All I have to say is that it's a great time to be an Aggie!!!
Here's to the "Big Dance" and a spectacular 30-4 season, complete with WAC Coach of the Year, WAC Player of the Year, WAC Regular Season Champions, and WAC Tournament Champions honors.
And Jeff threatened to not get tickets this year. Good thing he listened to his wife!
We flew out to Colorado yesterday (and yes, flew home today) to celebrate my grandma great's 100th birthday! Can you believe it? 100 years and still going strong. We debated for several weeks about whether we would go or not but once I got a letter from my grandma great that she had written for all her posterity, I knew we had to go. So the only choice was 1 1/2 hours confined in a plane or 10+ hours confined in a car. Hard choice, I know. I really don't get how my friends and family travel so long with little kids. How on earth do you keep them entertained without going bonkers singing "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam" and reading Elmo books over and over again? I'm a whimp, I admit it!
Thank goodness for a laptop and Shrek!
Pearl didn't really get the whole idea about going in the airplane at first. She does love to see airplanes but going to bed late the night before and then getting woke up 2 hours earlier than normal didn't exactly help her enthusiasm. She did enjoy running up and down the airport as fast as she could though and found the escalators and baggage claims fascinating. She was about as good as we could have hoped for, being so tired, and even made a couple of new friends who sat in front of us. I was really worried at first, two dudes sitting in front of us - I didn't expect them to be so excited to have a kid behind them. With some snacks, books, and a movie (again we're whimps and will pull out the Disney/Pixar movies to keep Pearl quiet if need be), we made it to Denver. We rented a car, much to Jeff's disappointment they didn't have the G6 he signed up for online, and headed to Sterling.
Pearl fell asleep almost as soon as we strapped her in the carseat. It was a long day of flying for her!
Pearl was thrilled to finally see grandpa, grandma, and Uncle Kurtis when we arrived at the party! She spent the whole weekend following Kurt around and begging him for his attention. I think he got a bit sick of her, after all she did eat all his Goldfish crackers and was constantly saying "Kurt!" Sadly, I didn't know any of my dad's family, with the exception of his uncle and aunt (and of course my grandma great). 
I can't believe my little brother isn't so little anymore! I remember him as a 5 year old (I still think he likes Pokeman) who used to come with me to Sociology and Institute, not a teenager with floppy hair. I almost didn't recognize him when we I saw him!
He He! We saw this tiny cattle statues near the hotel and made Kurtis get out of the car and ride one for a picture! He's 14 and finds family boring but this got a good giggle out of him.
We really should get a professional family picture taken.
They had all this family history displayed and pictures of not just my grandma great but my grandpa when he was a baby. Stuff I'd never seen before, and probably stuff my own grandpa hadn't seen before. I left thinking I really need to learn my family history and get copies of this stuff - not to mention try to write my own family history with my relatives still living! It was so fun to read about my grandma's life and hear about the things she has seen in her life. Amazing, simply amazing to think of the progress made, the number of U.S. Presidents she's seen in office, the technology changes (yes, she has email and loves it), and the struggles she has gone through in her lifetime. I wish I knew her better...she is a beautiful and amazing woman. And man is she sharp!Seriously, my grandma great is more with it than I am! She remembered things I had completely forgotten about and every single person at her party (and there were a lot of people there) was greeted with a story and memory she had about them. Mine is always the same, that I'm not her Jenny. She has a granddaughter named Jenny (ironically her brother is a Jeff) and since my real name is Jenette, I'm not Jenny but Jenette. She's always told me that as long as I can remember. 
I just love this picture! Too bad there's a screaming 21 month old in it. My grandma great is reminding me that I'm not her Jenny and I can't help but laugh and say "I know Grandma" (and yes, I'm sporting a side ponytail with a flower...geez am I like 5?).
