Dan: Post #3

And now for the third installment of Dan's Blog Posts.  Becca and I have a major blogging weakness.  We don't carry our camera around with us all the time.  I would say half of the time by accident and half of the time intentionally.  Without further ado, here are a few pics from this summer with captions by yours truly.  I'm sure Becca has posted some of these so sorry for any reposts!

 Hiking in St. George.  We've been doing lots of hiking lately.  Becca kicks my butt as usual.  Best part of this hike - Becca getting spooked by a rat/mouse/squirrel/"What the H is that thing?!"

 We love our apartment.  It's the best apartment I've ever lived in hands down.  It's called The Cottage and we are going to miss it when we head to NYC in a few months.  We were talking one night in our front room when we were treated to our own fireworks show out the front window.  "Cottage, you've done it again!"

Some flowers that reminded me of Becca.  Had to buy them.  The next morning I knew I had made the right choice.

Get home at 9:30.  Here loud rock music echoing through south Provo.  Throw on sweatshirts and walk towards music.  Walk to the top of parking structure - still no clue what's going on.  Find thousands of people and the Neon Trees giving a free summer rooftop concert.  Glad I had the camera in my pocket.  Great band.  Amazing girl.

If you've ever tried to shop for or with me you know it's the pits.  Especially if you're trying to find stuff for me.    No joke I would rather read the dictionary than go shopping for myself.  (Shopping for Becca is a million times more fun and entertaining.)  Well I've had the shoes in the middle since my mission and they were pretty much the only thing I wore.  So comfortable.  I was wearing them up until the day before Becca convinced me I looked homeless.

 Had to get a pic of Becca opening this package from her mom.  She gets so exited!

Another reason to love The Cottage.  The roses that frame the steps to our door.  Never seen anything like them.

Becca rockin' out to Neon Trees!  (Note: She's not that white in real life.)

I hiked the Y!  Finally.  Becca carried me the whole way!  (Not really but she could have...)  It started to rain which was perfect.  See the crazy girl in this pic?  She loves the rain.

Playing with our underwater camera with the fam.  Seriously it's the coolest camera ever.  We always forget it can go underwater and then, when we remember, we get excited all over again!  Thanks Doreen!

Hottie boombalottie.

The view from our room.  That's me filling up. 

Natalie flyin' solo.  My fav quote from her: "Mom, I'm going back to Jeff's...."

Hiking with my best friend.  I have no clue how I got so lucky.  We almost died on this one (ok not quite that bad)...a little bit of unexpected rock climbing.  I learned two things: 1. Listen to Becca when she says to climb the other face of the canyon and 2. Becca is fearless.  So much fun!

As My Mom Would Say... I'm A Real Sew 'n Sew

Sew, for those of you who dewn't knew... I got a  sewing machine for Christmas. How does my Mom always know the perfect gifts? I don't know. But she does. Oh and here's a little insight to my father. After opening the presents, my Dad inspects the white case my Mom bought for my sister and I.

Dad (offhandedly): "It's kind of loose in there, isn't it? I bet if you just put a strip of foam along here it would hold it in place".

Nothing else was said. A few days later I go into the family room to a foam explosion. The result? A padded sewing case perfectly fitted to my sewing machine. There's even a cutout for my pedal. How awesome is that!?

My Dad, the coolest, most handy, man I know. Check it out:

My mom is pretty awesome too. She also bought my sister and I each a pattern and material for reusable shopping bags. Figured she would take two hours to whip these out with us and teach us the ins and outs of reading a pattern. I've sewn with my Mom since I was little... but I'd still yet to tackle trying to understand the pages and prints of paper thin patterns. (What? Instructions? Ew.) 

Our 2-hour project may have taken all evening, but hey, they turned out! I've saved several plastic bags from use with my shopping bags, thank you very much!

Please notice the quote. If you are a sewer, especially a newer one... you'll know how true it is. And yes... I did come up with that myself. Experience is the best teacher, no?

Now to get started on some mending I've been putting off...

Memorial Day

Both Dan and I come from extremely patriotic families. I wish I had a more eloquent way of expressing my gratitude to those, past and present, giving their time, families, and lives, for my freedom. These men and women are heroes.

As I thought about what I wanted to share, I thought about several videos across YouTube of soldiers reuniting with their families. They bring me to tears every time. I love how these bring into the focus the sacrifices that our soldiers make. They leave their families so that we can stay with ours.

What I decided to share, however, is a video that I've loved for a long time. Because to me, this video shows how utterly cool the men and women are who decide to serve. You can't escape the emotion of love, support, and pride evoked by the song and images.

