The Reason You Are Viewing This Page...

...is to learn about the wedding and its events. Perhaps this is true?

Friday morning we went to the temple for Lisa. We had a marvelous session and were pleased to have the company of much family and many friends.

We then headed out to the church at which we were to have the reception and began setup, which in itself was an adventure.

Many thanks to the volunteer crews that helped get everything ready!

Now, on to Saturday. See? Patience pays off (sometimes). We showed up on time and were once again happy to be surrounded by family and friends for a wonderful sealing ceremony. We then posed for many a photo until we escaped to the reception. We had a quick bite to eat, then lined up to greet guests for a few hours.

After a bit of cake (thanks to Camille)...

...and a few dances...

...we rode off into the sunset.

We flew out to Utah to spend our honeymoon up at the Bradshaw Family Cabin. We cooked a bit. It was beautiful weather.

Then it snowed.

I do love the snow, but the roads were so bad I couldn't get back up the hill with the car. I thus hiked up, and we promptly packed up and headed out a day early. It was worth it, as my former roommate confirmed a weather advisory for 6-11 inches of snow through the next day (in the valley, and we were a bit higher). That's okay. It let us set up house.

Today's our one-week anniversary!

We've officially been married for a week now, and married life is treating us both very well. As you'll surely understand, we've been pretty busy, so we're sorry for the lack of posts but we've got good excuses :o)

There's a lot to write about, so we're going to split this up into a couple of posts. For now, we'll tell you about our wedding week.

On the Monday prior to our wedding, we got to pick up Thomas' cousin, Sarah, from the Salt Lake City airport. I had the opportunity to meet her last summer, and very much enjoyed seeing her again! We're so glad she was able to come out for our wedding.

The following couple of days are pretty much a blur; Thomas and I both worked (and he attended classes). Wednesday afternoon/evening, we (Thomas, his dad Jeff, Sarah, my now former roommate Megan, and I) frantically packed (I was probably the most frantic - thanks to Sarah my to-do list was completed!) and prepared for our drive to California.

Thursday, the 25th, I celebrated my 21st birthday. Honestly, my birthday had been pushed to the back of my mind, but when my alarm went off at 3:30 that morning (only because we were planning to leave around 4 AM), Sarah and another now former roommate, Ashley, burst into my bedroom with a large slice of chocolate cake (trick candles included) singing "Happy Birthday"! It was such a fun surprise, and even though I was mostly asleep it made for quite a memorable birthday. I can't wait to try out my new Swedish measuring utensils when I make the Swedish meatballs for which Sarah gave me the recipe!!

We were on the road around 4:30 that morning. Highlights of the trip include:
*Thomas & I finishing reading Le Livre de Mormon
*stopping for birthday lunch at In-n-Out in Reno
*seeing a truck back into a car at a gas station
*making it to Lake Tahoe - that beautiful blue water is such a welcome sight after miles and miles of Nevada desert!

(L to R: Jeff, Sarah, Megan, Lisa, Thomas at In-n-Out)

(Lisa and Thomas at Lake Tahoe)

That evening, Thomas' side met up in Sacramento and stayed at a house they rented for the weekend. Megan and I stayed with my family. We enjoyed attending a bridal shower thrown by the Salyers, some long-time friends in my family's ward. I had a great time seeing friends I hadn't seen for a while, and hearing letters and stories written for me using various brand names of products sitting out on a table (for example: Bounce dryer sheets, Good & Plenty candy, Sunkist orange soda... fun game!)

Unfortunately, it is getting late, so for the rest of our update you'll have to visit later.

oxox

It Is (About) Time

Wow...wedding week, here we come. As apparent by the lack of frequent (i.e. weekly) posts, we've been quite busy. Lisa has been working full-time and Thomas has been working feverishly to get ahead of schedule to make up for the future missage of school...among other things, here's a list of events in order of memory recall:

1. Both Lisa's and Thomas' dads came to visit, drop off stuff from home, and we got to eat with each of them (but we only got a picture with Thomas' dad)

2. We moved much of our extra stuff into the new place

3. Thomas' dad gave a presentation at the BYU Studies Symposium and we got a meal out of it

4. We went to BYU Dancesport
5. We moved a horde of furniture from Salt Lake City down to the new place
6. We went to a dance lab
7. Lisa had a bridal shower
8. Thomas' roommate played twice at the BYU basketball game in Oklahoma City and didn't miss a single shot either game
9. We passed our waltz final
10. We had marvelous weather and are going to take a walk now

The Busy Final Weeks

Not much time to write - I'm at work, on my lunch break! But I thought I'd give a short update until we can put together a real post.

Life's really busy; we're wrapping up final wedding details. We're very blessed and feel very grateful for the many people who are helping us put everything together.

On Monday, we'll be able to start moving things into our new place! Both of our dads are in Utah right now so we'll get to see them. Both brought us various things from our respective homes. It feels as though we might start out with too much stuff in our tiny apartment! But then again, it's much bigger than a couple other ones we looked at.

We've got a busy weekend ahead of us but there will likely be some good photo- and blogging opportunities....

oxox

26 days, 18 hours and counting!

Yesterday was a special day! Yesterday was February 27th.

