2 Years Ago....

We were doing this.
It's been wonderful. Really. I'm SO thankful to have married such a great man. I'm not sure how I got so lucky!
Here's a recap on what's happened during these 2 short years.

We have one adorable boy and one on the way. We don't know it's a boy, but we find out in 2 weeks!
We've lived in 2 states, 4 counties.
We've received 2 bachelor degrees.
We've lived 1 year as normal people (having a real job and not going to school)

Jacob, I can't wait to grow old with you. The best is definitely yet to be.

Oh Steven..

The other day Jacob and I came into the kitchen to find..

Happy Birthday Steven!

My baby is one. It's amazing that a year has already gone by already. My baby is no longer a baby, and he reminds me that everyday. And I love the boy he's turning into! For his birthday we went to a nearby park with some family that live in the area for presents and cake. And without further ado: here are some cute pictures!

History of Soda Springs

Don't worry I really won't bore you, but there are things one must know before really appreciating these next photos. I grew up in Soda Springs Idaho. It lies pretty much in the middle of no where, but it's the prettiest middle of no where. I'm convinced. The city has the Oregon Trail going right through it, you can actually still see the ruts. So when those on the trail came along they noticed something. Throughout the city there are spots in the ground where water naturally springs and bubble from the earth. This water is not one you'd like to bottle and sell, well most people wouldn't like it. It tastes like carbonated water. Thus the town was called, Soda Springs, for the many springs that taste like a soda or pop, however you say it. Well it's a sort of tradition, if you come to Soda Springs, you've got to taste the water to truly have visited.

At the beginning of August we made a trip to Soda for a Balls Family Reunion which was held as Hooper Park, which is right next to one of the said springs. I of course did not get any pictures of the reunion, but let it be known, that I do love my Balls relatives. But Jacob and I thought it was a great time to let Steven try the Soda water. We didn't do it at Hooper Springs, because well, I have my reasons. We went to Octagon Springs, which is where Jacob proposed to me. It's true, I'm sentimental. Steven loved to see the water and dip his hands in it, but when it came to drinking it he had the same reaction as most.

That's why I married him.

Right before Jacob and I started dating, my MP3 player broke. I didn't know how to fix it and asked my roommates boyfriend if he could fix it for me. All males should be able to fix stuff right? Well he just told me to send it to the manufacturers or take it to Radio Shack. Well I obtained this MP3 player because it was lost at the KOA I worked at and was not reclaimed; so I claimed it for myself. I couldn't send it back anywhere and I didn't want to spend a lot of money to get it fixed.

Right before our second date I asked Jacob if he could fix it for me. He said he'd do what he could. On our second date he gave me a fixed MP3 player. I loved it! Needless to say on that date I really started falling in love with him. I loved that he could fix things around the house, just like my dad did when I was growing up.

Last night that skill came in handy. I was in the bathroom with Steven right before his bedtime, and he was getting into everything. So when it was time to leave I just wanted to shut the door and ignore anything he might have messed up. It was a little hard to shut the door because Steven had my blow dryer on top of the drawer and it wasn't going in. I managed to close the door then started to get Steven ready for bed. Meanwhile, Jacob tried to get into the bathroom and couldn't. The drawer had popped back out and wouldn't let us open the door more than a sliver. I put Steven to bed and then 5 minutes later my wonderful husband had the door open. Don't ask how he did it. Something with the yard stick through the opening of the door lifting the blow dryer and dropping it, finally allowed the drawer to go back in and the door to open.

Thank you Jacob. I'm sorry you have to get me out of situations that we shouldn't have been in. But boy howdy am I blessed to have this guy around the house, he's my life saver! And that's why I married him. (well one of the many reasons)

Did you know that?....

Do you remember the Bill Nye Shows? I have a confession...I liked them, even in high school. There's a segment that always started, Did you know that?...then it tells us something cool that we didn't know about science. Then end, Now you know.

So did you know that?

Steven can climb the stairs, even our spiral staircase. Although I won't let him climb them by himself until he's probably 2 and big enough that I'm not scared of him falling through the slats on the railing.

I am now 13 weeks along and in my 2nd trimester and everything seems to be going well. We heard the heartbeat last week, which is always such a relief.

Steven can unlock the gate at the end of the stairs, the one that is suppose to keep him out away from the climbing the stairs. Luckily he doesn't understand what he's doing and leaves when the gate door sticks a little. Then when he comes back to play with it he locks it back up.

Jacob is so sweet and on his 3 day weekend cleaned and organized most of the apartment. While I just sat on the couch and talked to him. The only thing he wanted was the go to a couple of D.I.'s. Pretty good trade to me.

Steven has become quite the walker, with our help or the help of our furniture. We set him behind a little lion that helps him walk, and he takes off almost at a run. He's started to stand up on the couch and then walk over to us, rather than just crawling.

Even though I'm in the second trimester, it seems my morning sickness is getting worse. Although I am having a pretty good day today, maybe I just had a bad spell before it all got better.

Steven now hates the bath. He used to love splashing around and playing with his rubber duck. Now he just screams. I blame the fact that we don't let him stand up in the tub. And when he doesn't get his way, he screams. I'm not sure where this new attitude change came from, but I don't like it!

But of course he can also be his adorable self, here he is enjoying a good book.
Now you know.

Beginning of Love

Last night I had one of those dreams where you feel strong emotions; I usually don't like these because I'm either afraid or ashamed. But last night in my dream Jacob and I weren't married, but instead just starting to date. I felt so infatuated with him and I surely woke up in the best mood. Then I realised I'm a hopeless romantic. I love these kinds of scenes in movies and it's even better if it's happening to you. It's the feeling of really liking someone and hoping they like you that much as well. It's trying to spend as much time near them as you can without seeming too much like a stoker. And if you accidentally touch them, your whole body fills with joy.


I was remembering when Jacob and I were first getting to know each other at BYU-Idaho. I went to the library, hoping to see him. I usually worked on a computer on the first floor, but decided to go the third floor since that's where he'd be if he were at the library. I saw him in the distance talking to a friend. My heart skipped a beat. Do I talk to him first, or maybe I'll pretend that I don't see him and see if he says hi to me. Our eyes make contact and I'm instantly calm and comfortable. I stop and talked to him and his friend for a while, the whole time wondering if he's just coming or going. I said I better go and do my homework. I held my breath to find out what he'd do next. He's going up to the third floor too. Great, a couple of more minutes with him!

We make it to the top floor and open the door while my heart stops and my mind thought of a million questions. Are there any computers together? Will he sit next to me? Do I ask him to sit next to me? Would he want to sit next to me? Jacob spoke and once again my heart melts and yet is filled with electricity at the same time. "There's two over there." Yes! He wants to spend more time with me! The next 2 1/2 hours seemed like 30 minutes as we talk and both pretended to do homework. I felt so comfortable with him and loved how he treated me and was actually interested in what I think and feel. Then comes the best part of the night. Jacob looked at me and said, "Do you want to see me get nervous?" I instantly reply with a yes. "Will you have dinner with me sometime this weekend?" Of course I'd love to, and we made our plans then he had to leave to go to a bishop's interview. I was floating; I was on cloud nine. Honestly, how could I do my homework now? I couldn't. I flew home to tell anyone who would listen what just happened. Everything was perfect. He was perfect, I felt perfect, the whole wonderful night was perfect.

Sorry, I just love to relive this time in our lives. But really how adorable is he? It makes me love Jacob so much more, which is hard to imagine. Man, I'm just going to have a great rest of the day.
Thanks for listening; have a magical day!