Tommy Brittany and Our Little Monkey

Time To Catch Up

2011-07-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

So… It has been 2+ years since I have been on here to record the events of our lives. So here it goes in a nut shell.

First some pictures:

(One our favorite things to do is go walk around the San Diego Zoo for a couple hours)

2009:

We made our way back to Rexburg for Tommy to finish school while I worked as an office manager for a property management company in Idaho Falls
After trying to get pregnant for about a year we finaly got pregnant but it must not have been the right time because we at 10 weeks we lost the baby. (Don’t worry, our story gets a lot happier)

This has to be one of the hardest things either of us has ever had to go through. The actual process was physically and mentally painful. Even once the physical part was over, the emotional part lasted for the next year and year and a half

Tommy graduated December 2009 with his Bachelors degree in Construction management!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although we were extremely excited to move to the next step in our lives we VERY sad to move away from our best friends and family Kaulana, Michelle, and Maddie (We miss you guys like crazy!!!)

2010

Tommy had started looking for jobs months (maybe even a year) before he graduated but with the economy and the construction market in such a down turn, we did not find any leads. Bummer!

After a lot of prayer and thought we decided that it was the perfect time for Tommy to go back to school to study his one of his favorite interests, mechanics.
Tommy started school right away at Mira Mar studying Heavy Duty Diesel Michanics

The first blessing that we received just proving that we had made the right decision to move to San Diego was that I was offered and started my new job almost right away as the new office manager for Pulsipher Orthodontics.

I still am working at the office and really like my job and love the people I work with.
Not only did I get a great job but one of the perks of the job is that I have been able to get braces and are currently working towards a new beautiful smile J

January, we moved in with Tommy’s parents which were such a HUGE help and we couldn’t be more grateful for all of the help that they have been in our journey to starting the next chapter of our life.
April, we moved into our first place here in San Diego. It was a teeny, tiny little one bedroom house. It did have a nice size yard and a one car garage that we ended up using for storage.

The bedroom was so small that our cal king bed took up all the space except for a 2 foot parameter around the room.

THE BEST PART OF OUR STORY: August 2010 we found out that we were pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a lot of heartbreak, we found out that we were pregnant! Of coarse we were more than happy but we were also very scared that we would have another miscarriage. I really didn’t think that I would be able to go through that process again.
Long story short, after 8 long weeks we went in for the ultrasound to make sure that the pregnancy was still going good, we saw our little monkey for the first time along with her little fluttering heartbeat.

After a little worry about how we were going to afford the little addition another blessing came our way. Tommy became aware of an apprenticeship position with the Navy as a heavy duty diesel mechanic. After a very, very, very long process of applications and interviews Tommy got the job!!!!!!!!!

There is no other explanation than this was a blessing directly sent from our Heavenly Father! It couldn’t be a better job or a better fit for Tommy. He absolutely loves his job.
The apprenticeship is for 4 years than he gets promoted to mechanic. This is such an amazing opportunity! This program has not been open for the last 20 years because everyone that goes through the program stays in until they retire. So perfect!

Time for break… I’ll be back to finish our update. But first a sneak peak...

Going from:

To:

Chubby, happy, and healthy

Summer Kick Off

2009-08-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

Young Family Reunion 2009

For some reason I dont have any pictures of the family reunion on my computer so I will have to post some later off of Tommy's computer.

The Aston side of our family came down to Idaho (for the third time this year!) to come to the family reunion! We started off with a FUN trip to the Bar J! Tommy had never been and was so surprised of how fun it was!

Then it was off to the ranch for a few fun days of festivities! We played fun games, went on a wagon ride to an elk ranch where we got to PET an elk, and it turns out that their antlers are a little oily. Who new? Tommy also led all of the little kids on a scavenger hunt and we also ate lots of good food! It was really sad to have to leave! But in just two weeks Josh will be coming up to school!!

(Pictures soon to come!)

Second Summer Activity

2009-08-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

Beach Camping 2009

For some reason we were really slacking at taking pictures during this trip! We must have just been relaxing. I'll have to get some coppies from someone : )

5 days of nothing but eating, sleeping, and relaxing on the beach with our family! Thats all we really did and that is the best part about the vacation! Of coarse it wouldn't have been a true Cooper vacation without a few card games mixed in!

