No. 2 | My Superhero

It is difficult to put into words just how much I love and adore this man! Prepare for a very poor attempt at just that... It will be one of those mushy posts. But the first thing that comes to mind on my gratitude list is my husband. And I am so very lucky that he is mine! (My father tells me all the time that I "got a good one." and I always agree!)We have been married for 5 years. We have lived in 3 places, have had 2 kids, and have been through some rough patches. We have laughed, cried, stressed, and adventured together. What a life we have ahead of us!

He is a hard worker, and enjoys being the protector, provider, and overall superhero for our family. He works all day and comes home to play with the kids, change diapers, and help me with the dishes. Then, as if that weren't enough, he teaches the young men every Sunday, and goes to class every Tuesday and Thursday night so he can get his Master's degree. He is my superhero.

I admire his strength and his optimism in everything. He is a tough guy when he needs to be, but is so very sweet and gentile when he needs to take care of a sick one here at home. Other qualities I admire about him include: intelligent, friendly, and kind. He is the peacemaker in every situation.

He brings me flowers on my rough days, and whispers sweet nothings in my ear just to get a reaction. He doesn't care what I look like today, and encourages me in whatever crazy endeavor I happen to be working on at the time. He puts up with me throwing crazy parties and helps me prepare. (He squeezed 200+ worms out of straws for me just last week!) He makes me laugh, he loves to make the children laugh. He is loyal and worthy for his priesthood responsibilities and takes great care in performing his duties when and where he is needed.

My heart still flutters at the thought of a lifetime spent with him. I love his smile, I love the silly faces, I love the spark of passion lighting his eyes when he works on a new project. I love to be near him, curled up watching a movie, watching football (its more difficult to snuggle with football on..), just talking in the car. He holds my hand every chance he gets. I can't imagine life without him. Love you Babe!

XOXO
Jess

A week in Washington (D.C.)

My in-laws gave us a wonderful Christmas gift. Complimentary airfare to anywhere in the country for a little family vaca. As we discussed where we wanted to go, it was suggested that Dad was going to D.C. for a conference and they wouldn't mind if we came along. So, we left Brayden with my parents and hopped on the plane for a week of fun in the nation's capitol! :) (My mom did offer to watch Brayden...)

After our oh-so-exciting experience with Delta last time (if you haven't heard our honeymoon story... you should sometime...) I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of flying with them again. Dad fixed that by getting an upgrade ticket to first class and he gave it to me! (so kind!) I told Bryce I would switch him when the pilot turned off the seatbelt sign... which he didn't... *smile* (I paid him... *wink*) It was quite an experience...

We landed around 3:00 EST so we had some time to see a few sights, get a little east coast clam chowder, and snap a few pictures of the monuments at night! What a pretty sight! (p.s. I LOVE my new camera!)

On the way back from our tour of the warm memorials we took a short cut through a field. Little did we know the other side of the field was completely fenced off by a 7 foot chianlink... What other option did we have? That's right, we all (yes all four of us) climbed over the fence. The only thing between us and our hotel was finding the metro station... which disappeared. Funny enough we walked right by it at least twice... we finally figured it out with 2 minutes until the entrance closed. phew! That is the way you start a vacation! 

When I was asked where I wanted to go, the first thing I wanted to do was the International Spy Museum. It is a blast! They instruct you in the skills of espianoge, give you a "cover" (that you must memorize and remember throughout the exhibit because there's a test at the end), and let you explore exhibits covering everything from disguise to famous people you didn't know were spies. There was even an air duct that you could climb through, you had to be very quiet. You can't help but feel a little paranoid after going though... The rest of the week we would pass someone on the street and Bryce would say "he's a spy..." Naturally, no photos allowed...

We also took a tour of the capitol building with an intern from Senator Hatch's office. It really is a facinating building and it is fun to see where laws are made and passed.

The underside of the rotunda

The original Senate room

Day 3 took us to Gettysburg (my other suggestion). We bought ourselves an audio tour and book (so if anyone plans to go, give me a call! I have it!) and after we went through the visitors center and museum we took it to the field! It was a lot of fun to share one of my favorite places with my new family.

The cemetery where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address.

On Sunday we found a ward that meets in one of the oldest chapel buildings in the country. They even had a little frame with original wood from the Smith cabin on the wall! They were such a wonderful friendly ward. We then toured Mount Vernon. This is seriously one of my favorite places in the world. (Monticello is up there too...) It is so beautiful and peaceful and George Washington is truly an American icon, hero, and all-around good man. As my dad put it "Him and Bilbo Baggins... the only two men to willingly give up power..." Well said. :)

Mount Vernon

The rest of the week we spent at the Smithsonian museums and other sites. We saw pretty much everything...

