Lately...

Life is absolutely wonderful.

Phill and I were married almost 2 months ago in the Los Angeles Temple. It was a perfect, beautiful day. My reception went amazing. My cheeks were killing me by the end of the night and I absolutely loved seeing so many of our family friends. My mom did an absolute amazing job. All the credit goes to her. The food was scrumptious (Macaroni Grill). All the floral arrangements fit perfectly. Our location was outside in a beautiful backyard with fresh roses blooming and a view of grassy hills. The cake was to die for – looks and taste-wise. All the colors matched perfectly. I couldn’t have asked for a better reception.

Okay, maybe I should back up a little bit. Phill and I were married the 7^th, and had our reception on the 8^th to help calm the whole process down a bit. I would recommend doing it that way to anyone and everyone. It made it more relaxed. One thing, though, is that I think it would have been kind of fun to be scrambling around trying to get everything done. But, I think I say that now, but in the situation I would be awkward and stressed.

Anyways, everything flew by for me. The whole day was surreal and I couldn’t get my mind around the fact that I was finally getting married to my best friend for time and all eternity. I was so excited. I still am. A funny thing though is that when I was getting my hair done that morning, I was an emotional wreck. I had so many emotions running through me that I was starting to get the jitters (not cold feet, just the jitters).  The girl kept messing up my hair and I finally had to have my mom and then my sister come to help settle me down. With a little diet coke from my mom, and encouragement from the both of them.. I was just fine J

I remember being in the temple and not knowing what to do with myself. I was nervous, happy, and sad that my brother couldn’t be there, excited… Phill seemed so calm and collected and I just was going bezerk! I couldn’t sit still, yet I was so tired from not being able to sleep the night (well, a couple nights) before. The ceremony was beautiful and we just had our immediate family there with us, plus the Daley family who are our really great family friends. Afterwards, we went outside and took a million pictures. That was crazy. It’s really kind of a blur to me. I do remember how heavy my bouquet was though. The weight plus how I had to hold it for pictures and such was torture. Don’t get me wrong- the bouquet was gorgeous. It had a ton of white roses in the middle with diamond looking things in the middle of the flower, with blue flowers surrounding it. But, I should have worked out my forearms earlier to be prepared for that!

The car ride from the temple to the luncheon was funny. Phill and I zonked out which my lovely mother was our chauffeur. 

The luncheon was great. I was so hungry. I wasn’t able to eat anything the whole day because my stomach was in knots and everything was go-go-go. We had Thai food, which is always a favorite for me. Yum!

My parents paid for us to stay in the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake for two nights. It was wondrous! Everything was comfy and beautiful. We had a view of the Gardens from the wall that was made of a window- (does that make sense?). We got chocolate roses which were gone pretty quick between Phill and I.. It was so big that I couldn’t find where the bathroom was for a while… Aye. Anyways, we loved it.

The next day was the reception that we loved and really enjoyed. I have never been to a reception before I had no idea how it was supposed to go. We were so wrapped up in everything that we forgot to throw the bouquet and such. It was kind of disappointing, but I just gave it to my best from Kelly instead so it worked out.

The next day was Mother’s day so we got to talk to my brother for about an hour. Phill and him talked in Portuguese for a little bit. Talking with him made me miss him even more. I’m ready for his 2 years in Brazil to be over! After the phone call, we left for Hawaii. We got to go to the airport in a limo, courtesy of my parents. I was so dang tired, I could barely keep my eyes open. One suggestion for anyone who rides in a limo- don’t ever sit on the side where your back is facing the front. I was pretty dang carsick by the end of the drive. Phew.

The flight was so long. Phill and I tried to sleep as much as we possibly could we talked and talked. We got bored. It was freezing, then super hot, the freezing, and then super hot. We had to fill out agricultural paperwork to enter into Hawaii… blah, blah, blah. I’m so used to California and Idaho dryness that when we stepped outside and humidity hit me, it was a pleasant surprise. I loved it! We were able to stay at Phil’s friends house for a couple days and he served as our personal tour guide. We got to go snorkeling which was my favorite part, The boys went spear fishing, we saw lots of touristy places… it was fun. I wish we could have seen more of the island by hiking and such, but we’re saving that for another trip J

We are now living in Salem, Oregon where Phill grew up. Most of his family lives here, which I absolutely love. My sister and brother-in-law along with their kids Shelby and Calvin live right up the street from us. I always love their company and am so thankful for them- especially my sister in law. Moving here was really hard for me for the first month. Phill worked long hours, so I was lonely about 95% of the time. I was working hard at finding a job. I got a couple leads different times, but every single one of them didn’t work out. It was frustrating. I missed my sisters. I missed my dad. I missed my mom. I missed having friends and knowing the people and the area (Seriously, I got lost every day without fail). I missed the idea of going back to BYU-Idaho. I missed my sister’s graduation. It was just a trying time for me. I think everyone knows that when I’m going through a weird, adjusting time that I become severely awkward. I’m sure that didn’t help with making new friends or finding a job.

Anyways, one day my mother-in-law asked if she could fast for me to find a job. I said of course, and Phill, Wendy, Eric and I all fasted for a day. Guess what happened? The next day I got an interview with Dicks Sporting Goods! I nailed the interview and got accepted to work full time as their running specialist. I’ve been working there for a couple weeks now. I enjoy it… I definitely still have a lot to learn, but I like it. I love the people I work with. They’re funny and really easy to get along with and talk to.

Everyday gets better here. I’m enjoying the bi-polar-ness of the weather- the rain and the shine. We’ve been able to do some fun outings like camping and off-roading and going to the coast. My love grows for Phill every single moment. I always heard of couple saying that, but didn’t really believe them. I just figured they said that to try to convince themselves that their spouse wasn’t annoying the bajeeze out of them. But now I know and understand what loving someone is. It’s not a conditional thing. It’s not- I love you if or when blah blah blah. It’s I love you because and always. I’m so thankful for him. He works so hard for us. He hates his job at the plasma-processing center, but he chugs along anyways.

I’m excited to see where life takes us. We have so many opportunities and paths we can take... right now it’s just a matter of trying to choose wisely and in the right order.

I miss home; I miss my friends and family. I especially miss my sisters. I hope that there will be visitations sometime in the near future.

With that being said, does anyone possibly have a spare million dollars we could have? I promise we’ll keep it safe.