A Weekend of Fun

This weekend was the 4th Annual St. George birthday party for my friend Amy. Every year, we go to St. George to celebrate her birthday, and in my opinion, to welcome spring & summer! We stay at Amy's brother's in-laws house, and it's been a blast every year. They have a large house up on one of the cliffs, with a nice pool and hot tub. This year there were 10 of us - 9 girls and 1 boy! And guess who that one boy was? Yes, my dear husband went with me and I loved it! He is such a good sport! We drove down on Friday afternoon and met up with Amy, Amanda, Dusty, and Debbie. We ate dinner at The Pizza Factory, then went back to the house and sat in the hot tub. Ali, Steph, Sandra and Rachel joined us later that evening. Saturday morning was a delightful french toast breakfast, and then it was off to the pool! I think every one got a little burned, but it felt so good to be in the sun! The weather was a perfect 85 degrees. We played outside most of the day, then had a BBQ of chicken, steak, shrimp, corn, salad and rolls. We topped it off with a stop at Cold Stone after we made our way through the Factory Outlet stores. We drove home this morning, and thus ends another St. George birthday trip!

Eric and I have both been busy working - and working out. I started a class at Lifetime Fitness that meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6am!! It hasn't been easy for me to get up and workout that early in the morning, but I'm trying to learn to love it. Our day begins at 4:50 am - a little too early in my opinion, but it sure allows for plenty of time to get things done!

Last Sunday we spoke in church, and I am so grateful for that experience! We had the topic of Easter, which was broad but specific at the same time. We had 2 musical numbers, which added a beautiful spirit to the meeting. We also had our first Sunday in Nursery - what a blast! From what I gather, we will only be in there every other week or every third week, so we can still attend our other meetings. I like that idea and look forward to our first week alone with the little ones! They are all so sweet and well-behaved. I'm loving this calling!

The weather is changing up here and we love spending time at Sugarhouse Park. We try to go as often as weather permits. Eric flies his plane, and we play frisbee and throw the football and baseball. We both love being outside and of course, love being together!

The past few weeks

Nothing too exciting has happened since we came back from Idaho. Eric was forced to take a week off work - he had vacation time he had to use or he'd lose it. So, last week he was home all week and I got spoiled! He was so good about cleaning and having dinner ready and getting things done. He washed windows and did laundry...I wish he was still home this week! I took Friday off and spent the day with Eric. We went to the Salt Lake temple in the morning, then enjoyed a tasty lunch at Tucano's over at the Gateway. It was such a beautiful day and we enjoyed just driving around and being together.

Saturday we had a fun evening. We went down to Orem for a reception/farewell. Brent Mayberry got married a few months ago and had an open house. He is also being deployed to Africa (he left Monday), so the party was also a goodbye party. It was bittersweet but fun to see our friends. His wife Autumn is a sweet girl and together they are so incredibly happy. After that party we went to South Jordan for another goodbye party for our friend Carlos. He was offered a job in NY with Dannon, so he's off to a new adventure. We had a great time seeing lots of friends from the singles ward. Lots of chatting and laughing and just a good time all around.

Sunday was our ward conference. President and Sister Monson blessed us with their presence. They sat just a few rows behind us! Although they didn't participate in the meeting, they still added such a sweet spirit. After Sacrament meeting, President Monson was in the foyer, giving high-fives to the kids, wiggling his ears, and playing with ties. He shook hands with the adults and was so kind to everyone around him. That was the highlight of my day! I feel so blessed to be in his ward. Overall our meetings were simply profound. The spirit was so strong and the talks and lessons shared were exactly what I needed to hear. The stake has a theme centered around celestial families, and I'm definitely trying to work on mine!

Tuesday was our Relief Society Birthday dinner. Since I was called to the "committee" I was given the opportunity to help. I had a great time setting up and taking down, but more importantly I met a lot of the sisters in the ward and had fun working with them. I'm excited to get to know more of them and to continue working with them. Hopefully I'll get another calling soon so I can do more!

Last night we went up to Sugarhouse Park and went for a walk. The weather is finally getting warm enough that we can enjoy the outdoors in the evening. And even though I'm struggling with Daylight Savings, I love that it's lighter later. Spring is so near and I can't wait!

Well...that's about it for now!

Furniture

Here are a few pictures of our little home with furniture and no boxes! It's simple but we love it. Still working on adding color and more decor, but that will come with time.

