end of our first year

The holidays have been so amazing!! I just can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It is so weird to look back on all of the fun things that have happened. 2011 has brought so many incredible memories for us! So, I thought I'd share a couple of those fun times.

Our first date...

Seriously, one of the best days of my life. Jason came to the door, met my mom, and picked me up like a gentleman. We went to dinner with a group to Texas Roadhouse (yum!) and waited to be seated for an hour! When we first started to get to know each other Jason was so quiet, so I definitely was not expecting him to be so fun and outgoing on our date! It was so amazing. He made me laugh and smile all night, and made me feel so comfortable. We played games and hung out afterward. He was so charming and handsome I could not stop looking at him! When he dropped me off, he gave me this big bear hug and I did not want him to let go! I remember texting my cousin and saying " I am going to marry this guy!" I thought he was so kind and extremely attractive. Little did I know... :)

The first time Jason said the L word...

We were at a friends house and I started to fall asleep. Jason started nudging me saying my name, but I was so tired I ignored him the first couple times. Finally after about the fourth or fifth nudge I tiredly said "yeah?". BOOM. There is was. "I love you." Ummm what!?? I was so not prepared for that, I started to panic! So...I pretended I was asleep. Uh, hello! Who does that? Well, apparently I do. Later on when I "woke up" Jason asked if I had heard what he said, and, what do you know, I totally denied it. For like a month and I half I completely denied ever hearing him first say it (even though I had finally told him I loved him too within that time period). I will never hear the end of that one...haha!

Ring shopping...

Oh my. When we went and looked at rings was borderline nightmare. So, we get to Jared and I was so terrified of going inside. We sat in the car for so long finally I told him maybe we should look in the mall, so we go to the mall, walk inside, and no way jose. I was scared to look anywhere! Jason was getting so frustrated, I felt so bad, so I told him "OK. Let's go back to Jared and I promise I will go in!". We got there, got out of the car, and sat on the curb for about 15 - 20 minutes. I don't know what was wrong with me because once we finally went in, everyone was so nice and it was so much fun!

There are endless amounts of stories and adventures we have shared this past year, and I look remeniscing on them, but I am so excited to start a brand new year with my sweet husband!!

meet the coopers

So, we've been married for a little over 2 months now and it is so much fun! People ask me all the time how I like being married and I'm just thinking "Um, my husband is freakin' hot, what do you think?" haha. But really, I LOVE it! We have so much fun together! Having Jason has been like having the human version of a swiss army knife. One minute he's my goofball that will dance crazy and be silly with me, the next minute he's my best friend/ therapist, the next he's my protector, and so on and so forth.

We have kind of been figuring out "our thing". Every couple has their own way of doing things, their own traditions, and their own style that makes them...well... "Them". I feel like when you date, you get to know each other as individuals and have fun developing your relationship, then when you're married you start getting to know yourself as a couple, because you've become two halves of a whole. It has been so fun to get to know the characteristics and personalities that our marriage has! We have started to settle in to "our ways" and I love it!

Lately, we've been totally getting in to the television series Lost. So, we set out blankets and pillows, get our hot chocolate and start watching! Typically we have to keep pausing the show because I can't help but have a million things to talk to Jas about, not to mention the bets we place on what will happen in each episode! This is pretty much a nightly routine now. Jason always gets tired before I do though so usually when he first starts getting tired we both know we can probably get one more episode out of him then it's time for bed!

Right before bed we do this thing called "Apples and Onions". We both first share an "onion", which is one thing we didn't like about our day, then we share our "apples" which are the highlights of our day. It has helped us to let out any kind of frustrations we had during the day then once that's out of the way, talk about and focus on all of the good things in our life. Everyone should try it!

So pretty much this whole post has been a little random, I just had so many things on my mind! To sum everything up: I am so so so grateful I married this man. Five years ago I would have never guessed I would be here, but I'm glad I am. It's crazy how much time changes things.

( Britt, 2008)                      (Jas, 2008)

(Us, Now and Forever)

october fifteenth...finally...

I can't believe we have been married for a week now! Married life is the best! Jason is the most amazing husband ( just like I knew he would be ). Our wedding was incredible. It really was the most amazing day of my life. We were sealed in the Mount Timpanogos Temple at 11 in the morning. We went to our reception for pictures at 5 then had the funnest reception after! We got to dance, take goofy pictures in a photobooth, and enjoy the company of
many family and friends!

