Awkward Family Photo

Merry Christmas from Cody, Eric, Me, Bryan, Janie and Oakley, Brandon, Melissa, and Kevin

Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

This year I went on my first Christmas tree hunt with Bryan's family.  We went to Jacob Lake Inn over Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time- shooting targets, making fry bread, playing games. The tasty Thanksgiving feast had over 100 people at it!

Hand made shooting targets

A ghost

A cat in the tree

Before dinner, we left to find a tree.  We drove around on the Kiabab Plateu.  On one snowy turn the suburban slipped into the side ditch.  The boys were on it and Mary Lynne drove out to safety eventually.  The other car spotted some good trees so we all jumped out.  After some choppin we had a whole collection of trees for the lodge, home, and grandparents home!

Now the tree looks beautiful! I think its such a fun tradition to cut down a Christmas tree and decorate it.

Goodbye California

See ya later Cali... thanks for all the fun times! We are now back in Utah.  Its good to be home even if it is snowing.  We moved into Bryan's room at the Jensen's.  We didn't quite fit on the twin bed and had to move a bunch of stuff into the garage.  Now we have a cozy fit on our blow up mattress.  Its only been three days, but its been great! I love our families and getting to spend time with them.  And, I got a job! An RN job! After literally 90 applications someone finally gave me an interview-- and hired me.  YES.

The last week in California I finished my caregiver job and packed up the place.  The day before we left I went down to the pool to try to get a tan.  It didn't work but still was enjoyable.  We sold our fridge we bought upon off craigslist earlier.  So, we lived out of coolers for 5 days.  Mostly we ate out. We sold our fridge to another family moving in.  I am pretty sure the little boy that came along with his dad peed his pants and shoes while at our place.  

Somehow Bryan tetris-ed all our of our belongings into the Uhaul and car.  We didn't break the elevator or scratch the floors this time either. Then we listened to some books on tape and hit the Primm outlets for some Christmas shopping on the way home.

I miss the boys I babysat and our new friends.  But, it also feels like we never left.  Let the Christmas festivities begin! And some werewolves.    

Red Cliffs

Over Thanksgiving break we met my family in St. George.  My mom found an awesome hike from the internet that we had never heard of before.  Its called Red Cliffs by Leeds, Utah. Its just north of St. George and very, very cool.  Its only like a mile walk to a series of pools, waterfalls, and a playhouse of red rock.   

 I want to go back on a hot summer day and jump in the pools.  Cody was the only one brave enough to do it this time.  

Hulu- our cable

We have been kind of cheap and didn't want to pay for cable or internet in our apartment. Its like $50 bones a month!

We got wifi down at the apartment club house so several times a week we journeyed down there with our laptops.  Then Bryan decided to knock on our neighboor's door, see if they had the internet and would give us the password, and share the cost with them.  Worked like a charm.

We still don't have cable... or regular channels.  We don't quite know how to hook it up haha.  Our TV is for movies only.  I need my television fix so I have turned to hulu.com.  It might be better than TV because you can watch shows whenever you want.  Here is a current list of my weekly shows:
-The Biggest Loser (introduced by Rose)
-Modern Family
-The Office
-New Girl (introduced by Megan)
-Once Upon a Time
-Up All Night (introduced by Brandon)
-and the occasional Colbert Report with Bryan

 
Any other "must sees"? I have some time to burn while  Bryan studies.

The 411

Since getting married we've been in our own little bubble.  So, here is what we've been up to in general:

Bryan is doing a 6 month internship at the Capital Groups Company in Irvine, California.  He has been doing finance, accounting, fund analysis and some other stuff I don't know much about.  He tells me "Today I did some work, went to lunch, and then did some more work" everyday.  He is working hard and gaining some really good experience.  He has also learned that he doesn't want to do this exact job long term.  Its good he figured that out now! He is also studying to take the GMAT for business school.  He does his "homework" everyday and is always taking about math.

I was not able to find a RN job but have been working as a caregiver.  I help individuals (usually elderly) do things they can't do for themselves anymore- drive them to Dr. appointments, help them use the bathroom, do physical therapy exercises, do their laundry, remind them to take their medicine, etc.  I also taught private swim lessons to little guys for the first couple months and babysit.

We are moving back to SLC/Provo in two weeks.  I have mixed emotions about moving back, but overall I'm excited.

From this...

