The Countdown is on....

25 more days until I get married.

Things left to do:

Get Nate's ring

Send out invitations

Get my bridals done

Take out my endowments

Move into our apartment

I am getting so excited I am just ready to start my life with Nate!

Don't let a Novice do it.....

This is what happens when you let a novice cut your hair (look how straight that line is though.)Nate has been pestering me to cut his hair I have told him numerous times I have never done it and don't know how. He said oh it isn't that hard. Well on Sunday I finally agreed he said he would just shave it if I messed up. He took off the extension and told me to go around his ear, he didn't tell me it would cut that close. I looked at what I had done and thought oh crap we have pictures in two weeks what are we going to do? Suck we are going to have to push our pictures back. You should have seen Nate's reaction he didn't get mad he just looked at it and shook his head and said, "Jena, did you really do that?" I love how he doesn't get mad at me he has alot of patience, because I am pretty sure I would have been mad if someone had done that to me. So needless to say I can't fix what I have done we are just going to have to wait for it to grow out and push our pictures back. After the fact he said, "You were right when you said you didn't know how to do it in the future when you tell me you don't know how to do something I am definately going to believe you." He was really sweet about the whole situation he knew I felt terrible and didn't get mad he just laughed about it while I cried about it. I know years from now I will look back on this and laugh but at the moment it isn't that comical to me.

How we became Nate & Jena

So as I am sure you are aware Nate and I are engaged. We are getting married May 7th and can't wait. I am ready for all the planning to be done and it to just happen.

How we met: We met on a blind date August of 2005, two weeks before school to start. I went with a kid from Jordan and Nate was with his girlfriend. It was a fun night but I didn't think anything of it. During the night we were talking about where we were going to college I asked Nate what classes he had he didn't really have an idea it was kind of funny cause he didn't really seem to care whereas I knew what and where my classes were. Fast forward a few weeks I walk into my first class and you know the anticipation you get when you walk into a class for the first time sweaty hands and all. As I walk into the class I hear someone yell my name I immediately think oh great...I look over and what do you know there is Nate. We ended up having two classes together that semester. Nothing much happened that semester between the two of us he broke up with his girlfriend and I got a boyfriend. Our friendship began to grow and Nate always tried to get me to hang out with him but duh I had a boyfriend. Anyways long story short I dated my boyfriend for a year he went on a mission and Nate was there for me. I had a rough time and he was so good to me. He was just what I needed I loved spending time with him, but I wasn't interested in dating him I just wanted to be friends. He left on a mission and got back in Feb a little after I got home from Ecuador. We hung out the day after he got home it was as if he hadn't ever left he was the Nate I knew and loved (even if I didn't know at that time). We hung out for a bit and then he started to put pressure on me to be his gf and I wasn't ready. We didn't talk for about three months, during this time I kept getting reminders of him just random things I decided to text him one night and then we hung out a few days later I ended up going to Bear Lake with his family in July and then that is when things starts officially. I had finally realized that I truly do and did love him the whole time I was just scared. Sure people might think we didn't date that long but we have been friends for over 4 years. 

The proposal:

We had gone ring shopping and found the band I wanted but we decided we would get the center diamond from his brother in laws aunt cause we would get a better deal then if we got it at the same place as where we got the band. I found the band I wanted but the jeweler didn't know if he could size it small enough since I have a size 3 1/2 they decided I could go with a 4 since it was a thick band. I was so happy when we found out they could size it I loved it so much! We got the ring sized and Nate told me he was going to send it to get the center diamond he said it would take three weeks to a month I told him I didn't want to know when he mailed it out because I wanted to be surprised I didn't want to know it was coming. I knew he had shipped it out and thought it would be awhile. Well little did I know he had arranged for it to be overnighted there she set the ring and overnighted back. He made up some story that we were going to go on a double date with his friend Ammo but then a day before Ammo called and said he couldn't go anymore. I didn't think much of it Nate asked if I still wanted to go to dinner so I agreed. He picked me up he had a new shirt on, he got a haircut and I didn't even pick up on it. We went to dinner at the restaurant we went to on our first date, and we were going to go bowling at the place we met for the first time. Seriously I don't know how I didn't pick up on it. On our way home his brother called and said the bowling alley was booked until 9 so we were just going to go back to my house until then. He was texting and driving and I was getting mad at him cause he wasn't staying in the lanes I told him to stop but later I found out he was texting Katelin (my sister) asking if it was all set up and ready. We got to my house we walked into my kitchen and rounded the corner to the front room I saw the benched pushed back and couldn't figure out why and then I saw it he had candles set up and the ring was sitting there. I was shocked because I didn't expect it so soon. It was funny because I fell to my knees in shock he had to pick me off the ground so he could get down on one knee. Of course I said Yes! So that is our story so far.......to be continued.

