Always playing catch up

Since it has been over a year since I posted it's hard to catch up. But here are the most eventful things that happened in the last year:

1. My little sister Lacey was married! It was a fun day and even though she took a huge risk of having an outside reception in May, it turned out PERFECT! That girl has got some luck. We are also excited about having Brandon in the family, he's pretty cool. Again. That girl has got some luck.

2. Next we decided to get prego...and it worked! Nuff said.

3. My dad and mom, Dix, Rich, Sun, Me, and some other friends ran the RAGNAR Wasatch Back in June. I was eight weeks along and no one knew yet. I kind of liked having the secret.

4. Colby and I saddled up on the motorcycle and headed off to Glacier National Park. Halfway there, we met up with Doug. He was kind enough to let us crash on his floor and shower in the morning. He's awesome. Glacier was awesome and so PRETTY. You can see so much on a bike. All in all we covered 2000 miles in a weekend....saddle sore.

5. Dixie and I decided to run a marathon this year. I had never even thought that I could run one. We signed up for the Mesa Falls Marathon and Jenny the half. It was the prettiest run ever. You got to see the Tetons about 8 miles in and then you ran by the Mesa Falls and then you ran along a river path. There was so much scenery 23 miles went by so fast. The last 3....SUCKED! I was 17 weeks along and looked like a fat girl running.

6. In October My Dad and Mom, Dix, and I decided to run another RAGNAR. This time in Vegas. It was fun and we ran with tons of friends. It was pretty interesting running with 5 1/2 month belly. All the attention that bump brought got OLD. I was glad when the race finished for that reason.

7. Colby and I decided it was best to further Colby's education one step farther...phD. We will be staying at USU and Colby will continue to work for his professor. He will be working closely with the Idaho National Lab and we think there are some great possibilities that will come from that. I'd rather stay poor while I'm used to it :).

8. The last thing that happened this last year was CALEM. Our BIG little boy was born on January 27. We couldn't be more happy or excited that he is here ( may tell you something else at 3 am). He is now 3 months old and over 21 lbs.! He is Colby's mini me and it is so fun to watch those two.

This last year has been AWESOME!

It's Spring Break!

I can't believe spring break is already here. There is only six more weeks of school left for the semester. Yes!! We decided to stay home this year and let Colby work on his research. So, as all of our friends set off to their destinations, Colb and I stayed in the cold. Quite ironically, the first day dumped about 12" of snow on our almost snow ridden lawn. It was quite the storm and I really didn't mind it at all. In fact, the snow on Beaver is awesome right now. I hate snowboarding on icy snow. It hurts too bad, because I mostly just eat it all the time.

This week is the sixth week of training for the Ragnar Relay. It never gets easier. Someone asked me at what mile did I get the "runners high" and I was like runners high? What is that? That never comes.

Our team this year is Johnsons Rule and it consists of me, two sisters, two brothers, my parents, and some other friends. We'll see how we do and if we aren't all dead by the end, I will consider that a success.

Here is the overview map. We'll start at Merlin Olsen park here in Logan and end up in Park City. Even though it looks crazy, it's pretty fun. Hopefully I won't cry this year.

2008

What a great year for us! Looking back at the year, I am reminded of all the blessings that came our way this year. It was a growing year for me as well, I was able to endure some rough patches and forgive without keeping any hard feelings at all. That is an accomplishment that I am quite proud of.

Here is a little of what happened in the last year:

In January we started our last semester of college. I started my student teaching, which turned out to much more challenging than I had expected. I never got used to being called Mrs. Jensen. It just sounds too old. Colby had a relatively easy semester, compared to the last couple of years. It seemed as if our roles changed. I was the one always doing work for school, and Colby got to relax a little. I think we were both glad the semester came to an end.

In April, Colby found out that he was the valedictorian for the Mechanical Engineering Department as well as the College of Engineering. He would kill me if he knew I was telling anyone (he barely told his own mother). Because of this award, the plans for pursuing a concurrent BS/MS were down the tube. So we both officially graduated. Colby gave a great speech. I think if he were offered the award again, no question, he would turn it down. He hated giving that speech. So, we are now official college graduates.

