Catch your Breath...

Ever feel like there is no time to catch your breath? That's how I feel and have felt these past couple weeks. I have really enjoyed my classes this semester but they seem to have a lot of busy work and textbook reading...I feel like I'm in high school again. But seriously, the past little while and the rest of this month is booked full, no joke I think every day has something due for me or for Curt if not both. I find it interesting that Friday and Saturday aren't very appealing anymore. The funny thing is is that we have always enjoyed Sundays, but nowadays we are dreaming and counting down until they arrive! But through this busy time we are trying to find things to be grateful for, so here's the list...

#1 Having each other and the opportunity & means to get an education! (we have to remind ourselves sometimes)

#2 Having Sundays where we can take school off our minds and enjoy the beauty of the Sabbath

#3 Being so busy that time seems to fly...really it's already February?

#4 Having my Mom to call EVERY DAY, I'm sure she is sick of it

#5 Getting the minutes to escape on a date night or the Temple

#6 Studying scriptures & the Ensign

#7 The funny things we do & say when we're stress (the other day Curt was teasing me and I was very gullible, so I called him gullibully, totally not meaning too!)

#8 Jordan to write to & think about, we put together a package for him today & I hope he won't get in trouble for having a Nerf gun(:

#9 Realizing that we have a month down of this semester & only a little more than that until spring break

#10 Looking forward to spending time with my Mom this weekend! (this really should be closer to the top)

Anyways I'm going to try to think positively, it reminds me of what Elder Wirthlin said, "Come What May & Love it"....I think it's the best solution!(: Wish me luck....

http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-9,00.html

He's Off #2...continuation of my mom's post!!(:

The many funny faces of Jordan & his glasses! He said he was going to wear them when he meets his companion and act like a big nerd! I wonder if he really did?!!

After I picked up Jo from the airport we went & got our good friend Jess Porter, who goes to BYU and all went out to lunch. We had such a fun time!(: They were hilarious and talked about girls, girls, girls! What's new?
Jordan, Jess, me (jacque). Curt wasn't able to get out of school & work. It was a test to see if I could make the trip alone, I almost passed!
The time came so quickly for us to take him & say good bye. We were having a blast it really didn't even feel like this would be it for 2 years. We had a plan of action though. The new MTC thing is that you just have to drop the missionaries off at the curb, so we decided to park and take pictures and then go back, get the car and drive through the area we were supposed to take Jordan to. it was funny cause as we were walking back up the hill to the car (away from the MTC) with Jordan people looked at us kind of funny. Honestly, we did feel like we were kidnapping him(: We teased him & said that maybe a 24hour mission might do the job!


We got all the pictures taken and drove through the array of missionaries waving us to the curb, hopped out, and gave our hugs. It was so different than I thought and all of us were simply happy=no tears! Before we knew it he was being escorted off by a missionary and on his smiling way! Jess & I just kinda sat there and then said, "wow he's really gone!" He'll do amazing and I'm so glad I got to share this memory with Jordan! It still doesn't feel real, but after a couple weeks and I'm not getting anymore "what's up girl?" texts I think it will sink in! We are so proud of him though and are so excited for what he'll do! We love you Jordan! Thanks Mom for letting me take your baby!

(Why I said I almost passed the test alone is because on my drive back up I got a little distracted, drove right past my exit & was on my way to Idaho. Thankfully mom was on the phone cause I soon realized my gas gauge was next to nothing...finally once I started being unfamiliar with everything and 8 miles later for the next turn off I flipped around and barely rolled into a gas station in Brigham with a shaky car and all. It sure was a blessing I made it that far! Good thing we had this whole missionary thing today or I could still be stranded in Honeyville!)

Christmas & New Year's

For Christmas break Curt was fortunate enough to get a couple weeks off work, so we used it all up and headed home to Arizona! We had such a great time, thanks to our families! For Christmas, it was the Sunderhaus' year and we spent it up at a cabin in Pinetop. Besides everyone passing around being sick we had a very memorable time! On Christmas day most of us were supposed to go snowboarding, but it ended up being only Jordan and I. He was a trooper and so patient with me, we had a great time!
He's so stylish!
We did open presents before Jordan and I left and it was so much fun finally being able to give our surprises. My families tradition is to draw names and make homemade gifts. Everyone did a great job! And Curt surprised me big time too!(: we were also able to surprise my parents with our own rendition of one of the Cosby show episodes! We did the dance from the episode the family is celebrating the grandparents anniversary! It was a blast. We didn't get any pictures, but we did record it!(: We definitely made some fun memories!

