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It walked on my pillow!

I am currently sitting the Long Beach-JetBlue terminal and it turns out this place is like a trailer in the middle of an Alabama summer. Clarification: It looks like a trailer, made like a trailer, and is sticky and hot just like Alabama in July. But it has free wi-fi so that’s fine with me.

Oh, and there’s a bird walking/flying around. I don’t understand why no one else seems to care. I keep laughing at it and trying to take pictures of it, but it seems like me and the three year old girl prancing around are the only ones who have noticed there is a bird inside.

This morning a girl I bought juice from in the SLC airport told me she liked my outfit and then a couple seconds later said, “Oh, I didn’t even see your bump!” If you think that was the best compliment I have received since I’ve gotten pregnant, you are right. Thank you, airport worker, for making my day.

On the opposite scheme of emotions, I forgot for a brief second that in the rest of the world, I “look” too young to be having a kid. I keep seeing people look at me in the airport and I know what those wandering eyes are thinking. So, FYI: I HAVE A WEDDING RING ON & I AM A COLLEGE GRAD! And even if I didn’t have a ring and wasn’t graduated… stop judging, y’all!

Maybe they weren’t judging. But I’m just putting it out there.

Welp, this is me worrying that I won’t get a seat on the next plane and trying to take a picture on my computer without anyone noticing (it’s kind of awkward). Flying standby is awesome because it’s free but I’m getting nervous that I’m going to have to sit in this trailer a little longer than planned!

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24 Hours of Driving Later…

… and we’re finally back home!

Hannah and I made it safely back last night. There were some crazy drivers, roads, and towns (or should I call them villages?), but I am in Provo and loving the beautiful mountains surrounding me!

I got a call from T.J. on our way back saying that he had a surprise for me. I finally got what the surprise was out of him: he made dinner for me! He has never done this. Well, there might have been an occasional grilled cheese or french toast when I was in my first trimester and couldn’t stand the smell of anything cooking. But besides that, this was the first real meal he has made me since we got married. It was chicken breasts with a tasty coating (he mentioned he put paprika in it… I was impressed that he even knew what paprika was!) and a side of vegetables. Of course the way he put it all together was adorable and artistic: the veggies were in this perfect circle (maybe he used the ice-cream scooper?) and there was a streak of mustard sauce going down the center like in a fancy restaurant. And the real surprise was the clean kitchen when I arrived home.

I have the best husband!

……

So, I am going to be in Provo for about 3 days and then I leave for my other trip to Washington DC to visit my sister Mary Beth and her family (this one also cost me nothing because I’m flying Standby)! I can’t wait to see my darling nieces Claire and Amelia! I can wait for the flight from Long Beach to DC though. That’s going to be a long one!

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This is Texas.

Do you get worried when I don’t write five posts everyday like usual? I sure hope you do. I hope you miss my mindless posts and ramblings.

Anyway, I am currently in Texas. Hannah flew me down so she wouldn’t have to drive back to Provo by herself. So, it’s pretty much the best deal ever. I get to see Hannah before all of her other friends, go on a trip for free, visit her family, and tonight I even got to see some of my cousins who I haven’t seen in eight years… they live just 15 minutes away. Awesome.

I will post a bunch of photos later. But for now, enjoy these two from our afternoon downtown McKinney. Hannah and I matched. I wore the dress version (thanks again, dear Hannie) and she wore the shirt version. I felt like a true TexMexan. I made that word up right now.

P.S. I apologize if my face gives you the creeps.

 

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{Can’t Think of a Title}

Last week I was very upset about my job ending and not going back to school. But Monday, I went to campus to meet T.J. for lunch and got to go grocery shopping during the middle of the day. It was awesome. I got over my depression fast, I thought.

Suspiciously fast.

Yes. Just as fast as I got over that sadness, I fell right back to where I was. Except for different reasons. I do have to admit, I LOVE not being in school and having to worry about tests/homework. But there are downsides too. The biggest being the loneliness. You go from seeing people all the time and getting to talk to them about your life and hear about theirs, to not seeing anyone other than your husband for just an hour or two a day.

I know I’ll get used to it eventually, but my trips to Dallas and Washington DC this month are sounding pretty good right about now.

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Who made those great signs?

This weekend was awesome. We had a lot of stuff planned and although I wasn’t home but a couple of hours, it was worth it. On Friday, we had the Relief Society  sleepover at Erin’s parent’s cabin about 45 minutes down the Spanish Fork canyon. Erin and I went down in the afternoon to get the place ready and put the food in the crock pot so it would be ready by the time everyone showed up.

There were 12 of us, which for an activity so far away on the last weekend before school-I thought was pretty good. We ate homemade Cafe Rio salads (which turned out spectacularly) and lots of other goodies. It was just a casual night where we sat outside in the cooler weather (oh, how wonderful it felt), talked for hours, and went to bed after two. For the rest of the weekend, I felt like I couldn’t stop telling T.J. about all the things we discussed. I guess he also thought I was a little crabby because of the lack of sleep so he told me that I’m not allowed to go to another sleepover. Sure, mom.

