Lights at Temple Square

John and I went down to Salt Lake to visit his family last week. I soon found out, supposedly, if you're from Salt Lake, you really don't go see the lights at Temple Square. Weird. I know. So, Seth and I made the Fraidenburg siblings go! (he he.) Out of love, they did go for our amusement. The lights were gorgeous. And I did find smiles from the Salt Lake residents. It's always worth going. Here were some of the pictures I took in the bitter cold...

Seth and Cassandra

Marie and Luke

'Tis the Season

Before...

...After

Grandma ArVella

(my parents and I with Grandma at Liberty, Id Cemetery)

My grandma, ArVella Watts Poulsen, passed away November 24, 2008, at 88 years old. I miss Grandma, especially right around the holidays, but it really was such a blessing that it was her time to go. I know she is in a better place and is happy with Grandpa. I am so greatful for eternal families and for the fact that I will see her again. Here are some of the things I will remember about Grandma...

• Her testimony in the gospel and her unfailing faith.
• She really was the best cook in the world.
• You never left her house hungry. Even if you were full before, you didn't leave Grandma's without letting her stuff you with something else.
• Her laugh and smile.
• Her beautiful flowers. She would have me bring hair to her from the salon so she could sprinkle it around her flowers. This way, the deer wouldn't eat them. She swore that it worked... :)
• She never ever never never ever complained! Never. Ever.
• Her stories.
• She always made you feel good. All problems went away when Grandma was around.
  
• She loved her family! All 100 of us. (Grandpa, 5 children, 26 grand children, 67 great grand children, and 1 great great grand child) And that's not counting our spouses. She considered them her own as well (visa-versa). And we ALL loved her.
  

Cookie Lee Party

My mom and I are having a Cookie Lee Party. And I am sorry for the late notice, but the party is Tonight, Dec. 16, from 6-8 pm (open house). Anyone who wants to come, are more than welcome to. The party is held at my mom's in Smithfield. If you don't know where that is, feel free to give me a call, or leave a comment, or e-mail me, whatever. Hope to see you there! Oh, this is a great Christmas gift idea!

JOHN

I thought that since we had our anniversary, it would be an appropriate time to do this "hubby tag" on John. I love him so much, and he does so much for me, that I honestly don't think I give him enough credit. So, this is my chance to blab all about him...

1. Where did you meet? He was referred to me by his roommate to get his hair cut. (not a set up at all) I cut his hair, we made small talk, I took his money and then he left. That was it. A week later, he called me to go on a date with him. I thought he was totally into me, that wasn't true at all. He just barely moved to Logan, and knew no one to go on this double date with him. So he remembered me... I said yes, but really didn't want to go. I didn't know if I should date clients or not. But we went on the date and hit it off.

2. How long did you date before you were married? 3 months before we were engaged, 5 months while we were engaged. So, 8 months.
3. How long have you been married? 2 years (Nov. 17, 2006)
4. What is one thing he does that surprises you? He checks the blog! That, and he does the dishes. I don't know why that surprises me, because he does the dishes a lot. But, every time... Surprise!

5. What is your favorite feature about him? There are so many, But I have to go with his eyes! mmm... And then his smile! And the two combined... wow!

6. What is your favorite quality about him? He always makes me laugh! He is so good at making people laugh. He is a rather funny man.
7. Does he have a nickname for you? "Teens" and/or "Babe"

8. What is his favorite color? I really don't know. So, let's go with clear.

9. What is his favorite food? He loves food. If he can eat, he's good. But his all time fave are his mom's chicken enchiladas.

10. What is his favorite sport? Water Polo

11. Who said "I love you" first? He did. In a gazebo in Draper. So romantic.

12. Where was your first kiss? ha ha... on his bed. That sounds so bad. Just to clear things up - we were in his room, he was on his bed, i was on a chair, I threw a pen at him, I went to get the pen back, he wouldn't give it back, so we ended up tickling each other for it, so in the midst of the confusion... he kissed me. And it was a dang good kiss!

13. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We enjoy cuddling up to a good flick.

