Celebration!

Joseph and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary this weekend and it was wonderful! We had a packed weekend of fun things to do. After a strenuous week of finals, we looked forward to the weekend so much! Here's what we did:

I surprised Joseph with tickets to the BYU Basketball game against Baylor. We thought that BYU would get destroyed by Baylor but alas, BYU stuck it through. Although we lost by 3 points, we were ahead most of the game and we gave the team a run for their money. Here are some pictures. This is BYU's cool entrance shin-dig. They made it really cool and very dramatic. Here's the team running in.
I wanted to take pictures to prove that BYU was ahead by a lot at various points of the game.

After the game, we went out to eat at Chili's. We don't go out to eat very much; in fact, I can count on one hand the number of times Joseph and I have gone out in the last year and a half. But we went to Chili's to celebrate and it was very tasty.

Then, Joseph and I went to Color-Me-Mine. It is a painting/pottery place in Provo that we've talked about going to but never got around to it yet. We painted a fish platter and get to pick it up after Christmas! Here's a picture.Now, we're off to Wisconsin tomorrow! I can't wait to spend time with them and my husband!

Drum Roll Please

Joseph is interning with... (keep reading to find out)

This past week has been quite exciting for Joseph and I. Joseph got an email over a week ago from Dow Chemical Company saying "Congratulations, you have passed the initial screen. We will be contacting you shortly to schedule an interview." Joseph thought for sure this was a computer glitch because DOW came to BYU in late September and did not interview Joseph. He emailed the recruiter back expressing his concern about the glitch. The next morning we woke up to an excellent email. Evidently, DOW decided a few weeks ago to expand their internship program and after reviewing the resumes from the various schools, chose to interview Joseph.

Monday morning, Joseph had his phone interview with DOW. Going into the interview, he thought he had a small chance at an internship. We knew DOW was his last opportunity for an internship and had already started planning to stay in Provo next summer. He finished the interview, felt it went well and said, "We'll see what happens." DOW told him they would let him know in a few weeks.

That afternoon, Joseph was taking a test and I waited for him after work. He came out of his test listening to a voicemail message: it was DOW. They offered him an internship the very same day! It was all very much a shock and we went out to eat to celebrate. We haven't gone out to eat in a long time! He starts in May sometime. We find out where he'll be working in March or so. But it most likely will be Texas. While it will be hot, they provide an air-conditioned apartment for us so it's okay. So Joseph will be interning with DOW Chemical! We couldn't be more happy! They are a great company and hopefully will give Joseph a great experience in the field.

Thanksgiving

During this holiday season, I am reminded of the many things to be grateful for. I am grateful for the Church to which I belong, my husband, my family, friends, the opportunity to attend BYU and gain an education, to not have any disease or disability, and to have a roof over my head, food on the table, and clothes on my back.

This Thanksgiving, we celebrated with Joseph's family in St. George. It was a lot of fun, especially since some relatives flew in from Texas to visit! We enjoyed the warmer weather and the yummy food. Here are some pictures.Our nephew and his parents flew in from Texas so we were able to visit with them again. Caleb is getting so big! He loved saying 'Cheese" for all the pictures.
This is the view from a peak in St. George. The mountains in the picture are Nevada mountains. Directly to the south of us, we could see mountains from Arizona too. It was really neat. My brother-in-law showed me the road that if you take it, you end up at the Grand Canyon.
Joseph and I enjoying the wonderful hike together in St. George. It was beautiful weather and a wonderful break from school. We just have three weeks left and then Christmas!

Beating the Odds

Growing up, statistics were always around indicating children of divorced parents were worse off than children with married parents. As I have grown up and realized that odds have been and will continue to be against me, I am happy to report that I am doing just fine despite what media dictates. Here are some statistics that I have proven wrong:

- Children in single-parent families are six times more likely than children in two-parent families to grow up in an environment of poverty
- They are two to three more times likely to have behavioral problems
- More likely to drop out of school
- Be expelled or suspended from school
- More likely to become pregnant as a teen
- More likely to use drugs and become lawmakers

I am lucky to be one of the people who didn't face these issues. Instead, I grew up with an amazing mom who gave her children everything she could. She didn't let media and numbers dictate our futures. I am grateful for my mom who worked so hard to give her children a great future. As I work with children of divorced parents, I struggle with how they have so much anger and trauma from the divorce. It hurts me so much because I know they can reverse the trend if they choose to. I know they can choose to not repeat history. I simply hope one day they will.

