memory lane.

I have seen this on a couple of blogs (thanks k) & thought it was a fun idea. I would love to hear some of the memories you all have. And yes, I am bracing myself.

First, leave a comment on my blog about a memory that you have with me, then do this on your blog and I'll leave a memory I have with you.

Here we go!

birthday boy(s). the recap.

G's birthday went off without a hitch & I think he enjoyed it almost as much as I did!

He was thrilled to see a chocolate fudge cake waiting for him on the counter & happy to try on his new U of U sweatshirt. Greg is not a birthday person. He would have no hard feelings whatsoever if I didn't even acknowledge his birthday. But, as I've mentioned before, I am Greg's polar opposite. He knew when he signed the marriage certificate that he would have to deal with over-the-top, obnoxious birthday's celebrations for the rest of his life. And so, when he walked through the front door and saw that I had crate papered our entire living room, he forced a smile like he does every year. My crazy love of holidays is growing on him....I just know it!

On a more serious note, another birthday means another chance for me to gush about him (are you guys getting sick of this yet? too bad). G has brought so much happiness into my life. He is my favorite person & my best friend. Someone I look up to & someone I want to be more like. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to share my life with.

The first birthday G & I shared together was mine in March of 2006. We had only been dating for about 4 months, but we were falling in love fast. I will always remember what he wrote on my birthday card. "I can't wait to spend many more birthdays together." It was a bold move,

but he was right.

We will spend many more birthdays together and I can't wait, either. Happy Birthday, G, I love you.

And Also...

Yesterday was also Tyler's birthday

Happy Birthday to Ty!

We love you, Ty, you are our favorite twin brother!

29.

today is my gregory's birthday.

this will be waiting for him when he gets home:

when i talked to him on the phone today at work he said,

g: "Did you make me my chocolate cake?"

me: "No, I didn't have time. I was up at that Park City training all day."
(which I was, but I still woke up early & pulled it off).

g: "Dang. I have been thinking of that cake all day.
Maybe we could get some cake somewhere after dinner."

me: "Maybe. Sorry, wish I had time"

I LOVE A SURPRISE!!!

stay tuned...

blogging on my lunch break.

observations of my home as I left it this morning:

mrs. gregory j. olsen was here.
(this one was too big to kill. had to go back to my old method.)

g was here.

and here.

wife was here. (g thinks this many pillows is unnecessary)

and here.

gjo was here.

jacky b. was here.

but, jessica lee was here.

gregory j. was here.

ober o. was here.

and j was here.

the end.
(kinda fun, you should give it a go.)

had to snap a pic for my lover.
me, before i head back to work. finally cold enough to wear the yellow jacket.
i love it, gjo.

last night.

g & i changed into pajamas right after dinner.

him in soccer shorts.
me in sweats.

grabbed a bowl of pistachios & one extra for the shells
turned on the lamps & climbed into bed.

we watched the vice presidential debates together. the whole thing.
and i was interested & entertained & involved for the very first time.

you could tell g was loving every moment-seeing me grow more passionate about this thing that he loves. he would laugh & yell & pause the tv to explain his opinions to me.

and i really listened. and thought about mine, too.

and after it was over, he promised to watch a full episode of jon & kate with me.
to keep things fair.

and he did.

we layed there all night
& laughed & discussed & shared our thoughts
as we munched on nuts and watched the hours pass.

and i thought to myself
that i was lucky

for a night like this one.

the gentlemen.

My cute friend from the ward, Rachel, tagged me to post 6 quirks about myself. Since I've already revealed many many quirks about myself in the past (are you guys so sick of me saying this same thing?) I thought I'd alter it a bit a deliver 6 quirks about the gentlemen in my life. Namely, jacky b & ober olsen. Hope you don't mind, Rachel!

1. Toby is a deep sleeper who loves to be under as many covers as possible regardless of the temperature. I can never find him in the morning because he is always buried under piles of blankets. He takes forever to wake up is usually still asleep in his bed when I leave. Jacky, on the other hand, is completely alert & awake the moment he gets up. We are talking running down the hall or out the dog door to get a toy within seconds of the alarm clock going off.

2. Toby gets nervous whenever he sees me get my shoes out of the closet. I think its because he knows that I always put on my shoes before I leave. As soon as I put them on he nips at my ankles all the way to the front door :(. Speaking of morning routines, Jack loves to watch me get ready in the morning. He especially loves to watch me blow dry my hair. He just sits in the hallway and moves his head from side to side (the confused look).