14. Do you have any kids? Not yet

15. What is his hidden talent? Dang! That boy can sing.
16. How old is he? 24

17. What do I admire most about him? Just him, and everything about him. He really makes me feel good about myself, and won't settle for anything less.
18. What is his favorite past time? He is always trying new things. Anywhere from reading a book, to "froggin" with the neighbor. He is full of surprises.

19. What is his favorite kind of music? Anything. He will listen to anything!

20. Do you think he will read this? Yes

I Love You, John!

2 Whole Years

I can't believe we have been married for 2 years now! Time went by fast. To celebrate, we filled our day with random events. First, we went to the Body World 3 & The Story of the Heart Exhibit. For those of you who don't know, this is where donors have donated their bodies after they have passed away. They take these bodies, and through a process called "plastination", are able to be displayed for the public to understand how the body works. So, basically, we looked at dead bodies on our anniversary. But it is so cool! I recommend going. It is not disgusting at all.

After that, we were able to go see the Jazz play. And we had pretty good seats. Okay - way good seats. It was so much fun. The Jazz played the Suns, and they won. It was so exciting. The Jazz are doing such a great job, I think it's worth going to see them as well! Go Jazz!

Tepanyaki

(L-R: John, Josh and Heather Jones, Shalese and Cam Ammot, Nate Johnson, Kristen Child)

John and I were invited to go to Tepanyaki with my buds from High School. It was so much fun to see them all again. The food was delicious! It is a Japanese restaurant where they make the food in front of you. It was awesome entertainment. I recommend going. Oh! But the hostest was a ditz. We made reservations at 7:30. She gave our reservations to someone else. So we didn't get in until 8:15 ish. *tsk, tsk* We complained quite a bit. She may have been fired. Doubt it though! Go anyway. It's a fun place!

Trick-or-Treaters

The best part of Halloween are, of course, the Trick-or-Treaters. Would you believe that we didn't get any at all! I do. Only because we live in an apartment. And they had the trick-or-treaters go to a certain building to go trick-or-treating. BUT, we did get a wonderful suprise. Our friends, Rob and Sarah came to show us off their costumes this year. They dressed up as Hell Boy and Liz Sherman. I think they dressed the part very well! Happy Halloween!

Sarah and Rob
I mean - Liz and Hell Boy

Mystery Dinner

To start Halloween off, our ward threw a Halloween Party. The theme was Chicago 1920's. We also had a murder mystery dinner. 8 members in our ward were asked to act as suspects on who killed "Hal Capone". I happened to be one of the suspects. My character was "Silky Adams" (the nickname 'silky' came from the silk dresses I wore). I was an owner of a club. In the end, my character was the murderer after all. I killed the guy because one of his hit men killed my husband, so I wanted revenge. Bwah ha ha. It was so fun, and John was a wonderful supporter. (Even though he asked a lot of questions that proved that I was the main suspect.)

"Silky Adams"
The other suspects

Thank You for Your Concern

I have recently shared a tragic experience I had involving my hair and a piece of gum. I have had a few people come up to me in person to check on me. (*with smirky grins on their faces* Don't think I didn't notice) However, I have noticed that these folks were expecting my hair to much shorter than my known "above the bra strap" length. Don't fret, I didn't cut any length off at all. It was just several strands of hair that I had to cut. In fact, I couldn't tell you exactly where those strands are now. They blend in with the rest of my layers that I already had.

I appreciate all the concern from my fans out there. :) No worries. (This post does take quite a bit of my thunder from the previous post though)

Mama Always Said...

You know when you were a young buck and mama always said, "Don't play with your gum"? I never understood that. I never had problems with losing control of my chewing gum. I blow bubbles, twirl gum around my finger.... I find my gum out of my mouth quite a bit.

Tonight I decided at my ripe age of 22, I was going to learn a new trick with my gum. I've always wanted to be able to spit my gum up into the air and catch it again when it comes back down. So I began to practice. After the first try, I shockingly failed. But, I couldn't find my gum. And then....
...lesson learned. I had no other option but to cut it out. Please take this opportunity to forget what I do for a living, for the moment.