(Pictures from Thanksgiving are coming...)

Fall and Birthdays

I love fall. When I was younger, I always thought I'd get married in October. Not because it was my birthday month but because the colors are so pretty. Well, Joseph and I decided to get married during a blizzard instead but that doesn't erase my love for the fall season. Here is why I love fall:

1. The colors are simply amazing. I love living near the mountains and seeing the trees change colors into reds, oranges, and yellows.
2. I like making homemade pumpkin pie. Joseph likes to eat it. It works out well.
3. My birthday is in fall! And so is Joseph's.
4. The weather is perfect. I could handle having October weather all year long. I love wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans. It is my favorite "outfit." Winter comes and I feel I have to bundle up so much to stay warm but fall has beautiful weather.
5. General Conference is in the fall, so that is an added bonus.

Last month, Joseph and I celebrated our birthdays. We are slowly reaching the age of retirement. He got some new tools, a game, a new white shirt for Church, and some new ties. I received a popcorn maker, gardening books, a movie, nail polish, cookbooks, and some sewing stuff. It was great to celebrate our birthdays at Joseph's family's home. We made some cakes and enjoyed being with his family. We also went up to Logan to visit Chelsea and Jeff and we celebrated up there. We went to a corn maze and carved pumpkins.

All in all, this fall was a wonderful fall. I just wish it could have lasted longer. It snowed last Saturday and has been pretty cold lately. I will just have to wait until next fall to enjoy it again.

Creative Creations

I've wanted to try some new things these past few weeks and finally got around to talking about it. Last January, I found this sled on sale and bought it. It started out as just a wooden sled but then I painted it to look like this. I am surprised at how well it turned out.With the cold setting in a week ago, we picked all our tomatoes from our garden. When they ripened, we made homemade salsa. I made it yesterday and it tastes so good. I don't like salsa much but Joseph loves it and he loves this kind! It tastes great and I can't wait to grow tomatoes again so I can make it. I did learn an important lesson in making it: don't rub your eyes after your cut up a jalepeno pepper. It burns for a long time.

I wanted to make a fall centerpiece for our home so off to the Dollar Store I went. For three dollars, I made this lovely thing. It smells good too!

General Conference Highlights

Joseph and I visited Nephi yet again for Conference Weekend. It began Friday evening with a BYU victory over Utah State. I really didn't care which team won since I like both schools a lot. But I was happy to hear BYU won.

Saturday morning is my favorite session, mainly because President Monson normally announces temples. I build up so much anticipation for the announcement that Joseph and I even made our predictions. Joseph had the closest with guessing Cedar City, Utah when President Monson announced a second Provo Temple. I'm quite excited to hear that Africa will be blessed with two more temples in the future. I thought it was humorous that President Monson was running late. Click on this article to read more about it. I enjoyed listening to Elder Scott and his encouragement to memorize scripture passages. I worked on memorizing the Articles of Faith and that took so long because I'm not the best at memorization. But I will try my hardest in the future to memorize some scriptures. They really do become friends in times of need.

I also enjoyed the talk about the importance of looking up, not down, in life. If you ask Joseph or my mom, they both will tell you that I am pessimistic about the world. I don't see many things going well right now with the economy, education, war, etc. Some days, it is tough to trust in the Lord and trust in His timetable. The talk helped me place all things in perspective and try to "look up" more often in life. I have so many blessings that I have no reason to look down.

My favorite talk, if I can say I have a favorite, was Sister Elaine Dalton's talk about raising daughters. It was meant for fathers but I loved that she spoke about the crucial need for parents to raise righteous children. With the world going awry around me, I feel more and more burdened when it comes to raising a family in the Gospel. It will not be easy and I worry and fear for my children in the future. I enjoyed listening to Sister Dalton and the sweet truths she stated about raising daughters to be loving and kind. I'm grateful to have a husband who holds the priesthood and will bless our children in ways we can't comprehend yet. Here is her talk. (Scroll down until you find Elaine S. Dalton).

