February is for lovers (even though it's March already--whoops!)

So we realized it had been a little while since we last posted. But January and February were quite uneventful. We have been kept busy with lots of schoolwork. Jason procrastinated and is taking 17 credits (in order to graduate), and Morgan has some pretty demanding online classes she'll be finishing up this week.

Here’s a picture of our fantastic play day with the 3rd and 4th graders… We went to the roller skating rink. Morgan was quite impressive on those roller blades. Her group won a competition and got sweet headbands!!

In December, right before we left on our vacation, we did get to spend a morning with the 4th graders on their ski lessons trip to Sundance. Though we didn't bring our boards this year, we had fun taking pics of the kids. Here are a the only pictures we got of each other...

On Valentine's Day, our stake had a party and we were partially in charge of taking pictures. So even though we were taking other people's pictures the whole time, we were able to get our own picture in a carboard cutout...it was pretty silly. Hope you like it too!

We really don't have anything else to report on. Jason got his preliminary final orders (is that an oxymoron?!?), and we're excited to get finished with the semester and move. Except for Morgan's kids--that is, the kids in the 4th grade this year where she's working, and the 5th graders (who were her 4th graders last year). She's gonna miss them a ton, but she's gonna be missed more, especially by those two boys with crushes on her :)

We had a great PI day on saturday! Jason is such a nerd, that in addition to the sushi party we had with some friends, we had to have pie on the 14th (the date is 3.14!). We had tons of fun eating sushi and talking with friends.

I think this is our realization that we need to post more than once every other month. We love reading what everyone else is doing, but we're pathetic at doing the whole reporting thing. So we're gonna work on that. Maybe once we get the hang of one post per month, we can move up to once every other week, to every week, and that's probably where it'll stay. But we're motivated to get better!

Here and there...and back again

Getting there We first had to drive down to L.A., which had great weather, but getting out of Utah was terrible. The first big snowfall started just as we were leaving, and we saw many bad situations: jack-knifed semis, a pickup with a trailer that was on its side in the median, and other accidents. We were glad to have 4-wheel drive, but the windshield wipers kept freezing and not wiping, so Jason had to get out and scrape off the wiper blades. It was crazy and slowed us down a couple of hours, but we made it safely. Cruisin' So we did get to go on our cruise down to Mexico, and even though there were some irritating things, we really liked getting away and enjoying the free time and the sun. It felt good to be warm, that's for sure.

We also really enjoyed the excursion we went on in Puerto Vallarta. It involved us joining a bunch of crazy people on a two-level catamaran and going out to the Marietas Islands. On the 1.5 hour boat ride out there, we saw several whales, and one even breached for us. We saw a bunch of spotted dolphins following the boat (surfing the wake) and jumping like crazy. Anyways, out at the islands, we got to go snorkeling and sea kayaking. It was great fun!

Christmas We spent the week of Christmas around Morgan's grandparents and other relatives in San Jose. It was good to see and have fun with everyone. This is a picture of our new ornament we picked up to remember our cruise and vacation. Hmong New Year We got to drive down to Fresno where Jason's brother Erik served his mission with the Hmong people. The week between Christmas and New Year's is when they celebrate Hmong New Year. They had the Fresno Fairgrounds chock full of booths selling anything and everything, and there were celebrations with singing, dancing, and even a beauty pageant. The most fun things were the taro bubble tea and seeing the shirt labeled "Got Sticky Rice?" New Year We spent our New Year's Eve in Mesquite, Arizona, en route to Provo. It was pretty uneventful, but we made it back to Provo just fine the next day. Jason's relatives Scott & Kirsten had all the family over to their house so they could all see Erik and he could see all of them. He was most surprised with Caleb and Lucas, as they are now 3 and 6 years old. It was fun to see everyone, and they were glad to see Erik. Wedding Reception Jason's long-time friend, Josh, got married on January 2nd. Luckily we had made it back on the 1st, and were able to settle down a little bit before driving up to the Salt Lake City area for Josh's reception. It was nice for Jason to see his old friends Matt, Josh, and Greg, as they've all been doing different things the past few years in different parts of the country. Back to school School started again and we were not prepared! Morgan's EOU online classes didn't give any ramp-up time, and neither did Jason's BYU classes. We had a rough first week, and have hopefully settled into a more established routine since then. It's been very cold recently-not nearly the comfort we had in the "cold" 65 degree California... but we're trying to survive!