Tagged! (5 Things)

10 Years ago I was:
1. 12 years old, 7th grade
2. Babysitting the neighborhood kids
3. Quite athletic. I loved basketball, still do
4. Way into my hair (it wasn't that great)
5. Learning sewing and cooking skills (that I still don't have)

5 things on my "to do" list today:
1. Wake up (so hard, I love sleeping in)
2. Reserve place for enrichment night
3. Return pan to Grandma
4. Tell John I love him
5. Put up fall decorations

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Air-popped popcorn
2. Cookies
3. Otter-pops (Red)
4. Chocolate
5. Fruit

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire
1. Buy a house
2. Buy a car
3. Go on a couple of trips (not just one, a couple)
4. Go on a shopping spree
5. Roll in the cash and sing, "If I were a rich man"

5 places I have lived:
1. Smithfield
2. Logan
3. (yes that's all)
4.
5.

5 jobs I have had:
1. Sno Shack (sno cone maker/"runner", somewhat a manager)
2. Cynthia's Upholstery (removing fabric from furniture)
3. The Buckle (freight)
4. The Hair Company (cosmetologist)
5.

tag:
1. Mom
2. Marie
3. Jessica
4. Lindsey
5. Erin

Our Military Weekend

Military Ball. Can you believe that we actually get to go to a ball? It's not much of a fairytale ball, though (Bummer), but it is rather fun to doll up for the evening. This specific ball was located at UVU (use to be UVSC). We showed up, mixed and mingled, sat down, listen to a short program, got our food (very yummy food), ate it, and left. We found out we could leave after dinner, so that's what we did. As soon, as we got up, they began giving out awards. So we bolted for the door before we felt obligated to stay. So I don't know if there was dancing or not. Maybe next time we'll stay longer.... maybe.

Govenor's Day. Did you know there was such a thing. Well there is. And we got to go. It was held in the Rice Eccles Stadium. John had to be in formation by 9:00 AM. So I sat and waited for the "parade" to begin at 10:00 AM. The parade consited of different military units from Utah. They marched around the football field, saluted the govenor, and then filed on the football field. It was so amazing to see so many men and women in uniform. They filled the whole football field. (I know, I didn't get a picture. Next year.) There were some airplanes and helicopters fly over our heads. That was neat. I do have to say the rest of the program was rather boring. They just gave out awards to different soldiers, and the govenor gave a speech. This did take a good hour and a half. I was dying of heat. Half my face a sunburnt, and i have new tan lines. I could only imagine how John felt. They had more activities for the rest of the day, but they were mostly for little kids' entertainment. We'll stay longer another time. (That is John next to the 43 line)

My Army Man

Where's John?
Do you remember the game "Where's Waldo?" See if you can find John. He's in there I promise. (Hint: He is wearing a black beret and he is close enough you can see his face)

Oh My ... What Happened?

*WARNING: Wincing, goosebumps, gagging, or even possible vomit may occur from viewing photos below. However, they are a must see.*

I was on my way home from work, when my phone began to ring. It was my dear husband, John. The first words from John on the phone was, "Do we have hydrogen peroxide?"

I responded, "We have rubbing alcohol."

"No, it has to be hydrogen peroxide."

"Why?"

"I need it to remove the blood from my military cap."

"Why is there blood on your military cap?"

"I had an accident."

"I would start talking if I were you..."

John was being timed while during an obstacle course for ROTC. He was making great speed, when all of a sudden, he hit his head on a beam. (He didn't see it because his cap blocked his vision) He hit it hard enough that the military rank pin that was pinned on his cap, pierced his head. He felt the sudden pain, enough for a 4 letter word to slip out of his mouth. But, he continued to finish the obstacle course. He then removed his hat in time to notice the blood spewing from his brain. His military buddies also began to say 4 letter words when they looked at his head.

The Pin Marks
Blood In Hat (after it was cleaned a bit)
You can also see the marks and blood in his hairline

John is fine. In fact, he feels rather tough. He does say it hurts a bit. But, I do have to admit, when I found out John was okay, I began to laugh.. a lot. Though, he does look rather manly in his army uniform and the blood. Meow.

*Moral of the Story: Hydrogen Peroxide really does help remove blood stains!

