Goodbye for Now

Today was my last day as the Primary Chorister because we're moving back to Rexburg. I am really sad and will miss my little kids. (Hopefully they will miss me too!) Last week I got a little choked up while they were singing just at the thought of leaving. Today was kind of rushed, so I was fine. I have had so much fun being the primary chorister and am so sad that our new ward won't really have a primary. (It's a student married ward) Here are some of the highlights I've had while serving in this calling:

• Going on a walk and at some point along the way hearing a little kid shout, "Hi Sister Ditto" from afar excitedly. 
• The children being very concerned that I cut a teacher's tie on Father's Day. "Can you sew that back together for him?" "What about tape?" (Good thing I brought a tie for him to put on that was in our D.I. pile)
• Having children guess what kind of skittle I put in their mouths. This was funny. The first boy guessed all of the wrong flavors. I think I finally had to just tell him. For the next kids that were guessing, I made sure to say the flavor first when asking if that is what it tasted like. (Is that Lemon?")
• The spray bottle. The kids were so eager to sing, so they could get a squirt of the "magical drink" aka Capri-Sun. I don't think I have ever heard them sing so loud.
• Leading the children in Sacrament Meeting while they sang the song, "The Family is of God." The words are so powerful and the kids were smiling so big at me. I was very proud of them.
• After being disappointed in the behavior of some of the kids, I had a little talk with them. I said something like, "It makes me sad when you talk instead of sing. It makes me sad when you don't stand when I ask you too. But it makes me happy when you sing loud and give me the chills." After this little chat, one of the younger kids came up and gave me a big hug because he thought I was really sad. It was adorable.
• One of the sunbeams doesn't know many of the words to the songs, but always wants me to choose him as a helper. His solution: scream/sing as loud as possible and not enunciate any words.

I'm not going to pretend that everything went perfectly each week though. Here are a few things that I can laugh at now, but are semi-embarrassing.

• Noticing when I got home from church some outrageous pit stains. (I don't know that I can wear that shirt to church again.) These were definitely noticed-- I mean my job does entail moving my arms wildly.
• Teaching the children how to pronounce the word "fervent." I spent like 10 minutes on this and made a big deal about it. The next week I realized, I taught them how to say it incorrectly... Yikes. Fervent is not spelled fervrent. 
• Almost taking someone out in the hallway each time I tried to quietly make my dash to primary (before the closing hymn) to beat the children there. The other ward is always in the hall standing right by the door, and I bump them.

I hope that sometime in the near future I will get this calling again. I'm counting down the seconds until that day comes.

Labor Day

Labor Day came just at the right time for me. I worked a lot last week, and had to work Friday and Saturday in Richfield which is kind of a drive. When Monday came, I was so happy to have a day off with Andrew. Originally, we were planning on running the Steeple to Steeple run from the Oquirrh Mountain temple to the Jordan River temple. I have done this race in the past and it is a fun one. It is 5 miles and mostly downhill. We didn't sign up before a certain date which increased the price to run it. I also was having some shin problems and Andrew's foot was hurting him, so we ended up not doing it. Maybe next year...

Instead of the race, we went on a hike with my family. We never seem to have much luck finding the hike we want to go on. This day was no different. The first place we arrived to was just a random trail and quickly left. The second place we went to wasn't what we thought it was either, but we did it anyway. This hike was in Pepperwood which is such a beautiful area. I think the sign called it "The Rocky Mountain Trail," but I could be wrong. The hike was secluded in the shade which was very nice. The best part of the hike was the end which led us to a gorgeous waterfall. We climbed right up next to the water (which kind of scared me) and it was more difficult than it should have been for me to get down. Here are some pictures:

            Me and Jess. Sisters who have completely opposite hair types.

My Dad was given a lot of grief when attempting to take our picture.

Andrew is completely fearless when it comes to hiking. Maybe our children will have hope. He even went exploring in some disgusting cave that I refused to step foot in.

