OUR 15 YEAR STORY

We are officially at the stage of life where we look back at pictures and realize that we look a lot older than we think we do!  I have realized that I'm also at the stage of life where things, people, events, etc. are becoming more and more jumbled together.  We are lucky to have lived in so many different places or I'm not sure I would be able to date certain experiences at all!  I thought it would be fun to make a post about some highlights from the last 15 years or our marriage year by year.  I'm going to add a picture of Jed and I near our anniversary as well as a picture of what our family looked like during that year as well.

Wedding & Year 1: 2003 & 2004 - Years before kids (we did not take advantage of this time like we should have) - Jed and I started dating pretty much right after I got home from my mission.  He came to my homecoming talk and then called me later that night.  I invited him over for dessert (he thought it was just at my house but it was our annual Sunday Foster gathering at Marilyn's so it was a lot of people. Normal for me I had no idea why he would feel awkward about that.)  We dated for a couple of months.  Jed worked on the farm for his parents all day and then we would get together at night.  Within about a month we talked about getting married and I'm pretty sure I'm the one that brought it up.  I will never forget how uncomfortable and awkward Jed was when we went to look at rings. 🤣Jed proposed to me inside the celestial room of the Idaho Falls temple in August. It was the first time we went to a session together.  Afterwards we went and told our families and then drove to a rodeo somewhere that evening. Jed moved to Ogden, UT in the fall and I started some classes at BYUI.  We were married on November 8th (my dad's bday).  We did on en route honeymoon on our way to Ogden where we lived on the 3rd floor in a little 1 room apartment.  It was a perfect first home. I worked @ Living Scriptures as an administrate assistant and Jed went to school on a full-ride rodeo scholarship.  In January we went with my extended family on a Mexican cruise.  We moved two more times while in Ogden.  We moved out to a storage unit/carwash facility and lived in an attached apartment to the storage units.  It was a huge two bedroom apartment. Jed managed the car wash & storage units and also went to classes.  Right before Ava was born we moved again into another 2 bedroom apartment.  We spent lots of time with Jake and Megan while we were in Ogden.  We had so much fun with them.  Nearly every weekend in the fall and spring we were on the road driving to college rodeos.  It was a really fun time of our lives.

 

Year 2: 2005 - The highlight of this year was of course Ava coming to our family.  I had a very easy pregnancy and she was born about 10 days early without any complications.  She was such a funny newborn.  Right when she was born she kept opening her mouth and stretching her neck like a little bird. Transitioning from full-time employment to stay at home mom was a hard adjustment for me.  I had a hard time with nursing and got mastitis 5 times in 5 months. Ava was a really fussy baby and we couldn't figure out why until one day I was pumping because I had mastitis again and realized I had very little milk supply.  This was at about 5months.  After she started formula she was a super happy and easy baby.

 

Year 3: 2006 - Blur year - Jed's rodeo eligibility was over in the spring of 2006 but he still had credits to finish so we moved back to Rigby and he enrolled at BYUI.  I think this was a huge blessing and I especially loved being back around my family.  Jed had applied to dental school but was only accepted at one school the following year.  Jed worked all the time at Thrifty Car Sales with his brother Jason and also on my dad's farm.  I also worked for my cousin Melissa delivering car sales letters to a different dealership.  Everyday Ava and I would drive from Rigby to Idaho Falls, then up to Rexburg, up to St. Anthony, and then back to Rigby.  It would take us about 2 hrs roundtrip, but I loved working.  We moved into an old house the farm owned that had lava rock inside.  It was just a mile from my parents house.  I started running and trained for a half marathon with my sister Sydnee.  It was so fun to have Ava and be around my parents house with my little sisters.  Ava was so fun.  She loved her little pink horsey blankie and binkies.  She didn't walk until about 15 months and she wouldn't even try.  Then she just walked perfectly like she'd been practicing in her crib at night. 

