a story

once upon a time, boy was working hard.

like really hard.

like so hard that he didn't have time to come home for lunch and his clothes were filthy dirty and shmelly by the time he got home at night.

(girl didn't love doing that laundry so much)

so girl decided to do something nice for  boy and make his most favorite dinner of all time. she spent the whole afternoon preparing and even made a pie.

(girl didn't even know that she could make a pie)

boy told her about the time he would make it home from work and girl carefully planned around the schedule and had everything to go right on time.

(that was a miracle in itself.)

 the chicken was bubbling in the oven,

the rolls were perfectly browned, piping hot, and just waiting to be slathered with butter.

the potatoes were mashed up and fluffy (also slathered in butter)

but boy was nowhere to be found.

so girl covered everything up and tried to keep it warm because she just knew boy would be home any minute.

two hours later, boy walked in the door.

girl was a little frustrated because she'd spent all the time preparing the meal so it would be ready right on time, and now the gravy had congealed.

and girl hates it when the gravy congeals.

so girl tried to mask her frustration because she knew that she really shouldn't be frustrated.

boy had been working hard.

she could tell.

he was certainly dirty, and his clothes had to be thrown straight in the washer because they were so shmelly.

but still.

the gravy had congealed!

but girl swallowed her frustration and just looked at boy.

boy looked at the kitchen spread with his favorite meal that was now cold.

then he looked at girl.

straight in the eye.

he got a serious look on his face and then he said.

"I'm sorry."

and then girl looked back at him.

straight in the eye.

got a serious look on her face and then said.

"It's okay."

because it really was okay.

and because girl really loves sincere apologies.

(and she kinda likes boy too.)

so girl made up two plates, stuck them in the microwave, and guess what?

they were good as new. (or as they had been two hours previous)

even the congealed gravy.

after dinner, girl dished up pie.

boy took one bite and his whole face lit up.

(he didn't know girl could make pie either!)

and they lived happily ever after.

christmas break part 3

On Christmas Day, Kolton came over for a little visit. he showed up at my grandparent's house and then we went back to my house to play some rock band. As he left that night, he pulled out a pretty little present just for me. I stared at him empty-handed. (am I a shmuck or what?) and a little bit in shock. (what in the world is happening here?)

The Sunday after Christmas I got invited over to the Hansen house. Kolton taught me how to play speed and then kicked my trash about nine times out of ten. Then he decided to show off a little bit of the work he had been doing that fall. He'd built some balconies in his shop and a big metal contraption for garbage. As I listened to him talk about doing all that work and everything else he'd been doing to stay busy- right then and there I realized that all the messing around I'd been doing with the boys in Provo was not worth my time.

I wasn't going to settle for anything less than a true-blue dyed in wool through and through farm boy, whether it was this particular one or not, I didn't know yet.

After that fun little jaunt, we went back to the house and got talked into watching Ice Age with Teagan. I fell asleep and woke up to Teagan playing footsie with me. We got a good laugh out of that one and then I got taken home.

A few days later we got together with Andra and Marshall and headed for Island Park. We went on a big snowmobile ride all day and then went back to my cabin where we ate dinner and played some games. Then we turned on a movie which I again fell asleep in. When I woke up, the movie was over and Andra and Marshall were gone.
I'd had my little nap and wasn't tired anymore so Kolton and I went upstairs and sat in one of the recliners by the window and just watched the snow fall. As we watched those big ol' flakes we started talking, and talking, and talking. About everything. I've always been a big talker, but Kolton surprised me once again by talking even more than I did. I especially remember him telling me about the car wreck he'd been in when he was younger. I remembered hearing about the wreck and being worried about him when it had happened.

When we finally realized we were getting a little bit sleepy we looked at the clock and it was four in the morning! We had to get up early the next morning to head home so I could get with my family and head back up to the cabin. Kolton slept on the couch downstairs and I slept upstairs in a bedroom-I promised my mom we would sleep on separate floors :)

Very few hours later, we packed up and headed back to Monteview. When I got back to the cabin that afternoon, I zonked out on one of the beds for the rest of the day.

On New Year's Eve, Kolton came back up to Island Park and took me to Marshall's cabin where we had a little party with some other couples. We went on a freezing snowmobile ride and then just played games and messed around. Kolton again kicked my trash at speed which was a little embarrassing, even more so because I was cheating the whole time.

After we rang in the New Year someone put in a movie. There weren't enough couches so Kolton and I made ourselves comfortable on the floor behind the couch.

Pretty soon Kolton leans over to me and says,

"So Jayc, you know of any good New Year's traditions?"

 I wondered if I knew what he was getting at, but didn't want to jump to conclusions (when in doubt, play dumb)

huh-uh...

"Wellll....I was wondering if you might give me a little New Year's kiss?"

to be continued...

flying by the seat of our pants

This week has been a crazy busy one.