Natural History Museum

Dorothy's Slippers in the American History Museum

Arlington National Cemetery

On Wednesday we got tickets to see 1776 in Ford's Theater! It was a highlight of the week! We had balcony seats that looked straight across to President Lincoln's chair. The play was fantastic too! I am so glad we were able to go!

Sketch of the assassination

Lincoln was sitting there...

The stage!!!

Brayden sent us pictures all week updating us on how he was doing and what he was up to. It was good for me (I missed him a lot!) and, lets face it he's just darn cute!

Dear Mom and Dad, Stay Hydrated!

Dear Mom and Dad, I now control the remote

Dear Mom and Dad, Look at my new play area!

Dear Mom and Dad, I love you!

Dear Mom and Dad, Can't wait to be in my own bed again.

Dear Mom and Dad, They are feeding me. 

We finished it off by attending a session in the gorgeous Washington D.C. Temple. The best way to finish off a great week!

That's it in a very general nut-shell. Thanks again to my in-laws for the amazing time! It was fun to spend some one-on-one time with you.  I didn't think you needed to read every detail! :) Thanks for reading anyway!

The Holidays

Wow it has been a loooong time. I made a resolution in November to be better at blogging... right after the holidays... and then low-and-behold my laptop hard drive has finally given up the ghost... and the other computer's cord broke... You never really appreciate what you have and enjoy until it all of the sudden doesn't work... I am posting now. Patience as I strive to be better at writing.

Life got really busy around Thanksgiving and Christmas season (as I am sure it does for most people... or am I just crazy?) We celebrated Thanksgiving with the LeBaron clan. It was fun to see everyone and have a chance to catch up with all that is going on in their lives. With 7 kids, 5 out of home, it gets a little crazy. I tried out my new cinnamon poached pears recipe on them and we ate ourselves full of delicious salads, potatoes, turkey... mmm... what more could you ask for?

December was just about as busy as it possibly could be. We decorated our tree at the end of November with shatter proof ornaments and plastic candy canes... They turned out to be one of the favorite toys of the season as they rolled well for chasing and made funny noises when they "bounce".

The "White Collar" tree at Festival of Trees

We did a fun thing this year. Instead of the traditional "white elephant gifts" for the LeBaron party there was going to be a treat gift exchange. We were all supposed to bring a special treat and we traded them around. I ended up getting a plate of "O Henry!" bars. They were gone before the end of the weekend. Bryce and I used my new mini-donut maker to make mini-donuts for the parties and for our neighbor gifts. It was a day full of donuts but it was fun too. We made Pumpkin with a chocolate ganache, Chocolate Orange, and Gingerbread with a caramel frosting. They were all delicious. Recipes over at What's Cooking?

The Barker party was a lot of fun for us, despite Brayden's teeth coming in... I always enjoy getting to catch up with the family and its fun to see how the family changes over the course of just one year. I am excited for Ashley and hope she figures out that whole schooling business. I know you'll do well, whatever you choose! Then there is the ever favorite talent show. We were party-poopers this year and failed to perform... but rest assured, we enjoyed the other talents. The children's nativity is possibly my favorite part. I love to see how excited the kids are to perform their respective roles. Emma and Alicia were quite serious as they practiced their "wiseman walk" up and down the hallway. :)

Brayden couldn't get enough of the snow around the lights at Temple Square!

Christmas was special for us this year as it was our first Christmas with a child. I was pleased to welcome Santa back into our home! :) He brought us quite the haul as he seemed to visit us in our home and at my parents. We woke Brayden up and groggy as he was, he seemed to know how it all worked. He brightened up to see his new rocking horse, and pulled wrapping paper off boxes like a pro. I'm pretty sure every toy but 1 that he got this year sings and makes noise. It has made for some good times since... :) I got some awesome stuff for the kitchen. I can now make my own homemade pasta and raviolis, soups with my new hand blender, and casseroles in my Rachel Ray casseround. :) Bryce got a remote control helicopter , a new sports watch, White Collar DVDs, and his favorite- Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms. Mom and Dad LeBaron are taking us to Washington DC this May as our gift this year as well. We did pretty well for ourselves. ;)

We spent the morning at church with my parents and ended the day arriving at the LeBaron home to visit for a day or so. We had to come home Tuesday so we could pack to get ready for our trip to Zion's Canyon on Wednesday. A lot of driving. Soo much fun. Mom, Dad, and Ben met us at a cabin just outside the canyon. The cabin was amazing! 2 full-sized bathrooms complete with jetted tubs, fireplaces, a kitchen... very posh. We did a little hiking, Brayden was introduced to buffalo and horses (up close!), and we enjoyed some 60 degree weather. It didn't end so well for my brother and mom... who both caught some sort of 24 hour bug...  But all-in-all we had a very fun time.

