A long overdue update

Hey there,

Most of you I'm sure are aware of the general things of what's going on in our lives, but here we go with an update for the rest of you, and for the journal aspect of the blog...

Since we last posted, much has happened!

Jed graduated in April. It was great! His parents came out for the occasion, and my family was there, and we all had a good time. Jed was especially grateful to be done with school...finally!

Jed's Graduation Day!

After graduation, we moved into my parents' home (though most of our stuff moved into a storage unit). This was the worst move we've ever done. We did it during the day, and so I did not seek any help, figuring that most men were at work. Bad idea! Also, I originally thought we would take a couple of days to move stuff. Plans changed, and we had just one day to pack, move, and clean. Needless to say, it was a long day, starting early in the morning and ending very late (I believe I got to my mom's house after cleaning around 11). With help from only a few people (babysitting, moving, and cleaning), we somehow did it.

3rd Anniversary Temple trip to where we got married--the Draper Temple!

3rd Anniversary dinner--Chef's Table. I had always wanted to go and there was a groupon! (P.S. It did not disappoint. We loved it!)

So after graduation, we kind of took it easy for a bit. No obligations was a crazy feeling. Of course, that got old fast, and we were anxious to have some sort of schedule. Jed looked for and applied to jobs daily, and Chris and I tried to find fun things to do. After not so long, Jed and I felt like looking for jobs in California (Northern, where he is originally from), was what we should do. Then we realized, if there's where we will exclusively look, let's move there to make the looking easier! It felt crazy and sudden, but also felt right. And just a week or so into being there, Jed went to and LDS Unemployment meeting, and met a man who was the boss at TRC Solutions. He practically offered Jed the job right then and there. We were shocked! And so grateful! Over the course of the next few weeks, Jed interviewed with a few different people, on the local and corporate level, finally getting an official job offer. We felt so blessed! Jed started the job July 8th; we received insurance on August 1st; life is great. Now, we all know the beginning of a job is no fun, especially when you are fresh out of college and have to pay your dues. These last 2 1/2 months have been tough on Jed, but its gets better as time goes on. His official job title is Environmental Scientist. What he basically does is makes sure the engineering projects the company does all comply with the environmental laws of California. He makes a lot of maps and has to put together huge 3 or 4 inch binders of information. To me, it looks quite difficult, but Jed is doing very well there. He has some good guys that he works with, and the hours are very flexible, so it's hard to complain about it as a whole.

Going to the dentist.... thanks to insurance!

Jed on site at the Port of Sacramento

Jed's gear when he goes on site for his job

Many other things have happened this summer. I went on a two week trip to Europe! It's maybe a tradition for the girls of the Stephenson family to go on a trip every several years (I hope it happens again!). Last time around, they went through much of Europe. That was before I joined the family. So this time around, we went to England, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. It was beautiful! I think overall, England really was my favorite. I did love the other countries too, each for different reasons, but England wins overall. This makes me especially happy as I've wanted to go to England for years and years and years, and when I finally got to go, I was afraid my expectations would be too high. They weren't! It was just as wonderful as I had hoped.

We also had several family reunions this summer. First was the Bruce Stephenson family reunion (meaning just Jed's parents and siblings and their kids). We went to Salt Lake City, where we rented a very interesting home. It had some quirks to it, but it fit us all very well and we had a lot of fun there. We took excursions, like to This is the Place monument and pioneer village, bowling, Pioneer day rodeo, and Pioneer day parade. We had a ton of fun.

At Music and the Spoken Word when during the smaller Stephenson Family Reunion

The next family reunion was the Willard Stephenson family reunion (Jed's dad's siblings and all their posterity). This took place in Delta, UT. For me, the best part of the trip was seeing all the homes and graves of Jed's ancestors in Delta and Holden. It was very powerful to see those things. I also enjoyed meeting many of Jed's cousins I never have had opportunity to meet. The Stephensons are a great family to be a member of! And between both of these reunions, Chris had a marvelous time with so many cousins. He is so social, and for the end of June and all of July, he had cousins to play with almost every day.

The last family reunion was a week after the one in Delta. This was for the Morgans (my dad's side of the family) and it took place in Santaquin, UT. Jed had to return to his job, so Chris and I stayed with my mom for this one. We loved this one too! While we were missing quite a few of my cousins and uncles and aunts, it was great to see the ones that were there. My favorite day was probably when we went to Salem Pond. That pond and park is absolutely perfect. Why did I not discover this until after I moved??? Go visit this pond if you are in the area--it is a must! This reunion was focused around Santaquin Days and we had a lot of fun going to the various activities the city had.

In other news, I have a job! Sort of. I joined Norwex, which is a Canadian based company for cleaning products! Pretty much right up my alley. They have amazing microfiber products and require no chemicals to disinfect or clean. You just use water! I love the company, because they are very generous, very eco-friendly, and have a lot of integrity. And I love the products, because I can clean my home without harsh chemicals, and I can clean my home a lot faster! I really appreciate the fastness of it. So I'm a consultant, which means I can sell it to people individually, I can do parties, and things like that. I've had a lot of fun so far, showing people these amazing products and meeting new people. I'm not super gung-ho about it, but I like my slow speed. I also just became a doTerra consultant, and I'm enjoying learning about essential oils and learning how my Norwex products can work together with my oils! Love it!

Chris. What can be said for wonderful Christopher? He is lovin' life. I'll be writing a "Dear Chris" letter, so there will be more detail there.

Chris playing with his cousins

So that's the big update. The very big update. We're having a good time here in California, and we couldn't be more thankful for the good things God has given us!