Thanksgiving

So, I'm almost a week late, but who could forget about Thanksgiving? We had a great, relaxing Thanksgiving. We spent it yet again, in Arizona. Yeah, it definitely was not quite as cold as here in Utah but definitely not as warm as I had anticipated. It was still enjoyable though. We spent lots of time with the Family and enjoyed much relaxation, cute pups and kitty's and shopping that didn't get very far. Oh and food...lots and lots of food.

We also got to once again attend the temple lights at the Mesa Temple. Every year for the past 3 years we have had the opportunity to attend the turning on of the lights and we enjoy it more and more each year. Here are a few pictures from the showing of the lights in the past 3 years, and this year we got to see Max Hall be the special one who flipped the switch!

2010

2009

2008

I just wanted to post some of the many things I am thankful for this year.

• That my Mom is still alive and enduring her (hopeful) last treatment of Chemo and healing.
• That my Dad has been re-baptized and become my prime example of who I would like to be more like.
• My Amazing husband and all the hard work he puts into our family.
• The Gospel and all the blessings it brings into my life.
• My warm, cozy apartment.
• My Arizonian family and all the support and love they show me.
• That my Dad is still alive and feeling more positive about a transplant.
• That I get to spend Christmas with my Dad.
• That I get to be in Georgia for two weeks.
• That I have a job.. (even though I dislike it...alot)
• My friends that have been there through thick and thin, and no matter what. *You know who you are*
• My brothers and sisters who always find a way to make me laugh.
• That we made it back home safely.

I could go on, but couldn't we all? Those are just some of the things I am currently and especially thankful for this year.

Halloween Update!

I know I'm a little late, but better late than never, right!? This years Halloween was very fun! We had a very eventful weekend and enjoyed ever minute of it! Firstly, weekends are just naturally the best because I don't have to deal with work, and that in general makes me a VERY happy person.

Friday before Halloween we attended a Halloween party hosted by Katie and Derek. And my oh, my was that a fun party! We attended an awesome haunted corn maze which was incredibly fun! I have not been to a haunted corn maze since I was a kid! I forgot how much fun those are! After that, we went back to their place to make carmel apples and watch a movie! It was definitely a great night and we enjoyed it thoroughly and made lots of new friends which is always so fun!:) Good job, Katie and Derek for hosting an oh so fun party!

The rest of the weekend we hung out some more and played games and watched more movies! I got absolutely zero school work done and I was 100% ok with being slammed with stuff the following week. Which, i definitely was slammed with! But having a fun, relaxed weekend made is so worth it!

Schooooool the following week was as I knew it would be, crazy busy! I had so many things due all at once and I absolutely hate that! But at least when I got it all doen I got the entire next weekend to enjoy myself which I so did!:) But now, I will be even more busy from now up until next thursday. Slammed with projects, projects, and well...more projects! The joy of being an ELED major! Then, next Friday we are taking a trip down to Arizona and I honestly can not wait! Yes, I will work 3 out of the 7 days we will be there, but I will just have to get over that one!

Events of October

My Birthday was the first even of October. A big thanks for my amazing husband who always always does a fantastic job of making sure I have the best birthday yet! Despite all the negative things that occurred during that time, I most definitely had a very memorable birthday and loved every minute of it. Dustin took me to the Cheesecake factory--by far, my favorite and threw me a surprise party and every person there was who I would have wanted to be there. (besides tiff of course, but that's ok-she was celebrating her annivers

ary!) I can't say I was really surprised about the party itself, I kind of saw it coming--but I was definite

ly surprised by everyone that was there to wish me a happy birthday! I thank everyone who came. I had a blast--and thank you Alisha for saving the day and helping Dustin out SO much:)

Because my long lost bestie was out celebrating her anniversary on my birthday her and her hubs made a special trip out the Monday after my Birthday. We went and grabbed some In-N-Out (my favv) And then decided to go on a... "halloween boat ride". It was fun getting to hang with Tiff and Mitch, and the boat ride, well...it was, cute. hahah. It was so good to see them though and I was grateful that they were able to make the trip down!

And well, other than all the craziness of school there hasn't been much of anything else going on. We were going to go to Freightmares at Lagoon this last Saturday but the aggrivating rain had to rain it out. However, we still went down to Salt Lake and hung out with Tiff and Mitch again--which was alot of fun as well. Gotta love football season! And this weekend we have an upcoming Halloween party! We are still trying to figure out our costumes so definitely MORE TO COME!:)

Back to the Books

Well, it's already that time of year again. September! ... Which means back to the books! So, far I think I will enjoy my classes this semester. Minus the whole mess up I did to myself with one of my elective classes. I was silly and dropped it before I added a different class which resulted in my losing my spot in both classes and being short 1 credit. I was going to take a different 1 credit class, but again decided I did not like the class enough to stick it out....So, instead of being full time hours this semester it looks like my full time hours will have to be next semester and I will be short 1 credit this semester. Such is life's little mistakes that result in bigger problems.

