MOVING

Today is the long-awaited day! We have been packed and ready since the beginning of the week (minus important stuff that we use everyday, but still). We are SO READY for this change and the adventures it will bring. We were hesitant at first, but the closer it's gotten the better we've felt and the more excited we've become. And. Because we are moving, there will be no blogging for a couple days. I'm sure I'm the one who is most upset about that, isn't that right my dear 10 readers? Ha. ;) There will be a post about how we have settled into our storage unit and my parents' house after we've been there for a couple days and I've had time to regain my energy which depletes faster than ever these days. Oh well. It's gonna be fun!

Have a great weekend!

my Husband

... has a birthday today and so gets this little post all about him :)
... never stops surprising or amazing me in every way - he is kind, thoughtful, supportive, helpful, caring, witty, and a number of other things that I could list here forever, but I think I'll just stop there
... has the greatest knack for helping people. it's gotta be something he learned from his family because he just goes and serves all the time. it's beautiful.
... is hilarious. He can make me laugh better than anyone.
... is the best cook. I kid you not. I'll make a dish and it will be good, then he will make it the next time and it's amazing - and done in half the time that it took me.
... loves to shop, which I only note because I don't.
... is everything that I've ever dreamed my Best Friend would be. Not perfect, but perfect for me.

Happy Birthday Dan the Man. I hope you've had a great one.

Around here lately...

I feel like I haven't posted in a while. Probably because I haven't posted anything in a while. The last week of school was insane and I pakced up the whole classroom in one week. Plus we've been trying to do lots of 'last time' things in Provo, so... Life has been crazy. Awesomely good crazy. But here are a few (I promise only a few) pictures of what we've been up to lately. :)

Dinner at a marvelous restraunt called the Banana Leaf // Buying a couch and getting it stuck in the door

Husband came to visit me the last week of school. It was great to have him there - especially when it came time to carry boxes out to the car. ;)

One of those 'last things'... we went and got ice cream from Macey's YUM! then headed to the beautiful gazebo where Daniel proposed to me to sit and chat and dance ;)

This week we're finishing up the packing of our house and heading to Vernal. My parents are coming out on Friday and we are hoping to not have to get a U-Haul which means it might get a little squishy. Good thing we have a truck, suburban, pathfinder, and our little car to fit everything into. Hopefully it's enough. We only have kitchen, bedroom, and bath stuff at our house now with a few random pieces of furniture. It's very empty and very sad and we are very ready to move. :)

So, in case I don't post again this week (which now that I've made that disclaimer, I'm sure to post a lot) - say a few prayers for Daniel's back since he's doing most of the heavy lifting. Ha.

Last Day

Today is the last day of school.

I will not most likely definitely cry.

I love these kids so much and I have loved this school year.

I hope that in some distant future I can somehow be re-aquainted with them and see what they are doing.

It's also my last day wearing this badge.

Which, despite the horrible picture, I was really sad to turn in.

It's ok though. I know that chocolate & a hubby to cuddle with await me at home. :)

Weekend News

This weekend was soooooo very long-feeling. At the same time, I was not ready for this morning. All weekend long I was fighting a headache. First it seemed to be just a normal headache, but then it turned into a migraine and then it was just an all-over-my-head-ache. What I'm saying is, that is probably the reason the weekend felt so long.

But it was also fun. Husband and I loaded up my daddy's truck with a bunch of stuff - including our couch in the back and adding a washer & drier to the load in Heber and went to Vernal. We got there very late on Saturday night after several stops to check the tarp or go to the bathroom or whatever. It was the longest that drive has felt in ages. But we were glad to finally get there. When we arrived we went to look at a duplex and a townhome. The duplex was awesome and the townhome not so much. So after some humbling and a heart-to-heart, we decided we are going to get the duplex.... which is literally across the street from my parent's house.

I'm so grateful for my parents. I know I've said that before, but their understanding of our initial difficulty in deciding to live in the duplex made me feel so good. My mom said, "I get that no kid says, "I want to grow up and live across the street from my parents!" and that's ok." I think it will be very beneficial in the long run. And let's face it. We loved that duplex from the moment we walked in. Let me tell you about it.

If you've been in our apartment, you know that it's huge. I think it was listed as 900 sq ft or so. And the duplex is bigger. It was a huge (for us now, not what I want eventually) kitchen, two ginormous bedrooms, a beautiful bathroom, and a garage - which Husband is extremely excited about knowing how Vernal winters go. Oh yeah. And a dishwasher, super nice carpet, lots of storage, and has been extremely well kept. Basically - after we move in in June we want you to come visit us! :)

That's the other thing, the lady who is selling the duplex isn't moving til the end of June so we're renting a storage unit and living with my parents for a month. I am excited. I'm not sure how my parents feel though - they will have all of their kids living under the same roof (plus their son-in-law) for the first time in three or four years. Hee hee.

