a thankful list

Just wanted to stop by at the end of this beautiful Thanksgiving Day and share a few things I'm grateful for. Some are silly, and some are serious. Either way, it's hard to count them all!

1. Daniel

2. Friends that are family and family that are friends

3. Being raised in the Gospel

4. Temple covenants

5. Our apartment

6. Cars

7. Careers that pay for our needs

8. Being able to afford many of our wants

9. Dry shampoo

10. Cable TV (especially the Nat Geo WILD channel)

11. My iPhone, which survived an underwater adventure this week

12. Food. Yummy, yummy food.

13. Boots & leggings weather

14. Holidays

15. Modern medicine

16. Good books

17. My laptop

18. My good health, both physical and mental

19. Freedom

20. Technology (most days)

21. Our comfy bed

22. Design blogs

23. My college education

24. Prayer, and answers to prayers

25. Laughter

26. Animals

27. Kind strangers

28. The Atonement

29. Parties

30. Shopping

31. Close relationships with parents, siblings, and in-laws

32. My strong, happy, loving marriage

33. My new pink zip-up jacket

34. Warm coats

35. Missionaries

36. Inspired leaders

37. Good examples

38. Beautiful art and design

39. Cute clothes

40. Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes

41. Kneaders soup & sandwiches

42. The Scriptures

43. Kate Spade bags

44. Cozy blankets

45. Being able to sleep well

46. Beaches

47. Vacations

48. Cabins

49. Warm weather & sunshine

50. Good-smelling candles

...and so much more. Those are just off the top of my head, but 50 seemed like a logical place to start. 

Also, my wonderful mother-in-law recently shared a quote with us. It said: "What if you woke up tomorrow with only the blessings you thanked God for today?" That really made me think of all the things the Lord has provided for me in my life. It also made my nightly prayers a little bit longer!

I hope your Thanksgiving was the happiest one yet! 

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Welcome Home Elder Jacobsen!

It's absolutely crazy to me that it's been two whole years since I wrote this post. It feels like so much longer, but at the same time, I never thought this day would come and now it's here! I am so happy that our family got to welcome home Elder Steven Jacobsen from his mission last month. He returned with honor from the Arizona, Tempe Mission this past July, and we are so glad he's home.

Here's some fun and happy photos of the day we picked him up at the airport!

Our house all decorated and waiting for his arrival!

Getting excited!

 Waiting not-so-patiently with my sign...

 And here he is!!! 

(photo credit to the sweetest lady at the airport who didn't know us at all, but sent me the pictures she took of us)

 Steven and Grandma + Grandpa

 Elder J and his cute cousins!

 So happy to see his good friends.

 Finally together again! (Minus Tommy...)

And my personal favorite picture of the day, taken by my Aunt Kim. I love that brother of mine!

And last but not least, a video. This never fails to make me tear up. Except at the end, when my Grandma asks Steven if they can "do a selfie." That part is hilarious!

Hooray for Missionary Homecomings!

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a hike.

Every time we go on a hike, I always promise myself we need to do it more often. The outdoors here in Utah are so incredible! It's something I need to take advantage of a lot more.

We hiked up to the waterfalls at Bell's Canyon, and it was a really fun one. It wasn't too hard (we are clearly not experienced hikers) but it was strenuous enough that it wasn't just a walk. There's also a lot to see! There's a lake, rivers, and several waterfalls if you choose to hike up that far. We recommend!

Any hikes to recommend for us? We'd love to hear. 

I'm excited to get out there once the leaves start changing!

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As of Late

A few tidbits of what we've been up to as of late...

D and I took a weekend trip up to the cabin - just the two of us. 

Kiki and I took millions of pictures at John's Significant Sig award dinner.

I painted a handful of signs for our 5th grade State Fair! It was a smashing success.

Daniel and his brothers each ate their OWN 42 oz. porterhouse steaks at Spencer's. The waiter said they were made to share, but he clearly hadn't met the Sorensen men...

Fun was had by all at Daniel's Grandma Susu's 80th birthday bash! A yummy dinner and fun talent show at the Joseph Smith Memorial building made for a great party.

No matter what we're doing, I'm so grateful I get to spend my time with this handsome man.

Daniel's Graduation!

Hello! Back on the blog again. Just thought it might be a good idea to document one of the most important things that's happened to us this year. Daniel graduated from college!

 Tassel in the face with a John B. Sorensen photobomb in the back :)

Emily homemade these truly spectacular U of U cookies! It's even more impressive when you consider that she is a BYU fan.

After the ceremony, we had a luncheon for Daniel and his cousin Peter who graduated the same day. fun was had by all!

