Life Lately

Ohhh my. This little blog of mine has been neglected lately. I've come to realize that I don't think I'll ever be able to keep up with it, especially with my work schedule the way it is. But I do like to take the time to think back on all the memories me and my boy have made together.

Here's a recap of the past couple of months. We...

moved into our home!!!

hiked the Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge

watched 4th of July fireworks on top of Salt Lake

attended Nate and Lyndsay's wedding

got Hogle zoo to ourselves {Jason's company rented it out}

camped with the Syddall fam & fell in love with four wheeling all over the mountains

screamed our heads off at Lagoon

took a day trip to Logan so I could eat at El Sol {Jason's fav}

swam in crystal clear, but freeeeezing cold water at Bear Lake

babysat sweet, spunky Scarlett

drove to Rexburg & reunited with my bestie Chloe!

explored Yellowstone from sunrise to sunset

celebrated my 23rd year of life with all of my favorite food

saw Taylor's band play in concert

double dated with my best friend at Wing Stop & Nightmare on 13th

hiked a waterfall with the Budvarson's & crossed paths with a moose

and spent lots and lots of time with our families.

I know I'm forgetting a handful of other things we've done, but these moments make some of my favorites. Jason and I are absolutely loving this stage of life. Our favorite part of everyday is the 10-20 minutes we take to snuggle before getting up for work. I hope that never stops.

To keep everyone up to speed, I've been accepted to work from home! The timing couldn't have been more perfect and I am so so thankful for the opportunity. No joke, this will save me about 2 hours of my day. I'm thrilled!

Our Story

Hello all! So I finally got around to updating the tabs on this blog. If you're interested, click the 'about' tab above to read about mine and Jason's story. Alright, that's all I've got. Happy Sunday!

"When you are married, be fiercely loyal one to another. Priceless advice comes from a small framed plaque I once saw in the home of an uncle and aunt. It read, 'Choose your love; love your choice.' There is great wisdom in those few words. Commitment in marriage is absolutely essential."

President Thomas S. Monson {Happy 89th Birthday to him!}

Progressing

So I've come to a realization. Life is hard. 

This past week I've been saying the same things over and over in my head.

"I'm in pain."
"What's happening?"

"Why me? Why me? Why me?"

"Do I really have to deal with this?"

"This is too much to handle."

"I don't know what to do."

"I can't do it."

I'll explain in a bit, but today I was doing some Sunday blog reading and I came across something that struck a chord and helped change my self-wallowing attitude. The blog post read something along the lines of how it's good to be real. These days, especially with social media, it is so easy to sugarcoat everything-- life, marriage, friendships, stress, etc. She explained how her life is much more imperfect than it is perfect {which would in no way reflect on her instagram of 33.2k followers}. As I was reading I felt as if I related with each and every word. Then she stated this: 

Life is all about progression.

YES! Upon reading that I instantly looked up why challenges and trials are necessary in life, and to keep it brief, here is the answer.

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God ... and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire." -Orson F. Whitney

Challenges and trials are absolutely necessary for the betterment of ourselves. If everything in life were perfect or easy then there would be no advancement, no progression. We are given trails and pain so we can learn to deal with it and not let it drag us down in self-pity! Hah. Definitely something I needed to reflect on today.

Now to back up a bit. This past week has been the most challenging week of my entire life. Emotionally and physically. Due to the fact that this blog is for documentation and that I feel it's good to be real, {also, does anyone actually read this? lol} here's what happened.

I woke up early, early Friday morning in the most excruciating pain. I was shaking, sweating, cramping, short-breathed, nauseous, light-headed. I could barely walk and I had no idea what was going on with my body. In that moment I truly thought it was just shutting down. I didn't know what to do. After about twenty minutes of unbearable pain, it started to subside. I was able to lay down and fall back asleep. To be safe, Jason called a nurse line and they advised I go to the hospital the next day. Let me tell you, I have somewhat of a fear of hospitals and a much bigger fear of needles/IV's/surgery. I've never had to go to the hospital for myself and I did not want this to be the time. I kept trying to talk Jason out of taking me, but of course he wouldn't listen. We got there, my older sister Britta met us, and then began the poking and prodding and testing. Oh, kind of an important detail, we had known for a couple of weeks prior to this that we were expecting. It was a surprise, but we were still so so SO excited to be parents! Due to the circumstances, we had to release the news in a not so fun way while driving to the hospital.