Its been awhile.....

Sadie's First Halloween

JAZZ game

 

UTES BLACKOUT GAME

Tori and Sadie, look how good Tori looks!

The Cutest Niece Ever!!!!

Sadie Lynn Beesley- Born August 30th, 2009 @ 5:21 PM

I am finally feeling better so I get to see Sadie! She is so cute and little I can hold her in one arm so obviously she is pretty little. Here are a few pictures of her I hope you enjoy. I forget how much babies sleep that is all she does very rarely does she open her eyes. I am excited to watch her grow up.

Miss Sadie Lynn Beesley

She is finally here! I am so excited to be an aunt I can't even explain it. She was born on Sunday August 30th at about 5:30, she was 6 lbs 2 oz and 20.5 inches long and has a head full of hair. I got to see her mins after she was born and she was wide awake. Babies truly are miracles and I love them so much. Sunday was the first and last time I have seen her I got a cold and I don't want to get her sick so I have stayed away but it is killing me not being able to see her. My family has gone to see her everyday while I get to stay home and wish I was there with them. Tori and Sadie will be home on Thursday night and I hope I get over this cold so I can go and visit her.

Before Sadie was born Tori and Spencer were taking bets as to when she would be born. I was way off I said the 21st but when Nate heard Tori's due date was August 29th he said I bet she will be born on my birthday (which is August 31st) he was disappointed when she was born on the 30th. He wanted to win the bet so bad because Spencer said if she was born on his birthday he would give Nate a hug. Needless to say Nate still got a hug from Spencer even though she was born the day before. Now Tori, Spencer, and Sadie's birthdays are all in August! I just love her so much already and I have only seen her once.

Summer Fun

Nate & I over the 4th in Bear Lake


Asleep on the Drive to Montpelier



Tori's Birthday Cake Mess


Funniest event at the Rodeo


Mom & Dad watching the rodeo



Tori, Spencer, and Sadie on her way


Nate & I at the Rodeo


At the Bee's Game


Boating fun


For the fourth of July I went to Bear Lake with Nate's family. It was a really fun weekend, things get a little crazy with his family since their are so many of them I am not used to all the commotion since my family is pretty little. I had a great time but was sad to have to go back to work on Tuesday while the rest of them stayed for the rest of the week. I love hanging out with Nate we have known each other for 4 years now but we are still learning about each other. For the 24th Nate and I went to the Bee's game with his family but on the 25th because he was in Lake Powell on the 24th. I don't really know much about baseball but I am sure I am gonna learn alot since he loves to go to baseball games and watch ESPN every second he gets an opportunity to. He also was on a softball team that just barely ended but he is starting up on another league I think the end of August.