She was also so excited to talk to me about the time we had dinner in Nauvoo. My grandparents were serving a mission there and my girlfriends and I decided to take a road trip to see them. It's a long story but my grandparents hadn't been active in the church for close to 50 years and my grandpa wasn't exactly missionary worthy at the time. Well, my Grandma Peacock (my grandma's mom) had just passed away and when my grandparents were visiting her before she died, my grandpa was telling her he wished he would have been better and she said it wasn't too late. A few weeks after she died, they got a phone call from their stake president asking them to consider serving a mission to Nauvoo during the temple reconstruction. After stubbornly praying about it, my grandpa decided to go and off they went! Well, my trip to see them just happened to coincide with my grandma great's trip to Nauvoo. We had dinner with my grandparents and grandma great and it was wonderful! I couldn't believe that I had forgotten about it until my grandma great starting talking about how fun it was seeing me there. She was so proud of her son for going on a mission and just glowed with pride!Another favorite memory I have is the first time she met Jeff. It was a couple months before we got married and she was in Salt Lake visiting. She sat Jeff down for a little "approval" interview and made him show her his temple recommend as proof he was a good boy. Luckily she approved and was quick to ask him if he had a job on Sunday - apparently that's a follow-up question to his initial approval into the family. Oh and how she loved Pearl...too bad Pearl didn't find her nearly as intriguing. She was too busy trying to escape my death grip on her arms to really say hi to her great-great grandma, let alone look happy for pictures! 
At least I got my five generation shot, even if Pearl was screaming and grandma great was too busy chatting with friends to pose.
L-R: Grandpa, my Dad, Pearl, me, and Grandma Great
L-R: My dad, mom, Kurtis, Jeff, Pearl, me, Grandma Great, and Grandpa
I am so grateful I have been able to personally know and remember three of my great grandmas. Their lives are such an example of endurance, cheerfulness, and a never-faltering faith in our Savior. I wish I had taken more time to write letters to them, call them, and learn from them. My grandma great said that family is the most important thing in this life and after this weekend's quick trip, I have a renewed desire to do my family history, love and serve my family, and be a better example to them. Here's to another 100 years!
I've been good and avoided the urge to blog the past few days as I try to finally wrap up my internship. But tonight I couldn't take it any longer...the blog and 365 projects had to be updated.
Our latest adventures are beginning the dive, or is it plummet, into the "terrible two's." Geez, Pearl has really pushed our buttons the last couple of days. I'm sure I don't help the situation, but honestly is getting dressed, combing your hair, having your diaper changed, not pooping in the bath tub, going to bed, giving up your bottle (after 14 months of her refusing to take a bottle it was a welcome relief but next go around, no bottles period!), not playing your new guitar while your mom attempts to get you out the door and to work on time, holding up your artwork for your mom to take a picture of, not screaming in church, keeping your shoes and socks on, sharing your toys (and then picking them up), and reading stories really that terrible? Apparently if you are a strong-willed, loves to say "no", and mostly sweet little girl who's quickly figuring out her mom is a whimp when it comes to raising a kid. So, in an attempt to quell the potential diva tantrums and angry mom screaming I've come up with the following solutions:
1. Playing your new guitar (courtesy of Pearl's adoptive godparents next door) NAKED!
2. Playing in your long, lost sandbox which has just recently been found due to the snow melting.
3. Getting two new pairs of shoes.
4. Eating dinner while watching "Word World" (I know, I'm the worst mom ever for letting my kid eat dinner in front of the TV...but it was Jeff's idea!).
5. None of the above...after all this adorable kid has us wrapped around her little fingers.
More experienced parents are free to vote on your favorite solution, or better yet, propose some that might actually help me to raise a loving, responsible, hard working, and honest child!
Jeff is always complaining about how much *!@% Pearl has around the house and now look!
Yes, two pairs of shoes are on their way - pink croc sandals and patent red leathers. The task now is to hide them when they do get here or else Pearl will want to wear them and well, it's still a bit too cold for sandals and both are a size too big. Jeff says he does things for this kid (aka Pearl) that he normally wouldn't do...like buying crocs which he fondly refers to as dumb $** shoes. And don't be too alarmed, Jeff really doesn't have as big of a potty mouth as this post implies, well anymore.
On another note, I actually participated in a Relief Society event tonight... a mini-class on keeping a journal. Score one point towards exaltation for me 'cause my blog now counts as a journal and record of my life! Yeah, maybe I'll make it after all. Oh and all the old ladies were super impressed I was so skilled at this blogging technology stuff, not to mention my 365 Project - yeah right! Seriously though, there's been plenty of times throughout my life when I've thought about recording my experiences and thoughts and until I started blogging, never did. I never wrote anything down about Jeff and I's courtship, my wedding day, or even when Pearl was born. I never recorded spiritual experiences, my travel adventures, or struggles I had in high school and college. You always seem to think that you'll never forget something that happens in your life but somehow as the years roll by you do start forgetting the feelings you had that made you want to be better, give more, and keep on trying. I wonder what my posterity will want to know about me, what they could have learned from my own experiences. I know I wonder about who my parents and grandparents really are and wish they would have kept records and written down stories from their lives. I did get a good reminder that I need to share my records and pictures with others, not just for the sake of them learning something but in case something disastrous were to happen to the original records. So I've made a goal that by April I will have bought some CDs and burned all our pictures on them in the awful event that our computer were to crash. I think that's a good start and a realistic one at that. Then in like 20 years when I've actually done this, I can move on to finishing those scrapbooks hiding in the back of my closet, doing my family history, recording my parents' histories, and recording memories of my life before blogs.