Other than that I do enjoy all of my other classes. I think it will be a good semester if I can stay on the ball while still working 30+ hours a week.

Other than school, life has been busy busy busy! If we are not at school we are working, and if we are not working we are either studying or hanging with friends. I feel like we have not stopped since we were in Arizona. Ohh, how I miss it alread

y! We enjoyed a great labor day weekend full of friends, hiking, and marathoning our new favorite show! One Tree Hill! ...yes, we probably already have enough shows to keep up with but somehow we go

t sucked into it, and yes there are almost 8 seasons so we have lots of marathoning to do before we catch up!

Labor day we hiked Battle Creek Trail with the married couplettes and enjoyed it thoroughly....as you can s

ee I am sure! Enjoyed a movie at the end of the night, and my,

my, it was definitely a successful last holiday of the Summer season!! Here a

re some lovely pics of the enjoyment we had!

Can't forget our stop at In-N-Out!! :)

What I have been up to-

Lots and lots of family events!

May: Went to Georgia for my Dad's baptism. It was a ver

y amazing day but unfortunately I was unable to capture any moments on Camera, so...just imagine. :)

June: very emotional and stressful month for the family. My Mom had her big critical surgery for her cancer. They removed 60% of her liver, and luckily the surge

ry was very successful. They got all of the cancer that was visible, and she healed much faster than any of us were expecting. Our whole family was in town to support her, and I don't think she would have healed so quickly had we all not been there. It was stresseful, and emotional, but we are all so grateful that it turned out for the better and she is now on her downward slope to remission!

July: Family back in town! Dustin's parents were in town the entire week before

my my sister's wedding, along with all of my family. It was great to see everyone. We had a really good time with Dustin's parents. We drove the Alpine loop, went to the 4th of July parade right down the road, and attended the Freedom Festival. It was our first time spending the 4th in Utah, so we definitely made the best of it! Then, we enjoyed Ashley's wedding on the 10th. It was a very beautiful wedding and we are so happy for her and Ryan!

unfortunately most of my pics are from July, not much before then. Here are some pics dustin's mom took of us and a few other random shots for the month--

Upcoming August plans--we are planning to go to Mesa for two we

eks come August first. We were lucky enough to be able to do this with

the ability to work at home...from anywhere that has a phone line and internet! SO, we are able to work, as if we were working from home...just in Mesa! And of course still enjoy the afternoons and evenings with the fam--and still get paid for it! So, it may not be vacation time much--but at least we get a break from Provo for a few weeks. We are definitely excited and look forward to this weekend! :)

Arizona Bound!!

It may not be an update, but it's a post!

1. When is your "engagement" anniversary: October 20th, 2007

2. When is your "marriage" anniversary: May 10th, 2008

3. How long have you known your spouse: About 4 and a half years.

4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged: lolll, we dated a month and were engaged for a good 6 and a half months!

5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time: We met when he was serving a Mission in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission. We met at church.

6. What is your spouse's full name: Dustin Franklin Brandon

7. Do you have any children yet: Not yet!

8. How many: Zero.

9. Do you have any house pets: Nope. :)

10. Do you own a house or rent: We're renting.

11. Do you live in the country or town/city: We live in a town.

12. What is one of your favorite activities together: Playing Tennis for sure!

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot: Either Florida, or San Diego! :)

14. How many siblings (including in-laws): 4 on my side, and 1 on his. So, 5!

15. What church do you attend: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

16. Is this the church you were married in: We were married in the Temple.

17. What town is your current address: Provo

18. Do you work or stay at home: I work from home.

19. Where did you honeymoon: We went on a Cruise to Cabo on our honeymoon.

20. Leave a piece of marriage advice: Always say "I love you", everyday.

Georgia on my mind.....

Good news!!

Yep, finally I actually have something exciting to write about. Drum Roll.........

I am finally going to Georgia!!! But, let's not get too excited about that because that's not the best part. The best part is that I am going to Georgia for my Dad's baptism!! This is going to be a very very special weekend! Not only do I get to attend my Dad's baptism, but I also get to attend my nephew's baptism who is finally turning 8! I was fortunate enough to have some reserved money that was enough to get me a trip out there to be there for my Dad on this very special day! I really can't wait and am so so proud of him! Unfortunately, I will be going husbandless. There just wasn't enough funds for the both of us to go, and felt it was too important of a day to turn down the special opportunity. I believe it will be worth every penny even though it will be for a short time! I know Dustin would like to be there just as much and is just as proud but understands the importance that I be there. Sadly, this is the first time I will have ever been away from my hubby so that whole part will be hard! I will definitely miss that boy, but at least I won't be gone for too long!