Because not very many of us went snowboarding we thought it would be fun to go sledding. It was just us kids and the little babies! We had a ton of fun! Here's Curt & myself...
Curt cruising down the hill!
Cody, Stephanie, and Lexee...
Jordan...
Chris, Rachel, and Anna! Anna was too cute and kept trying to eat the snow. She hated having her mittens on and kept trying to pull them off with her teeth. Once she did and felt how freezing the snow was on her hands she wasn't too interested in it anymore. It was pretty cute. It's so fun to see how curious little kids are!
For New Year's we spent the evening with the Dana's! We had a blast. Curt's mom did an amazing job at putting together a great meal and we really enjoyed ourselves. Curt's grandparents, an aunt, an uncle and all of us kids began playing Catch Phrase! Grandma was hilarious...I've never seen her laugh so hard! We had a really fun time and later were able to celebrate with some poppers, streamers, confetti, you name it....all but fireworks!(:


We also took family pictures on the Dana side. I don't have them yet, but they turned out really good, thanks to Sydney! Once I get them, I'll be sure to post!

My uncle brought over his dog one of the days. His name is Stiffler and is massive. I have never seen a dog so big, now I know why they call these dogs horses!
We really enjoyed our time at home. We were able to catch up with some friends, not all of them unfortunately, but loved getting in some time with our families! Thanks for a fun trip, we look forward to the next one!
We hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and are having a great start to the new year! I can't believe it's 2010!!!

Thanksgiving & Christmas To Be!

WE HAD A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING AT HOME! WE MADE THE LONG DRIVE DOWN ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT AND IT WAS WORTH EVERY MINUTE OF IT(: WE CRAMMED THE 4 DAYS IN WITH FAMILY, FUN, SHOPPING, AND A LITTLE HOMEWORK TOO. FOR THANKSGIVING DAY WE SPENT MOST OF IT WITH THE DANA'S. IT WAS CURT'S MOM'S FAMILY'S YEAR, SO WE SPENT THE DAY WITH THE GROSS'! I GOT TO HELP MOM OUT IN PREPARING THE FOOD AND I HAD NO IDEA HOW MUCH WORK GOES INTO IT! WE TRIED A NEW WAY OF COOKING THE TURKEY AND BASKET-WEAVED BACON ON THE TOP AND STUFFED THE INSIDE WITH APPLES AND ONIONS. IT WAS DELECTABLE!


CURT WAS THE DESIGNATED TURKEY CARVER AND WAS A LITTLE NERVOUS AT FIRST, BUT DID A GREAT JOB!
AFTER THE MEAL WE HAD A QUICK MINUTE TO RUN OVER TO MY FAMILY'S THANKSGIVING TO SAY HELLO! IT WAS GREAT SEEING EVERYONE AGAIN, AND WE FOUND OUT WE ARE GOING TO BE AN AUNT AND UNCLE FOR THE 3RD TIME! CONGRATULATIONS CHRIS & RACHEL!
ONCE WE MADE IT HOME WE WERE EAGER TO GET INTO THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS. I HAD A RELIEF SOCIETY MEETING AND MADE THESE YUMMY PEANUT SWEETIES!THE MOST CREATIVE LADY I KNOW MADE THESE ADORABLE SUGAR COOKIES OF MELTING SNOWMEN! SHE'S AMAZING, I HAD TO SHOW IT OFF FOR HER!

WE ALSO STARTED DECORATING OUR LITTLE APARTMENT AND I MADE THESE 'HO,HO,HO' BLOCKS! THEY TOOK FOREVER, BUT I'M PLEASED WITH HOW THEY TURNED OUT!
AND FINALLY WE BOUGHT OUR OWN CHRISTMAS TREE! THANKS TO TARGET FOR THE SMOKIN' DEAL. WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF FUN DECORATING IT AND COME HOME FROM THE STORE EVERY TIME WITH SOMETHING NEW TO ADD. WE TRIED A TREE TOPPER BUT OUR WEAK LITTLE TREE COULDN'T HANDLE IT): SO HERE IT IS FOR NOW!HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE! WE CAN'T WAIT TO FINALLY START REALLY ENJOYING THE SEASON THIS WEEKEND WHEN FINALS ARE OVER! GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL WHO HAVE TESTS TOO. SEE YOU SOON!