Year 4: 2007 - The Big Move - While Jed finished his last two semesters at BYUI he decided to apply to podiatry school.  He had met another student named Scott Berg who was going to podiatry school and after shadowing some local doctors decided he really enjoyed it.  He was accepted at all the podiatry schools (I think there were 5 or 6 in the country) and went out to interview at them.  He went to Philadelphia, NYC, Phoenix, California, Florida, and Chicago.  He felt right away that Chicago (Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at the Chicago Medical School) would be the best place for our family and also for his education. Jed graduated from BYUI in microbiology the same time as his niece Jessica.  He and I went that summer to Chicago to find a place to live.  His friend from BYUI - Scott - was also going to Chicago as was about 10 other students from BYUI with their wives.  It was nice to get to know others and we formed some really close friendships with the other families over the next four years.  Before we left for school we also went on a trip with my immediate family to Tuscan, AZ and into Mexico to visit Josh and his wife Renae.  It was such a fun trip.  This was also the year I forgot Jed's birthday.  We left Rigby to drive to Chicago on his 26th birthday and I was so emotional and frazzled I completely forgot.  People started calling him as we were driving to wish him a happy birthday and that is when I realized my mistake.  I felt awful and Jed has never let me live it down or forget it!!!  Shortly after being in Chicago we found out we were having another baby.  Right before we came home for Christmas we realized it was a baby boy. One big surprise we got when we moved there was Jed was asked to be the Elder's Quorum president. He had the calling the entire time we were in Chicago.

Year 5: 2008 - Milestone year - This was a big year for our family.  Jed finished his first year of medical school and had his white coat ceremony.  Ava and I had lots of fun with other wives. My sister Katie got home from her mission.  A few months before Kasen was born Jed had a dream that he was walking with an older teen boy.  He knew it was his son and he knew his name was Kasen.  We had been trying to decide between two names and Kasen was one of the names.  Ironically, Jed has no recollection of this dream.  We ended up moving to a cheaper apartment just a few weeks before Kasen was born.  I packed up our entire apartment and hauled boxes up three flights of stairs to our new apartment.  I think this helped me go into labor.  I was a couple weeks early and Kasen swallowed some amniotic fluid as he was born and had to be taken straight to the ICU.  He stayed in the hospital for 5 days.  He was hooked up to so many tubes.  It was sad, but Jed gave him a blessing and after a surgery he ended up coming home.  It was so fun to have another baby around.  Ava was such a good helper.  Jed had three months off that first summer and we drove home to Rigby. We drove through Minnesota, South Dakota and saw the Badlands & Mt. Rushmore, and even stopped in Sturgis during the bike rally. Jed worked training horses for his dad.  It was fun being home for the summer - Jed's dad had a heart attack while we were home which was crazy - and when it was time to go back we were excited to get back to our routines.  We loved having season passes to Six Flags and going to the Jellybelly factory and Gurnee Mills.  We took some trips downtown and took advantage of those free museum days.  Two kids was a much easier transition than going from 0-1. We also celebrated our 5th anniversary.

 

Year 6: 2009 - We moved after a year to a townhome north in Wadsworth IL.  It was a fantastic spot and put us close to trails and bike paths.  I started training to run the Chicago marathon and Jed would ride alongside me pulling the kids in the bike trailer as I ran my long runs.  I also started nannying a little boy who was the same age as Kasen.  An older couple asked us to watch their kids while they went to Europe and as payment they gave us their old car!  We finally had two cars for the first time since going to school.  It was nice since this year I started teaching preschool in a co-op group for Ava and we went on lots of fieldtrips.  One of our favorites was up to a cute museum in Wisconsin with mammoth skeletons.  Jed played on the school basketball team and got to travel to California for the championship game.  We took our first family vacation to Nauvoo, IL.  It was so fun.  Jed's parents and my parents and sisters came out to see us at different times this year.  We had so much fun both times.  This year my sister Sydnee got married.