Ben: a regular stroller pushin' pro! 

The Narrow's Hike December 29... 

Brayden loves bread... 

 New Years Eve found us in our little house preparing for some friends to come celebrate with us. As it turns out, college towns become ghost towns over the holidays and most of the couples in our ward went out of town with family. We did have one couple, some new friends, stop by and a few of my old friends from high school came too. We played some games and watched the ball drop. We caught up with each other's life (as school keeps us all very busy) and talked about the next year and what was coming up. Bryce and our new friend got to talking about grad school and he told Bryce about his program which sounds like something Bryce could be interested in. We still don't know much about it, but there's an info meeting later this month and we hope to get some answers there. 

Its nice to be home, back into the normal swing of things... with a few exceptions as we are trying our hand at the new year resolutions thing again. :) We did alright last year, but want to implement a few changes to our routine that we think will help the household run smoother our family function a little better. We look forward to another amazing year together, full of adventure, romance, and fun.

Brayden had his final check-up before his 1 year mark. He is officially 10 months old! I can hardly believe it! He is getting so big! He never stops wiggling (even in his sleep he wiggles) and he is getting to be quite the speedy crawler. He is learning to feed himself and he likes to make a mess doing it. He stands pretty well when he is next to something and he knows he is on the verge of some thing big as he teeters on his toes. He is quite responsive when you speak to him now and often babbles back. Oh, and he is currently trying to cut 6 teeth... 4 on top, 2 more on the bottom...

Oh!  It finally snowed down here and with that came out the little snow suit we got for Brayden. We built a snow man and Brayden loved the snow. He kept trying to eat it and he looked so cute in his little suit! :)

cold on those new teeth... 

my little Tigger :)

PS. Special love to my momma for being so willing to help me out when I needed her. I am just sorry it cost her a wrist... :( You're the best mom in the world!! Love you! Feel better!

October update

Yep, another month has come and gone and I have one post to claim... I thought I'd update  ya'll and give you another little peek into our humble lives.

Life is busy but we are enjoying our time with our little guy and together.  We tried our hand at canning... Grandma and Grandpa Grass had us over to teach us the ropes and let us use their canner. 11 bottles... pretty tasty. Not too shabby for our first time! :)


We are loving our family history calling in our ward and are learning all sorts of things about the resources available to us. We are teaching a 6 week course during Sunday school where we have a few couples in the ward come into the family history center and we all work on family histories. I've found that an easy way to get into it all is just to go look through the FamilySearch site. But I took a look at the site for the youth that Elder Bednar talked about in General Conference. It is a great resource! Its not as overwhelming as I thought! We are also preparing to take a field trip to the family history library in Salt Lake with some ward members to participate in their youth scavenger hunt. It sounds like a lot of educational fun! I'm just a little bit excited! :)

October has been busy for us. I spent much of the month preparing for our Halloween Bash and our first annual Witch's tea party. I enjoy planning parties, so it has been a lot of fun. This is the big party of the year for me as we have not been established long enough to get into the other holidays. ;) I have also spent some time working on some Halloween decorations to set the mood around the living room. (for more detail, I wrote a post here, here, and here.) The rest of the time I get to play with Brayden who is growing so quickly I can hardly believe it!

Brayden turned 8 months yesterday. He knows how to crawl (though his stomach is is preferred transportation) and he is determined to stand on anything that is sturdy (and sometimes not) to hold his weight. He wants to walk really bad, but is still too wobbly to make it very far. He is a happy little boy and even teething hasn't been too terrible. ( I know, I am so blessed!) He has a third tooth next to his other bottom two that came in last week. He likes real food too. He will usually give me a little face for the first bite of a new food but then he seems to like whatever I choose to give him. Other than that, he'll eat anything he finds... including Max's cat food... twice... but to his defence they do look like his snacks...  He's adventurous and excited to find something he's not supposed to have.

Bryce is working hard studying for his final interview with the executives at his job. He comes home everyday and tells me something new he is learning about the health care industry. There is a LOT to know about the health care industry! He is scheduled to do his interview on the 17th of November. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers! He's going to need some divine assistance, but I know he is capable of passing this thing! Go get 'em sweetheart! :)

Someday I'll figure out how to post a few little videos of Brayden. But for now you just get some more pictures. ;) Thanks for reading! Love you all!

Abby makes a great babysitter. If only she lived closer... so cute! 

Thanks to John and Dana for the awesome saucer. He loves it! 

Yep, cute. :)

This was our first trip out to see the pretty leaves.

XOXO