Korea - by John

I'm pretty sure that everybody that would read this blog already knows that I'm in the military. If not, I'm in the military. One weekend a month, two weeks a year. This year my two weeks was in Korea. Most people that I've talked to seemed to think that it would be boot camp'ish. It wasn't very physically demanding. In fact, most of the time was spent in an office. I shadowed a lieutenant, Lt. Holly Thomas, and helped with the logistical aspect of their unit's field training exercise (FTX). So I did really important stuff like order ice and food for the company. Many of soldiers would have parrished without my hard work.

I did get off base when I could. I didn't take as many pictures as I probably could, but here's a few:

Here is Korea's palace of palaces... and the guards have cool glued on beards. I tried to take a self-portrait with the front one, but they jumped on me. Actually, they just told me "No, no."


Here is a really cool building behind the palace that is a museum, which seemed pretty cool, but it had "cool" stuff like...


...these fine automobiles... wow...


If you like shopping, this is the place to be. You can find the real stuff and its ripped off counter-part.

this is where i lived for two weeks. not quite the Hilton. nor Motel 8 for that matter.

Birthday Blues

08.08.08. There are so many things that happened on this date. The Olympics began, there were tons of weddings (I heard there were 150 weddings scheduled at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple this day - who knows if it is true, but I'm sure it was close), and more! But what most don't know, was the luckiest birthday of all time!

About a year ago, we were invited to a 007 birthday party. (We have a picture of us from that party you must see. Click on "April" under our blog archive, then scroll down) Our friend was turning 21 on 07.07.07. 7+7+7=21. John simply said, "That would be so cool to have a birthday like that. No one ever gets a birthday like that."Right after the words spilled out of his mouth, we stopped, looked at each other, and our mouths dropped to the floor. We instantly realized that John was having his 24th birthday on 08.08.08. He was so excited. For a year, he planned on his super cool birthday. He was even going to drive over to the Idaho border and purchase himself a lottery ticket, because we all know he would've won it for sure. He even planned a day at Bear Lake with his family.

(Side Note)For those of you who don't know, John is in the National Guard. He has to give up 1 weekend a month, and 2 weeks a year. This year, we had the opportunity to spend those 2 weeks in Korea. A few weeks before this once in a lifetime birthday, John looked up his flight plan for when he had to fly to Korea. As far as we knew, John didn't leave until August 9. Wrong! They changed his flight to the 8th of August instead, first thing in the morning. All his year's worth of planning went down the loo. Not only did he miss his birthday, he literally lost half of it on his way to Korea because of the time change. (Korea is about 16 hours ahead of us) I have never seen such a broken heart in my life.

Don't feel too bad for him though. John was taken care of before he left. My mom made him a birthday cake and dinner. John's parents and family spent the day at Lagoon with us, and gave him 24 lotto tickets. Those are only a few examples. He defiantly had his fair share of birthday time, if not more. But I'm sure when he gets back (This Saturday, Aug. 23 - I'm so excited) he will STILL be milking the whole situation anyway.

Happy Birthday, Babe. I love you!

Yellowstone Pics.

Yellowstone Trip

We were invited to spend the week with my family in Yellowstone. We filled it with all sorts of events, but some moments were highlighted more than others...

For example, "Da Bear". If you click on the picture to make it larger, it will be proof that it is for sure a grizzly in the wild. My brothers were convinced they were going to find a bear on this trip. Sure enough, Wade spotted some. But not this one. We pulled out a scope and saw some Grizzly bears about a mile way. Wade went to see if he could get a better view closer, but then quickly found the one that was about 100 yards away from us. Naturally, our focus turned to the bear. He seemed to mind his own business, but slowly got closer to the crowd. (not us, the crowd 100 yard away) Would you believe all the people you see in this photo? None of them moved with how close the bear was. We were pretty close as well, but we didn't seem to be as near in danger as they were. The bear did end up crossing the road, and probably made the car it crossed in front of leak some oil or something. It was quite the sight to see.

This is Old Faithful. John likes to now call it "Old Disappointment". Old Faithful is suppose to go off every hour. Or every hour and a half. I can't remember. Either way, your suppose to give or take 10 minutes for the geyser to blow. We waited 45 minutes after it's scheduled eruption! It's still really cool to see.



