Festivities of the Past Week

This week has been a little more crazy than usual, but we had some exciting things happen.

We took Jake to the dermatologist on Tuesday to finally get his moles looked at. He has a lot of moles on his body, and I was very relieved to discover they all looked normal. The dermatologist decided to take one off his back, and he used this little metal scraper thing to shave the mole off. It was disgusting. Jake will probably have a good scar there, but he likes scars so it was no big deal.

Alan and Jake went to the rest home here in Logan and performed some of their camp songs with other members of Alan's ward. It was pretty funny.

Jake and I drove down to my parent's house to stay the night because Jake's brother Jeff was coming home on Thursday. Jake was so excited and could hardly stand the wait that night! It was so great to visit my family. I miss watching my siblings grow up and do the funny things they do. It makes me sad sometimes at how far away I live. Jake tells me it's not far at all compared to Alabama, but I still feel like it's far away.

We drove up to Salt Lake on Thursday morning to attend Jake's sister-in-law, Ornela's, citizenship ceremony. She's from Albania and has been in the US for six years and is finally getting her citizenship. The ceremony was awful! I was so annoyed with how everything played out. The people around us were really disrespectful; letting their kids run wild and walking in front of the projector screen while we were trying to watch the program, talking, and most of them wouldn't even stand up when they were asked to. I hate people sometimes. The judge conducting the ceremony, and the speakers, talked to the people becoming citizens like they were five. The judge asked several people where they were from and how long it took them to become a citizen, and most said they had been in the country for 10 or 20 years, and this guy was trying to tell them how to be a citizen. It was ridiculous! I was really happy for Ornela though, it was a great day for her.

After the ceremony, we rushed over to the Salt Lake airport and made it just in time to see Jeff walk out. Everyone was so excited to see him. He looks a lot like Jake I think, and he was really nice. We all went to Sizzler for lunch and enjoyed each other's company. I love Jake's family. They are so sweet and fun! I especially love the younger members, and I love having nieces and nephews! Jake let Jeff drive our Rodeo back to his parent's house for practice, and I thought he did a really good job for being gone for two years.

The Bailey gang.

Jake's missionary badge has now been in three missions. He gave it to Alan and then Jeff to carry with them while they were on their missions.

We hung out with Jeff and Jake's sister Becky for the rest of the afternoon, and took him shopping that evening. Jake and I decided to head back to Logan Thursday night because everyone had school the next morning. It had been a fun day, and Jake was really glad he got to spend some time with Jeff. He was a little disappointed he and Jeff didn't get to watch the movie Hot Rod (which is a really dumb movie) or play Ghost Recon (a computer game).

I spent Saturday morning deep cleaning our apartment for school to start and also my family was coming up to see it. Jake had to work, so I took lunch up to him for a break. My family came up to visit, and we went Repelling up Logan Canyon. Everyone loved repelling.

We went and ate at Golden Corral, where I ate WAY too much food. Jake, dad, and I went to Walmart after to buy some jumper cables because the suburban had died in the canyon.

The Temple dedication was great. There were some really great talks given and hopefully I can remember to go to the temple to listen and receive the blessings of temple attendance. It reinforced my goal of going to the temple each week. My family came over to our apartment after the dedication and Jake fixed his famous steaks for lunch. My family was really impressed with our apartment and my mom called it very "homey". This was the highest form of a compliment for me, and I was very pleased.

This has been a great week! School starts tomorrow and I am so excited! Mostly to get on a schedule again. Jake is very unhappy. :-)

Sealed Forever

Jake and I went up to my cousin Drew Davis's sealing on Thursday night in Idaho Falls. It was interesting because we were originally going to get married on August 14th, but decided why wait? Idaho Falls has a beautiful temple, but awful streets. They were all named instead of numbered and Jake and I drove around for about an hour trying to find a Target and Chuck-A-Rama. By the time we found Chuck-A-Rama, it was about to close, so we had to drive around again and find some place else to eat. We ended up eating at Olive Garden, which was nice, but I detest Idaho Falls streets now!

We slept in a Hotel Thursday night and woke up bright and early to be to the sealing. I told Jake it was like we were getting married all over again as we walked down to breakfast and saw a lot of my extended family. The temple was beautiful, and it was so great to listen to my grandpa seal Drew and his fiance Whitney together. It helped me remember the covenants Jake and I made, and also to remember the counsel and instruction my grandpa gave us.

I am so grateful to have parents who taught me the right way to live so I could attend the temple and be sealed to Jake forever. He is such a good man; ambitious, hard working, loyal, honest, and kind. He is always trying to find ways to please me and do whatever I ask, even if he doesn't like the things I make him do. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect companion to go through life with.

Jake helping me vacuum one Saturday. He is quite the stud.

Oh How Time Flies

Wow time sure seems to fly by. It's already time for school to start again. I'm really excited, but Jake is less than enthused. I'm really glad we decided to get married in June. It gave us almost two months to get used to married life before school starts and life gets crazy. I guess I need to do a quick update on the happenings of the Jake and Shannon Bailey household.