I love Jason so much and am so grateful for everything I have with him now and for all eternity.

Our First Breakfast Together

At Universal Studios... so fun!!

Hanging out at Pine Avenue Pier

At Huntington Beach

my sweet man

I have to say it. I have the most incredible man any girl could ever wish to have in their life. some women meet men like this briefly, some are lucky to have these kinds of men as friends, and the incredibly blessed few get to share eternity with them.

He is so much more than just my fiancee. He is my best friend and my hero. He is my valentine and my eternal companion. He is a handsome, accomplished, kind-hearted, wonderful person.

Jason grew up in a beautiful family with lovely parents who taught him to be kind, generous, loving, respectful, open-minded, and to remember who he is at all times. After growing into a spectacular young man at 19 he then went on to serve an LDS mission in the Dominican Republic where I he blessed so many lives. He then came home and became an incredible friend and role-model to many, and pretty soon he will be the most perfect husband.

He has taught me to be forgiving, patient, and understanding and has made me want to become the kind of woman that a man like him will be proud of. I will always strive to be a better wife and to give my husband the home and family he deserves.

Words cannot describe how much Jason has blessed me and how much love he has shown to me just by being the person that he is. I don't know what I did to deserve anyone who could be a fraction of the man Jason is, but it looks like Heavenly Father has far greater plans for me than I could have ever imagined... and I am starting to realize how much good there really is in this crazy world all because of this one person.

I love him so much, and always will for the rest of eternity.

elder cameron buck

Recently my brother had the amazing opportunity to become an elder. He just graduated from Lone Peak High School and had plans to move to Texas for the summer to work for a pest control company. We had the chance to attend his graduation then to be a part of his ordination. Cameron asked Jason if he would stand in the circle to ordain him an elder. It was so cool! I am so proud of Jason for having the ability to bless others and participate in priesthood ordinances. I am truly blessed to be marrying a returned missionary!!

(jason is on the far left side, next to my uncles, grandpa and dad)

the time gets longer and shorter each day

Don't get me wrong, being engaged is amazing! I love Jason with all my heart and feel incredibly spoiled to have him!

But.

This being engaged thing is turning out to be just as hard as everyone said it would be! Somedays I just love being engaged and am so grateful for the time we've been given.

But.

Other days I feel like our wedding day could NOT come soon enough. We have so much fun together and I love the amazing life we have.

But.

I get so antsy every time I see the temple or simply just think about what our life will be like together.
I'm positive that by the time the wedding comes I'll feel rushed and probably go crazy with all the nervousness and excitement.

But. For now, I wish we were married :)

Also... here's a couple pictures of our recent adventures!

Jasons flight...

...Brittanie's Flight...

to: jason. from: brittanie.

Jason is such an amazing person. I have never met someone who could brighten my day the way he does! I can't believe I am the lucky girl that snagged him! He is so wonderfully handsome, smart, kind, generous, and loving. I could not ask for anyone better (plus..I'm 100% positive there isn't such a thing anyway). I love him so much and I am so incredibly grateful for the blessing he is in my life. He's not only my fiancee, he is my best friend, and my hero. I look up to him in so many ways and hope that he knows I will do my very best to try to give him the life that he deserves. I love you Jason Tyler Cooper. Forever.

Love, Me

P.S. Not without Coops baby, not without Coops.

being engaged

It is soooo fun to be engaged and mesh our lives together. Britt is so fun to be around. I love reading what she posts on the blog and thinking about all the fun times we are having. Life is awesome!!

ps IloveyouBritt

our summer days

This is our first summer together and we're looking forward to it being the best summer we've had yet! We've done a LOT of swimming. Britt's apartment has an indoor pool so we go there quite a bit and lay out to get some sun afterward. We had the opportunity to go to the Lindon pool as well for a family party, which was really fun! At one point, Jason hid behind the corner to scare the little cousins and steal our inner tube back from them, it was so funny! (here's the picture from him hiding, you can see his head popping our of the water haha!

We LOVE roasting hot dogs, marshmallows, and starburst over a campfire! We got to go up the canyon with some friends, as well as have a few barbecues and enjoy being outside in the amazing summer weather.