This is me in front of Midway Geyser. It was rather warm. This wasn't a huge highlight on the trip. The reason why I'm showing this photo is to show off my claw. We stayed in a "time share" with my family, so we made most of our food. My sister-in-law, Kali, made this delicious brownie toffee thing. We were using a steak knife to cut out the brownies because they were hard to cut a piece. I was holding the pan from slipping, but I wasn't paying attention to the steak knife. It slipped, and I cut myself on the web part in between my pointer and thumb on my left hand. Instantly, I had a geyser of my own. We took a look at and realized I needed stitches. John called to find out where the nearest medical place was that wasn't closed at the time, and they said 80 miles away from where we were. Lucky for us, Susan (my sister-in-law) is a RN. She looked at it, and said that we could just super glue it. So, that's what we did. All I wanted was a brownie. My hand healed pretty quick, and I'll obviously have a scar. I feel real fortunate to have a husband that was so willing to help in my time of need. He rocks.

It was so fun to be with my family. Some of us are moving, and so we probably won't be able to do these quick trips as often as we usually do. Love you guys!

4th of July

Happy Independence Day! It's been awhile since I have done my blogging, so I'm relying on my memory. This 4th of July was an all American way to celebrate. We went to Salt Lake to spend the festivities with the Fraidenburg clan. John's parents were so kind to hook us up to watch the Salt Lake Bees (baseball). We had awesome seats! We were sat on the third base line, 7 rows back! We were defiantly in foul ball lane. This was proven when we noticed a speedy foul ball headed our way. It was about to hit John's sister, Marie. She luckily ducked, but unfortunately, the little girl behind her, didn't. Her eye instantly swelled and turned purple. She looked like she was in pain, but impressingly, was quite the trooper. The ball game was followed by a firework show in the ballpark. It was so fun to get with John's family. We hardly ever get to see them. Oh - and the Bee's lost.Tina, John, and Boyce

Trey

Boyce

Front Row(L-R): Walt, Traci, Trey's Seat, My Seat, Trey, John
Back Row (L-R): Luke, Boyce's head, Marie, Cassandra, Mary, David

Congrats Wade and Kali!

My big brother got married! I'm so happy for him. Wade is 3 years older than me. (Technically, 2 years 8 months, but whatever). Wade is the sweetest guy I have ever known. I would always go to him for advice. That's a good thing, considering he is majoring in psychology. Wade and Kali (pronounced "Kay-lee") were married June 28, 2008 in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. Their wedding was gorgeous! Everything was so beautiful. In fact, click on to their link from my list. In one of her most recent posts, they have their wedding pics you can look at. It's well worth it. They will be moving to Boston at the end of this summer. Wade is going to UMASS for his major in psychology (stated before). We are so excited for the two of them, and I'm so happy to have Kali as a sister-in-law. I just love her! Good luck, you two! We love you.

The New Mr. and Mrs. Crookston

On June 21, 2008, Travis and Megan were married. Trav is a favorite. He is a cousin of mine that I grew up with. When I was a sophomore in high school, he was a cool senior with a jeep wrangler. He would drive me home from school to help me out with my popularity. It is one of the best memories of him. He finally met the love of his life, Megan. She is such a doll. They had a beautiful garden ceremony. (Riter Mansion, Logan, UT) We are so happy for them, and wish the best.

Demoltion Derby

John loves the derby. I introduced one to him, and now we hardly miss them. There is an odd thrill in watching cars (in this case, trucks) run into each other and kill the other's engine. The winner, of course, wins a hefty amount of money. Would you believe that we actually paid $8 to watch this? Yeah, well, we did. But what else do you do in Logan? The funny thing, though, is that we seem to always run into our friends at the derby. We sat by our friends Rob and Sarah Bowles. Sarah was one of my best friends in middle school and high school. We absolutely love the both of them. We then realized that sitting in front of us were the Piersons. They are neighbors to my parents. Tina (the mother of the family) was one of my Young Woman leaders and also took our beautiful engagement and wedding photos. Their daughter, Hannah, LOVES John. So she sat with us through the whole derby. The next time you go to a derby in Logan, look for us. Chances are, we probably will be there.