Post-graduation life was kind of interesting for us at the beginning. Before he graduated, Daniel had a great job at a law firm, but it was only part time and wasn't where he wanted to be forever. So, he started the job hunt. At first, not much was coming up. So when a friend offered Daniel a position at his start-up company, D put in his two-weeks notice and we started getting excited for this new opportunity!

That was when things got interesting.

Days before Daniel's two weeks was up, the job at the start-up company fell through. It was a huge blow. Not only was it financially not the best situation, it was also hard for Daniel to be finally graduating - only to be unemployed.

A few months into this unemployment adventure, I had started to get pretty discouraged. Daniel had been searching so hard for a job and doing everything he could, but nothing was working out. My life right then was the opposite of how I pictured it would be. Wasn't life supposed to finally begin after both of us graduated? Weren't we supposed to be making more money instead of less? We had lived in this tiny-shoebox-apartment for 4 years, and I just wanted to move on with our lives. It was a good thing I had Daniel to help keep me positive. He had a lot more perspective than I did, and I appreciate that now more than ever.

It turned out, as all "trials" do, that the whole ordeal was for the best. Not only did I learn a lot about myself and Daniel, but I also learned about patience and the Lord's timing. I learned for myself that when one door closes, another door opens. And that second door is the one you want to go through anyway.

After much searching and prayer, Daniel was eventually offered a great position at Extra Space Storage in their branding department. It was, and has continued to be, a HUGE blessing. It's an excellent company that treats their employees well. He travels nationwide and is learning a lot of valuable skills. Their most recent company party was even at the Aquarium! Pretty much my dream come true :)

A long story, but an important one for me to write about on the blog because it was a real learning experience for me. I've learned that keeping a positive attitude in hard times is important, because eventually it will all work out. We just have to trust!

Congratulations Daniel! <3

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A Bunny Video

How many Jacobsens does it take to get a rabbit back in her cage?

Sneaky Blackjack....

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So, I decided to take up bird watching....

...specifically birds of prey! Even more specifically, owls. I did my research, got a pair of binoculars, and took our camera lens with the best zoom out for my first attempt! I also took my super-supportive husband who puts up with all of my random ideas. 

Things started off pretty slow with a few geese and some gorgeous scenery.

But our bird watching picked up quickly when we spotted a hawk on a fence post!

We saw another one just a little ways down the road!

Hawks turned out to be everywhere in this area. Here's an awesome shot of a red-tail landing!

This guy was feeling very photogenic and gave us some great shots.

Work it!

Now here comes the amazing part of our journey. I had really, really wanted to see an owl that day. I did my research and knew generally where they liked to hang out. It was getting to be dusk, and we still hadn't been able to spot one. I had heard they were pretty hard to see, so I didn't have very high hopes that we'd end up finding one.

We were on the freeway driving home when I saw a spot not far from an exit that I thought would be perfect for owls. We got off the exit and decided to check just one last time for the day. We were cruising like total sketchy people through a parking lot when a cute old couple drove up beside us. I was hanging out the window looking at a bunch of trees with my binoculars, and the man leaned out his window too. He shall, from here on out, be known as "miracle man." I almost died when I heard what he said.

Miracle Man: "Hey! Are you looking at the owl in that tree over there?"

Me: "Wh...What?!? WHAT?!"

Man: "Yeah! There's an owl in that tree! Just across the river. We come here almost every day to see it."

Me: *jumps out of car* "SKLJDLAKJLFDJSKFJSKJSALKJLDKASJ"

Man: "Yep! Just right in that tree!"

Me: *tears in eyes* "Oh my gosh oh my gosh it's an owl!!!!"

Man: .....

Me: "This is the best day of my life!!!!"

Man: "Okay...."

Me: "THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!"

Man: "You're welcome. Enjoy!" *drives away probably straight off into heaven*

And that's the story of how I saw my very first wild owl of my whole life.

Well...that's almost the whole story. It turns out, we could just see the owl's silhouette from the side of the river we were on. Now that might be enough for most owl enthusiasts, but not this one. This was my first real owl sighting, and I was going to make the most of it. Daniel and I drove around to the other side of the river to try and get a closer look. Unfortunately, we were met with a barbed wire fence and a giant "No Trespassing" sign.  But did that deter this owl lover? Not a chance. We hopped the fence, and ran about a quarter mile down the riverbank through mud and slush and came face-to-face with this absolutely gorgeous creature in the most magical light I could have ever imagined.

 When we got a little too close for his comfort, he even flew to another branch to give us a better view! He was winking at us ;)

It was amazing to see an owl up close in the wild. It was also kind of addicting. In fact, I have seen no less than SIX additional owls since this first sighting! So if you ever want to take up owling, you know who to call ;)


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