snow ice cream before heading back home. On the way out of the canyon we saw a Golden Eagle perched on a telephone pole --- It was enormous, it's wing-span was massive (I tried to take a picture when it took off but my camera wasn't quick enough --- darn these Cheap-o cameras!). Had fun but looking forward for the snow to stop so I can take better pictures without my camera getting all wet.
Jay in full snow gear

You can't really tell but my hair was COVERED in snow!
"The Main Attraction -- A Golden Eagle"
Golden Eagle

He's DEAD!!! Oh wait my bad

Ok that probably wasn't the best title but it goes great with the story I'm about to tell that happened to us almost 2weeks ago.

Dedicated: To my Sister Ashley (Hope you get a kick out of this sis) & to my
mom who thought this story was disgusting upon hearing it

This story took place our last night at Mom and Dad Mangum's place. It was approx. 4 in the morning when after tossing and turing all night I finally decided to call it quits and get out of bed, you know to see if maybe eating something would calm me down. Well I sat up in bed and stretched a little bit which caused our air mattress to move --- waking my hubby up from his deep slumber. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and turned to ask Jay if he wanted to get up for a bit too. When I did so I noticed something unusual sticking out from underneath his head and leaned down to get a closer look (Y'all should know by now how blind I am w/o my glasses or contacts on). What I saw took my breath away... Ole' Tom's back legs were sticking straight out from underneath Jay's neck. My gasp of surprise caused Jay to sit straight up and there was Tom... Back and front legs sticking straight out. We couldn't believe it, Jay rolled him over and Holy Cow his position didn't change a bit. We couldn't believe that Tom traveled from Oklahoma to Tennessee, lived with us for 7months, traveled all the way BACK to Oklahoma and only 2.5days at Jay's parents place died... In the most unusal manner no less. I couldn't believe Jay had squashed Tom in his sleep... we were speechless. Jay rolled him over once more and nudged him a bit and we about jumped off our bed when Ole' Tom let out a tired MEOW! He sat up, meowed again, looked at us once more with a huffy "I can't beleive you just woke me up from this relaxing nap" stare, and walked out the door. We were quiet for a short time then we both burst out laughing... even now when we think about it we can't help but chuckle a bit. Till this day we still have NO IDEA how Tom got under Jay's neck... Sadly no picture (we were both a bit to freaked out at first to do it, by the time we knew the truth it was to late).

Count Your Many Blessings

Well its official... we're tired AND frustrated with our situation right now! We've been traveling none stop since leaving Tennessee (or so it seems), the truck dealership (in Texas) where we got Jay's 4x4 truck is hucking truckloads of crap at us right now that we're trying to shovel up.. and on top of that NO ONE IS HIRING!!!! Oh yeah the school is also feeding is some piece of garbage also but that one seems to be working out (lol at least it doesn't smell to bad). Luckily our bills for this month we had enough saved up to be able to pay (which is a real blessing), our ward and Bishop seem really nice, Jay's family is fairly close, but Jay knows some people that live down here which has really helped us out alot. Despite all the problem that keep piling up it's nice to be able to take a step back and see the blessings on top of the trials. We'll get through all this, life really isn't so bad. Just keep us in your prayers that we don't go Stark Raving Mad!!! lol --- Love and miss y'all!

PS: Will post some pictures soon

Driving? I Hate Driving!!!

We've been married for a year and 5months now and according to our calculations, we've traveled approx. 3,000miles a month since getting married. Wow!!! I guess it's safe to say we're more than ready for a break - definitely looking forward to not traveling more than an hour to someplace for at least 2months (lol longer if we can help it). We just recently made the longest trip by far (since being married) approx. 2,200 miles in a weeks time. Our trip consisted of my car getting banged up cause the stinkin' dolly was just a "little" to big for it, Jay's truck tank (the extra one we had installed in the back) accidently overflowing before we realized that the people who put the tank in didn't install it properly so we had to be sure to manually shut it off everytime it reached full otherwise we might just go KaBOOM!!!,We packed, unpacked, and then repacked everything we owned to try and get it all to fit in our vechicles. Traveled approx. 12 or so hours to Oklahoma the first night and stayed at Jay's parents place (for the next 2nights and half of the 3rd day + traveled an extra 12hours while there). We then traveled another 10 or so hours to New Mexico and stayed at Jay's Aunt & Uncle's place for a day, afterward we traveled another 8hours to Panguitch, UT (visted for an hour or so with Jay's grandparents and Aunt + Cousin) then traveled another hour to Cedar City, UT where we stayed for the next 2days at Jay's cousin's place (spent New Years with them, some friends, and Jay's brother and his wife... Had TONS of fun playing games and goofing off). After that was all done we traveled 3 or so hours to Provo, UT where we decided to spend the night at Jay's brother's place to catch or breath. First thing next morning we left to finally head to our actual destintion (Rexburg, ID) which was... hehe another 5hours away. It was soooo nice when we finally got there and got into our apartment (Cougar Court). It's was a long and VERY exhausting trip but at the same time we're grateful for all the help we recieved before and along the way. Thank you to everyone who helped and supported us during this whirlwind adventure of ours. :-)