Which, in case that date does not ring any bells or strike any chords for you.....

MARKS ONE MONTH UNTIL OUR WEDDING!! Yay!

In two weeks, we'll be able to begin moving things into our 4-plex apartment. In under four weeks, we'll be sealed for time and eternity in the Sacramento California temple.

In terms of news, there's not much to tell. This week we've both been busy with work and Thomas has been spending lots of time on various projects for school. We attended a dance lab (basically a huge party made up of all the social dance students) on Thursday night, fulfilling a requirement for our class. On Friday, of course, we attended our dance class. The past few weeks we've had substitute teachers, as our regular teacher has been involved in some dance competitions. Our waltz is coming along pretty well.

Yesterday we made it to the temple. Saturdays seem to be ridiculously busy at the Provo temple. We also attended a performance by BYU’s Philharmonic Orchestra. We were tired, but it was beautiful.

And now a word about cell phones.

At some times and places, it is inappropriate to have in your possession (and especially to use) a cell phone. Etiquette says you probably oughtn't use your cell phone in the restroom or at the table. Common sense says your phone should be turned off (at least silenced) in the library, in the theater, or in a class. Yesterday, I was unsettled to find that some folks think it's ok to have a cell phone turned ON and even to TALK on it while in the temple!

I sincerely hope that none of my dearest LDS friends, family, or associates would ever consider using their cell phones in the temple.... especially since it is acceptable to use cell phones outside on temple grounds. It was disconcerting to overhear that a young lady was speaking to friends on her cell phone from inside the temple, and deeply saddening and distracting when another's cell phone rang in the Lord's Holy House.

I believe that the temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sacred places. In them, worthy members can escape the worries and cares of the world and focus on important things of an eternal nature. When cell phones - which have their use and importance in other venues - are imagined to be permitted there, the sacredness of the place is diminished.

Please, please, learn when and where it is rude or distracting or inappropriate to have or use your cell phones, and refrain from keeping them turned on or at your fingers at those times and places! Encourage others to do the same! It is tragic to be the one who disregards common courtesy and social expectations in such a way, and it is deeply frustrating for those who have to suffer the consequences of others' addictions to cell phone usage.

That's about all I have to say, but I feel I'm ending on a harsh note...

...to lighten things up a bit, here's a joke: What do you do when you're being attacked by a circus troupe? (see comments for the answer and feel free to leave your own jokes or two cents there)

新年快樂!

Happy Belated New Year (for those that are curious)! The fourteenth of February ushered in the year of the tiger (thanks, Marina!)

But first, we should rewind a bit. Earlier last week Lisa cooked a lot, with the main dish featured being a improvised "bacon pizza" (link). On Saturday we set up many an appointment to look at potential apartments, and found one that was particularly appealing. After some deliberation and time, we penned our names to paper and we're excited to soon have a fourplex to call home (and we enjoyed the 5+ mile walk that day too)!

(a contract of sorts)

We suppose we should mention the coincidental holiday of St. Valentine. As 14 February was on a Sunday, we decided to have a dinner at P.F. Changs (link, thanks to Saki and Liz). Lisa also received some Peruvian lilies from a not-so-secret admirer. Then on Sunday we went to church together then spent an enjoyable few hours with Thomas' grandmother, where Lisa received a corsage.

(an interesting couple (why else would you read this blog?))

(Peruvian lilies)

(corsage)

In other news, Lisa's new job began and she is quickly learning the threads that make the ropes that run the place. Hope all is going well for our readers. Feel free to mention your three cents or more (we could always use the change) in the comments!

(a satisfied blogger)

Free Oreos and Other Great Things

Today, for the first time, Thomas and I decided to use some coupons when we went grocery shopping. SUCCESS! It felt so very good to watch the dollars come off the total! We've decided this should become a habit.

Also, due to Thomas' faithful following of blogs like Hey, It's Free! we were blessed with coupons for free Oreos! Yes, folks, we each got a free package of Golden Double Stuf Oreos. Hey, I'm not complainin'!

In other news, we toured 2 apartments today. Up till now we've only been looking online for housing. It was nice to actually get to see some places we could call "home" in the not-so-distant future. If anyone knows of cheap married housing in the Provo area, let us know! We're still shopping at this point.

We're keeping up pretty well with our temple attendance. Thomas and his roommate haven't missed a Thursday since the beginning of the semester, and I've been taking the opportunity to go on Friday mornings.

I've been thinking about random things outsiders wouldn't know about Provo:

• Just about everyone jogs. Seriously, even in crummy, cold weather, you see crazies out there in shorts jogging on just about every sidewalk. At all hours, too, it seems.
  
• Unicycling is a pastime enjoyed by more people than you'd think, and the percentage is probably near what you'd find amongst circus performers. No joke. This past week, I saw a kid unicycling his way off campus while reading a newspaper.
  
• At least 90% of drivers are really bad at driving. If you drive much, expect that for every 3 red lights you are stopped at, you will see one car run a red light. Pathetic!
• Parking - especially south of campus - is horrible. If you get home after about 10:30 PM, you might need to circle the side streets for a while to find a spot.

That's about it for now. It's been a long day and I'm ready for some shut-eye!

oxox