Feeding Clark

John's sister, Melissa, came to visit! Her husband, Andy, got a job in Portland, Oregon as an illustrator. We hardly ever get to see her and her cute little family. So, it is a hoot and a half when the Ereksons come to visit. Melissa has two kids. Grace is 3 1/2 years old, and Clark is almost 8 months. John was really excited to feed him. However, John forgot that feeding babies turns into poopy diapers. This isn't a big deal (we all poop), but John just happened to be the one to volunteer to clean an explosion Clark created. It was rather entertaining to watch John in the cleaning process. (I don't think John enjoyed it too much) But, we were so excited to see the Ereksons and can't wait to see them again.

Gone... Froggin'?

Yes, froggin'. Our next door neighbors (Keegan and Lindsey Bench) invited us for a frog hunt. We went in the swampy areas of Cache Valley to do so. John and Keegan did the dirty work, as Lindsay and I watched from the sidelines. It was a unique way of getting to know our neighbors more, but it was pretty fun.

Me and John in his new outfit.

Keegan and John hunting.

We hunted for a good 3 hours before Keegan was able to catch this one little frog.

Our New Guest House

Aggie Village is the family housing located on the USU campus. Most of them are two bedroom apartments, with white cinder-block walls. You feel like you are in a church's classroom. They do have washer/dryer hookups, but there's only enough room to put the washer in the bathroom, the dryer belongs out on the back patio. There is NO air conditioning. None. This means it is baking hot in the dead heat of the summer. But it is hard to believe that it is an ice box in the winter. The parking lot is at least 100 yards away. That's not too terrible, but you're fighting the one good parking stall with the other 36 residence that live here. Also, it is a long walk when that bitter cold canyon wind hits you in the face as you walk back to your apartment. ...we live in Aggie Village. We've been here for the last year and a half. It sounds like we are in a pretty bad situation. We are. But it has been such a humbling an learning experience. We live in a great ward, and have made some wonderful friends. We live here for that very reason, not to mention the free internet, free cable, free utilities (except for electric and gas), close to campus, and the super cheap rent.
We have our few visitors that are nice enough to see us under these conditions and are willing to actually spend the night. (Thanks Mom and Dad Fraidenburg, and Josh) We have our room in the "master" bedroom (obviously) and our second room is the "office". It is filled with all of our indoor storage, so there is no room to let anybody stay in there. Therefore, the tiny front room is the only available spot, and usually you end up on the floor. GREAT NEWS! Thanks to Mom and Dad Poulsen, we now have a tent that will act as our new guest house. No excuses anymore, people. We have plenty of room for visitors... out in our backyard that is. We still have the front room, but here is now a much more spacer option. *wink, wink*

I Got Tagged!

Who do you love? John, of course! As well as Antonio.... and Ricardo.... and Fronk.
How long have you been married? 1 year and 5 months. Not long, but that was a quick year and a half.
Who said 'I love you' first? John. About a month after we started dating. I'm so glad he said it first, because i refused to.
How long did you date? We dated 3 months before we were engaged, then engaged for 5 months. That adds up to 8 months.
Where did he propose? 2nd Dam in Logan Canyon. When we were dating, we would go on walks near that area. He had a picnic basket that was wired with a microphone, a camera in the bushes, and a 3 year old (thank you Boyce) with roses ask me to marry him. How do you say no? Just kidding, I love John, and it was and adorable way to ask.
Who is taller? John, by a full head and a neck. He's 6' - 6'1", I'm 5'4".
Who is smarter? John. He is going to school to be a civil engineer. Enough said.
Who does the laundry? That would be me. (John will too, rarely)
Who pays the bills? Me as well.
Who mows the lawn? We don't have a yard yet. But hopefully someday me. That's my favorite chore. As long as it is a riding lawn mower.
Who cooks dinner? Cafe Rio. If not them, some other restaurant. If not them, then me.
Who drives? John. I like it better when he drives. I get intimidated if a guy is in the passenger seat. Stupid i know, but true.

I tag Marie, Kali, Amanda, and Emma

Wedding Pictures