To this

(-) Downside of leaving Cali:
1. We have met some great people and made good friends. I know I will miss them.
2. No more beach, Disneyland, Seaworld. I loved our Saturday outings to different beaches.
3. No more being warm.  Its back to snow. The weather here is great year round. 
4. This is where we spent the majority of the first 7 months of our marriage. Good memories.
5. I think it might be weird to be in Provo now.  Last time I was there I was single and a student.  Now I'm a married and (hopefully) working girl!
6. All the work it takes to move- packing, unpacking... its the worst

(+) Positives of moving back:
1. Close to family and friends
2. Close to family and friends
3. Bryan can finish school
4. Will be in one place long enough to get a RN job.  I'm open to any help with this :)
5. Intramural sports
6. We love Utah
7. Be home for Christmas and skiing
8. Moving forward

Be home soon!

When I grow up...

While working as a caregiver, I've had many opportunities to view what it is like to age.  I know better what I want to be like when I grow up.

I have struggled working with one elderly lady.  Not because of the cares I do for her, but because of her attitude.  She always has something to complain about, never is better than "fine", and has no drive to progress forward. She is only 65.  Every effort I make to help her improve is seen as punishment (even torture)- physical therapy exercises, getting a bed bath, going to the doctor.  I can't understand how she gets up and sits in her chair resting all day until it is time for a meal and then goes back to resting.  She is still capable of a lot but does not put any effort into it.  I love this lady, but want so bad for her to change her attitude.  I have hope that things can improve for her while she has none.

In comparison, I cared for another lady who was 90 and passed away less than a week after I was with her.  She was confined to her bed, ate no more than two bites of yogurt a day (which I doubt she swallowed), and her body was shutting down.  Through it all, this sweet lady literally smiled all day.  She always said thank you when she was oriented enough to.  She would say "woaahhh" as though riding a roller coaster when her bed was moved up and down to make others laugh.  She had a positive attitude and smiled to the end.

One couple was a treat.  At 85 they had a list of things they wanted to do during the day.  Some days it was take pictures of and categorize the hummingbirds that come to the back porch.  Others it was drive 1.5 hours to an Indian casino so the husband could play blackjack.  (He said I was his "lucky charm" and I proved to be.)  His wife was happy to nap in the minivan while he won/lost some money.  They spent other time just wanting to be taken down roads they have not traveled on before, sharing their life stories, and passing on advice.  They are living life to the fullest and doing things that make them happy.

I think everyone has trials and problems, it just comes down to how you deal with them.  Attitude makes all the difference.

Backstage Disneyland

Last week we spent a day at the happiest place on earth... Disneyland! Cam and Jenny Pinegar along with Allison Pinegar and Tom Busico were road tripping out for the weekend and invited us.  We thought about it for about 3 mins then decided we were DOWN.

Bryan was so so excited and kept chanting "Disney, Disney" on our way there.  We didn't go until 1:30pm but made our money count by staying until midnight.  Side note- parents: take your little children home no later than 10pm.  There is NO need for a billion little kids to be sleeping on their parents shoulder come midnight.

Bryan's favorite ride was Star Tours.  They recently redid it so now its 3D!

I like the Buzz Lightyear shooting ride the best.  And I found out his name is Buzz Lightyear... not Lightgear.  Ooops.  But, something was wrong at Disneyland.  I think 4 of the rides broke down while we were waiting in line or on it.  After the big splash on Splash Mountain, we came around the corner to many logs not moving.  After a while we were individually evacuated and taken out a back alley exit. We called it backstage Disneyland.  It was so VIP they wouldn't even let us take pictures. And to make it even better, they gave us all a fast pass to whatever we wanted. 

Mass evacuation!!

Bryan up close and personal with celebs

Standing in our log ride

Well Disneyland was a lot of fun. It was all decorated for Halloween.  Tons of kids were dressed up- I don't if that is normal attire for kids at Disneyland (princesses, mickey mouse eared everything, pirates) or if it was for the holiday.  I'm glad we could go with a fun crew and get our Disney on.

