Two and a half months....

-Until Cody is done with college and graduates. But he wont walk. -Until we will move... but we are not quite sure where to yet.

-Until I can quit my wonderful job.

-Until we can unpack in a new place.
-Start a new adventure.
-Start fresh.

Three and a half months until Georgia.

We went on a date today in Idaho Falls.
We went to a few different furniture stores. To kill time and to try compromising and finding things we both like.

I like dark furniture.

Cody likes light colored furniture.

He likes the big elegant head boards.

I like more simple and smaller.

We both like leather but the stiffness of them is an issue. And the softness of them as well.

Don't even get me started on the patterns of fabric Cody says he likes... It is frightening.

And chaneliers... every house needs at least one.

If we don't get a divorce before we build a house then we sure will while we are in the middle of it or after it is finished.

But other than all the disagreements and complete opposite views.
We still love each other.
We had an amazing day just dreaming of what we could have one day.

Driving and talking, arguing and laughing.
It was a great Saturday.

The new year brings a lot of new and exciting things.

A few things that will be happening this year that we either know for sure will happen or that i am really hoping will happen are:

-Cody graduates college with his bachelors degree (we know this for sure unless something changes in the next few months)
-travel to the south (my fingers are crossed very tightly that everything will work out)
-hopefully Cody will find a job he enjoys and we will move out of rexburg
-the plan is for me to get back into school (thats hopefully this year)
-put our picnic basket to good use this summer
-visit family as much as possible
-just enjoy each others company in the simplest of ways
-eat lots of delicious food and treats that will be homemade
-play. a lot.

Oh Fall!

This is absolutely my favorite time of the year for many, many reasons.

1. BEAUTIFUL colors!
2. Lots of family pictures!
3. Leaf fights.
4. Cold mornings filled with lots of snuggling.
5. Wanting to cook warm food finally.
6. Pies! (Which I still have yet to make)
7. Family time!
8. Harvest, mazes, and scary places!
9. CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!  I am already getting very excited. We have decided it is time to retire the little pink tree and get a real one this year!

Recently we have been up to:
-Jayme taking lots of pictures!!!
-Cody studying. A lot. And going to class.
-Enjoying wearing a lot of layers!
-Attempting to plan a trip down south in may. Possibly. Hopefully.

Year One

We celebrated our one year anniversary two weeks ago.

Cody is back in school and of course I am just working away.

Taking pictures, harvest, laughing, homework. That is our life these days.

I heard a quote today that I love.

"Being married is like having a colored television set. You never want to go back to black and white."  

Alaska

Eventually I will post a TON of pictures from my Alaska trip this weekend. But that means I actually have to upload them from my camera and start working on them.

Alaska was so wonderful!
It was so exciting to see EVERYONE, literally Everyone!
I was able to see a lot of old friends that I haven't seen since I moved out of the state.
Also my grandparents and my aunt. I haven't seen them in one full year! That is a long time seeing how we have lived in the same city my whole life.

Seeing Cody was wonderful! It was the first time we had been apart since we got married. I love that boy so dang much!

The pictures I am currently are Madeline's senior pictures, the Hutching's family pictures, my best friend Li-Sha's wedding, and also Baby Josh's senior pictures.

Josh. Is. A. Senior.
Baby Josh.
Little annoying brother who used to hit me and chase me around the house.
The little guy who used to have the cutest baby curls.
I still can't believe it.
It was so much fun to see him before he left for Georgia to go to Darlington for his senior year of high school.

Next time will be only pictures. Because I am not good with words.

A drive, a family, & a piano

I appologize in advance for the size of this posting. I just have a lot on my mind and some insight and tales I would love to share. And of course some fun pictures.

This past weekend Cody and I spent in Utah with my family. My older sister Jessica and her family were headed out to Des Moines, Iowa for Eric to go to medical school there. We were lucky enough to be able to see them for a few days before they headed out that direction for the next few years. 

We drove down to Utah the day before Jess got there and got to go on a little hike with Jen and her kids up to a waterfall. What a perfect way to start out your day!

As we were just walking along on this beautiful sunny day, we come across a cow. Right on the side of the path. Just eating and hanging out. Hello cow.

As we were coming back down the hill from the waterfall, the kids started waving to the cow and telling it goodbye. Only one reason why I love them.

We went to the parade in Spanish Fork on Saturday July 24th, thats pioneer day. We saw a lot of princesses and cheerleaders. But my favorite part was all the bagpipes!

That night we went and saw fireworks. We spread out a bunch of blankets and camp chairs and whipped out Jess & Erics IPad.

4 player pong is the coolest game ever.
Even though I lost every single round, it was still a blast!
The best part of the fireworks was the commentary.
A few minutes after the fireworks started Ethan starts saying, "I'm not scared of the big ones anymore!"
At the same time Wyatt was sitting on a different blanket saying, "Hi Firework. Hi Firework. Hi Firework." Every firework that went off got a hi or hello.