The past....until now!

So we figured our first post would be a great way to introduce ourselves and our history together. Since there's over 2.5 years of catching up to do, this will probably be the longest post ever... so brace yourself. (And this is going to be partially in third person because we're both writing it, so please know that we know it sounds weird sometimes.)

The Beginning We met in the summer of 2006. Morgan was attending MHCC in Troutdale and Jason came home from BYU for the summer. After meeting, then subsequently getting more acquainted at a young single adult fireside and dance, we instantly hit it off, and the rest of the summer, you couldn't find us apart. We got to meet each other's families and had spent some great times together. One memorable occasion was when we went with Morgan's family to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We all loved it, and even got a great set of pictures of us trying to fit inside one of those minuscule photo booths. We'll post that and more when we can access all of our archived pictures.

The Engagement That first summer was great. We fell in love, and Jason finally figured out how to ask Morgan to marry him. So on August 22nd, he woke her up at an hour in the morning which shouldn't exist, picked her up, and drove her to see the sun rise over Crown Point in the Columbia River Gorge. Luckily, he was thoughtful enough and brought 2 blankets and a thermos of hot chocolate. Though the temperature wasn't very high, the view was remarkable and looked something like this: Morgan caught on, and was anxious for Jason to hurry and ask her because she was so cold. But it didn't happen, so she was really wondering what was going on. After the sun had risen into the sky and the calm glory of the mist-filled gorge began to subside, we packed up and Jason drove to a little trail head near Bonneville Dam. We hiked up Tanner Creek Trail until we got to Wahclella Falls(shown here). We sat for a little while enjoying the beauty, then Jason finally got his courage up, and with Morgan sitting in front of him with his arms around her, he held her hands, slipped a ring onto her finger, and asked her to marry him. She was speechless and with the biggest smile* she'd ever had, gave him a hug (and she did say yes after the initial shock and excitement wore off). * If you've ever seen Morgan's smile, you'll understand what we mean.

The Wedding So our story began. After several long months, and after thousands and thousands of cell phone minutes were used between the two of us, we finally got married. On the 17th of February, 2007 , our sealing ceremony took place at the Portland LDS Temple, and that evening, a grand party took place. There was dancing, eating, and lots of enjoyment by all who came. We enjoyed it and loved being able to see everybody that could make it (we thank you again for your support!!). We thought you'd all enjoy pictures of the wedding reception, so here are a few... sorry we couldn't put them all in here! Married Life Begins After the wedding, we made our way back to Provo, since Jason had school to attend that next week. Our first apartment was super... super-small, that is! We moved into the basement of a small house to call home for the next year or so. The best part was that we were right next to an elementary school where Morgan could get work at. What a nice commute! So Morgan found several jobs working for the Provo School District (two of which at the school next door), and we finished the school year teaching summer school through June (each of us at a different school). That was just going to be the beginning of a great summer.

Summer Adventures In July, Derik and Kamlyn flew down to stay with us for a few days. They enjoyed our mountainside seats to watch fireworks on Independence Day, and we all enjoyed the morning's hot-air balloon launch and Freedom Festival parade. We even went to some museums at BYU and saw dinosaur bones, fossils, and even a stuffed Liger (bet you thought those didn't even exist). Morgan's parents and Drake drove down to Provo a few days later, and we all drove out to Breckenridge, Colorado, for a Benjamin Family Reunion. Along with Jason meeting more of Morgan's relatives and enjoying socializing, we had a lot of fun doing other activities. We played cards, splashed in the pool, went on dirt bike rides, went on walks to tour the downtown shops, took a bike ride to the next town over and back, and even got some great fishing in. It was a fantastic week! After the reunion, we spent a few days camping out at Morgan's uncle Mike's cabin in Colorado, then went back to Provo for some much-needed rest. One funny thing that happened at the cabin one day was absolutely unbelievable. One side of the cabin has a lot of windows, and was great for seeing the stars at night without being scared of bears, but while we were sitting there one day, we were startled when an enormous thud was heard from that side of the cabin. Fearing a bear, Morgan cowered in the corner, while brave Jason went to investigate. Nothing was found until we looked up and saw some marks on a window close to the ceiling. Upon further inspection, we found out the marks were a complete silhouette of some clueless bird who hadn't discovered the existence of windows. Like a chalk outline at a crime scene, we could clearly see the whole outline of "the bird who didn't quite make it over the cuckoo's nest." What a crazy avian! Later that summer, we were able to go to Yellowstone National Park with Jared and Sarah (Jason's aunt and uncle) and their two sons, Lucas and Caleb. Morgan felt safe camping since Jared brought bear mace to thwart any four-legged trespassers. We loved seeing Old Faithful, the bubbling mud pots, and thoroughly enjoyed wading, splashing, and playing in the warmth of the Firehole River right by our campground. Here is a fun pic of us enjoying nature! In August, we were able to move from the basement to the main level of the house and have an additional bedroom along with recently painted walls and room enough for a bigger bed. What a relief it was to have more space. School and work both started again in September, and life became boring again. Morgan started taking online classes to finish her degree and Jason was given a high-responsibility position with the BYU Air Force ROTC, so we both kept busy.