We hung out at Joe's parents house Saturday and they picked apples- 8 boxes of apples. So we brought home two bags of apples and I look forward to making apple pie and more applesauce! We also celebrated my birthday on Sunday by eating cake and playing a game. I got a new hot glue gun! I wanted one really badly as I start being more craftier in our home. All in all, it was a great and uplifting weekend!

General Conference Prep

I am busy trying to create an activity for my nursery kids on Sunday. I want to do something with General Conference but there's only so much you can do with kids 18 months to 3 years in age. While I was looking for some ideas online, I found this! I really like it!

Where will it be?

These past two weeks, Joseph has been extremely busy with school and finding an internship. He's met with ExxonMobil (his #1 choice) a number of times and has applied to many engineering companies. The Career Fair is this Thursday at BYU so he will meet all the recruiters then. Hopefully some interviews will come his way. He's even applied for an internship in Australia. Se here are my top picks for him and why:

I think it would be cool to work/intern here because I have a feeling we would get TONS of free stuff like shampoo, toothpaste and whatever else they make.

Joseph knows I love the pharmaceutical companies the most. I feel the job there would be so rewarding. But Joseph doesn't feel his strength is in biology. But alas, it is still my favorite. He might humor me and apply.

Joseph loves Dow and so do I, mainly because their headquarters are in Michigan, which is close to Wisconsin. They are a chemical processing company, whatever that means... But he likes them and they always have free stuff at the Career Fair so I like them too. Last year, they gave us a water bottle.

ExxonMobil is probably Joseph's favorite. It became my favorite this past week. If we interned here, we'd be in either Fairfax, VA or Houston, TX. The recruiters said Houston costs 40% less to live there than Provo, which is a relief. The recruiters also said they only paid $75 in medical bills when they had a child because the health insurance is the best. ExxonMobil is considered the #1 chemical engineering company in the U.S. so it would be an honor to intern there. Joseph had lunch with them last week and has breakfast with them today.

Joseph's dad worked at BP for many years in Alaska so Joseph contacted his dad's co-workers and applied. We would probably go up to Anchorage for the summer if we interned there. Joseph tells me that the summers in Alaska are amazing and I would love to go visit where he grew up. It would be far from anything I know but a great experience.

All in all, I am proud of Joseph and the work he is doing with this. He will get a great internship and we should know by mid-October what his options are. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Gardening

At the beginning of the summer, I decided to grow a vegetable garden. It was my first one and I had low expectations. I planted TONS of lettuce and pea plants. And I also planted about 10 tomato plants. Out of all of that, two pea plants sprouted and one lettuce. Only two tomato plants survived. That's it! But I was happy with what we got. We left for our trip and our tomato and lettuce plants were pretty small. But I guess late August is their time to shine. We came home to this:

5,000 Miles

Joseph and I just got back from the longest trip I've EVER been on. We drove nearly 5000 miles to Wisconsin, Kirtland, Washington D.C., Nauvoo and back to Utah. Our car survived (other than the CD player breaking in the first hour of the trip) and we survived all the heat and humidity. Here are some highlights of our trip.

The first part of the trip we drove to Wisconsin. My step-sister Rindy got married and we went to that. We also were able to see my sister for a day before she left for school in Louisiana again. Mom took us up north to go to Jim Peck's and Boulder Junction. We also went swimming at the cottage. The sad part of our trip was that Tilly, our dog, had to be put down. She dislocated her hip badly and it wasn't repairable. Here are some pictures to highlight Wisconsin.

Joseph is feeding the bears at Jim Peck's. I love doing this all the time!


At Rindy and Max's Wedding. It was a beautiful day.
At Jim Peck's Zoo, you can feed goats who are just in the open. I saw this goat climb in the stroller and thought it was pretty cool.