Trip to Idaho

Yesterday we drove up to see Mike & Alicia. We left around 3:30pm and got there just before 6. We took the Kia on her first road trip and she did well! We had dinner and talked till late. This morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and then drove to Logan. It was a beautiful day - lots of sunshine and excellent company. It was fun to watch Eric interact with Mike - they are two peas in a pod. Alicia and I get along and I really enjoy hanging out with her. They have a 2 year old, Lexi, who is one of the cutest kids I know. She made us laugh and kept us entertained.

The trip was short but perfect. It was nice to get out of Salt Lake and of course, it was nice to come back!

Oh yeah, one of the highlights was stopping at the Pepperidge Farms factory and getting some tasty treats!

A new start

Eric & I are loving our new home. It's so much bigger and brighter than our last home. We only have one complaint: the shower head is so low! It's even at an uncomfortable height for me! Poor Eric! We bought an "extender" that allows us to adjust the height of the shower head, but it reduces the water pressure so much that it's annoying. We just can't win! Other than that small annoyance, we have no complaints. All of our neighbors are quiet and the few we've met are really nice.

We love our new ward! It is such a difference from our last ward and we're happy. We have felt so welcome and accepted. The Elder's Quorum President and two other men from the ward helped us move in. They were such a blessing - we got everything moved in in about an hour. Last week the RS Presidency stopped by for a visit, and my new visiting teachers called to set up an appointment. We've been in the ward a week! Wow! We're so excited to get involved and make new friends.

We've enjoyed meals at home with our new kitchen table, and also our new pots & pans and a few other kitchen appliances we couldn't use at our other place. Last night I made my first loaf of homemade bread! Before anyone gets too excited, I did use a bread mix in the bread machine. But, it's a start! Today we had salmon - and Eric LOVED it! Hooray!

For Valentine's day, we celebrated on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday since we were moving all day Saturday. Monday night we went to dinner at Red Lobster. It was nice to get out since I'd been home all day cleaning and unpacking. And I love spending time with Eric! Then on Tuesday I gave Eric his gift: 2 6" cookies and a box of "chippers" (small cookies) from Paradise Bakery. On the big cookies I had a saying written on them and he loved them! On Wednesday Eric gave me my gift: chocolate dipped bananas & pineapple from Eddibles. They were SO good! I thought it was a very creative gift. He was excited to give that to me, since it was sweet and "healthy".

Next weekend we're heading up to Idaho for a visit with Eric's best friend Mike. Unless Mike's wife has an early delivery (she's pregnant with their 2nd), we'll enjoy a nice weekend in Preston Idaho!

While I have a minute...

Every moment of free time we have has been spent searching for a new place, and once we found it, the time has been and will be spent preparing for the move. But we have done a few other things that have been fun.

The evening of Thursday the 28th was spent on a "triple-date". Eric & I went bowling with his sister Laura and her husband Jared, and Eric's other sister Malinda, and her date Aldo. We had a good time teasing each other about how "good" we are at bowling. I enjoyed being around everyone, and although it was difficult to understand Aldo (he's from Argentina), it was still fun to get to know him better.

On Saturday the 30th, we went house/apartment/condo hunting. We looked at a place in Holladay that we found on KSL.com, and we fell in love with it. We ran a few errands and after thinking about the place, we decided we wanted to apply for it. We put our application in first thing Monday morning...and now we're moving in!

That same day, we went downtown to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to see the movie "Joseph Smith, The Prophet of the Restoration". I can't believe this is the first time I've seen it! It's an incredible movie with a wonderful message. The story of Joseph's life is portrayed in a way I've never imagined. I hope to see it again; it will definitely be in my personal library when it comes out on DVD. After the movie, we went to dinner over at the Gateway, then did some shopping and headed home to relax.

All of last week was spent signing papers and moving and packing and shopping for a few new items for our place. I did go to a movie with Laura on Saturday evening - we had fun together but I WOULDN'T (thanks Marie) recommend "Dear John" to anyone! It's the "Notebook" all over again, with a slight resemblance to the life of a missionary. Now that you know what it's about, don't waste your time or money!