Year 7: 2010 - The year apart - This was Jed's year for his external rotations.  He had four weeks to work at six hospitals in SLC, Denver, Albuquerque, Dallas, Detroit, and Louisville. The last three were back to back. We went with him for the month of March in SLC.  I stayed part of the time with Trena and the other time up at home with my family.  While Jed was in Colorado his Grandpa passed away, so he was able to fly home and attend the funeral.  In NM Jed lived with a complete stranger who was strange.  In TX Jed actually lived at the hospital!  I drove from Chicago to Detroit 7 months pregnant so we could spend a few days together for my birthday.  Jed got his own apartment so the kids and I stayed for a whole week.  We had friends from school at this residency and we thought this might be the residency for us.  November Jed was in Louisville and roomed at a residency house and his car window was smashed out.  So weird to think back on.  We did freaking hard things that year!  I look back and our kids look so little.  They seemed so old at the time.  No wonder people thought we were crazy for having a 3rd. During months when Jed was away Katie and Malorie both came out to stay with me and the kids. We explored all over Chicago with them. We found out we were having a baby girl and Kasen was not happy about it!  We welcomed Kinsley into our family right before Christmas.  It was quite the experience as my epidural didn't work, but we were home by Christmas and our baby was perfect.

Year 8: 2011 - Our last few months in Chicago went by super fast.  Kinsley was blessed and John & Coleen came out. We tracked down where my Grandma Manwaring lived when she was on her mission in Chicago.  We saw the green river on St. Patrick's day.  We went to Idaho for Malorie's wedding. Ava finished preschool.  Jed finished medical school and we left Chicago in March and came to Idaho.  I went to NYC for the first time to see Katie with Malorie.  We had so much fun and NYC was such an amazing city.  Jed and I went back out to Chicago for his graduation and spent some time together in Chicago which will always be a special place to us.  We lived in Idaho for 3 months with my parents again.  Ava found the first of many 4-leaf clovers. We moved across the country again to Louisville, KY where Jed started residency.  We were welcomed with a tornado warning! Kinsley got her first tooth.  We went to the KY state fair.  I started homeschooling Ava for kindergarten that fall. We went pumpkin picking in Indiana and saw Christmas lights underneath the city of Louisville in a giant mine.  Ava & Kasen played soccer.   Three kids proved to be pretty tricky again.  Apparently it's the odd numbers that are hard for me.

Year 9: 2012 - We took a family trip to French Lick, IN and stayed at an indoor waterpark. We went on lots of homeschool fieldtrips.  I ran the Louisville Triple Crown race.  Ava graduated from homeschool kindergarten!  She went to public school that fall and met her best friend Swetha. We went to Idaho for a whole month during the summer and took a trip to Bear Lake for the Erickson reunion and met Elder L. Tom Perry when he came up to Idaho for his 90th birthday. We explored underground caves in KY and went to a Louisville football game.  Ava earned a car ride in a limo for her walk-a-thon.  Ava & Kasen played YMCA soccer.   We went to Indianapolis, IN for a family trip and went crazy in the biggest children's museum in the country. We had lots of visitors come to Louisville this year including Josh, Katie, my parents, and Jed's parents!

Year 10: 2013 - We took a trip with Jed to Chicago as a family while he attended a conference.  It was so fun going back, although stressful staying in a nice hotel downtown with 3 crazy kids. We were really excited to go back to Sprinkles Cupcakes. Kasen started preschool. Ava & I rode the big Idaho potato truck in the derby parade in Louisville.  Jed worked at the KY derby and brought home derby roses.  We walked from KY to IN across the Ohio river on the new bridge.  We went to Thunder Under Louisville which was the most amazing firework show we've ever seen. Ava had her first dance recital.  We spent two weeks in Idaho and went to West Yellowstone. We wore out our zoo passes in Louisville and explored everywhere we could in the city.  We took a roadtrip to Cincinnati and Santa Claus, IN.  Ava got baptized.  It was the most special moment of the year.  We celebrated 10 years of marriage!!! We spent Thanksgiving at a friend's horse farm in the country.  Jed sent lots of letters applying for jobs. We went to Idaho for Abby's and Josh's weddings. 

 

Year 11: 2014 - Our last last six months in Louisville! I'm pretty sure we thought this day would never come. Jed worked at the KY derby for the last time. We took a trip to Cincinnati to the aquarium again and down to the Florida gulf coast - best beach vacation ever. Jed and I also took our first solo trip ever - we went to the Bahamas while John & Coleen came and stayed with the kids.  Jed finished residency!  Man that was a stressful first few months of the year wondering where we would be moving next and where Jed would get a job.  It was amazing to see how things worked out and how Jed got a job in Boise.  We lived with Tresa & Jeff for a while right during the time they were getting ready to send Ryan on a mission.  I still feel bad about that timing!  We bought our first house in Meridian.  We felt like real grownups all of a sudden.  Ava started 3rd grade and qualified for the gifted and talented program GT!  Kasen started kindergarten and did homeschool kindergarten with me during the morning. Jed & I took a trip to Vegas for the WSTR.