After Wisconsin, we headed out to Washington D.C. for my friend's wedding. We stopped in Kirtland along the way. We visited the Kirtland Temple, which was cool to see. So much history exists in those walls. After my friend's wedding, we stayed in D.C. for a day to tour. Joseph had never been to D.C. and I love that city! We went all over and were quite busy! Here are some pictures.

At Historic Kirtland! We went to the temple after this.

At the National Zoo with gorillas. They started to play a lot when we were there so it was neat to see how human-like they truly are.Outside the Washington D.C. Temple

After D.C., we took off to go to Nauvoo. Joseph went there when he was a toddler and I have only went once a few years ago. We camped there and spent three days in Nauvoo. While we came too late for the pageant and other shows, it was not really busy. It was nice because we could do whatever we needed. Here are some highlights

Because we came during the slow season, we were able to go "behind the scenes" and see how they make the legendary Nauvoo bricks.

We loved the Nauvoo Temple and enjoyed going there together.

This is Joseph's ancestor who we found records of in the Seventies Hall in Nauvoo.

The trip was great but we look forward to sticking around Utah and only driving 10 miles a day instead of 700!

Hot Summer Days

Since our visit to Salt Lake City a few weeks ago, Joseph and I have been up to a whole bunch of nothing!

Joseph is continuing his classes this summer by taking Organic Chemistry, English, and Book of Mormon. He is doing amazing in all of them! Many times, he comes home and tells me a surprising fact about chemistry. I humor him and listen.

We're preparing for our HUGE trip in August. For preparation, we bought an air mattress. I blew it up and it appears nice. It even came with two inflatable pillows! Now, we don't need to bring pillows! Once I take my GRE exam the first week of August, I am packing for it. I can't wait!

Summer Sun

Joseph and I have been quite busy this summer! Here are some highlights.

We went to Living Planet Aquarium in Salt Lake City this weekend. They have a new Penguin exhibit. We were able to see them fed while we were there as well.

Joseph and I visited Manti Temple and the Manti Pageant. It's hard to believe this time last year, we were just starting to date! And now we've been married for over half a year!

One of our wedding gifts was a small grill. So one weekend, Joseph and I decided to grill out. We grilled hotdogs and corn on the cob! It was very delicious!

This is the duck pond near our home where Joseph and I had our first date! We like going back and feeding the ducks.

Joseph and I took a camping trip to Goblin Valley one weekend! We hiked Ding and Dang Canyon and stayed at the State Park near the canyon.

Sunny Weather

Joseph and I celebrated Easter in Texas with Joseph's family. It was a pleasant change in weather. We returned home and went from 95 degree weather to 30 degree weather.

Here are some pictures highlighting our trip:

Temples

If you don't know yet, President Monson announced three new temples Saturday morning in General Conference. I was working during the morning session but was able to listen to President Monson's remarks. I thought I could share why I love the temple so much and my testimony.

Here is why I love the temple:

1. They are simply beautiful- both the appearance and the work done there.

2. The peace that exists in the temple cannot be matched anywhere else in the world.

3. The ordinances done in the temple are saving ordinances. The feeling I receive when doing work for my ancestors is wonderful. To know that my ancestors are able to receive all the blessings of the Gospel amazes me.

4. The sealing power exists so strongly in the temple.

I know the temple is the House of the Lord. He is there and I feel His presence so strongly when visiting the temple. I know the ordinances done inside the temple are true and are crucial to our salvation and to others. I know that families can be together forever. By being sealed in the temple, I know I will be with my husband forever and with my children forever. The covenants made in the temple allow me to return to live with my Heavenly Father and I am grateful to have the possibility of seeing the Savior again. I love the temple and am grateful to be worthy to go inside. It is a privilege to attend the temple and to live in a dispensation where temples are dotting the earth.

Freezin' Logan

This weekend, I was reminded of two things.
1) I left Logan because it is always freezing there. I went to visit my friend, Chelsea and to hang out with her again. It snowed a lot and I had to scrape my car for the first time in about three months. Since we have a covered garage, we never had to worry about it.
2) I love my husband. He is simply amazing. I came home from being away for the weekend and the house was clean and everything! It was so nice!

Couches, Fishing, and NCAA Tournaments

Those three things may have nothing in common to you but to us, that is what we've been doing lately.

