The Apartment

I hate apartment complexes with a fiery vengeance. Paul and I have been shafted one time and I still look back on that dark time and shutter.
I like renting in Utah where you sign a one page contract with some random person and you never see them until you move out. With this complex I had to sign my life away...25 pages and 4 hours later we had a home.
I think the people in charge are really trying to make me like it here....and I think it's working...so far.
How could you turn down freshly baked cookies everyday, or theater popcorn? Not to mention the billiard room, the fitness center, the park, the pool, an excess of grills, and a pretty awesome walking trail? They even have two fountains to make the landscape look overly elaborate...but I'm thinking those are going to come back to bite us during the summer when they turn into mosquito infested ponds.
I am so grateful that we found something that works for us.
This summer is going to rock!

Farewell Utah...

*I don't miss your freezing temperatures and I don't miss your endless gifts of white fluff.
*I do miss my family on Sundays and menacing my little sisters awake in the morning because I'm bored and have nothing to do. Oh...and who could forget the on going game of Donkey Kong!

This year I packed up my tree and my house before Christmas and moved into my parents house for a few days. We made gingerbread houses, watched Christmas movies like they were going out of style, went caroling, and wrapped gifts all night long.
Christmas was amazing; Paul and I have been so blessed this year. Life just keeps getting better and better.
After Christmas with both families Paul and I packed our little car and headed across the country. I don't think I was quite ready but I wanted to get the finding an apartment behind us and allow Paul some R&R before he started work.
So we drove and drove, and then we drove some more. And after eating out as many times as we did I swore off eating out for a very long time. I will not miss the grease and extra butter.
Everyone in the ward had been awesome, our community is pretty quiet for the most part, and the weather has been great. It's weird...I kind of feel like I'm in some sort of a time warp and it's May in Utah... except for the ocean being so much closer which kind of throws everything off.

Just Say it Out Loud.....No Matter How Ugly It Is!

(This is my ugliest picture....it's a picture of my parents spooky house this last Halloween. My brother in-law dressed up to scare all the kids. It's not a super high quality photo but doesn't the blur just add to the scariness?)

Sadly it's true....I'm getting older. I feel like I spent my childhood always wanting to move to the next step. When I was twelve I could stay up longer. When I was thirteen I could pierce my ears and wear makeup. When I was 15 I would go to high school where all the cool people were. When I was sixteen I would be able to drive, etc.
Now that I am an adult I have decided not to live in the future anymore. I have found that life is so much better when I take each day as it comes. It has taken me a long time to come to this conclusion but I think I am finally there. Although, it would be nice to be done with this last math class :)!!!

Many of you know that Paul and I have been seeing a doctor for infertility. I'm a pretty private person so I like to keep my personal life to myself. This last week I found a blog that is written by a chain of fertility clinics. As I read stories about other women I felt like it would be good for me to say it out loud. So here I am....I assure you, this post is not about me complaining. I would never give up these few years I have had to become closer to my Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ. I would never give up the relationship that Paul and I have developed through just being there for each other. And lastly, I would never give up the time I have had to truly find myself through going to the temple every week with my parents.
Today was my first time seeing a fertility specialist. I was a little nervous for obvious reasons. I knew it would just be more poking and prodding. I was right, but I also received more answers and Paul and I walked away with a little more we can grab onto . I would be lying if I said that I wasn't scared, but when has that ever stopped me from doing something.
I'm sure all of us are a little scared when walking into something new. So here I go....wish me luck!
And I wish you good luck in all the new things you will experience this week!

Trick or Treat

Fall is my favorite time of the year (ahhem....a close second to the summer). I love how it's not too hot and it's not too cold. For the first time I noticed that their is a smell that accompanies fall. Last year I was in Texas and the seasons are little different over there. Fall doesn't creep up on you as fast as it does here. So the past couple weeks as I whizzed past the changing leaves, and the Halloween decorations on my bike I started to notice that familiar smell that comes with fall. I guess I just never paid attention before.

I was pretty surprised when Paul came home from school about a week ago and asked me what he should be for Halloween. I gave him a few suggestions and it didn't take him to long to decide on this one. I tried to get him to be Prince Charming but I'm pretty sure he's the best looking Paul Bunyan around!

I think I'm going to see if I can get hired at Disney. My sister gave me the last minute inspiration to be Cinderella. I think my nieces would be proud!

This year my family decided to have their first Halloween party...it was a huge success! Yay for new traditions! For some of us it was our first time carving with a pattern....which can be a lot more difficult than it looks.
I'm pretty proud of Paul's pumpkin. He was instructed at a very young age at The Kendall School of Pumpkin Art. They taught him to master the art of pumpkin carving. I'm kind of jealous of his skills!