After various doctors, tests, and ultrasounds we finally got some news. My OB doctor told me I had an ectopic pregnancy, meaning the fetus started developing in my fallopian tube. It caused the tube to rupture which led to some internal bleeding. I could not believe what I was hearing. You know when I was telling you about my hospital fears? This specific thing I was TERRIFIED of ever happening to me. I couldn't help but cry as the doctor shared the news. It was extremely hard to hear, not only for me, but for my sweet husband as well. All of our excitement and hope was crippled in a couple of seconds. On top of that, the doctor explained how important it was to start surgery right away because of the bleeding. {If we had waited even a day more to go in to the hospital they said it could have been life-threatening. Thank goodness I have a stubborn husband that worries so much for me!} They rushed me to the operating room and went over anything that could potentially go wrong in the procedure. I understand that it's policy and they need consent, but that is the kind of stuff you do not want to hear right before going into surgery. My heart was beating 100 miles an hour. I was shaking, scared, and so nervous! Before I knew it, I was out like a light and woke up confused and with three incisions. About an hour after the surgery they were wheeling me to the car to go home. Jason can attest that it was the most miserable car ride! Every little bump in the road sent shooting pain through my body. I couldn't bare it.

The days following the hospital were no better. I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself, question everything, complain about the pain, and cry every now and then. Despite that, I had the best people around encouraging me and helping in every way possible. I am SO grateful for my family, and especially my mom. She drove out from Colorado the day after my surgery to make sure she was here in my time of need. The timing of all this was not in my favor since we were moving into our town home the day after my surgery. Thank goodness my mom was here to help unpack, organize, clean, and shop for our new home! If it weren't for her, we would still be struggling to get things in order.

As of now, I'm doing better. Still quite uncomfortable, but not complaining too much ;) I know that this happened for a reason and I am definitely learning from it. The love I have for my husband and family has grown and I can't help but thank my Heavenly Father for allowing me to continue to live this beautiful life of mine. My doctor explained it best. He told me, "There's a reason you have two tubes. Someone much greater and more intelligent than me created you, so you shouldn't worry too much. He knows what He's doing."

Also, Jase and I LOVE our new home and we are so excited for what the future holds!

No Place Like Home

YOU GUYS. We're {almost} homeowners!

Life lately has been craaazy. For the past couple of months Jason and I have been on a mad hunt for a place to call ours. On top of both of us working full-time, we've spent hours upon hours searching online, contacting realtors, touring houses, meeting with mortgage brokers, signing contracts, and tweaking budgets. We've gotten our hopes way up and at times felt the most uneasy we've ever been-- hence the multiple contracts that we eventually backed out of. I reeeally did not want to live in another apartment, but we got to the point where we thought that was our only option. So we contacted a couple different apartments for available move-in dates and outrageous prices.

BUT Last Sunday I was scrolling through my Zillow app {it's a daily routine for me} and I came across a town home in West Jordan. Perfect location for both mine and Jason's job. Exactly the price point we were looking for. 1,341 square feet. Only six years old. It seemed too good to be true. I didn't get my hopes up because I knew something like that was going to be snatched up asap. I showed Jason and we decided we were going to jump on it. Here's how that week went down:

Sunday - Found home on Zillow and asked Jim Richards, a realtor in the ward, to get some more information on it. He scheduled a tour for us the following day.

Monday - Met the homeowners after work, toured the house, and fell in love.

Tuesday - Met with our realtor to write up an offer. He was able to get the offer to the homeowners that same day.

Wednesday - We received a counteroffer. Met with our realtor and immediately accepted. Signed a million papers and we were officially under contract!

Thursday - Met with the homeowners again. They greeted us by saying, "Welcome home!" They gave us more details on the house, the appliances, the hoa, the ward, as well as gave us a little tour of the community.

Friday - Gathered up years worth of work/bank/credit/school info and met with our mortgage broker. Talked finances for a couple hours and signed a bunch more papers.

Saturday - To congratulate us, our realtor Jim gave us a gift card to Smashburger SO we obviously took advantage of that to celebrate :)

We close in less than a month. We are so so excited! We got the home inspected yesterday and the results were practically pristine. The inspector told Jason that out of the hundreds of houses he's inspected in the past, this house's condition was in the top ten. SCORE.

We owe a huge THANK YOU to my Syddall grandparents for letting us stay with them for the past five months. {As well as my parents for the month before that while we found jobs.} Thankfully we were able to save up enough money to afford a down payment and really get our lives going. We are SO grateful for them and their hospitality. Six months living with family has been a major blessing for us, but that's a biggg chunk of our married lives so far. You can bet that we are more than ready to move out and have a place to call our own! Please come visit, all!

Vroom Vroom

This past weekend we got ourselves a car! Purchasing your first car is one of the stepping stones in a marriage, right? We got a 2013 Hyundai Elantra and we're still so, so, so, so excited about it. We've been borrowing my parents car {the one I drove in high school with the deer dent on the hood} for the time being, so we love finally having one to call our own. We went to a dealership in Draper called Velocity. Highly recommend. They were so helpful and not pushy at all! Not typical for a car dealership. They sincerely wanted to help us find exactly what we were looking for and give us the best deal. We even got my aunt Robyn a $100 cash referral because that's where Brian always bought their cars. Score on the great service, score on the free money, and score on the new ride.