When we moved into our home, we received a free couch and two free chairs. Free is always great, especially for a newlywed couple. However, the downfall of free was that the couch and one chair were a pastel pink. It was okay for a while but this weekend, I had enough. Our plan was to always buy a slipcover but they are so expensive. This weekend, I bought a king and queen flat sheet to make into slip covers. We haven't stapled the sheets to the couch yet (that is another weekend project) but they look a lot better. If you can't tell by the picture, our couch is now tan with beautiful blue pillows that match other knick-knacks in our living room.


As many know, tis the season for NCAA tournament. I decided to make our wall the bracket for us. We have a few empty walls and what better way to fill them! We are doing the bracket starting with the Sweet Sixteen and down to the championship. Using tacks and yarn, our bracket proudly bears my favorite two names: Wisconsin and BYU! I hope they play each other in the Elite Eight.


With my calling to Nursery, I was in charge of singing time this week. I made cool fish and then a fishing pole. I put magnets on each fish and a magnet at the end of the fishing pole. The kids went fishing for songs! It went pretty well this morning and the kids liked it. Some of them know primary songs better than I do!

What We've Been Up To...

Since our drastic haircuts, we've done quite a bit.

Most recently, Chelsea and Jeff came to visit for their spring break. Chelsea is a dear friend from my freshman year at Utah State University. They came down to Springville to visit Joseph and I for a weekend. We fed ducks (a tradition between us), went to a comedy show, ate some delicious food and played some new games. Church was great because I finally had someone to sit by in Relief Society!

Aside from their visit, I received a calling in Church... IN THE NURSERY! We met with our bishop a few weeks ago and he asked both of us where we would want to serve. Joseph quickly said I would love primary/nursery. So lo and behold, I am in nursery. Next Sunday will be my first week and I am beyond excited. The first few weeks are tough because the youngsters don't know you quite yet but it will come.

Also, Joseph and I have been going on some fun dates lately. We finally found the duck pond where we had our first date (neither of us could remember where it was) so we visited there a few weeks back. We've also gone to a museum, hockey game, and the Sweet Tooth Fairy Check it out! It was delicious. We also visited the Draper temple and hope to go to other temples in Utah.

Looking ahead, we have about five weeks left of the semester. After finals, we're leaving for Texas for a few days to visit Joseph's brother, sister-in-law and nephew. It will be my first time to Texas! Summer looks like it will be busy but great! We're planning some fun trips already!

Hair Cutting Frenzy

This last weekend marked two significant moments in our lives: (1) I got a haircut and (2) I cut Joseph's hair!

Since the wedding is over and I don't need long hair anymore to have for a wedding, I chopped off about four inches of my hair! It was not as scary as when I cut off 10-12 inches for Locks of Love. I was slightly nervous! It turned out really well though and now I need to get up earlier so I can actually do my hair instead of put it in a ponytail. Oh well! The sacrifice I make to be pretty.

Saturday, I also cut Joseph's hair for the first time. I have trimmed it before around his ears and stuff but nothing like this. We were at his parent's house and they have a hair-cutting kit for we got it out. It turned out okay and his mom came in and finished it because it was uneven. It looks great though and I can't wait to do it again in a couple weeks! Hooray! It gives me hope that I will be able to cut my children's hair one day!

Here are pictures of both of our styling new haircuts!

My hair looks better when dry and all!

Welcome to marriage!

We're married now and it is amazing! We both love being married and knowing we have an eternity together!

A month has passed since our special day in Manti and life has gone on. We were able to enjoy Christmas in Wisconsin with my family and go snowmobiling. We also held a ring ceremony and reception in Wausau for my family and friends. It was wonderful to have the whole Ashton Family together.

Joseph and I are back at school, studying and working away. Joseph got an awesome job working with a software/database for BYU. He uses chemical properties to fix errors in the program (or at least that is what I understand it as...). I continue to work two part-time jobs as well as take classes. I have one more semester left and then I am DONE with classes! Our house is becoming more and more like a home to us. I love decorating everything as well!

Here are some of our FAVORITE wedding pictures so everyone can see!