For Grandpa

http://malzshots.shutterfly.com/

Dear World,

(or the three people who read this blog)

I am one 5 page paper about the importance of background and reference checks in employment staffing (which is nothing compared to yesterday's 13 page and today's 7 page)
and one 10 minute PowerPoint presentation (about said paper) away from a college degree.

And then, life with free time comes again and maybe I will update my blog regularly...maybe

PS.. I just text this news to Steven (He is trying to spending as much time as possible away from the house for these last few days of school so as not to distract me)...
his text back: Boom sha ka laka
<3

Confession...

I am a bad blogger. I know. I figured I would be when I started. But, in my defense...I was peer-pressured into blogging to begin with. Or it could be that I have been taking 22 credits, working full time, planning camp, and being a wife...Well anyways, to make it up, I will be posting a picture for each month I missed Jan-April...Tomorrow I have the day off and will be able to update you on our busy busy summer!
I have a feeling once I get caught up, it will be easier to stay caught up.

So here goes January:



We discovered Organ Stop Pizza. It's amazing. Go to organstoppizza.com for more info.

February:

We had a Fancy Schmancy Party. I got Steven to wear pink. The food was almost all <3 shaped. We lost a lot of sleep preparing the food and I was sick for the actual party. Not many people came, but it was fun planning...except the part where our garbage disposal broke at 3am the night before and flooded our kitchen. Next time we throw a Fancy Schmancy party, we'll do it on a non-holiday weekend! For more pictures go here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007983&id=177400927&l=30041ad274

March:

Kayley was in a play. This warranted specially-made shirts. We are hanging on to them for her graduation as well. She was a dancer in the school's play, Pajama Night or something like that...it was cute and she did a good job.

We also went to Luke Days:

There are pictures of both of us. However, I feel like this picture kind of captures the day. Steven was as happy as a tornado in a trailer park (name that movie!) I thought it was hot and the parking/shuttling system was very very unorganized. But, he enjoyed it and that made it all worth it!

March was a busy month because we also went to Las Vegas to meet my bestest friend Jenni and her brother, Jackson for the weekend...That trip warrants it's own post with a picture slideshow so stay tuned!


April:

We didn't really do anything together, but Steven had two mission buddies, Jeff & Jed come visit. They had man weekend. Complete with baseball, guns, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

We love the Drotars!

A few months ago, some amazing people came into our lives...in February actually!! Rafael and Rikki Drotar. They are the coolest people since I don't know when. I guess Steven & Raf used to fly together at Turf, but weren't really friends. When we met them officially, we felt like we knew them from somewhere before...if it wasn't at Turf, it was the pre-existence!! Had we known them before we got married, they would have been in our wedding party!
I have the great privillege of working with Rikki in Young Womens. She is the Beehive Advisor and the Assistant Camp Director. I have never worked with someone so closely before! We have come leaps and bounds with the Beehives over the past few months! It is so nice being on the same page as someone you work with! Our lessons have become quite the spiritual experience that I look forward to every week!
Raf and Rikki are great!! We go on double dates often and the most common noise is laughing!!
Since before we were married, we've been praying for another couple to be friends with. A couple that I like both the wife and husband and so does Steven. For awhile, we had no one. Or at least no one that we could handle for more than a couple hours at a time. We were almost giving up hope and then the Drotars moved in! They are more than just friends, they're an answer to our prayers (apparently Heavenly Father was getting them married in order to answer our prayers!)
In some things, Rikki and are a lot alike and so are Steve & Raf. In other things, Raf and I are alike and Steven & Rikki are the same. I wish I could say in words how great we all get along. I can talk to Rikki or Raf for hours (but it's usually Rikki haha--Raf's attention span is shorter!) And Steve could talk to either for hours also! We have never had a couple that fit with us like this!
All in all, we love the Drotars! We are so thankful for having them in our lives! We have created life-long friends with them! We're hoping we have kids that get married so we can laugh with them through the eternities!

Random Thoughts on a Thursday.