It has also been the week of the day of my birth.

(The big 2-0. super exciting. Mostly because Kolton no longer has a teeny bopper wife)

I never really get excited about my birthdays because It's just never been a big deal, but this year I was SO excited!

I have no idea why.

However, we did do a lot of super cool stuff, so I guess I had reasons to be excited. (I apologize, however, for the lack of pictures that may have made this even remotely interesting. still working on being the photographer...)

On Tuesday I went to the temple with the Monteview Ward for baptisms for the dead. (I'm the secretary in the YW) and it was so great. Instead of being dunked a million times, I got to help the girls that were being dunked and stayed nice and dry. Kolton was doing the baptizing and I was handing towels to those coming out of the water and it was just kinda neat to be in there together.

From Tuesday to Wednesday we went with my family to Jackson Hole. We called our trip "flying by the seat of our pants" because we had absolutely no idea what we were going to do once we got there.

Seriously, we had no idea.

But it was kinda fun because when someone got a good idea we just went with it and did stuff we never had before.

The original (tentative, flying by the seat of our pants) plan was to stop in Jackson and then drive through Yellowstone Park and stay in West. Once we got to Jackson, however, the plan got changed up a bit. We all took a turn down the Alpine Slide. Kolton especially enjoyed this part. He got out his little stopwatch and timed himself as he went down (he's kind of a nerd) and I think he did it in about a minute and a half. None of the rest of us were really that concerned about how fast we could go down, so we didn't have any times to compare his to. Bummer.

Then, on a whim we decided to stop by the Bar J Chuckwagon for dinner and a show. Only my parents had been there before, so it was kinda fun-but probably a one-time thing. The only problem with flying by the seat of your pants is that when you don't really have a plan and finally do get a plan, you might not get the best deal...or seats.  We showed up a Bar J's about five minutes before it started and were on the very last corner table. Therefore, the last to get food (we got all the rejected food that nobody else wanted) and we had to really squint our eyes to see the show.

But overall it was pretty fun. Mostly because the show had a fiddler that blew my mind. I had never heard someone play the fiddle before and this guy probably ruined all hope of ever enjoying another fiddler because he was just so dang good! He was flying through his little romp and song and it was pretty neat.

After the show, we decided we might want to find a hotel room. Everywhere in town was full or super spendy (it was Jackson, after all) so we ended up at the dumpiest, most expensive Super 8 I've ever seen. That's another thing about flying by the seat of your pants-you call the number 411 repeatedly. I'm sure those operators were sick to death of us, especially when my sister asked "Do you have any, like, nice hotels?"

Maybe that's why they decided to send us to the Super 8....

But we lived to tell about it, so it honestly wasn't that bad.

The next morning we all got up and had a little planning meeting wondering what we should do that day. After seeing a bunch of white water rafting buses carting people around the day before, we decided that that sounded kinda fun and gave it a go.

We had an awesome time, even though I was scared to death, the water was freezing, and I got in trouble with the guide for grabbing onto Kolton while we went over the rapids instead of paddling like I was supposed to do. (whoops!)

After that, we decided we'd had enough partying to last us a while and headed on home. It was a great vacation and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Thanks Ma and Pa Newman! :)

On Thursday, Kolton headed into town to grab some parts and I wondered if maybe some birthday presents were included until he informed me that he had forgotten his wallet at home. (bummer) However, he did tell me that he'd bring home some dinner, so that doubly made up for it. He had a gift card to Applebee's and used it to bring home a few fiesta lime chickens and spinach and artichoke dip (our favorite!) I couldn't believe that guy!

On Friday my mom treated me and my sisters to a town day for my birthday. We went shopping, got pedicures, and ran a million errands. We left the house at nine that morning and got home at about eleven that night! it was a long day and I was exhausted, but we had a really nice time. None of us had been to the mall in forever so that was reallly fun, and pedicures are about the best things ever, so it was a good day.

On Sunday we had a busy busy day. Kolton woke me up at about six singing "Happy Birthday" with his arms full of presents. That's the way to wake up, man. He told me I could open one, but I just couldn't help myself and I talked him into just letting me open all of them. I can't handle the suspense. Then we ran off to Newdale to Kolton's sister's ward because they were blessing their baby, Calvin. We had a nice (and super yummy) dinner with his family before we headed back home. I made Kolton watch The Lake House with me while we enjoyed our relaxing Sunday before things got really crazy.

Soon enough, our little house was full of my family-including my grandparents and aunt and uncle and their family, and Kolton's family. We had ourselves a humdingin' barbeque! We were glad to get the chance to finally pay our families back for all that they've done for us this summer, especially all the meals they've fed us.

All in all, it was a pretty good birthday week, and a great way to end my teenage years :)