Adventures of Captain CC

We tie down the sails as we head directly into the eye of a storm. It's dark and everyone goes quiet as we are washed back and forth by the waves. The rain is cold and we all hope it will end soon.
We picked up a new pirate at the last port. It's Lu Lu's first time aboard a ship of this size. She and a few of the other new pirates lay flat on the deck burying their heads as they wait for Captain CC to give her orders. She tells us not to be sissy.....pirates are not afraid!
After hours of darkness the sun begins to shine and Lu Lu picks herself up off the cold damp deck.
Captain CC tells us to stay aboard the ship, it's too dangerous for inexperienced pirates like us to be swimming around in the ocean. She warns that if we don't swim fast enough the fish will suck on our toes, and it's almost impossible to get them off. Captain CC is already missing one of her littlest toes from one of her previous adventures when a large purple fish decided to make himself a meal of it.

We watch as Captain CC carefully takes to the plank and jumps. When she hits the water she swims faster than any fish I have ever seen! She must get to shore where the treasure awaits. For years we have been scouring water and land for the black fairy dust. This is the last place on the map, Captain CC is sure we will find what we're looking for here.
When she arrives at the shore she is attacked by the yellow monkeys. Everyone points to Lu Lu, it's her turn to do the swimming. She must save Captain CC. She timidly crawls to the end of the plank and finally gets the courage to jump. She hits the water and swims as fast as she can to shore. She takes on one Monkey at a time wielding her sword in all directions. Finally the monkeys retreat back into the forest. Captain CC takes to the trees where she finds the black fairy dust. The pirates still aboard the ship holler for joy.

They pack the fairy dust safely in their packs and set off into the water. It will be harder to swim fast enough while carrying such a load.
When they climb aboard the ship they are not surprised to find a few fishes have attached themselves to their toes. The crew members are quick to pull every last fish off before they can do too much damage. This is not an easy task and must be done carefully so as not to remove any toes. Carefully but quickly all fish are removed and thrown back into the ocean. the crew watches as Captain CC and Lu Lu empty their packs of fairy dust.

Finally the black fairy dust was theirs. An adventure accomplished with almost all toes in-tacked......

TO BE CONTINUED...

Biking License

A few weeks ago I started to ride a bike instead of driving. I'm not some crazy biker... I have never owned my own bike. Some of you may think that I was deprived, but to be honest I was only ever interested in roller blades (The 90's fad). My parents couldn't get them off me. During the summer they wouldn't come off until the sun went down or we were called to dinner.
So after years and years of not riding a bike and never having one of my own meant that I had put in very minimal hours on a bike.
Paul laughed a little as I proposed the idea of "biking everywhere" to him. At the time I thought he was thinking that I couldn't hack the kind of exercise it took. Now I'm pretty sure he was just worried about my competence on two wheels.
My first attempt went okay. I borrowed Paul's "Moab Edition" mountain bike. I kind of felt like I was learning how to ride a bike again ...trying to look cool to all the neighbor kids but not succeeding. I'm pretty sure I look retarded. And I guess people don't care to put their butts on the seat when mountain biking because it's hardly the size of a small child's back side.

The next day Paul helped me pick out this flashy seat tailored more to the real size of a normal persons butt. I love it! Although, I'm pretty sure it doesn't exactly fit on a Moab Edition; in fact it probably lowers the value.

Over all I'm pretty amazed that I haven't crashed into a light pole yet. And surprisingly this ride is super comfortable.
I'm trading in my car for this baby!

Blast from the Past

When we arrived we were greeted by warm faces and warm smiles. I don't know what it is about Grandmas and Grandpas but they always seem to give the best hugs! They hurried us to the table were we sat down to a meal prepared of garden vegetables. Someday I too will have a garden. There's something about a home grown tomato and a little cottage cheese that makes me smile.



Paul's grandmother seems to be a very wise woman. I can say I already love her as if she were my own. I really wanted to have the type of conversations that would lead to advice for "young people" like us, and memories of their own young adult experiences. She seemed to know just what I was looking for. She told me that not to long after her parents had passed away she wished that she could have had one more conversation with them. She had so many questions that she never asked. She gave me the best advice she could have. Ask questions, and make memories with your grandparents before you look back and regret that you haven't.

This conversation led to this perfect swing in their backyard. She told me her father had one that was similar. When she got married she made sure that her husband built her a swing just like it. As I sat in it I envisioned our (someday) new house where this swing was hung in the backyard. I took pictures of every piece to make sure mine would come out an exact replica.

We then took a trip to Paul's uncles house where Grandpa showed Paul his fathers truck that they rebuilt. It seemed from the reaction that this was Paul's favorite part. Especially the part where he took it for a test drive. Thanks to Bruce and Jolene for making his dreams come true!!