To our surprise Tommy split his pants right down the middle! We all couldn't stop laughing!

Last But Not Least

2009-08-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

Mesa Falls Marathon 2009

I have been wanting to run in a marathon for about a year and now I have completed my first one! (and MANY more to come!!!) My time was 4:20:22.77, which I was pretty excited about because I was thinking it was going to take me somewhere around 5:15. The whole coarse was so beautiful and there was so many spots that I wished I had my camera. One of my favorite things was seeing Tommy and Fred waiting for me at different aid stations.

On the way up to the trail on the bus, I sat next to an older man who was telling me that this was his 58th marathon! He is trying to run a marathon in every state. I think he only has a couple left.

Overall it was a great experience and I cant wait till I get to start planning my next marathon!

(Remeber! I just got done running 26.2 miles so these are not the cutest pics of me)

Our New Puppy Fred!

2009-05-10T13:54:00.001-07:00

Introducing our new puppy Fred! He is a very cuddly and loving puppy! He does have a lot of energy but we take him for at least two long walks a day the wear him out. We have already taught him how to sit and stay. He also is doing really good putty training. We love him and are really excited for him to grow with our family.

Tommy's Hard Work

2009-05-10T13:34:00.001-07:00

Last semester Tommy had been working so hard on this project. What is was was to take a picture that you have taken and create a library out of the picture. Tommy decided to design his library around this picture of an orange peel he found.

These are the floor plans that Tommy spent hours working on.

This is the model that he made of his project.

Not So Fun

2009-04-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago we found out that we might be having a miscarriage and this last week we found out that it was for sure. This has definitely been a trying time for Tommy and I but it is reassuring to know that we will always have each other to rely on. Although we are both extremely sad, Tommy has been especially supportive with all of my emotions and taking care of me when I feel horrible. We went and spoke with the doctor on Friday (finally) and I definitely feel a lot better about the whole experience knowing what is actually going on. We also found out that we only have to wait about two months before we can try again. Although there is always going to be a chance that we might have another miscarriage, we are very optimistic about getting pregnant again, even if it does take another year :)

I really appreciate all of our family and friends that have called letting us know they care and for their support. Also I want to say thank you for everyones prayers and I know that we have definitely been blessed throughout everything and in the end this experience is only bringing Tommy and I closer together.

April Festivities / Tommy's B-Day

2009-04-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

Tommy requested a giant chocolate cake for his birthday so I made him a six layer homemade chocolate cake with homemade chocolate icing. Kaulana and Michelle helped us eat it but we only ate about half of it before it was time to throw it away.

The mess afterwords!

Josh and Dad came down for a few days to check out some stuff for Josh coming up here for school. It was SO much fun to have them both here with us. One night we played monopoly for like 3 hours and ate so much junk food we all felt sick by the end of the night. Just another typical night with us Astons!

One of our Sunday dinners! You can guess what is happening in this picture.

Baby Time! Finally!!

2009-03-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

Due date: 11/11/2009

Yes its true! Finally, we are pregnant! We had to take two different tests to make sure! I decided to take the test one day just to get it over with (thinking that I definitely wasn’t pregnant). But then there was a positive sign! I couldn’t believe it! Tommy was at school so I had to wait for him to get home, but then Jake came over with Tommy after school so Tommy could help him with his school schedule, so I had to wait even longer to tell Tommy. So while Tommy took Jake back to his dorm I put up a few streamers. When Tommy got back home he automatically new what was going on. I had him sit down and I told him that "we are going to have a baby!" He couldn’t believe it either. So we went out to Craigo's Pizza to celebrate, then went to the store to buy another test just to make sure. Sure enough! Another positive! We couldn’t wait to share the news with everyone and started calling!

I went for my pre - OB appointment today just to ask any questions that I might have. I am happy to know that not only is it ok for me to keep running but it is good for the baby and I am all about anything to help our baby grow strong and not to mention; help make the delivery go more smoothly and faster! My first real appointment is on April 7th and we are both so excited! Tommy is really excited and keeps reminding me to be careful with our precious cargo, its so sweet! We are so excited to find out if its a Boy or a Girl so we can start calling it by name. I am also really excited to start making a blanket for our own baby!