It has been a traditon in my family to go up to Bear Lake for Raspberry Days since I was born. Well this past weekend sure enough it was Raspberry Days and I was so excited to go. I was sad though because Katelin wasn't here this year. This was the first time in all my life she hasn't been there it was kind of sad but I know she is doing what she wants to be doing in New York.
Guess what she comes home on the 16 th of August I am SOOOO excited I can't even explain it! Then Tori is going to have her baby so soon after that she is due August 29th but I think she will have Sadie before that. Anyways back to the story I thought it was just going to be my parents and I this year because Katelin wasn't there and Tori and Spencer weren't going to come up because Tori was afraid she was going to have Sadie by then and if not she was afraid she was going to go into Labor up there and she didn't want that. She went to the doctor the day before we left and her docotor said she that she hadn't even started to diliate so they came with us. Also Nate ended up coming he wasn't going to come up until Saturday afternoon because he had a softball tournament in the morning. We headed up on Friday afternoon and when we were driving I got a call from Nate he told me that two of the five teams had dropped out so the tournament was off and he was on his way up to Bear Lake. I was so excited because I wanted him to spend the whole weekend with my family and I. He made it just in time for the Rodeo to start this is also something we do every year. I love going to that Rodeo because it is a small town rodeo and it is the best. We had a great time and the best thing about it is that I didn't have terrbile allerigies! All my life I have dealt with allergies I just deal with them, but I decided I wanted to start allergy shot about two years ago. It was one of the best decisions of my life sure at the time it sucked I had to go three times a week, get two shots everytime, wait 30 mins after the shots, and a few trips to the instacare since I was having allergic reactions time consuming sure but it was totally worth it. In past years I have had a hard time breathing after and been weezy but I still went. Saturday the 1st was Tori's 25 th birthday so we decided we would celebrate it up there. We were all getting ready to go the the craft fair and Spencer was baking Tori's favorite cake in the oven. The next thing we know we hear a loud crash from the oven my mom just thought one of the racks had fallen but low and behold when she opened it she saw this.....the dish had completly shattered we aren't sure what happened but it was pretty funny. It couldn't be put back together the picture doesn't do it justice at all seriously. Needless to say Tori didn't get her birthday cake we ended up stopping off at some little store in Montipelier. We went to the fair and of course Tori bought more bows for Sadie seriously I think she has a bow to go with every outfit! After the fair we went jet skiing and I made the mistake of going with Nate of course he has to throw me off. When we went flying off he landed right on top of me literally. I got an instant headache and had one for the rest of the day. I still am sore I think I bruised my ribs and I have a bruise on my thigh. He didn't believe he landed on top of me until I told him I was in major pain. After we went jet skiing we decided to go into Montipelier for dinner to some diner I dad wanted to go to. Nate and I fell asleep on the way there and Tori thinks she is funny and takes pictures of us sleeping. When we got back from dinner my dad said we should play poker he seriously loves to play to poker especially when there are other boys around. Nate aways says he is going to kick my dad in poker and never does it is funny to watch him try. Also on Saturday there were fireworks to celebrate Raspberry days. We sat on the beach and watch the fireworks and then back to our poker playing. On Sunday we were packing up to leave and my mom realized my dad had her car keys and he had left about an hour before she realized. He drove my car up so he left earlier then us. Tori called him to tell him and he didn't answer my mom was like great what are we going to do now? Luckily he called back but we had to wait about 45 mins for him to bring them back. I am pretty sure he felt stupid since he had to come all the way back luckliy he wasn't too far away. It was a very eventful trip I best thing would have been if Tori would have gone into labor that would have topped the weekend off! It was a really fun vacation and I am glad that Nate got to spend it with us.

This is their Trial

At Primary's this week I got to hold a little baby. We got a call in the playroom there was a baby that needed to be held. I was the first one to volunteer (the week before I took a call that a baby needed to be held but I was the only one in there so I couldn't and I was pretty disappointed.) The nurse that called sounded like she just needed a break so I was more then willing to go. So when they called on Tuesday I was like I am not going to miss out on this again. I was given the room number having no idea where to go besides the 4th floor I got lost...... but I was so excited I didn't even care. When I walked into the room I looked at the baby he just laid there hooked up to all sorts of machines and crying. My instinct was to pick him up but I didn't know how to go about it because of all of the tubes he had connected to him. I got a nurse to help me get him out of bed. At first I was nervous to hold him because I was afraid I would bump one of the tubes and mess things up so I held him very uncomfortably (I think he could sense the tension I was feeling and he got upset.) I rocked him for a few mins and he fell asleep. As I was sitting there rocking him it made me think of the countless hours I spent in Ecuador with the wee little babies. He woke up and looked at me with his dark brown eyes and I just wanted to spend hours with him. He was so lonely he has been in the hospital since he was born 7 months ago. The crazy thing is that he is a tripulet, when they were born he was the healthiest and then a few weeks later he got a stomach problem and had to get part of his intestines taken out. So he has spent his entire life in the hospital I am pretty sure I am going to get to spend more time with this little guy and I have nothing to complain about I could hold him for my entire shift and be fine with it. So to say in the least this week was a lot better and I am so glad about that! I got to spend an hour and a half holding him, he kept falling in and out of sleep when he would wake up I would just make funny faces at him to get him to smile but he wouldn't. It kind of made me sad to think that at 7 months he doesn't have anything to smile about since he has been so sick. When the nurse came back she was like, "Thank you so much I needed a break I have been working for 11 hours and I just needed a break from a crying baby." I don't blame her. I remember there were times in Ecuador when I would be so tired at night shift and having six babies all crying at the same time. I just felt like I needed a break seriously what I wouldn't give to be there again. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about those kids and how much I truly miss and love them!

Kids truly do have a light about them that others can gain from. Seeing the way the kids I have played with act are like any other kid they just want to have fun and not worry about being sick anymore. The illnesses these kids face are their trials and some might not overcome them and it makes me so sad. I know that I can learn alot from these kids they just have a zest for life and want to feel better. Being in the hospital makes me so grateful for my own health I mean sure I get tired easy and have allergies but I know the kids at the hospital would take that over what they are going through any day!