3. Jack loves to bring "presents" in through the dog door from the backyard. When I say presents, I mean, apples with worms in them, walnuts, dirt, sticks, dried up pieces of poop & once...a dead bird. That was a fabulous day. (If this doesn't convince all of you to go out & by a dog RIGHT THIS MINUTE, I don't know what will).

4. Everyone already knows this, but I have never seen a dog who loves to give kisses the way Jack does. He would lick your face all day long if you would let him. He frequently does "air kisses" which consists of him getting so excited he licks the air vigorously (when a face cannot be found). On the other hand, he is only fond of faces, he rarely licks anything else. Toby likes to lick your feet when he wants attention.

5. Toby sort of freezes mid-jump whenever he jumps off of our bed. We call it the "wonder jump" because he looks so noble, almost like a superhero. I seriously don't know how to describe this one- you just have to see it for yourself. Some dogs just sort of fall of the bed, but Toby really gives it his all, his best little jump, with all 4 legs straight out.

6. Jacky can jump at least 4 feet in the air, probably higher. Toby can't even jump onto the couch. Toby eats all of his & Jack's food, but he is teeny tiny, maybe 6 lbs. We never see Jack eat & he weighs at least 11 lbs now. Jack once scaled a rock climbing wall to get to me (it was about 5 ft. tall & I was standing at the top of it). He is a good little climber & mostly, he is just OBSESSED with being exactly where I am.

7. They both know what it means to "find brother". If one is missing, we will ask the other to "find brother", in which he will run off by himself & return with his buddy in tow.

8. Jack only barks when he sees other dogs in our house. He barks at the TV whenever a dog comes on & frequently barks at his reflection in the mirror. Toby growls, yelps & "runs" (twitches his little paws) in his sleep.

9. They both get crazy excited at the mention of the word, "grandmas house" or "park". They both love little kids & our nieces especially. I can always tell that they are trying so hard to be good around the babies.

10. They are both smart, but I just have to say that Jack is an exceptionally smart dog. He understands the emotion in your voice & seriously expresses concern, joy, excitement or sadness on his face. I have never seen a dog with such an expressive face.

In case you can't tell, I love my pups so much. They lift my spirit every day when I come home to them. They are both such good dogs and I feel like they haven't gotten much blog-lovin lately, so here is some love for the gentlemen.

Thanks for the tag, Rachel. If any one's running low on blog material, I would love to hear 6 quirks about you or your kiddos!

in case you thought i was a good person.

Today, after a series of circumstances that left my face flushed & my hands shaking, I literally had to get up & leave my desk for about 5 minutes to catch my breath & calm myself down. This has never happened to me before and it wasn't any one's else's fault. It was mine. All of the stress & all of the annoyance was because of me, because I let myself get annoyed. I let myself get flustered.

All of it was caused by the fact that I have NO patience.

Patience. The number one thing on my list of qualities I don't posses & wish I did. I can't figure out why I can't cultivate this trait. I can't figure out why I have so little of it. I want results. Immediately. I want everything done NOW, not later. I want you to immediately know what I mean after I explain it once, not twice. Give me that jar because I can open it quicker, that broom, because I can sweep it up faster. I end up doing everything, because I am too impatient to let someone else do it for me. Too impatient to delegate. Everyone else takes too long.

Why am I like this???

Sometimes, G & I will be talking about different activities and he will say, "You would hate this because it takes too long" or "Jess, you really don't have the patience to do it". And he is always right.

And by the way, how ironic is it that I married a man with miles & miles of patience? He can paint a wall & do it right, start to finish, even if it takes 47 hours. He can sit in the back yard for 20 minutes & watch the pups "sit & stay". For 20 minutes, people!! Just stand there & watch them...making sure they don't move a tiny muscle. My limit is 5 minutes. I can watch them stay for 5 minutes and then I am out of there. I can answer one question & then I am slitting my wrists, repeat myself once before I am banging my head against my desk.

I guess that just comes with the territory of marrying your polar opposite. G is everything I am not. He is every good quality I don't posses. Every subject I don't understand. Every song I don't know. And I always knew that about him, too. I think that's why I fell in love with him so quickly. I recognized that here was this person who represents everything I wish I were better at. Who fills in all the holes I can't fill in myself.

I wish I were more like my husband.