 

Year 12: 2015 - Our last year as a family of 5. We took the kids skiing for the first time in Boise.  We all went with Jed to his conference in Sun Valley also stressful. Conferences and young kids are not a good idea.  We bought our first horse named Chex.  Ava played YMCA basketball/volleyball and Kasen played soccer, YMCA basketball, and flag football. We had big Foster & Manwaring reunions at the ranch. Kasen graduated from homeschool kindergarten!  We spent a week in St. George with the Erickson family.  I hiked Angel's Landing.  We explored all over Boise.  We got the surprise of our lives when we found out we would be having another baby!  It took me about 6 months to wrap my head around it for sure. We were 100% sure our family was complete.  Ava turned double digits which was another hard thing to believe. Jed qualified for the roping in Vegas so the whole family went down. We stayed at the Worldmark condo and were the only ones in the pool in December.

Year 13: 2016 - We welcomed Dallin to our family in May.  It was love at first sight.  When Dallin was born he didn't make a peep besides one little growl that sounded like a tiger cub.  It was so special to have Dallin blessed and Kasen baptized on the same day with all our family together.  I was called to be the YW's president when Dallin was only 3 months old.  That was overwhelming! I did a summer camp with the kids in Swan Valley.  Jed and I took a cooking class.  We went camping in Humphrey with a two month old?? Kinsley started gymnastics. Ava got braces. We had an amazing family trip to San Diego in October seeing the zoo, safari park, tide pools, SeaWorld, and so many other beaches. Kinsley started kindergarten and turned 6! Ava grew as tall as me!  We had snowmeggedon in Meridian.  Jed went to rope in Vegas. It was one of our best years yet.

 

 

Year 14: 2017 - We took a trip with my siblings to San Francisco in January where my dad received a national potato award.  We took a trip to SLC for Women's Conference because Katie came out to translate.  It was a memorable trip as all our kids got sick and threw up all over the hotel room and all the way home in the car.  Ava competed in jump roping and club volleyball.  We got our first puppy Gigi.  We went to the IF temple open house and Meridian temple open house.  The kids and I ran in a bubble run with the Erickson girls.  Kinsley graduated from kindergarten.  We felt the need to settle down in a permanent location so we bought our dream property in Eagle.  We were so excited and felt like this would be our forever home for sure. Ava worked her first job at the cheese factory for Grandma.  We went to Park City and Heber City for the Erickson reunion.  Jed and I went to NYC for Katie's wedding.  We saw the solar eclipse in Swan Valley.  Ava went to the temple for the first time and danced at the temple celebration.  Jed almost ripped off his fingers roping.  Kasen played his first season of club basketball.  Kinsley had her first dance recital.  Kasen qualified for GT! Jed ended up winning over $45,000 in Las Vegas right before Christmas! I bought my first camera. Dallin turned one and hasn't slowed down since birth. Phew!

Year 15: 2018 - Ava won first place in the district NHD competition.  Kasen played his first year of club basketball. Ava also played club volleyball, but broke her foot playing at the beginning of the season.  I decided to go back to school and finish my degree before I turned 40 years old. Kasen turned double digits! Ava had her golden birthday 13 on the 13th.  Jed and I took an amazing trip to Mexico with all his siblings and parents. Ava made the 7th grade volleyball team. We took our family to Disneyland, Universal Studios, and through Yosemite and Sequoia National Park.  This was one of the funnest family adventures we've ever taken for sure.  We celebrated 15 years of marriage!!! Kinsley got baptized and my dad got released after 10 years as the Stake President. Jed has been 4 years out of residency now.  Life just gets busier and busier and goes by faster and faster.  I'm scared to blink and open my eyes to another five years gone by.  One thing for sure: marrying Jed was my best decision and I'm thankful for him and the amazing life we've created together.