A little update

What I have been up to lately is: I am working full time and volunteering at Primary Children's. This week will be my third week at Primary's. It has started out pretty rough my first week I went and I was the only volunteer that showed up the lady that was there was just filling in for the lady that is normally there so she didn't know what I was supposed to do. When I left I was pretty frustrated because I like people to explain things to me like what I am supposed to do and where I am supposed to go and none of this happened. They just expect you know what to do and this definately not the case! Then my second week I was left in the playroom by myself for three hours, keep in mind I don't know what I am supposed to be doing. Luckily I worked at treehouse so I still remember some art projects we did there and that is what I did the entire time. By the time I left I was covered in glue, glitter, and paint but I left with a smile on my face. The kids I was playing with got to forget about how sick they are and lose themselves in painting the sun and things they like to do when they aren't in the hospital. This is one of the main reasons I decided to do this I love to bring a smile to kids face that is struggling. 

Life has been interesting since I got home with the loss of my cousins, Tori's brother in law passing away, to someone wanting me to put everything on the line and move away from everything I have ever know to see if we had a chance at the thing called Love.....I obviously didn't choose the choice he wanted me to choose. Tori's belly continues to get bigger and bigger I am getting so excited for little Sadie to grace us with her presence. It is crazy how you can have love for someone that you haven't even met before. I am also looking forward to Katelin coming home in August I just want her to come home already. Every year when my birthday comes around I think about how fast time goes. I can't believe it has been a year since Jace and I went skydiving on my 21 st birthday. It seems just like yesterday when I was floating in the air wondering why my ears hurt so bad and later figuring out I had a sinus infection. Oh wait a year later and once again I have a sinus infection I have had since Feb! I have also been thinking about going back to school to get a master's. I have had a nice break from school for a year and feel like I am not ready to start working full time or maybe I will just travel more since I now have the time. I am excited to see how my life will be like a year from now. 

ACM's red carpet style

      ViVa LaS vEgAs

I kept going to the wrong door one time we had to run away because we thought they were going to open the door.




                                                          Linds and I at Treasure Island

                                                                         George Strait

                                                 The gf of the drummer for Kellie Pickler

                                                 The crowd waiting for Kellie Pickler

         The ACMS

                         Linds and I safe from that jerk from the "academy" see story below

If you thought Shawn Johnson had a stalker you should have seen this guy he was a total creep. On his shirt there was a picture of the two of them.

                      You know you are in vegas when there are slot machines in the airport

For those of you that don't know what the ACM's are they are the American Country Music Awards. I had the opportunity of attending them. They were held in Vegas this year I had so much fun! Here is the story of how I go the opportunity to go: I was in New York with Katelin. I got in about 12:30 AM and was exhausted. At about 9 AM my dad called my cell phone I had no idea why he was calling me so I figured I would call him later. But then he called Katelin's phone too. We both looked at each other thinking something bad had happened because of what we recently went through with my cousins being killed. I told Katelin she better answer it. When she answered my dad said, "I need to talk to Jena in a paniced voice." I got on the phone and he said, "Jena, you won a trip you only have 10 mins to call back. " I was so confused first I was exhausted and second I didn't know he had entered me into a contest. I called radio station and said you called my name on the radio. Of course they didn't pronounce it right but my dad knew it was me. I guess I was on the radio not knowing what I had won, I was put on hold to give them my address and everything else. The guy was like, "Are you excited?" I was like "Ya I am so excited!" By this time I knew what I had won and was in shock. I won a trip for 2 to the ACM's this included airfare, hotel stay, tickets to the show, tickets to the special show for George Strait, and more. I decided to take my friend Lindsay that I used to work with at America First. We had a lot of fun!

At the airport in SLC both Lindsay and I got our bags checked. Either of us have had our bags checked. They took a bottle of perfume away from me it was 3.2 oz so just barely over the guy was really a jerk about it. All the other trips I have gone on they haven't taken it away lame. You will never guess what Lindsay had in her bag....scissors! She works at a school and brought the bag she uses for school. She was so embarrassed but luckily she got another guy that was cool about it and let her go. Don't you think they would take the scissors away versus .2 over the amount allowed? We flew in on Saturday and checked into MGM (that is where all the events were, so it was nice we stayed at the same hotel). Upon checking in the guy checking us in didn't believe it was me. He was looking at my driver's license and seriously didn't think it was me. I mean come on yes I know I have blonde hair in my picture and now I have brown hair but I still look like Jena. He just kept saying this is not you. He made me sign my name, I don't know what I would have done if my signature changed since I was 16. Once I verified my signature he let me check in. He said how old were you in this picture? I was 16 well you look like you are 60 now what kind of compliment is that oh wait it isn't!