Jake and I went back to Salem to stay with my family over the 24th of July. It was so fun to have Jake there to share one of my family traditions growing up. We went to Magleby's for breakfast, then sat on Spanish Fork main street to watch the parade. Jake fit right in with my dad and brother. All three of them hate parades, and the Spanish Fork parade is known to be super long! It had been going for about 2 hours by the time we decided to leave, and there was still about another hour left to go. Both my sisters were in the parade this year. Stephanie is the Miss Salem 1st attendant, and Melanie is on the Salem Hills drill team. I've been in the parade for both things before, and it was fun to see them follow in my footsteps. (They hate it when I tell them that. They like to think they're paving their own way. :-) After the parade we were invited over to my aunt Kristin Morley's house for lunch and to swim in her pool. I had never seen it before, and it was pretty amazing. They have a pretty big pool with a nice big hot tub next to it and a really tall ledge you can jump off into the water. Jake and Brandon just thought it was the greatest thing ever, and tried to do cool things off the edge. Jake really impressed all the little boy cousins with his front and back flips off the ledge. He was pretty proud of himself.

Jake and my dad chillin' at the pool.

Jake's front flip.

Jake's cool back flip.

Jake's throat started hurting him something terrible a few weeks back, and we decided to take him to a ear, nose, and throat doctor. The reason his throat was hurting was because he got hit square in the neck way back in March playing football. I made him go to the emergency room just to make sure there was nothing wrong. The dumb doctor didn't even look down his throat but made Jake feel he went there for nothing. Fast forward to the present, we went to the throat doctor, and the doctor looked down his throat and apparently Jake got a hematoma on his larynx and scar tissue had formed, causing some minor damage. Hopefully he’ll be 100% better in a few months.

We went on Jake’s family reunion this last weekend. It was a lot of fun! We met in Rexburg and went rock climbing first to kick things off. Jake, Alan, Rachel, and Jenny tried to race to the top. It was entertaining to watch. We went camping at this really pretty lake in Montana. It rained really hard the first night we were there, but cleared up the following morning. Jake begged me to make these chocolate cookie brownies that everyone loves, so we brought those and they were gone really fast. Jake also found this HUGE rope swing that he went off three times. His sister, Becky, also went off it once but almost hit the rocks. That was a stomach clencher. It was a really fun vacation, and I felt I got to know his family a lot better.

Jake tried to be a redneck. I thought he pulled it off pretty well don't you?

Just playing at the beach. Doesn't he look all muscled up? :-)

I thought this picture was really cute of Jake and little Logan laying by each other. He found a worm and we thought it would be funny to stick on Jake while he was sun bathing. Jake is such a good sport.

The rope swing Jake found. He went about 30 feet in the air before dropping into the water.

We babysat Cassie overnight a couple weeks ago, and Whitney instructed us to give her a nap in the morning after she had eaten. I gave the job to Jake so I could get ready, and when I came out of the bathroom this is what I found.

He is such a good uncle.

Jake really wanted to go to the demolition derby yesterday, and was so ecstatic when we got there. Looking around at all the men with their tongues hanging out, goggling over the cars bashing each other just made me laugh! Every man is just a little boy at heart.

Waiting for the demolition derby to start.

Daddy Daughter Dance

I was finally able to get the video clip of my Daddy Daughter Dance at my reception from a friend. I couldn't believe she was the only person who filmed it! I thought for sure my videographer would have been there, but he turned out to be MIA. It was so much fun anticipating this dance, and it was great to perform it. My dad was a real sport. People keep asking me if I coerced my dad into this, but I didn't. He was more than happy to accommodate my wish. So here it is! Enjoy! Make sure you watch it to the end!

The Results of the Pranking

Well, I got a text about 15 minutes after my buddy Ben's shift started letting me know that I'd got him good. He was tee-oed because I came by earlier that day to borrow some tools and the first couple seasons of "The Office" from him. Bit the hand that feeds me. He said, "You know this means WAR now don't you?" I'm sure he'll get me back good. In the meantime, we're leaving it up to try to scare our boss and a couple other people. Heh heh heh!

~ Jake

Jake the Prankster

Jake works as a night manager in the Taggart Student Center on USU campus. One of his friends and former roommates also works as a night manager. I got a blow up doll for one of my bridal showers, and Jake came up with a prank to play on his friend. He decided to hang up this doll in one of the creepy rooms they have to check every night so when you open the door the doll swings down. He came home so excited last night after rigging up this prank and couldn't wait to show it to me today. I have to admit it was pretty good and would have scared the tar out of me if he hadn't told me about it first! I just had to film it so you could see how it works. Jake climbed up a couple of pipes to wrap the rope around one of the pipes going across the ceiling and put the end in the door hinge. When the door opens, the rope unwinds from around the ceiling pipe and down comes the doll. I married such a smart man!