(P.S. thanks to Sarah for some of these pictures)

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Make do or do without

As soon as I got back from Danica’s sealing on Friday, I picked up T.J. and we headed off for St. George. Our sound system in the car has been broken for quite a while and we keep saying we’re going to fix it, but it’s hard to spend a couple hundred of dollars on that when we have other expenses, ya know? So, my creative mind finally came to work and realized, we could just hook up my portable iPod speakers to my iPhone and we could still listen to music! It was brilliant and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier. Granted, it doesn’t get as loud. But it made the trip much more fun.

The trip down there was beautiful. We pulled into St. George right at sunset, when the sun was hitting the red rock perfectly. Man, I love that place. I know it’s hot, but one day I hope I can live there. We stayed at T.J.’s aunt and uncle’s house, missed the pool party unfortunately, but played lots of card games (such as Blink!) and hooked up the Kinnect to their ginormous TV.

We woke up on Saturday early, ate the most delicious pumpkin waffles made by T.J.’s aunt Karen, then headed down the road to Enterprise for the Pioneer Day festivities.

The parade made me chuckle a couple of times. I just loved how “Mormon” the floats were. Check some of these out:

After the parade, the whole family got together for a family photo. This is the first time I’ve ever experienced this. And yes, I say “experience” because it was just that. It wasn’t just point, shoot, done. It was a large process and by the end, I was laughing in all the photos because the babies wouldn’t stop crying, the toddlers were running everywhere, and everyone was getting so tired and anxious. Oh boy, it was so funny. Next year there will be seven new babies, so I’m hoping we won’t have to do it again or else I’ll have to hold my squirming little one too.

Those pictures of the whole family are coming soon, from T.J.’s sister Lacey. Until then, here are a couple I took. I love the one with Mark and Kelly with Kelly’s grandpa who is 102.

After that, we just hung around the house, had a delicious BBQ, and played some games. I talked to T.J.’s great-grandpa (the one pictured above) and fell even more in love with him. He is such a cute old man and I am so amazed at how sharp his mind is still. I talked to him about when he was Bishop of the town. He told me it was 64 years ago and he was over 800 people. Now there are many wards in the city so it’s been amazing for him to see the city and congregation grow. He also told me about the promise an apostle made to him that he shared with the people of Enterprise. As long as they were righteous, they would always have water. I asked if they were always righteous, and he laughed and said, “I guess so, we always had water in the reservoir.” I hope Leland is around another year so our daughter can take a five-generation photo with him! She is going to have a great-great-grandfather!

To end the night, we headed over to the rodeo. I was not feeling that great and sitting on the wood bleachers started getting to me, but overall, it was a blast. I took a couple of walks around the place, pet the donkeys, and watched the disgusting and large bulls in their pins. I wish I taken more photos over the weekend, but Lacey had her camera out so I figure I’ll steal some of hers soon.

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“Nice to meet you, I am…”

Last weekend, T.J.’s family and I drove down to Albuquerque for his brother Dustin’s sealing and wedding reception.  When I introduced myself to the bride’s grandmother, I said,

“Nice to meet you, I am T.J.’s husband.”

After the sealing, when we were still in the sealing room, I introduced myself to Lindsay’s parents, saying,

“Nice to meet you, I am Dustin’s wife.”

How embarrassing.  I literally told the parent’s that I was their daughter’s husband’s wife right after the sealing.

Other than those two embarrassing moments, the weekend was great and relaxing.  The sealing was beautiful, as was the Albuquerque temple, and it was so fun to be a part of a new family and spend time with my in-laws.

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Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend…

I love Utah. One reason is because we get Pioneer Day off of Work. Okay, I guess that’s just BYU. But nonetheless, it makes for an automatic awesome weekend. So, to start it off right, I’m going to a wedding! Rehearsal dinner tonight, and the sealing tomorrow! It will be wonderful. I am so excited for Danica to get married AND I can’t wait to see her in her beautiful wedding dress. I got a sneak peak so I know it’ll be amazing.

As soon as that’s over (unfortunately I have to miss their reception full of Sammy’s shakes), T.J. and I are hitting the road for a full-blast pioneer weekend extravaganza. We’re spending the weekend in St. George and Enterprise. Pool parties, children’s races, parades, picnics, family photos, and of course, a rodeo.

What have you got planned?

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Last Saturday Night

Is there anything better than a Navajo Taco made by real Navajos?

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Sneak Peak: Monument Valley

My parents are in town! They bought their tickets a while back for Sam’s wedding and booked it for a week and a half so they could make it their summer vacation; but Sam changed his wedding date and location, so I get to have them all to myself for this time. This past weekend, T.J. and I along with my parents headed down to Monument Valley in Navajo nation. It’s right on the border of Utah and Arizona and the drive there was absolutely spectacular. The hotel at the park is incredible and fits in with the scenery and the 17-mile drive around the park was complete with beautiful monuments and real Navajos! They still live out on the reservation in hogans without electricity or water, and sell jewelry at little stands. I can’t wait to show you all the pictures and videos my dad took with his awesome camera to give you the real feel of our vacation!

After spending two nights at Monument Valley, we drove a few hours over to the Grand Canyon and stayed at this lodge with the most adorable cabins looking out over the north rim. Stay tuned to see pictures and hear more about the trip!

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