Yesterday was our last day in our ward. I can't say we're sad to leave, although I did make a few friends. We're both REALLY excited for our new home and the new adventures it holds for us. We'll be on the "east side", closer to the mountains and downtown Salt Lake. Just to give you an idea of where we're moving to, right now we're 11 miles south and west from my work on 10600 S and the Freeway. Our new home is 12 miles north and east from my work. While it's not closer for me, it's TONS closer to Eric's work. Instead of an average of 50 minutes travel time, his drive will now be 25 minutes! And when the weather is bad, the roads will be a lot better for both of us, since we'll both be using the freeway (instead of side streets and Bangerter Highway). Needless to say, there are a lot of pros to this new home - hopefully we'll get a few visitors (hint hint)!

Side note: we actually spend a lot of our evenings watching Jazz basketball games. We're kind of addicted to them!

Our New Place!

I promised Mom, Meghan and Marie that I'd post some pictures of our new place. We are officially moving in this weekend, but the manager gave us the keys last week and said we can start moving stuff over early. Last weekend we took over our new table, new microwave, and our new shower curtain and set them up. It was fun to see our new table in an actual dining room! Here are the pictures...

Our apartment faces south, with a little balcony that faces west

We're #11, the top left unit

This is what you see when you open the front door. To the left is the living room, and to the right is the dining room & kitchen

Living room

Living room

Laundry area (it's in the bathroom...behind the door...)

Bedroom #2 (faces north)

Bathroom (laundry is behind the door)

Kitchen view from the dining area. Not a lot of counter space, especially with our new microwave. We're going to get something to put the microwave on so we can free up some space

Our new dining table! We have it turned so we can open the door all the way when we move in, but we're going to turn it the other way (I think)

Hallway closet, which is between the living room (right) and the kitchen (left)

Master Bedroom closets. They're actually separated so we both get our own!

Master Bedroom (faces west & north)

So there you go! I'll post more once we get all moved in. We're SOOOOO excited to have a bigger place and to have more space. And, the best feature: lots and lots of natural light!!

Nothing New

I really hate the winter blues. They seem especially bad here in Utah! I am ready for blues skies and sunshine and pretty flowers and green grass. Until then, I will do my best to survive these long days with gray skies and no color in anything around me.

Not too much has happened since my last post. On Monday the 11th we went to the 9:50pm showing of Avatar - in 3D! It was a really late night for us but it was worth it. That movie has the most amazing effects. The creativity and talent it took to make that movie is astonishing. I am impressed with the movie regardless of the so-called hidden messages. I think it was entertaining, just as a movie should be.

Last weekend, in the middle of our house-search, we took some time to attend the Auto Expo. I loved it! It was fun to see some of the classic cars (1965 Sting Ray) as well as the newer models and other classic cars. I think it's safe to say the Viper was one of my favorite cars, along with the Audi A6. I know they don't even compare in any way (besides the fact they both have 4 tires), but I love those two cars. I think we'll make it a tradition to attend the show in the future.

Wednesday night we attended an endowment session at the Jordan River temple. I think temple night is my favorite date with Eric. There is something so tender and sweet about being there with him. All of the cares and frustrations in our life seemed diminished as we spent a few hours in such a quiet, loving place. I feel so blessed to be so close to so many temples, and even more grateful to have a husband who can and wants to go there with me.

Our daily routine is so basic and almost boring right now. We both work long days and spend most evenings looking for a new place to live. We're exhausted from looking, so we took this weekend off and will start the search again tomorrow. We are blessed to have another month to find a place and we're confident we'll be lead to the place we need to live.

Weekly Recap

What a long week! This was our first full 5-day work week in a long time! I think I woke up tired every day and by Saturday, I was exhausted. Eric & I both slept till 10 Saturday morning - that's a record for me! I didn't even stir until just before 10. No dreams, no disturbances. It was the best sleep I've gotten in ages!

Work and the gym kept us busy through the week. Our evenings were spent looking online for a new place to live, and on Saturday we visited the places we were most interested in. We found one place we really like. It's about twice the size of our place now, and it's really nice. The one downside is that all of the windows are on the north side, AND it's another basement apartment. The living room doesn't receive any natural light, so it's pretty much like a dungeon. Both Eric & I LOVE natural light, so this is a pretty big deterrent. Another place we looked at made us feel like someone was going to kill us and hide us in the walls of the complex. The pictures online definitely were NOT the same as the building we went to. Eric and I were afraid for our lives and sanitized our hands as soon as we got out of the building. I felt like taking a shower too. It was gross! We looked at a few other places but nothing really felt like "home".