Holidays Thanksgiving that year involved us driving back to Oregon and spending time with both of our families. With Morgan's family, we spent Thanksgiving Day in Bellingham, Washington, where Drake was stationed with the Coast Guard. Christmas and the holidays brought emotions galore. Jason's family visited and his parents announced that they'd be having a baby in April, which came as a shock to everyone. It was quite a surprise, and when we all called Erik in Fresno, he was mistaken and thought that we were pregnant. Sorry to disappoint! After the new year, Jason got hired on at the elementary school to be the 3rd graders' after-school teacher, and began team-teaching with Morgan (who taught the 4th grade). She continued to take online classes and we managed to keep busy.

First Anniversary For our first anniversary, we thought we'd try a few new places in Salt Lake City. We went out to a nice dinner at a brewery near the city center, then spent the night in the Romeo and Juliet suite at the Anniversary Inn. It was a fun experience, and we enjoyed the night away from all our other cares of school and work and stress and everything.

Back in Oregon and Summer Celebrations In March, 2008, Morgan finished with the last classes she could take online, and needed to head back to Troutdale, Oregon to take her last few classes on MHCC campus. She flew back at the end of the month, and when Jason finished school in the middle of April, he drove back and joined her. The most exciting part was that Ian (Jason's youngest brother) had just been born on April 15 (see their blog)! It was nice to be there and help out with everything when we were needed. We stayed with Jason's parents until the middle of June. While Morgan took classes, Jason worked at several branches of the Multnomah County Library. Most importantly, on June 8, Morgan graduated from MHCC and received her associates degree. It was a great time to celebrate! After graduation, Morgan kept busy in July and August with got a coaching job for a swim team in Turner, Oregon (on the south side of Salem), where she taught the 8 and under swimmers. They were quite a handful, but she enjoyed the experience and especially liked seeing Derik and Kamlyn also participate on that team. In August, we had the opportunity to visit Nauvoo, Illinois, for an Eliason Family Reunion. We got to tour areas of religious historical value, and Morgan enjoyed meeting the majority of the relatives. We also got to spend a couple days in St. Louis, Missouri, and liked touring that city. Later that month, we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Morgan's cousin Christen, to Joe Byker. The ceremony was unforgettable, and the memories are priceless. It took place at a winery in the hills near Morgan Hill, California, and was absolutely amazing in every way.

School and Work...Again After coming back to Provo, and luckily finding a decent place to live in, we got into the school routine again: Jason at BYU, and Morgan starting the online Physical Education and Health Education program at Eastern Oregon University. Morgan received a more enjoyable position in the elementary school where she works, and Jason became a teacher's assistant/lab supervisor for a mechanical engineering instrumentation class. We found out that we will likely be moving to Georgia when Jason graduates and commissions into the Air Force, but no guarantees yet. We will be finishing this term of school and on December 14, our ship will set sail for a week-long Mexican Riviera cruise just before Christmas. You'll find out more about that later, and probably see more pictures than you'd like, but we're excited and anxious. However few or far between our activities are, we just can't wait to tell you everything that's going on in our lives. We sincerely hope that our post did not turn anyone away from blogging, and hopefully we'll stay caught up. We hope to see comments occasionally!!