Family Night

2009-03-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

Part of family night yesterday we made some cupcakes together. In an effort to welcome spring and try to bring it in faster we decorated in spring colors. Tommy was in charge of directing the mixing of ingredients, I frosted them and Tommy did a great job of putting the sprinkles on. We need to practice baking together so we will be ready for when we open our bakery!

Weekend Events

2009-03-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we went to Bear World. The park just had a bunch of bear cubs born last month and they said that you could go down and see them for free, so we went to check it out. But when we got there we found out that this was not all true. You had to pay $15 to get your picture taken with the cubs and that was the only way you could see them. So these pics are the best pics we could get. We were both surprised at how small they were. They weren't any bigger than a small puppy but with big claws!

Since there wasnt too much excitment inside of the park we had to make do:

After Bear World we wanted to do something else so we went to the Rexburg Animal Shelter. It was so much fun because they let you take the dogs out and play with them. WELL! There were TWO lab puppies at the shelter that were only like a month or two old and we fell in love with them. It took everything inside of us to not adopt both of them. So we sadly left empty handed!

It's Alive!

2009-03-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Finally Tommy got the jeep running!! It has acquired the name of "The Skeez" because it is so trashed but serves its purpose. We took it out two weeks ago and it did pretty good, I guess there is something that we still need to fix before we can take it out again. This has been a long time coming! We bought it about a year ago and are just now getting it running. Needless to say Tommy is way stoked! I am pretty excited also!

Here is Tommy getting ready to drive it around for the first time since we got it!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

Tommy went to a construction competition for school this last weekend so we celebrated Valentine's early. He said he it was a lot of hard work but he had a good time, learned a lot, and probably wouldn't want to do it again because of all of the stress.

Random Pic: Tommy playing with his RC off-road truck. This is what he does when he cant go off-roading for real in our Jeep.

Our 3rd Apartment

2009-02-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of our new apartment which is the 3rd apartment since we have been married. We still need to do some decorating but our current job situation has put that on pause. I really want to make some currents and put up some more paintings and pictures, so hopefully we will be able to do that soon.

This is our bedroom. This picture shows only part of the room, the shape is kinda like a L, so it is a pretty good size for an apartment. This is a good example of a room where we need to hang up more art and pictures.

This is our extra room or our "office" or as Tommy calls it "The Dude Room".

And our living room with our "new to us" couches that we got for a way good deal! They are in such good condition we were so excited about this purchase.

And this is our kitchen which includes a dishwasher, which other than our washer and dryer, is probably one of the best things about this apartment!

And I cant forget!

2008-11-06T19:41:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa Aston and my Aunt Kim came up for the big occasion!

One More Time

2008-11-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

Here are some bigger pics of my GRADUATION!

My family is growing up so fast!

My cute little brother and my handson husband.

Summer Time

2008-11-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

Well this summer has been so much fun living in San Diego. Here are some pics of the different things that we have been doing.
In this pic we went out to dinner at this really fun place, i don't remember what its called but its a restaurant that is at the end of this really long pier.

We have season passes to Sea World so we go all the time. One of my favorite things we do is feed the flamingos!

And of coarse we had to go to a couple Padre games! Goooooo Padres!!!!!!

Sunny Diego

2008-07-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

This past week has been so great. I just graduated and both our families came to visit along with my grandparents and my aunt Kim. It was really fun to watch Sierra and Tyler perform up on stage in the Kirkum building! Another highlight was just spending time with all the big fam! After graduation my family had to go home to get ready for the big move to Portland for my dads new promotion. Crazy!!! But we are all really excited.

After we finished moving out we went to Yellowstone with Tommy's family and that was really fun seeing all of the stinky pots and geysers. Then after a few days there we went to the Debate grandparents cabin in Utah which was so beautiful and relaxing! We are now in San Diego for the rest of the year completing our internships and are really excited to start working!

The Beginning

2008-07-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

This is our first blog and we dont know what we are doing. But here it is, now we can keep in touch with our family and friends. I just graduated from BYU-I on July 18, 2008! Tommy and I both are doing our internships this fall semester in San Diego and we are so excited! I am doing a marketing internship and Tommy is doing one in construction management. In July its back up to the burg for one more year for Tommy to finish school, then we are out for good!