I hope you find your own things that stand out to you, but I thought I'd share a few of my own. I've watched this video countless times, and still am just noticing things. A select few of my favorites:

Citizen Soldier - Three Doors Down

1. The depiction of everything from the Revolution, to Normandy, to our own national disasters.
2. The lyrics that refer to us as brothers and sisters
3. A shot of a soldier in war that subtly focuses on his wedding ring. (2:01-2:05)
4. "Hope and pray that you never need me, but rest assured I will not let you down..."

(You may have to go to YouTube to watch the video)

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PS... the revolutionary war soldier running through the woods... we know him :)

Did I Ever Tell You About My Birthday?

Probably Not. Anyway, it was awesome. And yes, it was 5 months ago. No matter!

It was my *STAR* Birthday! (Where you turn the age of your birth date). For privacy means, I won't share the number. Anyone semi-decent at math would be able to figure out my birth date and be that much closer to stealing my identity. 

Anyway... back to the important stuff. My birthday was awesome. First, Dan bought me a sausage egg and cheese McGriddle (it's been tradition since we first met). Yum. We ran some errands; DI drop off, bank, etc. We ate our McDonalds in bed. Watched some TV, hung out. Opened my birthday present... the guy's got some pretty good taste! No to mention funny stories about him shopping alone in Forever 21. Ha!

For my birthday evening, we went to Boondocks. 

The go carts were FREEZING! If you could look closely, you'd see tears frozen mid stream back from my eyes. Also... I couldn't feel my hands. We had lots of fun driving slowly in front of people and taking pictures.

Why yes, I did get a hole in one! Oh... and Dan didn't really fit in the cave where his ball landed.

Dan made the very last shot where it eats your ball and you get a prize. Except we didn't get a prize. Lame Boondocks. We did make some kids pretty happy by giving them our arcade tickets. Then proceeded to find more in Dan's pocket. Ha!

After Boondocks, we decided to go see a movie at the dollar theater. We may or may not have snuck in Sub-Zero ice cream in my purse. Who knows? We saw RED. And it was pretty dang funny. You have a recommendation from us.  

Between packages from home and birthday dinner from Dan's Mom, I think it's fair to say that it was my very best star birthday ever! I definitely got nothin' but lurve! (Like how I tied in our blog name? Me too.)

Dan: Post #2

A creative title, I know.

Becca has been gone for a while now.  She went to see a "movie" with her "friend," "Brooke."  Whatever that means...

Seeing that I'm too lazy (and mentally ill-equipped) to create unique blog content, I've decided to post another video.  The following video is my all-time favorite Mormon Message on Youtube.  Lately I've found my thoughts drifting towards employment, supporting a family, ways to make lots of money, etc.

Coincidentally (or not...) I stumbled upon this video again.  I'm grateful to have a father who taught me how to work and taught me how to live.  He is the man.  It's by watching him that I have learned the relative worthlessness of money and the invaluable nature of love, service, sacrifice, friendship, and faith.  His example in my life has, and will continue to be, infinitely beyond quantifiable value.

If you've watched this, watch it again.

Wow...

This just came up on my Yahoo news.

This is my all time favorite hymn ever.

Ever.

Plus, I love Carrie Underwood. (If you listen to the live version that comes up after the first video, she almost sounds even more amazing.)

The first is only the 1st and 4th verse with a musical interlude...it's seriously moving. The second is a softer version with all but the 2nd verse. I heart them both.

Miss Us?

Between my lovely family vacation (see here) and Dan's not so lovely finals (though he's done lovely on them) we've been a little MIA! But not to worry... I'm back, and Dan takes his last final today! Graduation tomorrow and he's done!

I am actually very excited about this. Graduating last year was great. Entering the work force. Meh. But at least no more homework. My evenings are mine. However, I wish my evenings contained more of Dan. And now... they can! While we're making studying his full-time job for the summer (good ol' CFA and CPA tests) I'm expecting to have more time together without things hanging over his head. Or maybe I'll start a honey-do list. I've heard your marriage isn't solidified until you have one. :)

Actually, though, I'm mostly just proud of him. I'm sure I'll get flack from him later for bragging, but I don't care. Because he is awesome and handsome and charming and smart. The kid is graduating in the top of his class, nailed an extremely respected job that no undergrad has gotten in 5 years, passed the GMAT in the 99th percentile, and on top of all of that... he takes care of me. Which can be a job in itself. My mother even warned him that I'm two handfuls. But I digress...

Anyway, I'd love to share more details and specifics about how smart he is, but I know I'd get in trouble. Did I mention that he's one of the humblest people I know?

I apologize for the cliche, lovey-dovey blog... but hey, we were just apart for 10 days. Plus check out this pic. Can you blame me?