I wish I wasn't in such a hurry. I wish I didn't expect so much from myself & from others. I wish I could answer 8 million questions in a row without rolling my eyes or running out the door & straight into on-coming traffic.

Patience.

Does anyone have some they can spare?

my marriage is 2.

this was us on our wedding day, two years ago.

Today we have been married for 2 years & what a wonderful 2 years it has been. I have been looking forward to this anniversary for months, seriously MONTHS now because it means a whole weekend of just G & I. No distractions, no yard work, no obligations, no stress. And a weekend of G is what I got. Besides showing our home to potential renters for a bit on Saturday, we did nothing but spend time together. This year it was Greg's job to plan the Anniversary and seriously, the guy impressed me. Greg always insists that he "doesn't know what to do for these events" & that he isn't smooth enough to pull them off, but when push comes to shove, he always succeeds with flying colors.

Our weekend included:

Dinner at a fancy restaurant with a to-die-for halibut for me & steak for G.
A walk around downtown SLC & the Temple grounds
A movie I've been dying to see for months
A night in a hotel
A picnic at the park with the pups & letting them swim in the stream
Yummy Greek takeout
Exchanging of gifts (I've been DYING to give mine to him)
Finally getting to the Presidential debates
A banana split before bed
Sparkling cider & toasts
Lots & lots & lots of time with my favorite person.

Well done, G. Seriously, WELL DONE.

Today's festivities include church & then we are off to my parent's house to make homemade pizza for the mother-less brothers & a 3 tiered raspberry fudge cake I haven't attempted since G's birthday. Wish me luck.

Happy Anniversary to my G. You keep me on my toes, you make me laugh, you teach me something new almost every day, you help me grow, you make me want to be better, you understand me and you make me so happy.

I love you, G, you are my best friend.

Ps...check out his gift to me. Holy cow, babe, nice choice!

and last, but not least...

it is JON'S birthday today!

yay jonny!

Jon, I am not sure you want a drawn out letter from me, because you already know that you are one of my best friends in the world. You are hilarious and I am so glad we are so close, because you make me laugh harder than anyone else. Happy Birthday to a brother! Blow out the candles, do a little dance, be a friend.

You are the best & I love you!

Love,

Sicca, Belly, Sissisa.

(Whew! And that marks the end of BIRTHDAY WEEK! See you again next year!)

the party continues....

Yes! Yes! It is true. We are celebrating ANOTHER birthday today

(and there is even one more tomorrow)!

Get excited.

So, today is a glorious day, because my best friend turns 21 today.

This is her...

(isn't she gorgeous!?!)

Dear Holls,

Today is your 21st! Happy Birthday to you! I seriously remember a time when I never thought you & I would ever both be legal. And now, here it is! ;)

21 yrs old for you also means over 13 years of friendship for you & I. And what a FUN 13 years we have had. When I look back, I can't believe some of the things we have done together & gone through together. From fights, heartache, triumph, firsts & lasts- you have truly ALWAYS been by my side. Our memories are the ones that I cherish the most...

Driving past "so & so's" house 10 million times with our hoodies on, toliet papering with katie & getting caught by the cops. Taking our drives with just the two of us & blasting Michelle Branch CD's. Sneaking out & sneaking in. Driving past your house every day & walking to it before we could drive. Giggling in church & passing notes in Sacrament. Meeting you at the corner by the Cameron's house so you wouldnt get "kidnapped". Making music videos in your basement & in mine. EFY. Watching you preform at school, at church, in Provo & writing a song together. St. George every spring & laughing until we cried. Sleeping on your tramp in the backyard & almost getting killed. Getting ready in your basement & chats with your parents in the kitchen. Driving to school together everyday. Me making you wear your coat & you forcing Christmas music on me in September. Your first kiss & my first big breakup. Driving to graduation together. Senior trip to Mexico & dancing the night away. Late nights in Logan & being superhero's on Halloween. Watching each other fall in love. Writing emails from SLC to Equador and cheering eachother on. Helping you choose your wedding ring & watching you be sealed. Being a bridesmaid at your wedding & having you as mine. Being able to talk to you about anything, trust you with everything & count on you always.

Our memories are priceless to me & there are so many to choose from. I couldn't have asked for a better sidekick than you, Holls. I couldn't have asked for a better best friend. You have made me laugh & made me want to be better person the whole way through.

Happy Birthday! I love you!

Love, J.