It's going to be so good to go back home. I am really excited to just be back in Georgia, even if it's only for 3 days. I have just missed everything about it so much lately. The trees, the humidity, the bugs, the HEAT, the lake especially, and well, let's be honest--my family! (And my few Georgia friends that I still have left that are back in Georgia). We weren't sure that we were going to be able to get enough time off this Summer to make it to Georgia and Arizona, so I guess I was blessed to get the chance to go even for a short time! [Even if it's without my hubby]. Anyways, I am SO excited and had to share my excitement with all of you!! There will be pictures and stories to come!!

And yes, this leaves Georgia on my mind.... Can't wait to be back!

work at home!

I just recently decided to start work at home. I am still working with Pinnacle Security, they just opened up the options for work at home and I took complete advantage of it!! Why drive to work when I can just wake up and work from home?? I thought it was a very good deal and totally went for it! This was my first day, and I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only do I not have to ever drive there again, but I save lots of money on gas! Dustin is actually going to be starting work from home, also which will be so nice to see him more than I did at the office. However, we will be in separate rooms but at least I still get to see him on my day off and his! Pretty good deal, not gonna lie.

I have a feeling this is giong to work out! For now :)

Happy 2 Year Anniversary to my Love!

Wow, I can't believe Dustin and I have been married for 2 years now! It is incredible how much time really does fly. I just wanted to take a moment and recognize Dustin, for the amazing person that he is and to let him know just how much I love and adore him.

Dear Dustin,

Thank you so much for being you. You have made these last 2 years the most amazing, unforgettable two years of my life. I can't wait for all of our amazing years to come and everything that is still in store for us. You, are the light of my life and I wouldn't trade you for the world. Don't ever forget just how much I love you. You really are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I cherish every day that I have with you.

Happy Two Year Anniversary, Babe. Can't wait for all the anniversaries yet to come! I LOVE YOU!

Love Always,

Jessi

Ear Infection

I can't remember the last time I ever had an ear infection, but I must say it is the most awkward, weird, abnormal feeling to the head and senses....ever. And I just felt the need to say something about it.

Goodnight.

[update]

I have come to the conclusion that when I decided to update this I am not going to continue saying I am going to update this more often. Let's face it, it's just not going to happen. When I update, I update. Could be as often as next week, or next year. You just never know!

Well, for the Brandon's, things are going great. We are so ready for school to end, but sadly for me, it wont be over until the end of June. I am taking Spring classes, soo still busy for me. But hey, such is life! Dustin is doing great. Just continuing on with school and back at work at Pinnacle with me. We will be moving AGAIN in the next few weeks and are very sad to leave this nice place, but OH SO HAPPY to know we wont be moving again for quite some time. (hopefully until we are dooone with Utah). So, that part is very exciting! And we will be much closer to school and work. That gas money was just adding up!

Well, we don't have too much planned for the Summer. We might be able to fit in 1 vacation, but can't decide if it will be to Georgia or Arizona...Time will have to decide that. OH, and $$$. So we shall see.

Things have been going great though, and here are a few pictures to show what we have been up to since...well, January....

New Year, New Start!

So, with the new year I thought a great resolution would be to start writing in my blog....not once every 6 month, and not once a year...but regularly. I plan to keep that resolution so we will see how well it goes...

I am not going to bother updating what has happened in the past several months, so I will just start from the new year. Life has been going great. Dustin and I just started school again for yet another semester. We are definitely hoping for the best. Classes are great so far. Hoping it will be a much lighter semester than the last. Last semester I was completely swamped, so I decided to go a little lighter this semester. That way I can actually work more than 10 hours a week. Yeah, that would definitely be a good thing. Dustin's last semester went really well, besides him catching the swine flu and being sick from October up until December. Somehow he still managed to pull off his whole semester with great grades minus one he had to drop. So far, so good.

The holidays were great. We spent Thanksgiving as well as Christmas and New years in Arizona with Dustin's family. It was definitely weird not seeing my family for any of those holidays but we sure did manage to have a great time. My mom is doing great with her Chemo, and my Dad is still truckin on with his illness. Somehow they both are still very strong and making it through each day. I am so grateful for them every day of my life. :)

Not too much else is going on in my life other than trying to get through school as fast as possible. Still have so far to go, but every semester I am just a little bit closer. Well that's all I really have to share for now, maybe I will remember to post when something exciting happens...that would be good.