Like I said, good weekend. Just long.

How was yours?

More Adventuring

Last night we had a blast mini-golfing with our friends Nadine & Spencer. Nadine and Daniel were in the same student ward at BYU, and Nadine and I graduated in the same program. Plus, they are in our ward, so we see each other a lot. They are super awesome. We are only bummed that we didn't hang out with them more. :)

Our dining area is once again full up with boxes and things that are ready to be moved. This weekend we are moving the couch that we bought for $10 at a yard sale and picking up a washer & drier in Heber that we are buying from a friend of mine. Woo-hoo! No - we don't really have any place to put these treasures yet (except a storage unit), but we are looking hard and praying. We know we are supposed to be in Vernal, now we just have to find where. But at least we are making progress.

Our weekend plans consist of packing up, driving to Vernal, looking at more places to live, unpacking our stuff into a storage unit, and then driving back to Provo. I'm looking forward to it simply because it will be a lot of one-on-one time with Daniel which I can never get enough of. True story. :)

I hope you have a great weekend!

keepin it random. ha.

I'm feeling a little slow today. A little lethargic. A little ponderous.

I kind of like it, even though I don't know where it will take me.

Today I am grateful for my Husband. for friends that can give me a little something of whatever it is that I need. for my job. for my apartment. for my memories. for chocolate. for wheat thins. for water bottles. for bathrooms. for extra clothes in case of an emergency. for God's tender mercies. for mommies & daddies. for my Husband.

What are you thinking about today?

A Day for My Mommy

I love my mom so very much and I wish that I could spend Mother's Day with her more often. Unfortunately, since that is not always possible, I just try to make sure that she knows how very much I love her.

My mom is the most talented, caring, smart, beautiful, and spiritual woman. I am so blessed that I was raised by her. I hope to grow up to be just like her. I am so proud of her and all the amazing things that she has done and continues to do everyday. She is such an incredible source of strength for me and has supported me through everything in my life.

I love you, mommy.
xoxoxo
Your Favorite Oldest Daughter :)

What I will miss about Provo

I will try to keep this short. ;)

When Daniel and I first talked about how we would most likely be moving in the summer (though we had no clue where at the time), I didn't really care. I was excited to leave Provo and leave Utah and do new things and have new adventures. I was excited for the challenges that would come and the awesome things we would do.

Then we started doing 'last' things.

Like, this is our last Family Home Evening with all these incredible people that we love.
And this is the last time we will go to this restaurant together while living in Provo.
And this is the last time that we will be able to walk down just two blocks from where we live and have a great view of the Provo City Center Temple as well as wonderful eating options.

Stuff like that.

And it made me really sad. I realized that I have a lot of friends here. Friends that I don't want to leave and never see again. There are still games we want to play with the couples that live around us. There are still activities we want to do with the friends that we've made. FHEs that we want to host with a bunch of people our age. Restaurants that we haven't been to yet. Drives we haven't reached the end of.

And it all got really hard. So. Specifically, as a reminder to me about all the things I've loved about our two years in Provo, here are the things I will miss the most.

- monthly FHE with the Ulmers, Lindstroms, Ashtons, Hanbys, and Larsens

- game nights & double dates with the same couples

- being able to walk to our favorite restaurants and then walk home without dying

- our quirky apartment

- how everything fits so perfectly in our quirky apartment

- having a food storage room

- living close to about 10 parks

- living close to (almost) 2 temples - and several only a few minutes drive away

- cool concerts at the Velour & the Covey Center

- the dollar movie theatre

- having free & speedy internet access at BYU

- living close to lots of family from both sides

- shopping options (even though I'm not a shopper)

- eating-out options (i.e. Los Hermanos, Macaroni Grill, and others)

- being close to friends like Morgan, Winona, Aimee, and Kendra

&

- teaching school at Orchard Hills Elementary (which technically has nothing to do with Provo, but still)

Yup. That's what I will miss. Even though I am excited for Vernal like I mentioned in this post. But I will miss Provo, too. At least we have our memories. :)

Selling my Wedding Dress

I've posted about this before, but now that we are moving in 2 weeks, I'm feeling the urgency.

I need to sell my wedding dress. It is white, a size 4 and has never been altered. It is in the same condition it was when it left the store. I am selling it for $200 OBO. If you or someone you know is interested, comment below or email me at nashellejackson@gmail.com .