This hike turned out to be much shorter than we expected, so we decided to go on another one which was a little further down the road. The second hike was up Bell's Canyon and it was quite crowded. This trail took us to a Reservoir which was stunning. Let me point out that this hike was not easy. Almost the entire way up you go up tons of stair type things that are quite steep. I was surprised by how many children we saw on this trail. It isn't very long though. I think it is a little over 0.7 miles up to the Reservoir and very worth it.

It took me a few minutes to walk out to this rock because I was "extra cautious." My family was laughing at me. When I finally got there, Andrew pretended to push me in and I screamed. 

Our Labor Day hikes turned out to be very successful. What a fun way to spend Labor Day morning. (Lots of other people thought so too.) And because it was Labor Day, Best Buy was having a sale and Andrew and I FINALLY bought a flat screen. (Goodbye to our 55 in box TV!) We can't wait to open it when we get to Rexburg next week. Pizza was the icing on the cake for such a wonderful day. 

My Dream

I have always wanted to go to the U.S. Open in New York City. Of course, when my family was in New York years ago, we didn't think about even going to see the courts, let alone planning our trip around when the U.S Open was. It's fine, we still had a fun trip and I'm really not that bitter.

That being said, every year my family fills out a bracket for the U.S Open. We use this website: http://bracketchallenge.usopen.org/#/ Make sure to save it as a favorite on your computer, so you can fill out a bracket next year.

Whoever wins on this website nationally, gets a free trip to the U.S Open for 2 the following year. (I think) This has yet to happen to anyone in my family. When it does though, I'm sure they will pick me to be the 2nd person going on this free trip. My family has a separate bracket just for us on the website called "The Denning League." It constantly updates and tells us who is winning on the men's side, women's side, and overall. At the beginning of the tournament, I looked at this site often because I was winning the men's side for a few days. Now, I prefer not to look because I keep getting further and further down in the rankings.

We always have a hard time determining what the winner of our family gets. Some of the ideas thrown out this year have been: an amazon gift-card, a free-flight, personal satisfaction, and a trophy. You can guess which idea was mine... (Anything that has do with the word free) I think we are going with a trophy and whoever wins has to keep it on display in their house all year, until it's time for the U.S Open again which is when the new winner will take it over. (Unless of course, the same person (me) were to win 2 years in a row.) By the way, I would not be happy just to have "personal satisfaction" after my win. I want something to show for my dominance.

I am a tennis fanatic. I get REALLY into tennis and have a hard time not watching every match. I'm not quite on the level my grandmother is on though. Watching the U.S Open becomes her full-time job and she doesn't even need to be paid to do it. A big debate in our family includes some of the top men. A couple family members seem to think Nadal is the best. Many others have Djokovic (Jokey) winning. My question is why wouldn't you have Federer winning? I love "Fed." He is so classy which can be hard to do. I don't ever see him throw his racket or lose his temper. He is a family man and has 2 sets of twins which I think is so cool. He is always funny and nice when he is interviewed before/after a match. That being said, Go Fed! I'm routing for you even if I stand somewhat alone in my family.

Andrew and I should both graduate this coming April, and I told him that I would love to go to the "US Open" to celebrate... We'll see if that happens. If not, I will continue to do bracket after bracket until I win that free trip.

It's A "Cecret"

We went on the prettiest hike recently (8/16) to a place called, "Cecret Lake." It was up Little Cottonwood Canyon. When we arrived, we had to wait for a shuttle to take us to the hike. When the shuttle finally got there, there wasn't enough room for us. We decided to just walk on a trail that was near us, so we wouldn't have to wait another 20-30 minutes for the next shuttle. After walking for quite a while, we realized that our trail connected with the "Cecret Lake" trail. We sure added some miles to our hike. I was happy we didn't wait for the next shuttle though because on our little excursion, we saw 3 moose! Andrew got a pretty decent picture-- see below. I was a little nervous to get too close to the moose, so none of my pictures turned out very well. They sure are big creatures!