XOXO

A little bit late, but that's okay. I really love valentine's day. I think it's so fun celebrating love! The day was filled with compliments, kisses, flowers, and my boy {obsessed with that last one}. Seriously, who wouldn't love this holiday? This valentine's day fell on a Sunday, so Jase and I got matchy with pops of red in our Sunday best. I wish we took a picture, but by the time we got home from church we were both so ready for a nap haha.

And since I didn't write some sort of card or note to my sweet boy, I thought this would do.

To my valentine,

'I love you' and 'You're handsome' are probably the two phrases I tell you most. It's gotten to the point where you'll laugh because I'll say them at the most random times. But it's true. I love you SO much and I don't think I'll ever be able to get over how handsome you are. I want to thank you for the love that you give to me-- despite my flaws, my quirks, my horrible sarcastic jokes, and constant stubbornness. You make me feel so loved, so important, and so beautiful all the time. I couldn't have asked for a better best friend or husband. I absolutely love doing this life with you and I'm so happy that I get to call you my valentine forever.
I love you, handsome.

Love, Lexee

ID to CO to UT

We have been in full moving mode lately! {Ugh.} And because I am somewhat of a sentimental person, I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of our second home together before we headed out. I'll admit, I was teary eyed. We were saying goodbye to not only our apartment, but Rexburg! A place we have both called home for the past couple years of our lives. The place we met and made SO many memories together. It was bittersweet, definitely.

Once we left Rexburg, we made our way to Colorado and moved in with my family for about a month while Jason job searched. He put SO much time towards this. He even went to some LDS business classes while we were there. Our first day in the ward, Jason was approached eight times by different people about potential job opportunities for him. {Shout-out to my dad for his many connections.} We felt blessed, but kept our options open.

 One weekend the fam took a trip down to Utah to celebrate Jason's 26th birthday and my dad's 50th birthday {more on that found here}. The timing couldn't have been more perfect because Jason had a couple of interviews lined up in Utah that same week. He felt confident and excited after his interviews, and that same day he was offered a job for a company called Packsize. We drove back to Colorado for a week, packed everything up once again, and moved to Utah so Jason could start work that next Monday.

My parents and grandparents have been angels for letting us live with them for a little while we save up and search for a more permanent home. We've been living in Utah for a little over a month now and we really are enjoying every minute. Jason loves his job, and I start working at Discover Financial Services next month! Is it weird that I'm super excited to start working? I've never worked for such a big corporation, so I'm looking forward to the experience!

--

There are still so many things I could go on about! These past couple months have been packed full of blog-worthy events. I want to at least mention some things, or else I will probably forget they ever happened. SO I promise I'll be brief.

We celebrated our first Christmas together in Rexburg with Jason's mom and siblings! This was my first Christmas away from my home, so it took some getting used to. We still had lots of fun playing games, eating good food, and enjoying each others company. Even with our tight budget at the time, I convinced Jason that we needed a tree for our apartment. I originally was going to make a DIY tree with branches and ornaments, but we ended up finding a super steal deal on one. Definitely worth it.

We spent New Years Eve in Colorado with my familia! Our late night was full of delicious appetizers {that lasted us weeks afterwards}, tenzi/golf tournaments, sparkling cider, rowdy noise makers, new years kisses, and party hats. It was such a fun time!

I took a trip to the Denver temple one evening with my parents. I get so excited going through different temples for the first time! Each one is so, so beautiful. This particular trip was for an elderly lady in the ward. She was going through for the first time to be sealed to her deceased husband and son. I don't think I've ever seen someone so happy before. The spirit was overwhelming and it was the sweetest.

Grandpa Syddall got a smart phone! I know it doesn't seem like much, but it was a pretty big deal around here {especially because he said he would never get one}. It had to be documented haha.

January and February are theee birthday months in this fam. We've attended eight birthday parties in the past two months. Eight! That's a lot of cake and ice cream. {We are dying to get gym memberships.} I've actually loved it, though. Family get togethers are my absolute fav.

Super bowl Sunday was spent partying at Robyn's house. And even though this is old news now, THE DENVER BRONCOS WON! We were all pretty proud in our Broncos jammies {via Christmas Eve 2014}.

Our social life here consists of family pretty much, but we love it! Game nights at Taylor and Lynnea's has got to be our favorite way to spend Saturday nights. We can play King of Tokyo for hours and hours and never get bored. They are the funnest to be around!

We went on a sibling date with Britta, Austin, Scarlett, Taylor, and Lynnea. We ate dinner at Cafe Rio and then went to the Provo City Center temple open house. It was so gorgeous! {It may actually be my favorite temple... I can't decide.} Scarlett was making us all laugh as she applauded and YAYed when the temple introduction movie was over. She is too cute.