Many thanks!!! :) And have a great weekend!

I needed a picker-uppper

So I thought I would post a beautiful video about Jesus Christ. Because He always makes me feel better.

Moving

VIA

I love moving. Well, not the actual moving part itself, but the packing and unpacking that goes with it.

I love the feeling of loading a bunch of stuff into a box that 'goes together'. Whether it is 'living room stuff' or 'books' or 'pictures and stuff', it gives me a feeling of accomplishment and also a realization of how much we have. Sometimes I catch myself wishing that we had this or that or more. But when packing up boxes, I get the chance to see that I have so much that I want and all that I really need. We are so blessed and I love rediscovering that.

I also love the feeling of finding boxes shoved into the back of closets and revisiting the contents. I found my box of things from high school, from Young Women's, from Snow College, and from my 'younger years'. The memories just come flying out of those boxes as soon as the lid is cracked. It's hard to put the lid back on because I love sitting there surrounded by powerful and unique memories.

For example, I found the paper-mache mask that was made of my face - my actual face - as a junior in Mrs. Forsgren's AP English class. I was SO excited that I ran out and found Daniel and said, "Look at my mask!" and told him all about it and why it was important. I'm not sure if he got it, but I was so pleased to find that I could remember why I painted it the way I did and to see the changes and improvements that I've made in my life. It was awesome.

I love moving because I love the memories that I've made in my life. And I love the promise of making more memories with the people that I love. All-in-all, it's a beautiful thing. :)

Teacher Appreciation

At our school, the moms in the classes go around and decorate the teacher's doors for Teacher Appreciation Week. It's really cool. Since this is a blurry picture, I should let you know that mine says, "Have you heard all the buzzz? Mrs. Jackson's kingdom is the place to bee." And each bee has a student's name on it. Cute stuff, huh? I love it.

So. Tell a teacher that you had a long time ago or recently, or maybe someone that you know is a teacher, thank you for all the things that they do. Being a teacher is tough work and everyone likes to be told thank you every now and then. :)

Yay for Teachers!!!

Weekend Stuff

I didn't take any pictures (again) because I haven't been feeling great. Apparently when I don't feel well, my desire to take pictures - and especially to be in them - decreases dramatically. Oh well. It was still a great weekend. Here are some of the highlights:

- having great car talk with Husband on the way to Vernal

- laughing a lot with my family

- having great bonding time talking with each of my siblings

- having more bonding time with my parents

- Husband seeing inside the Cold Stone store for the first time

- going house/apartment/whatever shopping (even though we didn't find anything)

- playing the piano

- watching movies

- sleeping in!!!

- playing at the park with my parents & all the siblings (except Taylor)

- driving home Sunday night and crashing immediately upon arriving back home

Yup. It was a grand old weekend. How was yours??

The first load

Well, we are heading to Vernal for the weekend. We have packed our car full to the brim of things that we aren't using in May and are taking them to my parents' house to be temporarily stored there. Woo. Basically, we have a lot of stuff. We have cleared out two bookcases, the closet in our back room, and all of the boxes in our storage room that had things in them, and we still have a long ways to go. Oh the joys of moving. :)

Have a great weekend!

This time of year

is probably one of my favorite times of year EVER. I love watching all the flowers bloom and the trees blossom. I love the green that pokes through and the blue skies that reappear with just the right amount of fluffy white clouds. I love Spring and all the promises that it brings.

All these pictures were taken last year on BYU campus. I need to get out with my camera more so that I can take more pictures and remind myself of the beautiful world that we live in.

What do YOU do to help you remember the beauty of the earth? Speaking of, For the Beauty of the Earth is a beautiful hymn and you can listen to a beautiful piano arrangement of it here.

Meatballs & Mosquitos, Batman!

Sorry. I just wanted 'm' words for May. Those were the first two I came up with. I'm not sure why.

Anyway, the short of it is: I can't believe it's May! April flew past hardly giving us time to blink. So much happened in the 30 days that dear April holds that I can still hardly believe it.

For example, I got a job offer and went to Logan. We watched General Conference. We did some ranting and raving, as well as some pondering and praying. Dan the Man graduated from college and we bought a couch.

April brought a few downs, but many more ups. Including some ups in the temperature. We heard that in Gilbert, Arizona where my cousins live, it is already in the triple digits some days. While I don't want it to be that hot, it would be nice to not have to wear layers any more.

Life is good and happy and grand. We are SO excited that May is here and for all the wonderful things it will bring.

What are you most looking forward to in May/June/July/the future? Tell me in the comments! :)