Along the hike, we kept wondering if there really was going to be a lake... My Dad kept pointing out little mud puddles and saying, "there it is!" Good one Dad. When we finally got to the lake (4 or 5 miles later), we realized that it was more than just a puddle. It was really beautiful. Here are a couple of pictures:

I would like to add that we did not take the long trail all the way back. We raced to the shuttle and I am glad we did. It was about a 15 minute drive in the shuttle, so you can only imagine how long it took walking. If we would have gone on this hike this past weekend (2 days ago), there would have been snow which is insane! Just a little reminder that winter is coming much too soon. This hike happens to be near the ski resort where I "learned" to ski. We walked right by the hill that I was speeding uncontrollably down while praying that I wouldn't die. Good thing nobody cut me off that day on that hill because they would have been toast. I never thought I would visit that resort again, but I was wrong. I don't think my skis will ever touch that mountain again though. (Not that I have skis.. I rented for a reason) 

After the hike, we saw, "The Giver." I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I have read most of the book and it followed it pretty well. The ending of the movie was apparently different though. (I'll be honest, I never finished reading the book.) This movie is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time and I was really entertained. I'm not a big movie person, so this is saying something. I must admit, I did fall asleep for a brief moment near the beginning of the movie, but this has nothing to do with the movie and everything to do with the 5 mile hike I had just taken. 

Blessed.

I have always loved houses. When I was growing up, instead of playing with bubbles or other normal toys children my age played with, I played "Ivory Homes" with my little sister, Jessica. It was so fun to pretend to be realtors. We even had our own copies of the "Ivory Homes" pamphlet. To this day, I still remember some of the names of the different floor plans/models. My favorite always was and will be the Savonna because it is a rambler. If you know my mother well, you know I can blame her for this hobby.

If someone were to ask me what my favorite TV show is currently I would respond without hesitation, "House Hunters." Call me crazy, I know. I feel bad for the realtors on that show because all of their buyers are always so picky... And then I think about myself and realize I'm probably even pickier. Good thing we won't be buying a home anytime soon.

You would think with my obsession regarding real estate that I have lived in the best apartments. You're wrong. The competition in Rexburg is outrageous and I feel like I'm always just trying to find a place that isn't a million bucks a month. Let me back up here. Andrew and I have moved A LOT since we have been married. I guess we're copying my parents in that way... Don't know if that's a good thing. 

We signed the lease on our 4th apartment in Rexburg today! At this point, we know exactly what we do and don't want in an apartment. The one thing holding us back is me and my constant worry about the budget. (Both a good and bad thing...) I feel like I'm steeling with the deal we got on our new apartment. It is $540 a month with EVERYTHING included. That is unreal in Rexburg. (Our last place was $620 and we had to pay gas and electric.) Do you know what else this means? Now that I don't have to pay my own heating bill, I will actually turn the heat on in the dead of a Rexburg winter. Maybe this winter I won't actually have to wear gloves in my own apartment!

Our new apartment is a basement apartment which I am excited about because we won't have neighbors above us, below us, and sharing every wall with us. Through this whole process of trying to find an apartment (which has been a long one) I have learned what I really need. Do I need covered parking? No. Yes, it would be nice especially when it snows 3ft a night, but I can live without it. A dishwasher is also wonderful, but we don't have a big family right now and our dishes are kept to a minimum. We even made a deal with the Landlords and they are going to let us use their washer/dryer upstairs for a few hours a week. (An added $10 a month which is nothing compared to going to the Laundromat weekly.)

Today I am overwhelmed by how blessed we are. We are getting such a good deal and I still can't even believe it's happening. I feel like now is a good time to explain my money worry... Starting in January, I will be student teaching. I'm excited because that means I'm almost done with my degree, but I am dreading working 40 hours a week for no pay. It is really hard to have a job and student teach, so I want the cheapest rent possible.

 I'm so relieved that I don't have to be constantly watching the "Rexburg Renters" Facebook page or checking the Bulletin Board. Phew! And you know what else, I'm actually kind of excited to go back to Rexburg... (Shh.. don't tell.) I'm excited to make a new recipe every night and decorate our new apartment. I'm eager to see what our apartment looks like in person too. (Thank you Cindy & Derek for checking the place out for us.)