The past couple of days I've kept thinking of how blessed I am. My brother lost his job at USU on Friday and I can't help but wonder what I can do to help. He's got a little girl about 7 months older than Pearl and both him and his wife are trying to finish up school. I worry about my dad's job at USU and my in-laws financial situation (my grandma told me that you marry rich or stupid and well...neither one of us married into $$$). Stupid economy, stupid greed in our country that created this whole mess. It makes me sick to my stomach if I dwell on all the negative you hear on the news everyday. I tend to worry, a lot, about everything, especially about what would happen to me or my family members if they lost their jobs and now it's happened. I complain way too much about everything but having this happen to my little bro has really stopped me in my tracks and helped me realize how truly blessed I am. Jeff and I both finished school without too much debt and in a few months I'll get my masters degree. We found good jobs and as of now, aren't too worried about losing them anytime soon. We have a beautiful house that keeps us warm and safe - cracks, air leaks, and all. We work with really wonderful people who care about what they do and have made lifelong friends there. I get to work part-time with fabulous benefits and better pay than I had in my previous job. I can go to school, play with Pearl more, and still pay our bills (ok so Jeff pays most of the bills but hey he makes more than me). We don't go without anything necessary in life. Sure we have our list of things we want to have but have learned to be careful with our money and try to save for a rainy day, as small as our savings account seems to be nowadays. We always seem to find that extra money for the many car repairs, new set of tires, broken furnace, and clothes for our growing pip-squeak. I take for granted so many things...my freedom, a computer, the ability to get an education, warm slippers, food in the cupboards, a stroller to go on walks with Pearl, and much more. But the best part of this whole economic mess we're in? I have a bigger desire to help my family than ever before. I'm not sure what they need or how we'll get through this but somehow we will.
All I have to say is that it's a great time to be an Aggie!!!
We flew out to Colorado yesterday (and yes, flew home today) to celebrate my grandma great's 100th birthday! Can you believe it? 100 years and still going strong. We debated for several weeks about whether we would go or not but once I got a letter from my grandma great that she had written for all her posterity, I knew we had to go. So the only choice was 1 1/2 hours confined in a plane or 10+ hours confined in a car. Hard choice, I know. I really don't get how my friends and family travel so long with little kids. How on earth do you keep them entertained without going bonkers singing "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam" and reading Elmo books over and over again? I'm a whimp, I admit it!
Thank goodness for a laptop and Shrek!
Pearl fell asleep almost as soon as we strapped her in the carseat. It was a long day of flying for her!
I can't believe my little brother isn't so little anymore! I remember him as a 5 year old (I still think he likes Pokeman) who used to come with me to Sociology and Institute, not a teenager with floppy hair. I almost didn't recognize him when we I saw him!
He He! We saw this tiny cattle statues near the hotel and made Kurtis get out of the car and ride one for a picture! He's 14 and finds family boring but this got a good giggle out of him.
We really should get a professional family picture taken.
I just love this picture! Too bad there's a screaming 21 month old in it. My grandma great is reminding me that I'm not her Jenny and I can't help but laugh and say "I know Grandma" (and yes, I'm sporting a side ponytail with a flower...geez am I like 5?).
At least I got my five generation shot, even if Pearl was screaming and grandma great was too busy chatting with friends to pose.
L-R: Grandpa, my Dad, Pearl, me, and Grandma Great
L-R: My dad, mom, Kurtis, Jeff, Pearl, me, Grandma Great, and Grandpa
Yes, two pairs of shoes are on their way - pink croc sandals and patent red leathers. The task now is to hide them when they do get here or else Pearl will want to wear them and well, it's still a bit too cold for sandals and both are a size too big. Jeff says he does things for this kid (aka Pearl) that he normally wouldn't do...like buying crocs which he fondly refers to as dumb $** shoes. And don't be too alarmed, Jeff really doesn't have as big of a potty mouth as this post implies, well anymore.