Summer: Colby worked doing research for a professor, which will also be the research for his thesis project in the masters program. I took the summer off of school and work and loved every minute of it! We bought a motorbike over the summer and flew out to California to pick it up. What a trip! We rode back in two days. The first day was awesome. We drove through Lake Tahoe and saw some really pretty scenary. The second day pretty much sucked as we sped throught the Nevada desert. We took the bike out quite regularly the rest of the summer. I can't wait until it warms up enough to take some more trips.

Colby also had a brother get married this summer which was an exciting time for the family. They are great and we were glad to gain another sister-in-law.

August: Colby started the MS program in Mechanical Engineering and I decided that as long as Colby was in school, I would be too. I looked at my options and decided that a second bachelor's in business administration would be a good way to go. It helps that my work pays for school.

All in all, the summer was pretty cool, too bad I had to back to work.

The semester faired well, Colby of course excelled in classes, I actually did a lot better than I thought I would. The best part came at the end of the semester when we said goodbye (even if only for a short while) to Cache Valley and headed to Hawaii for Christmas. It was awesome and I have wanted to go back for a long time now. We spent a good two weeks there and had a tropical Christmas. My parents, by brother Russ, and two of my sisters D and L were there, along with our good friends D, J, and Dre.

We had an awesome time and had a lot of adventures, including the 20 hour blackout, octopus hunting,and wave catching. During our trip we also celebrated 3 years of being married!

So, 2008 was a very eventful and productive year. I can't wait to see what 2009 brings us.

Seven School Days Left!

That's right I'm counting down. One more down (almost) and 2 more to go! This week has been awesome.
I've been playing in a volleyball rec league and this week ended the tourney. We came in 2nd and I had so much fun. It had been so long since I had played any volleyball at all (2001), and I forgot how much I missed it. A basketball league starts after Christmas and I'm pumped for that too.
My Bunco bunch got together on Wednesday and I finally won! That never happens and I am excited to say I came home with the biggest prize.
I took two days off of work. I took them off to do homework, even though that didn't work out all that well, it was a really nice break.
My sister-in-law had her baby! It is a perfect little girl with long and thick brown hair. Seriously, it has to be almost two inches long. Kara was only in labor for a little while and they are both doing great. We went to see them that day at the hospital and I held the baby when it was only a couple of hours old. She is actually a cute little baby (and that is saying a lot :) ). I am blessed with a great family on both sides and I am grateful for another little niece.

The semester is winding down and that means we are both getting kind of short of patience. I can't wait for the semester to be done and at the same time I want more time because I'm so far behind. I shouldn't stress so much. I started this degree just wanting to learn more. I am not in love with the subject, I just thought I would benefit from learning about the business world. I am not looking for a career. I have tried to tell myself that B's are ok and I should just enjoy the learning. Something inside me just can't let myself relax. I guess it may be my competetive nature, especially when I have a genious for a husband.

I was happy to get last week over with. I take mostly online classes and I let myself get behind. I had to finish 7 quizes and take two tests last week. eeek. Also, the car broke down, and so did my computer. The car's in the shop and the nice computer repairman came to the house today and replaced the whole motherboard. Good thing for warranties.

It sounds like I am complaining, but I have a great life. Colby and I get to hang out all the time and we enjoy a lot of the same things.

Midterms

This is my attempt to blog. I feel like Colby and I are out of touch with so many people, so hopefully we can post a couple of things once in awhile so we can think we are trying. Midterms are coming up this week and next and I am realizing how much I have been slacking in my online classes. I feel like I am so far behind. Sometimes I wonder why I went back to school, and then I think of what a full time job would be like and that is real motivation! Colby seems to always handle everything. Of course, all A's for Colby so far, and I don't expect that to change.

Fall break is this weekend and we are headed to St. George for the weekend. Hopefully, we'll get some good weather in and enjoy the break. We always like to get away. Too bad it's getting too cold for the motorbike.

Colby and I got our pictures taken the other day, first ones since we've been married.