Thanks Mom and Dad

The day of graduation we invited our parents to spend the morning with us at Thanksgiving Point's tulip festival.  The flowers were a little hammered from a recent hail storm. We were a little frazzled (okay so when I say we I mean I) with packing, graduation, arranging schedules, running on little to no sleep... and you know the whole closure thing with a major chapter of life.  

But still it was beautiful.

 

And being together was the most beautiful part of it all.

I am so glad we took this time to be with our parents because they deserve so much more time, gratitude, and love.  Thanks Moms and Dads for everything you do for us!  We love you!

Love, Your baby girl and boy

(Probably not how Tim would sign it, but it's the truth.)

FINAL Finals: the end of my undergrad

Final days of school went as follows:

Tuesday April 20-
   Spent time with Megs and Parker
   Went with Megan to get our hair done at Modifi
        (Love that place... miss trusting someone with my hair)
   Tim arrived earlier than expected, bearing gifts of cookies and milk...
          LOVE that boy!
   Gave my final presentation  
     (3+ hours on campus after Tim just got home... not cool)
   Went to dinner with Mark and Amanda at Spark  
         (good friends+good food= a combination that can't be beat). 
   Hoped to be done with finals... not the case (boo).
   Worked on a paper and studied until late.

Wednesday April 21-
  Woke up ridiculously early to study.
  Took my last test in the testing center! 
          (SO glad to walk out of there).
  Drove to Duchesne to collect more of our stuff  
     (Studied while we drove)
  Tim gathered things while I:
     finished an entire simulation (not fun or particularly easy)
     completed some quizzes (my fault for procrastinating)
   sent in my final paper at the last minute... literally.

I sat in disbelief as we drove home- I was done with college.
I felt such joy- WE WERE TOGETHER!

Dialogue and Dancing

I love being around my family

Listening to their thoughts

 

Watching them interact

Witnessing joy as Umpa and the little ones dance

I am blessed to simply know them and be in their company

Cramming and Company Combined

Cramming- not so fun.

Company- absolutely wonderful!

Combined- Busy, but WONDERFUL! * See below for details.

* Megs and Parker came for a visit at the start of finals and it was grand to have them. 

Other company that week included Megan's friend Kevin,  Ben, Elaine, Lorna, Ethan, and Dad.

It was a full time between visitors, preparing for my FINAL finals, and packing.  I only wish I had been able to spend more time with everyone who came, they were all great to give me the time and space I needed to study.  And honestly it was great to have them around, I focused better during my study time knowing that after a good session I would get to chat with Megs or play at the park with Dad and Parker.

Seriously how could this adorable face not alleviate stress?

A few highlights of Megan and Parker's visit:

• Parker as orator and artist

This boy can talk up a storm!  He knows so many words and is a great conversationalist.
When Little P came to visit he knew basic colors (orange, blue, red, green, yellow, purple and pink),
could count to 10,
always was asking for Tim,
would talk about trucks, cars, tractors, and diggers (backhoes).

Parker also practiced his artistic skills on our packing paper...

Parker Picasso

It was fun because the paper was bigger than him!

Every great artist has a supportive mentor

• Playing at the park with Umpa (Dad) and Parker

After Parker went down the slide he asked for my help off and I complied. As I took his little hand a little shock got both of us.  Parker pulled his hand back and looked at me in surprise and pain.  I reached for him again, but he wouldn't take my hand again.  I explained I didn't mean to hurt him and that it was a "shock" from the slide...  Every time he went down the slide after that he would say "shock, shock"  and he was very leery of being assisted after coming down.  It's hard to explain how awfully cute and funny (and a little sad) this was.

(Umpa and Parker talking about "shock")

We enjoyed slides, finding new friends

and a picnic of PB&J with veggies

and milk (of course).


Thanks for a fun visit!  We can't wait to see you again soon!

We're alive and TOGETHER!

It's true we are officially in Cali!

So much has happened since THE boxes arrived that I have been a bit scared to post.

However, I decided I better take the plunge and post.

(Having reminded myself that the longer I wait, the more things will happen, and so the cycle would start.)

Before I jump in to where we left off I have to tell my man that I love him! We’ve been married two years! The BEST two years to date!

I love you Timothy John.  You're my best friend and the best husband. You’re INCREDIBLE and our life is more than I could have dreamed of.  You are my one and only. I'm forever yours.

I’ll post (with pictures) in chronological order (which means official anniversary post to come) over the next few days and bring you all to where we are now!

California Kisses- Margo

Something arrived...

...these BOXES! 

I know what you are thinking... "Wow boxes... how exciting... or not."  But the arrival of these practically made me giddy because they mean I really get to start packing and we really are getting close to the next step- TOGETHER in California!

Aren't they beautiful? (Okay saying they're beautiful might be going a little too far.)

The arrival of the boxes also brought a moment of stress- I realized that they mean I really HAVE to start packing... and I REALLY don't have that much time!  Suddenly I feel like we have WAY too much stuff!  My moms helped relieve me of this stress by both offering to come to Provo and help me start packing.  Thanks to both of you and I look forward to seeing you!


I've realized Tim and I mostly post about our trips.  Those times are THE most important and the most fun to share.  Now some of you may be wondering what we doing between flights from SLC to OAK... or maybe you haven't, but I'm going to share a snippet anyway.

For me there has been WAY too many of these:

and these:

(my favorite Easter candy that will be gone all too soon...)

Too much of this:

and this:

and this: 

And A LOT of this:

I think that gives you a pretty good picture.
Well I better go... after all there is packing to do (well maybe not tonight).

Ben and Elaine's Spring Break

Ben and Elaine and Lorna and Ethan decided to spend their Spring Break down in sunny California. Margo also came down and spent most of the week as well. It was great. These are pictures of their room at the Todd House. They're not intended to make you jealous, just to cause you to check your schedule and book a trip soon! Notice the Temple outside the window.

Early on in the week Ben and Elaine got to visit the beach at Point Reyes National Seashore and experience some whale watching. They also spent some time with us in Alameda, seeing an apartment we hope to rent, as well as eating dinner at Ole's Waffle Shop. The main activities involving Margo and I kicked off Wednesday with going to see the play WICKED at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. Once again, it was spectacular.

Next up, on Thursday, was a full day of activities in San Francisco. First, a stop by Lombard Street, the curviest section of road in the United States.

We then took one of the old-fashioned cable cars from the wharf over to china town. I wasn't terribly excited about the cable car, but it actually was pretty cool. The best part is you feel like a movie star because everyone is taking pictures of you (or the cable car) as you go down the street.

China Town was definitely like walking into China or at least another world. We wanted to try some food so we chose a restaurant. The waiters and waitresses were really pushy (definitely authentic) and the food was really good.

We stopped at Ghirardelli Square for free chocolate samples and bought some ice cream. Definitely a high point for Lorna.We then walked down along the wharf, stopping to see interesting street vendors, on our way to Pier 39.

Lorna loved the carousel on the pier. There were also some good views from the end of the pier. You can see Alcatraz Island in the background.

We had to stop for sourdough bread. The Boudin bakery is amazing, selling all types of bread. Ben and I agreed it's the closest bread to bakeries in Eastern Europe that we've had. In addition to the taste, they also had all sorts of shapes.

As evening approached, we headed over to Golden Gate National Park, which is located along the wharf just below the bridge. Beautiful views to be had all around.

Margo and I enjoyed some parks around the Temple on Friday. The area is so beautiful and so many great places are nearby.

It was a great week with Ben, Elaine, Lorna and Ethan.