December 30, 2009

 This is right after he asked me!  You can't really see my ring, but you can see the big smiles on our faces!

I didn't get a picture of the actual carriage we were on, but this one is very similar!


Two years ago today, Jeff asked me to MARRY him in the most romantic way possible.  I was visiting him in New Jersey (and meeting his family) and on my second day there we decided to go into the city, aka New York City.  His parents and the two of us went into the city in the early afternoon.  Jeff was very adamant that the first thing we do there is go see Central Park.  That was fine with me because the last time I was in NYC we didn't really get to see the park.  We parked and went straight to Central Park.  As we got there Jeff suggested we go on a carriage ride.  That sounded nice to me, romantic and an ideal NYC thing to do.  We got on a carriage and he was acting kinda weird.  He started video taping the ride... not something he normally does.  He handed me the camera, reached in his pocket and pulled out a box.  Then he asked me to marry him.  It was a perfect moment:  lightly snowing, horse carriage ride in Central Park.  I of course said yes!  And here we are! 

24 before 24

24 things I want to do before I turn 24.... 

(I meant to start this in August, just after my birthday, but it's a few months late.  Oh well, better late than never, right?)

1. Organize and clean our 2nd bedroom... aka the "storage" room
2. Learn to sew  (i know this is a life-long pursuit, but I now have a sewing machine and have successful made some cute stuff!)
3. Make new curtains
4. Read one book a month (that's a little ambitious with school, but I can do it!)
5. Learn to cook a roast
6. Exercise 3 days a week
7. Read the Book of Mormon again
8. Begin making things for my classroom (especially my ABC's project)
9. Make a dress with the green silk fabric I have from my wedding
10. Finish our wedding album
11. Lose 10 pounds
12. Create file folder games 
13. Learn to crochet the flowers from Pinterest
14. Hike the Y
15. Attend a session at the Salt Lake Temple
16. Buy a new pair of heels (and wear them)
17. Learn to make candles
18. Wear more jewelery
19. Create a menu for one month, with something different to eat each night
20. Take another cake decorating class (maybe the fondant one!)
21. See a play (that will take a lot of convincing to get my husband to go with me)
22. Paint our dresser and desk (although I don't know what color)
23. Knit a blanket
24. Write in my journal everyday for a month (I used to be really good at this, but I stopped when we got married, so I am going to start again.)

My favorite season!

I have been a slacker, but I have a lot of pictures and updates.  Here it goes :) 

 For a date one weekend, Jeff and I went in the canyon to check out the leaves.  We wanted to go on the ski lift in Sundance, but it was closed by the time we got there.  Oh well, it was beautiful.  

 At my cousins wedding!  The picture above, with my siblings, was not posed!  We just ended up sitting together.  Haha... also, when we noticed it I said we were the "originals"... opps.  I'm going to eat my words someday when Kyra realizes  what I said. 

 Halloween!  Jeff and I were eggs, I was a deviled egg and he was a hard-boiled egg.  Cute!

  I threw Jeff a surprise birthday party!  It was Vegas themed, because I thought it was a cute theme.  He was totally surprised, had no idea!  Also, he said it was the first surprise party he has ever had!  I felt accomplished!   

We are doing well, just busy with school and work!  I have been making a lot of crafts, but I will have to dedicate a whole blog to that... someday soon!

A little late...

This post is a little late coming, but here it is. My brother came home on August 8th! YAY! Jeff and Tyler got to meet at the airport, which was more exciting for me than anyone else. We had lots of family come, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. I love my little bro and I am very excited he is home, even though he lives in Logan now. We comes down every once in a while and it is great to hang out with him.

The Fam at the airport the day he came home :)

Dress Pants

Jeff and I have had this discussion a couple of times and I want to know what people think. He says that woman back east wear slacks to church. I have never seen that and I don't think it is appropriate. He is trying to argue that some people think they are doing their best when they wear slacks. I disagree. I was always taught to wear a dress because that is how I show respect for the Lord. I found this talk by Sister Allred that said "The way you dress shows your understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ." (It is a talk about modesty.)

What do you think? Is it ok to wear slacks as an established member of the church? Not just for investigators?

Summer!

Kyra and I at the campfire! It was cold and we were cuddling. :)

Jeff learning ping-pong from the "kings".

Jeff and Aly in the big recliners!

Kyra during the photo session.

Last weekend we went to a family reunion with my family. It was down in Cedar City and was so beautiful. The sucky part is that the stomach flu went through the whole family... except Jeff, of course! That's our summer so far!

Crafting and Home Decor

I have made a few changes in our apartment, due to my new found time, with school being out. I added this above our TV:
This is the picture I ordered for our Christmas present (finally), and its above the couch:

And this is my latest craft project:

So easy! A blank round wreath, yarn wrapped to cover it and then a few fabric flowers!

Remeber this?

Remember this...?
Well, as of yesterday it was one year ago! Crazy! To celebrate, we went back to Salt Lake and stayed at the same place we did our wedding night. It was so nice to get away and be together. We stayed Friday night, as well as Saturday night. On Saturday, we went to the zoo as well as Park City outlets. It was a lot of fun! Then Sunday morning, I woke up with a nasty cold... we came home a little early :( I am now sitting home trying to get better. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the zoo. (not as glamourous as our wedding day...)

Jeff loves the elephants, so we spent most of our time at the elephant exhibit. The baby is so cute!

Ignore my "inner tube" as I call it.... that is the newly-wed weight! If you have any secret tips on how to get it off, let me know!

Baby Zuri, she is very cute!

Wedding Video

I just made this wedding video! Enjoy!