Every Girls Dream

Wow sometimes life seems to drag by super slow, and then zoom so fast it's gone in the blink of an eye. That's how I'm feeling at this moment. I've dreamed and planned for the day I would get married, it dragged by so slowly, and then before you know it, a week has passed and I'm officially Mrs. Shannon Bailey.

The weeks leading up to the wedding were stressful, but not as stressful as they could have been. Jake left for AT (annual training) for the National Guard two weeks before our wedding, and I was pleasantly surprised when I found out I would be able to see him most nights. I tried to plan as far ahead as possible in order to prepare to go through the temple and focus more on the sealing and less on the reception. I'm so glad I did! Receiving my endowment was absolutely wonderful, and I know I wouldn't have had the great experience I did unless I had adequately prepared myself for it. I cried as Jake took me through the veil and as we walked into the Celestial Room. I was amazed and deeply touched by the support and love given to me by those who came and wished they could come. Jake and I had the opportunity to go through the Logan Temple a few days before our wedding. It was a great refresher and a beautiful temple.

June 30th dawned bright and clear (I was very grateful for that because our reception was outdoors), and I woke up at 5:45am because I couldn't sleep anymore. It was like Christmas! I drove over to the brunch in Lehi by Jake's parent's house and saw the beautiful table decorations Diana had made. She put so much hard work into making the brunch perfect. Before the brunch started, I went over to see Jake and discovered he was quite nervous and was running around trying to find an appropriate tie to wear with his brown suit we bought him. (Apparently boys aren't very good at matching colors. :-) This caused me some concern because I didn't want my husband-to-be getting cold feet. Luckily it was just because he HATES being the center of attention. I told him he should have considered that before he proposed. ;-) The brunch was great and Dennis and my dad said a few words about how much they appreciated the newest addition to their families. Jake gave an account of our dating and engagement story, with some interjections from me when appropriate, and we left for the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.

It felt like a dream. My mom and I were ushered into the bride's room where she helped me put on my temple clothes. This was such a special moment for me to share with my mother. After I was ready, the temple lady had me wait for Jake behind a wall. She wanted me to make a grand entrance. I really liked her. Jake wasn't even paying attention. We were escorted to the Celestial Room and were allowed to sit and wait there together. I think that is one of the best things they let us do. While we were sitting there, I had the most powerful feelings of love and peace fill my heart, and I knew without a doubt Jake and I were supposed to get married and we would be so happy if we always put each other first. My heart almost thumped out of my chest when the temple lady came back in and told us they were ready. My grandpa Griffiths met us outside the sealing room and took us aside so we could talk. He went over some things about the ceremony and asked if we had any questions. I started to cry when he said this was legal both in Heaven and on Earth and we would be married for time and all eternity when we walked out of that room. I was ready.

My heart was beating so fast when we walked into the sealing room and I saw Jake

and my family and friends there supporting us. I just couldn't believe how much support and love we had from those around us. My grandpa gave some excellent counsel about being fiercely true and loyal to each other, and then Jake brought me to the altar. I couldn't help but cry again when my grandpa sealed us together forever. We exchanged rings and our family and friends were allowed to come and congratulate us, and just like that it was over. I was a married woman.

My mom helped me get dressed into my wedding dress in the bride's room, and then Jake and I made our grand entrance out the side doors as husband and wife. We took pictures and everyone left to relax before the reception. Jake and I went back to his parent's house and Jake and his dad thought of a plan on how to hide our car from those who would do it harm. I stayed out of it because it was totally a man thing. Jake and I got to our reception about 5:00pm and took more pictures and helped set up last minute things. I looked around at my reception in awe. It was beautiful! As a little girl I always dreamed of a fairy tale wedding, and here it was! My happily ever after had finally happened. We had so many friends come through our line, and then it was time to cut the cake. The cake even tasted good! I have always wanted a dance at my reception, and we started it off with Jake and my first dance. My dad and I had prepared a special daddy daughter dance to show off our personalities, and I was so glad it was such a hit! My mom told me later that people from our ward were still laughing about it on Sunday. My dad just beamed.

The time approached for us to make our grand exit, and there was a horse and carriage waiting for us as we ran through the center of family and friends holding sparklers and yelling their congratulations at us. The carriage drove around for awhile, and then dropped us off at our car. Jake's brothers and sisters were sweet and gave us a nights stay at the Hines Mansion in Provo. We left for Jackson Hole the next day and enjoyed the tram, waffles, hiking, horseback riding, and the Bar J Wranglers dinner and a show. On our way home, we stopped in Rexburg to visit with Rachel and Matt and spent the 4th of July lighting fireworks with their cute little family. We attended church with them the following day and drove back to Logan that night. It was so much fun to go on our Honeymoon, but I'm glad we're back and can start our life together. I love Jake so much and being married is great!

Our night at Hines Mansion. Jake, my little cowboy.

Horseback riding!

The ride up the mountain on the Tram and eating waffles!

The view from our hike.