Later that night Linds and I went to Fremont Street there were free concerts going on. Linds wanted to see Kellie Pickler so we made our way there. We got on a double decker bus not knowing it would take us an hour to get where we wanted to go. Fremont street is a pretty cool place as long as you stayed inside of it and don't venture off ,then it can get pretty scary. As part of the trip we were given lanyards that were supposed to get us into a roped off area for the concerts. We spent 30 mins talking to all of the security guards and no one knew what we were talking about. They kept saying you need a wrist band but I didn't know where the freak to get a wristband. Our last attempt we were asking a guys if he knew he was a total jerk and said I work for the academy and I don't recognize this so no you aren't getting in, do you know the number of your contact person? I called the lady and of course she didn't answer. I was super frustrated because we were promised something and didn't get it. Well the jerk walked away and the security guard told us to go hurry before he sees you and he let us into the area we were trying to get to. He said, "You owe me big time." What do I owe him I will never see him again. We got into the pit right by the stage we were so close it was awesome it was even better because we really weren't supposed to be where we were at. We ended up meeting the gf of the drummer for Kellie's band. We hung out with her, she was so hilarious it was a great time! After the concert we met the drummer, he was pretty sweet we could have met Kellie but the gf doesn't like Kellie so she didn't want to see her. So that was kind of a bummer! Anyways we got a great story out of it. It took us 2 hours to get back to the hotel on the bus and there was this old man playing the piano. I was so annoyed of him he seriously was playing so loud trying to get tips, lets just say he didn't get any tips from me.

Sunday morning we got to go to a special event where we met Lon Healton he is the radio host and manager of Country Music Countdown in Nashville. He knows alot about the country music business and shared stories with us. We also met Tim Nichols he is a songwriter for the stars some of his songs have been picked up by Tim McGraw "Live Like You Were Dying", and other ones but I can't remember all of them. It was cool to meet him because he told us the stories behind all of the songs he has written. The last group we met were Kate & Kacey Coppolla they are identical twins who are super cute. They are new to the business their cd comes out April 27 you can check them out at Big Machine Records (the same record comany Taylor Swift is on.) I think they are going to be it was so great to meet them. I like feeling like a celerbrity people look at you like how did you get to meet them or how did you get into that event?

Sunday night we were getting ready for the award show we had to be in our seats by 430 PM I know crazy early. We were getting ready and then Linds cut her leg pretty bad (she is going to be super embarrased about this but oh well it is a funny story.) Neither of us had bandaids where are your moms when you really need them? I went and asked the cleaning lady if she had any and she looked at me like I was crazy. She told me to call housekeeping they didn't have any either. I ran down to the gift shop, I was looking at boxes of bandaids and a guy said, "there are little packages of 4" and I said "umm, I am going to need a lot more then that." He looked at me puzzled and I said, "My friend cut her leg." His only reponse was "Oh" to say in the least I didn't need to explain any more. We made it to the show in time our seats were that great by we got to see as stars were coming in. It was such a fun night the show was amazing it was weird to think I am here while everyone else was watching it on tv. After the show we went to the all-star jams it was a huge party where the stars performed it was more relaxed then the award show it was pretty cool.

Monday morning we got to sleep in which was nice we didn't have anything planned until later that night. We went and walked the strip stopped at a few of the hotels. Linds and I went into  The Ventian and decided to gamble a little. Until this point I hadnt been carded yet... Some guy came up to me and said, "Hello." I said hello back it was really odd he just stared at me. I said, "Do you need to see my id?" "Well, are you 21?" "Yes, I am 21." Then he just walked away from me he didn't even look at my id. As we walked away another security guard followed us as we walked to the map of the hotel and just sat there. He didn't even say anything to us he just acted like he was headed that way, but I knew he wasn't. After that we headed back to our hotel it was pretty hot and we were getting tired you do so much walking there. 

Monday afternoon we got ready to go to George Strait and good news no more cuts! We got floor seats to George Strait it was pretty cool we had a great time. Before the show began Linds and I decided to stay out in the lobby to see if we could see any stars because we hadn't seen any yet. It was weird because we were staying in the same hotel as all of them but didn't see any of them. We saw some people we thought were stars just the way they acted and sure enough they were. The couple next to us told us who they were. One of them was Keith Anderson he is a new artist. We also saw Taylor Swift's band twice down by the elevators, but too bad we didn't see Taylor that would have been so awesome! 

We had a great time and were ready to come home Lindsay really missed her husband Eric. Overall it was a great trip I just wish the company was more organized. Linds you know what I am talking about.....