A Saturday With My Best Friends

Today was wonderful! Curt & I got to head to down to Salt Lake to meet up with my brother Jordan and Jesse Porter to do a session in the Salt Lake Temple. Out of the 4 of us Curt is the only one that has previously done a session there, so the rest of us were really excited! We were fortunate enough to be invited to do sealings right after the session as well. I got to thinking as I sat there how incredible all the details of the walls, furniture, doors and windows, paintings and everything else looked. Then I thought why is today's decor and design so simple and to put it into my terms, BLAH! Why when we have all the tools you can think of do we not have buildings and architecture of this sort?!! I guess it was just another testimony that the Lord needed the work to get done and the people then didn't need tools of all sorts to make it perfect for Him! We had a fabulous time. I don't think one of us ever stopped smiling! Then I sat back and thought, I'm really being spoiled because here I sit with my three best friends. I grew up with Jesse, Jordan and I have been friends with the Porter boys for many, many years. Then comes Jordan who I have loved and adored and have been fortunate enough to be so close in age with all my life! Then comes my best friend in the whole world, my sweet husband! I love getting to peak across the room and catch his eye! It couldn't have been a more fun thing to realize! But to top it all off, I have decide to retire the dress seen here in the picture below. Earlier this afternoon Curt & I were waiting for the boys and decided to go to the tabernacle. We ended up visiting with some sister missionaries and before I know it this sweet little missionary from Japan rubs her belly and asks, " How much time have you?" Right then and there I decided that either I need to lose weight or lose the dress.!!!
Sorry the picture isn't the greatest. It was one of those times where a kind stranger takes time to snap the shot for you and you don't have the nerve to ask them to re-do it, I'm just glad we got one!

Fall Update!

Sorry for not having any pictures this time around, but I figured it was about time to update. Our lives have been crazy, hectic, wonderful, and full of a TON of blessings!(: At the end of October beginning of November, as most of you know, Curt and I got to go home for a quick but unforgettable weekend. My little brother Jordan, one of my best friends in the whole world, got to go through the temple for himself! It was so neat to be there and on top of it he is the baby of the family so it was the first time our entire family got to be there together! It is a memory I hope to have for the rest of my life. We also were there to celebrate my Dad's birthday and love him and appreciate him so much! Thanks for the great trip mom & dad! We loved getting to spend time with our adorable little nieces too! My Mom has great pictures from the weekend on her camera, I'll have to get them soon. And we were also able to be there for Curt's brother Jared to be ordained as an Elder. We are so proud of him and feel so blessed we had the chance to be home for all of it! As far as life is going around here we are busy as ever! This past Sunday we had our ward conference and it was just another testimony that the Lord knows what we need. Everything that was said, I felt like it was just for me. Our stake pres. counseled us to read the ensign cover to cover, 1 page a day until we finish it. And then to go back and study the words of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. He testified of their words being the scripture we need today, I knew that before but it has never hit me so strongly as it did Sunday! Our Bishop who we love and appreciate so much also gave some great council on how important family home evening is and expressed his love to each one of us. It is so good to know that, especially when we are both far from any family(: Lastly, the holidays are in the air and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I wish it was a less stressful time of year, especially being so busy with finals creeping up and all, I wish we had more time to enjoy the spirit of the holidays. So, this year I am going to try my hardest to soak it all up as much as I can. To all of our friends, we are so sorry we have been so busy, we miss you and need to get together soon or we'll go crazy. Thank you for being our family here, it makes all the difference. I don't know about anyone else, but we have enjoyed this beautiful weather this past week. Unfortunately, Logan's fall lasts about as long as it's spring and will be over sometime this weekend when it decides to snow already. Wish we were in Arizona, but I guess that's what we get for living in Utah! We love you all...looking forward to seeing you Jo next weekend and everyone else at Thanksgiving!

Curt's birthday & FAMILY!

This past week we were lucky enough to enjoy the company of Curt's mom and his brother Jared! We have loved so much having family here this month. We had a wonderful week. We felt bad that we had school and work most of it, but especially enjoyed having Friday off. But as you can see we celebrated Curt's 23rd birthday and had lots of fun with that. After work we went to one of his favorite restaurants called Pounders! Then we came home and he opened his gifts. Mom was awesome and found these huge bags to fit them in. We went in together and got him a Camp Chef, a few of it's supplies, and some dutch oven stuff. Thanks Mom for your help! We had a blast shopping for him! Then we had their traditional cherry cheesecake, which was delectable, and enjoyed visiting the rest of the night.
Friday we went for a drive up the canyon and just loved the colors of the trees! I need to get the pictures from mom with her in it, so we can show the whole group!
Later that night we went and saw the double feature of Toy Story 1&2 in 3D! It was so fun!(: Then on Saturday they packed up and headed home. We miss them already, but are looking forward to seeing them very soon! Thanks for the great visit, we love you guys!

And also on Friday, my little brother Jordan got his mission call! we are so proud of him and way excited for him! To find out where he is going look at http://wendishappyplace.blogspot.com to watch the video!