Love to do...

(I ordered this picture from etsy and I am supposed to get it tomorrow! I am so excited)

Lately, a lot of people have asked me what it is that I like to do. This is a constant discussion between me and my husband, as well. I have a few basic answers such as:

reading

eating

watching tv

spending time with my hubby and family

and I love my job (aka teaching)

But today when someone asked me what I like doing, it really made me think. I truly do enjoy those things, but are they making me a better person, or changing the world? (Well, I WILL change the world as a teacher, but I have to graduate first.) No, not really. I sound like a really boring, lazy person. That is not me at all! I have struggled with my fair share of things in the past (such as depression and anxiety) but I am over those, mostly, and I am happy! Anyway, as I was thinking I remembered this talk by President Uchtdorf.

I love to create! Meaning, I love to take something ugly and make it beautiful (in lamens terms). I get excited when I can create a lesson plan, or make something beautiful to put in my home. I am not the best at creating a good meal, but that is something I aspire too.

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No
matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an
inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Creation
brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others
when
we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of
beauty." -President Uchtdorf

'Waiting for Superman'

For my Ed Psych class we were required to watch a new documentary 'Waiting for Superman.' It was an amazing film about Education in America today. It was so interesting to watch! It started out talking about children who go to school in the poorest areas in America (LA, Bronx, Harlem, DC). That is what I want to do! I want to work with poor children and those who are in need of extra help. I love working with Spanish children right now (although it is hard for me at night, and I don't really like one of the other teachers.) I love working with this one boy in my 3rd grade class who came for a horrible background! He is adorable and has so much potential!

I highly recommend this film for anyone! If your children go to school in America, or if your future children will, WATCH THIS!

Bored

My life is full of running from elementary school to elementary school... then home (to eat dinner) and then to a jr. high (which is where I teach the cute little spanish kids). I am currently doing field work in a 5th grade class, then I work in a 3rd grade class. Tonight is my night off, and my husband is sick so I am sitting on the couch with nothing to do. This is weird for me... I am not sure what to do with myself. I made dinner, cleaned up, took care of my husband, and now I don't know what to do. If I had money I would be shopping for this...

Or this...

Or this...

I am in desperate need of new work clothes... I look frumpy. Or at least that is how I feel. It's depressing!

I also want these...

I love my black ones, but brown ones would be nice! Oh if only I were graduated and had a real job... haha!

Well, sorry I have not been a good blogger like I said, I have been busy!

Love!

Requests to blog more...

I promise I will blog more. I just struggle with coming up with ideas. But I will just post even if I think no one cares... cause you asked for it :) haha

I'm at my parents house this weekend (cause it was lonely at my apartment).

This little stinker

slept with me (because she is attached at my hip when I am home) and it was NOT comfortable. Oh man... I can't wait to have this stinker

home, he is much more comfortable to sleep with. (Haha, this picture is from our honeymoon. It was at a buffet we ate at in Vegas. He couldn't get enough of those ribs!)

Also, we are going here today... I'm pretty excited. I'll let you know how it is! Well, that's all for today. :)

My amazing husband...

PS- He got me a really pretty necklace from Argentos in the mall. It has our names engraved on it and our birthstones! Love it! (it kinda looks like this excepet it says Jeff and Ashley)

Jeffrey M. Averyt is an amazing man. I want to tell you about all the things that constantly amaze me about him...

1. He is convert to the church. He has stuck through all the hardships of being a convert in New Jersey and even served a mission. Now (good news!) he is baptizing his mom tomorrow after 14 years of discussions!
2. He will be a first generation college grad! I am so proud of him for choosing to graduate from college and have a better life!
3. He puts up with me and all my crazy-ness! I am "miss emotional" pretty much all the time. You should have seen me last night as I was dropping him off at the airport. I was sobbing... 5 days away from him is a long time!
4. He does SO WELL in school, (BYU which is tough), and is constantly doing homework.
5. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM! ( You don't want to know all the mushy stuff, promise. I could go on for hours...)

Part 2

It has been a long time since I posted last, about our wonderful airplane ride... well I have to tell you about the second half of that trip. Our flight left La Guardia airport at 7:30, so we had to be at the airport at 5:30. Getting into the city was fine, no traffic that early. Once we got there, the line just to check in was HUGE. We waited in that line for almost an hour. Then we went through security and barely made it to our flight. Once we got on, we were informed that the flight was delayed because they were having trouble loading the bags. (RETARDED) We finally took off, about 20 minutes late. We had a layover in Houston and by the time we got there, we were getting a little nervous about making our connecting flight. We hurried off the plane and ran (Amazing Race style) to the terminal. As we got there, they were shutting the doors. We asked what we should do, when the next flight was and they told us to run to another terminal. Again, we ran (picture this.... I'm wearing slippers, pulling a bag, holding a bag, and a purse and my boots... I looked so silly!) We got the next terminal and they told us that we were supposed to get on a waiting list, and by now we were 15th on the list. No way we were going to make it! We decided to take a break and go get some food. After we ate, we went to customer service to find out what the next step was. There were 2 more flights that day to SLC and we were on the list for both. The only time we could get a confirmed flight was at 11 am the next day! We got some food vouchers (luckily) and saved those for dinner. We didn't make the next flight so our next option was at 6 pm. We waited in the terminal for the 6 flight and it was delayed til 10. At the last minute, they changed terminal and we ran! We were first in line and they told us this flight is over booked so run back to where you came from and get on that flight. We finally got on a flight at 11 that night! 12 hours in the Houston airport was way too long! Good thing we had Jack Bower to entertain us!