We've also taken up playing tennis, we've gone quite a few times now and we love it! Neither of us are professional yet, but we really enjoy getting out, learning the game, and having fun just being with each other trying something new.

Strawberry Days Rodeo just happened recently as well, and we had a blast! Jason was so excited to see the bull riding (...even though we only watched 3 riders, so we could avoid the traffic jam at the end of the rodeo). It was so much fun to be around family and eat our amazing strawberries and cream. They are the best!

hash browns

Recently we have been cooking meals together at Britt's apartment. It has been really fun to plan and make meals together. One night we decided to do breakfast for dinner. We were pulling everything out when I asked "Britt, do you want hash browwwns?". Apparently I emphasized the wrong word. That is how I learned to say it growing up in my family. It is neat to discover new quirks and/or habits we each have because of our parents. I look forward to seeing more as we go through life together.
P.S. I Love you Britt!

Haha, who in the world says "hash BROWWWNS"?? It's Hash. Browns. I was dying! I can't even hear or see the food (or anything that reminds me of it really) now without thinking or saying out loud.."Jason, would you like some hash BROWWWNS?". I think it's hilarious. I love that boy!

the proposal

( as told by brittanie )
Well, the week before Jason proposed we had decided to do a little family home evening lesson together the following Monday. Jason had been looking in the FHE manual and found a lesson on marriage that he thought would be good to have to make our relationship better. ( Now, we had been talking about marriage prior to this, so it wasn't weird at all to have a lesson on it. ) He asked if we could write letters to each other that included one quality about the other person that we thought would make our future marriage stronger as well as one thing we personally wanted to work on to better our relationship. I agreed to this, thinking it was a great idea.
Sunday night came and he mentioned that he wanted to give gifts with our letters, just something small like candy, or a little craft we made. I agreed to this as well because it was all apart of the lesson from the manual. The only problem was that by Monday I hadn't had time to put anything together, because I had spent both days with him. I asked if we could exchange our gifts the next day because I didn't have mine, and he replied that it was alright by him.
At about 5 PM on Monday night we leftto go to dinner before our lesson. I had been asking to go to this asian diner, Fong, because 1. I love their food 2. I had a 10 dollar credit there. We got there and ate, and at the end of dinner opened our fortunes. Jasons read " the project you have in mind will soon gain momentum ", and mine read " a bold and dashing adventure is in your future within the year ".
After dinner Jason started driving north towards Cedar Hills and I asked him where we were going. He said that he thought it would be fun to have our lesson at the temple. So we drove there and parked ( it was raining so we couldn't go outside ). He gave the lesson on key things in a marriage that will make it stronger. As he was giving the lesson I could feel the spirit so strongly and I just felt at peace and the one thoughtthat came to my mind was that I knew we were going to be married and I needed to stop thinking so much about it because it would happen when it was meant to and I didn't have to worry. We then read our letters out loud and talked and just hung out there in the car. Then he asked if he could give me my gift, because he already had his, he said " we can wait until tomorrow if you want, but I would like to give it to you now ". Obviously I'm not one to deny a present, so I told him that was fine. He then proceeded to take out a small box...I went into shock and started freaking out! He told me to open it and I just started blurting out " No way! I can't, you open it! Oh my gosh..is it?? No way !" I finally got it open and he asked " Will you marry me? " I started BAWLING! I responded " Of course I'll marry you! " while sobbing in his neck.
I put the ring on and that was that. I became his fiancee. His future wife. It was the happiest day of my life.
May 23rd, 2011.

But I do have to add...Jason was VERY good at keeping this a secret. I was completely suprised. I had talked to my mom a few days earlier just to get advice and talk to her about me possibly getting engaged this year. My dad had come downstairs in the middle of the talk and asked what we were talking about. My uncle Rick's girlfriend Melanie was with us and she responded " Oh, just getting the marriage talk ", my dad did not seem happy about that and said " Well I have some things to say about you getting married ". I was terrified! All I could think was "Poor Jason..when he talks to my dad he is in for it!. Then come to find out, Jason had spoken with him 2 weeks earlier, and also had the ring for a month before! It totally threw me off.
Sneaky, sneaky!
In the end, I'm glad it happened the way it did, but I can't believe he got this past me! I'm super nosey and have to know everything! Either he knows me too well, or he got really lucky.