Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

A few years ago when I was living in Hawaii, I caught a cold from one of my students. As I phoned friends and family thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean to tell the of my fate, someone said the funniest comment that makes me laugh to this day! The person quizzically asked me, "How can you catch a cold if you live in Hawaii?" The person was obviously wondering how, in such warm temperatures, I could get sick with a cold.

I laughed and then explained that colds are not caught by it being cold outside and a person can get sick in any temperature. (Wayne Schmidt's Cold Page suggests that the reason we refer to it as a cold is because in ancient times people thought colds were caused by the cold weather.)



Well, even though the weather in Washington is still fairly beautiful, I have caught another cold from my students. First it was the flu a few weeks back. Now it's a cold that even involved me vomiting yesterday due to too much mucous in my stomach. (Graphic, I know.) It is ironic that something as simple as the "common cold" is not quite so simple. I feel terrible all over. I can't breath, which makes it so that I can't sleep. I can't wait to have my nose, sense of smell, and taste back! I'm just saying.

(This contraption looks genius to me right now.)


In other news, Evan and I watched my sister's kids this weekend from Friday until today. More pictures, soccer, and rock climbing adventures to come.

Surfin' USA

Evan and I may not be in Hawaii anymore, but we've made surfing happen here in Washington. (Evan's been surfing here ever since we got back, while I just made my first surfing venture into the Washington waters on Labor Day.) It takes a LOT more preparation for a little payoff, what with the inconsistent blown-out waves. In spite of all that, I still had a lot of fun! I was happy to be back on a surfboard again!

Preparation 1: Buy a wetsuit.





Preparation 2: Wear a hood, otherwise you get crazy hair from the unpredictable waves.



Preparation 3: Have your husband help you paddle out to the waves, because the waves are so blown-out it's hard do it yourself. (Plus, he offered. Why get so tired paddling out there, when you can use the strength of 2 people and give more energy to surfing? Come on, people. It just makes sense.)



Preparation 4: Get on the surfboard and go.



*I had the camera with me, so Evan took no pictures of me riding the waves. Hopefully, he will next time! :)

The Wedding Day

***HERE are a few more pictures taken by my sister, Nicole! She's talented!



I know that MOST people feel that their wedding day was amazing. I do not differ from those people. I feel so blessed to have been able to marry my best friend in the Lord's holy temple. There are so many reasons why it was the best day of my life.



Some of the most tender moments of that day happened behind the scenes. Let me tell you about a few:



*Driving to the temple with my two sisters- While I frantically sped to the temple (we were a little late!), my sisters plucked my gray hairs so that they wouldn't show up in pictures. It meant a lot that my sisters cared enough to help me look my best on my wedding day! I also loved that time I was able to spend with them, just us sisters, on my wedding day.





*Before and after our sealing, Evan and I had a chance to just sit alone in the temple and talk about what a significant day that was. Before the sealing, it was so special to sit in the waiting room arm in arm watching our people fill up the sealing room. It was very humbling to see and feel the love of so many. After the sealing, we had to sit on the couches in the foyer to wait while another couple went out and met their families. I'm so glad for that time! It was such a precious time to talk about our sealing and what the sealer had said. Such tender moments...

(My grandma and I on my wedding day... she is the only grandparent or parent I have left! I love her dearly.)


*In the temple, I saw my wedding ring for the first time. Evan had spent MONTHS and countless hours designing and making my wedding ring (and his!). There was no better time to see my ring for the first time than in the sealing room in the temple. See pictures below!





*Another memorable moment was our luncheon- Erin Rose (Evan's mom) continued the family luncheon by having all of our siblings share a childhood story and accompanying small gift for us that related to the story. I loved hearing the stories about Evan! It was also so sweet to hear my siblings stories. My sister, Nicole, made me cry by her sweet story about how I came home from the hospital in a stocking. One more story of the day was by Evan about when we had seminary together way back when. To accompany his story, he gave me scriptures with my new name on them! He also bought us a family set of scriptures for family home evenings. It was really sweet. The luncheon was a beautiful displey for both family and friends to share in our joy together.

*Our reception couldn't have been more beautiful! My siblings, their spouses, and so many more people came together to really make our reception look amazing. With Mt. Rainier as a backdrop, we were able to share the joy of the day with so many family and friends that came from all over the country to celebrate with us! It was such a fun day for Evan and I. We both thought that we would have to overcome the urge to be stressed all day, but we didn't. Our families took care of us and helped to ease our worries and stress. We were and are just happy.

My sister's friend made me charms of my parents on their wedding day with a charm of the Seattle temple! It was so neat!








Our cake topper was my parents cake topper from their wedding!






Although you can't see it in the picture, our guests had sparklers to send us off! It was so fun. Another fun thing we had was a polaroid guest sign in book. We have the most fun pictures from that night! :)

Gratitude Abounds

**NOTE: These are some fun pictures my sister took and I stole from her blog. She's a great photographer!



I think about posting on this topic OFTEN and am finally glad to have a chance to do so. It took me being home sick today from school to find the time, but I'm happy to post a few more pictures of our wedding day and to tell you all a little bit about it... six weeks later. You don't mind, do you?



Before I tell anything, however, I need to express my gratitude to all those who helped make our day possible (AND SPECIAL!). My sister and brother-in-law (the two who raised me after my parents' deaths) went out of their way to make our wedding day amazing. They spent countless hours in their yard and house preparing it for that day. They gave up so many hours with their children, planned family vacations, and sacrificed much more so that we could have a beautiful, outdoor wedding reception at their house. I'm so grateful for what they've done for me for my wedding and during my life. Thank you.



Evan's parents are also not without fault in the matter. They took so much time making our family & friend wedding luncheon beautiful and touching. Evan's mom was planning the luncheon menu for months in advance, testing out recipes to make sure that they would be PERFECT for our wedding day.



And then there were our sisters... Evan's sister flew up from Colorado for the whirlwind week of preparation. My sister and her husband flew up from Utah to become the wedding coordinators of our household. It was so humbling to see all they did for us and what they sacrificed in order to be there to help and participate. Everyone's kindness meant so much.



Of course, there are people to thank outside the family too... the selfless woman who miraculously hemmed an impossible dress within only a few days of my wedding, to name one. I'm so grateful and humbled for eveyrone's time, love, support, and well-wishes. You truly cannot start a marriage without the support and love of others. Thank you.



Okay, so this post is now turning into a thanktimony and getting too long to add to it. I guess I'll have to post more soon about the wedding day! Thank you everyone for your kindness and love!