Last night we hung out with Eric's sister Laura and her husband Jared. The three of them played drums and guitars and rocked out for a while. I played with Logan (their 2 year old) in a little play house. I felt right at home with her! She's a cute girl - and I think she likes me.

Oh yeah, Eric's sister Saralee had her baby on Thursday morning. James Anthony finally entered this world after Saralee went into labor on Monday night!

So, that's about all for this last week! We are ready for some snow or rain, something to clear out the horrible inversion that is sitting in our valley right now. I normally wouldn't welcome snow, but I long to see our beautiful mountains and blue skies again. Sometimes I feel like we're back in Southern California with how dreary and brown the skies are right now. I'm sure by the time it snows, I'll be posting about how much I hate snow!

Love Letters of Joseph & Emma

On Thursday night we had our first "Relief Society Meeting" (aka Enrichment). The guest speaker was Angela Eschler, author of the book "Love Letters of Joseph and Emma". Angela shared some of the letters between Joseph and Emma, but she mainly focused on building eternal relationships. Her presentation was tender and passionate. She has a strong testimony of eternal relationships, and emphasized that we can all learn from Joseph & Emma's relationship. Two points that really stood out to me was (1) they didn't have a perfect marriage, and (2), they were best friends. Angela was able to show this mainly by stories shared by other people who knew them, and also from the letters between them. I really enjoyed the time we had to listen to her. The book is short but powerful and I highly recommend it! See AngelaEschler.com for more information about the book and her works.

Playing House

Although Eric & I are both a little older than the "normal newly-weds", neither of us had a lot furniture to bring to the marriage. Our landlord gave us a Lazy-boy Recliner couch (not the most comfortable, but it works!) and we are so grateful! Then, a coworker of mine sold us a Lazy-boy Rocker/Recliner for $40. It's a chocolate brown and it's in excellent condition. I'm confident he could have sold it for a lot more than that, so I feel very blessed he was so generous. Both the couch and the recliner are the same material, just different colors - they go together well!

Tonight we purchased our dining room table and chairs, and it's a fun story. We registered at JC Penney for our wedding, and we ended up with a lot of gift cards (thanks to everyone who helped with that). We've spent a little of the money, but weren't quite sure how to spend the balance. On another note, we've been looking for a kitchen table set since we're currently using a card table and folding chairs. Our kitchen is too small now to have an actual table, but since we're moving soon we thought we should get a real table. We've looked at IKEA, through the classifieds, Target, and RC Willey. We haven't fallen in love with anything until tonight! We looked on the JCPenney website and found this:

We noticed it was on sale, and there was also a free shipping offer. We decided to order it. We had to go to the store to buy it since we were using 6 gift cards. We didn't know exactly how much we had, and we figured we'd have to pay a small balance. The cashier started processing the gift cards and guess what? We had the EXACT amount - minus a PENNY. ONE PENNY!! We knew it was meant to be! We are excited to set it up in a new place soon.

Although it's taking us time to get our home set up, we're having fun "playing house" and building our home together!

New Year 2010

2010 is here, and we welcomed it in a relaxed and quiet manner. On Wednesday I got the stomach flu the rest of the family had, so we spent Thursday evening resting. We watched a movie and welcomed in the New Year with Ryan Seacrest & Dick Clark's New Year's Eve celebration. On Friday we took down all of our Christmas decorations (so sad) and did some much needed cleaning and organizing. We spent the evening doing some shopping and found ourselves at Johanna's Kitchen for dinner. We fell in love with their scones and homemade raspberry jam. It was delicious!!

On Saturday we looked for a new place to live. What an exhausting feat! We looked at a few places but didn't fall in love with anything. We'll keep looking and hope to find something soon. Saturday night we attended the 4th annual Mocktail party, and the girls didn't let us down! They put on a party to remember, as they have in the past. Eric and I danced for the first time since we met! I am not a good dancer at at all, but we had a good time. I enjoyed seeing friends and being out for the evening.

Sunday we started our new meeting time of 1-4pm. We aren't fans of that time at all, especially on fast Sunday! Dinner was at Eric's parent's house, and we spent the evening talking and enjoying each other's company.

That brings us up to date! Nothing too exciting going on, but we're loving life and loving each other. We're excited for the year ahead of us and all that lies in store for us.