Visit from the Jensens

I love it when we have company!  And it doesn't get much better than Bryan Sr. and Mary Lynne Jensen, Bryan's parents.  They flew out on Wednesday and stayed until today.  We tried to show them the ropes and what we like to do.  We went to:

-Laguna beach and BJs (can you say pazookie!)
-Newport temple and Newport beach
-The Irvine Spectrum for shopping, Johnny Rockets, and Footloose
-The Rack. Bryan's dress shoes were "fixed" by gorilla glue.  It was time for some new ones.
-Huntington Beach. Sadly it was freezing so we didn't get to get in or show them our sweet skimboarding skillz.  We did get to witness a beach volleyball championship, a veteran singing Christmas songs, a bride in a puffy dress, a preacher condemning the world, and a feminine male dancer practicing his moves.
-Diego's (the Hispanic movie rental store)

They introduced us to some new places.  One day Bryan and I played hookie from work and we all went up to Los Angeles. We explored the shops at the farmers market and saw MARIO LOPEZ at The Grove.

The farmers market was full of treats and all sorts of food

We then went to the Getty Museum and it was amazing! The architecture and artwork was wonderful.  We enjoyed the cultural experience we would not have gotten on our own.

Thanks for visiting Jensens! They were such troopers sleeping on our blow up mattress, watching Bryan's ward bball game, and staying up late every night.  Even just hanging out at our apartment was fun. Mary Lynne taught me how to make some tasty tacos, beans, and salsa. Bry Bry schooled all of us at Ratuki.  And we even went for a nice hot tub. Bryan has wonderful parents and I'm glad they were able to visit.

Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my 3rd favorite holiday.  Bryan gave me a $5 budget for decorating our apartment.  So, I marched (well drove) up to the 99 cents store.  I spent 20 mins deciding on the five items I wanted.  This purchase was relatively small compared to how my dad shops at the dollar store.  He somehow always find over $25 worth of stuff.  Now our apartment is a little SPOOKY!

Happy Birthday Bryan!

Happy Birthday Bryan!  This guy is 25 years old day... a quarter centurion.  For this special occasion we did our/his favorite things.  After he finished studying last night we went to the hot tub for a quick dip.  Then we ate at the Cheesecake Factory (I'll do a post later explaining the perfect way to do this), and saw a movie.

This morning we had cake for BREAKFAST! Anything is allowed on your birthday.  Bryan loves chocolate cake more than anything so I purchased this 7 pound cake from Costco.  I didn't really factor in that it would only be us (2 people) around to eat it haha.  More for us.

This is Bryan's most unique gift...  It is a cowboy coat from my parents.  He will look so stylin rounding up cattle on the horse now.  Happy birthday again to my R. Bryan Jensen Jr.   

Thank you Craigslist Orange County

Dearest Craigslist,

You saved our lives!
Thank you for:
1. A refridgerator ($140) when we had no fridge and were living out of 2 coolers
2. A kitchen table, 4 chairs, 2 lamps, and a coffeetable (total $50).  We will just overlook the fact our table was painted an ugly green with two of the chairs painted in a different shade of green.
3. A job! Its been fun to teach private swim lessons to the children of Orange County


We are still searching you for more furniture and possibly P90X,
The Jensens

The Honeymoon

We moved

Hello family and friends!

As per request of family, we have decided to start a blog of our doings!  We have moved further from home than ever before (minus Bryan's mission) and are excited for this new adventure.

Our new home is Lake Forest, California.  It is located in between Irvine and Mission Viejo, conveniently close to the beach/Disneyland/Sea World.  Bryan was offered an alluring internship with the Capital Group Company in Irvine, CA and we decided to take it.  So, after being married for less than two months, we packed up and moved.

All of our belongings and new wedding gifts (thanks everyone!) got packed into the trusty Durango and a 5x8 moving trailer.  The drive was not bad because we listened to Harry Potter 7 on tape and stopped overnight at the Mandalay Bay in Vegas.  We were sure to catch some waves in the pool and go to the dinner AND breakfast buffet.  Yum!

We found our new apartment solely online (sight unseen) and were worried that we put our safety deposit into a dump.  You just can never tell what a place really is like from the internet.  But, we were pleasantly surprised with our apartment.  No bugs or murderers... yet.  It took us over five hours before we realized there was no refrigerator though. Dang it.

Thanks to Craigslist, we found a working one for cheep and it fit perfectly into the kitchen.  Bryan started his job this week and enjoys it so far.  I wanted to take a picture of him going to his first day of work but didn't have my camera.  I am just searching for a job and unpacking our stuff.

More postings from the Jensens to come!
ps- how do you add photos from the internet?