Sunday we got to go on a drive! My grandpa was brave enough to let Cody drive his TR3 Triumph (I think its a 1959?).

We drove up the Canyon right by there house, I am pretty sure its Provo Canyon.
We got a lot of smiles and thumbs up.
I felt like an actress in one of those old black and white movies!
Every new turn is a new adventure, life is only black and white, so simple and easy.

Love is only to the one you are with and no one else matters.
There isn't a worry in the world, you can only enjoy each other's company and hope there is one more turn after the next because you don't want that ride to ever end.

At the hospital I work at I see a lot of elderly people pass through our doors.
A lady the other day that was in her late 80's came and sat at my desk.
I had to ask for her husband's birthday and ended up asking how long they had been married for.
60 Years.
Cody and I are just a month shy of us celebrating one full year of being married together.
This year has been the most amazing year of my life with having him in it every single day.
I can only imagine what 60 years of that would be like!

But it also brought my attention to the plan of salvation and how greatful I am for the knowledge and testimony I have of it.

I could not imagine any day without Cody. Even considering being away from him for one weekend is killing me. But knowing that I will be with him and my whole family forever just makes life so much easier.

One of the things I love about Cody reminds me of my grandfather.
Cody will just randomly sit down at the keyboard and play.
My favorite things about going to grandma & grandpa's house is grandpa playing the piano.
He just creates such an atmosphere of love and peace that contention is so hard to come by.

It is always hard saying goodbye to family.
I cry everytime I have to drive away from them.
I don't know when the next time I will see them will be because of the distance between us all.
But I take comfort in knowing that no matter what the distance may be I will always have them forever.

I stole this quote from one of my best friends Li-Sha because she can always find the best quotes.

"If for a while the harder you try the harder it gets--take heart. So it has been with the best people that have ever lived." -Elder Holland

Things to look forward to:Not working for one week.
Flying to Alaska, home.
Photographing my best friends wedding.
Seeing Dad, puppy, & grandparents.
Well all family I can while there.
Real, Yummy food. Already have the list.
Thai Orchid.
Play time with best friends, way over due to!
Being able to take pictures of the temple from inside the house.

Things I am dreading:Flying if this cold doesn't go away.
Leaving Cody for almost a whole week.
Trying to pack everything into a carry on.

Cold, cold weather.

Midnight Cruising, Canoes, & A Wedding

This has definitely been a busy weekend.
But I am not complaining because I got to spend the entire time with my best friend.

Friday night we just relaxed at home and both fell asleep on the couches. Thank goodness Cody set his alarm for 11:30pm so he could go check on the water.
Good ol' Rexburg... They decided to turn off the water until 7pm on Friday night to "conserve energy." That just meant a late night for us because he had to get things watered, like his plots and the schools garden.
So here we went at 11:30 at night in our comfy clothes to go check some water and turn off others. We snagged the school's little John Deere Gator and headed out to the middle of the field.
Breath taking.
 Sitting in the middle of the field where it was pitch black we had a perfect view of all the stars.
It has been a long time since I have really had time to just enjoy night time outside.
The breeze just barely blowing, pushing the grain just slightly to one side.
The sounds of crickets chirping and the moon just shining bright.
Its simple moments like that that make me really grateful to be in Idaho.
Yes I just admited that I like Idaho. Scary!
But coming from Alaska, where it is light at all hours of the night, you never get to see stars.

Cody was asked to drive a van of students for the teacher he works for up on campus for a classes final.

And just take a wild guess at what the class had to do for their final?!

Go canoeing.
We spent all Saturday morning just slowly drifting down the snake river. I really wish I had brought my camera with me. It was amazing.
The water was so shallow most of the time that you could see the bottom of the river.
There was not a cloud in the sky, it was not over bearingly hot.
The trees were peaceful and green.
In the river you could see random peices of metal farm equipment from way back when the teton dam flooded still sitting at the bottom of the river.
It was the perfect way to start out a day.
Nothing smells better that just calm, fresh air.
The best destresser ever.

Not only did we have a good morning but a great afternoon.
Cody has pretty much sworn off coming with me to take pictures. But I was somehow able to convince him that I needed him.
And I could not have honestly done it without him.
He was right there when I needed him to hold this or that, or to run to the car to grab something I forgot.
He truely has the most patience I have ever seen.
The wedding went well.
I would have liked more time to shoot just the bride and groom, but then again I always say that.
Here is just a few of my favorite shots.
Still editing them though.

More pictures will be on my Photography blog.

jsearlephotography.blogspot.com

or on Facebook at Jayme Searle Photography

This past week a tragic death happened in my hometown and it has really made me stop and think. What in my life do I value the most.
And questions like, if something were to happen to me tomorrow, what would people say I value the most.

I have many responses that I would wish to hear but are they really what others around me are seeing?

Sometimes I feel like there is way too much that I could write about, like tonight, and other times I feel like I have nothing of any importance to say.

So I will leave you with a quote.

"Believe you can and you're halfway there."

-Theodore Roosevelt