This last weekend my aunt Angela called me up asking if Jason and I would mind "babysitting" her kids while her and Matt went out on a date. We obviously didn't mind at all, but she went out of her way to turn it into a date for us as well. When we got there, all the kids were already in bed and they had a tub of movie theater popcorn, pizza, and soda all ready for us. They even had us pick out a movie to rent on Vidangel {which I highly suggest looking into because it is the greatest thing ever}. It was one of my favorite dates!

Phew! I think that'll do for now. All in all, life is awesome.

G r a d u a t i o n

Now, to catch up with life. {Can it just slow down a bit?} Jase and I graduated from BYU-Idaho in December! Gosh, that seems like so long ago. My parents and grandparents were able to make the trip down for it, despite the nasty weather. I absolutely loved having them all there! We had a family slumber party that night in our little one-bedroom apartment haha. So fun! I feel so lucky that I was able to walk in graduation with my boy. It made the day much more special.

After graduation we went to Applebee's {along with the rest of Rexburg} and got cuddly waiting for a table. Our graduation party consisted of Mom, Dad, Mauri, Debi, Ryan, Alisha, Tierra, Grandma & Grandpa Syddall, Grandma & Grandpa Goldsberry, and Jason and I. We loved feeling loved. I can't help but laugh watching this video. We were so squished!

We said our goodbyes to my family the next morning, and started packing/cleaning/selling everything right away. We moved out of Rexburg a couple days after Christmas, so we were busy bees that whole week. Isn't moving just the worst? I'm so ready to be settled!

So long, BYU-Idaho! Thanks for the memories... and for introducing me to the love of my life.

Dear Heaven,

Recently you've welcomed two new faces-- Jana Brown and Brian Syddall. I'll admit, we're all a little jealous, and maybe even a little bitter, that they are there and not here with us. Our family is very close, you know. Since they've left things haven't been the same. There is a feeling of emptiness at every family gathering and I've never seen so many tears fall from loved ones eyes. I just wanted to reach out to let you know why you're lucky to have them and why we miss them so much down here.

Let me start with aunt J. Jana is the sweetest. I still have fond memories of her longgg piggy back rides she would give me and my siblings when we were kids. Or the times she would take us to the local supermarket so we could pick out our favorite drink to take with us to the park. She would spin us and spin us on the metal merry-go-round and play lava monster with us for hours it seemed. We all loved Aunt Jana. I remember thinking that she looked so beautiful on her wedding day. She wasn't one to dress up much {I can so relate}, so I loved seeing her all dolled up! Jana and Jon were married and sealed in the beautiful Bountiful temple-- just like Jason and I. I cannot even begin to explain how grateful I am that she was there to support me for my big day. I had no idea that would be the last time I would get to hug her and talk to her. She gave me compliment after compliment and now I only wish that I reciprocated those same words to her. Shortly after my wedding, Jana was diagnosed with breast cancer. I don't know all the details, but I do know that her health was declining fast. Her body was filled with infection and failing organs. On October 12th, Jana passed away. It was hard news that no one wanted to accept. I bawled, along with many others. I can only hope that she knows the impact she's made on our lives. She is so, so loved.

Now let me tell you about my uncle Brian. Brian is hilarious. He knows how to lighten the mood and put a smile on anyone's face. He's a smart man with a big heart and he was always willing to help where he could. Ever since I was little, I've loved going over to Brian's house for parties, football games, holidays, and family get-togethers {I even had my bridal shower over there}. Playing knock out with everyone in his backyard has got to be one of my all time favorite things. One of my more vivid memories with Brian was on a Lagoon trip with the family. Shilo and I wanted to go on the rattlesnake rapids ride over and over again. Some of the group opted out to avoid being uncomfortably wet afterwards, but Brian was more than willing to accompany us! I remember having the best time ever that day. That memory specifically has stuck with me for years. {Side note: I didn't realize until I saw some pictures that Jana was with us that same day at Lagoon! Kind of crazy considering Jana and Brian are on different sides of our family.} Brian and his family were also at my wedding, which I am so, so grateful for. The morning of November 30th, only seven weeks after Jana's passing, Brian was killed in a car accident while driving to work. It was so unexpected and hearing the news absolutely broke my heart. I was still grieving over the loss of Jana, and then, like cutting into an already open wound, I found myself hurting more than ever before. I bawled. We all did. We all still do.

You know, it's really hard having to experience the loss of someone close. Jana was a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt. Brian was a husband, a dad, a son, a brother, an uncle. We wish we had more days with them and we wish we were able to give them a proper good-bye, but we know that, in time, we will be able to see them again. Let them know that they are so loved, and give them the biggest hug from us all.

Sending so much love your way,

     Lexee

P.S. Can you let Brian know that Robyn received his anniversary flowers?

More posts {from my sweet mama's blog} about Jana and Brian are found here and here.