Today was a LONG day. Days like this make me stop to think about priorities. here's how my day went...
6 AM Wake up, get dressed, try to teach Steven how to do my hair in a ponytail (my arm is still in a brace)
6:40 Work (the ponytail was WAY HARDER than I expected)
640-12 WORK WORK WORK
followed by a short break to have a picnic outside my work in the grass with my cute husband
12-430 work!
430-5 Study for Mgt final while I wait for my mom to come get me
5-530 Start scrabble tile necklaces with my mom, Talia, Jenny
530 Missionaries arrive for dinner.
530 ship Missionaries to living room to eat with Steven around the coffee table
600 have missionaries make necklace charms for their moms
635 Missionaries leave, we continue modge-podging
700 Leave (courtesy of my mom- I can't drive still either) to GCC
715 Take MGT test
727 Leave to Arby's to get dinner
800 stop at home to grab church bag
804 Camp Director Meeting (get in trouble for stupid stuff, have to explain multiple things AGAIN)
845 Confirm date plans with Rikki and then dash out the door
900 Home to finish tiles
905 Call from Steven- New fridge, he won't be home til midnight
907 Ruined first batch of epoxy-too many bubbles
915 Good batch of epoxy, finished tiles...left handed.
950 Mom, Talia, Jenny leave.

Worn out yet? Me too. Except I still have an ethics mini-essay to write and I'm a day behind in my posting for planning & budgeting. Not to mention Sister Lake's package that is sitting by my feet that may not get there in time now. And, the house is a WRECK! My anti-inflammatory medicine is still making me sick and we're also supposed to be buying a house in the next month. Oh and I can't shower unless I do it one-handed (Thank heavens I'm married--but I have to wait 2 more hours for Steve to come home) and even if I wanted to shower one-handed, I can't fasten any of the zippers or buttons or ties on ANY of my clothes.
It's days like today when I'm pushed to exhaustion...when I finally realize maybe I'm doing too much. It's hard for me to believe I'm actually thinking this. I'm going on 5 months now of 22 credits at a time. You would think i have a schedule down pat...not quite. I realized last night that I only have one class that lasts through may and my other three start in June. I don't even know what it's like to have one class at a time. I think it's Divine Intervention because I have to plan Girls Camp this month too.
There are a few things I'm absolutely certain of.
1. I have a problem saying no.
2. I couldn't do any of this without my husband and his patience. He keeps telling me girl hair is impossible to manage, but he's done pretty good so far.
3. None of this is worth it unless I enjoy it while I'm going through it.

I need to remember that 'this too shall pass'. When it's not school work overwhelming me, it will be work or kids or church. Always something. As long as I remember that I am learning and that all these things should be blessings, I think I'll keep going. I need to learn to cut out the unimportant things sometimes. It's ok to miss a meeting or post on a class discussion board a few days late sometimes. It's all about priorities. Today I'm resolving to remember my priorities and let everything else, "come what may and love it"

The Real Reason We Don't Have Kids...

So most of the time, when people ask why we're holding off on bringing "little dorns" we tell them we would like to enjoy some time as a young married couple and have both of graduated before hand. As far as I know, that is a legitimate reason, not an excuse.
Here's a little secret- apparently that's a lie. Read the following conversation that is pretty much verbatim to our discussion last night to find out why we don't have kids.

C: Babe, everyone we know is having kids, why don't we?
S: We're too young
C: You're not young! Why don't we?
S: Me not ready.
C: Why?
S: Me little squire.
C: What?!
S: Me little squire. Me not ready to be big chief. (pounds chest)
C: Are you kidding me?
-pause...this is where i realize I have to speak Pochontas to him, or he'll ignore me--
C: You no big chief ever. Me big chief.
S: No! Me little squire. Baby come, me big chief.
C: When you be big chief?
S: When the sun falls to the earth
C: So we just wait until dark and we have baby?
S: (without acknowledging my comment) and the sky rotates around the sun many, many times.
C: Then you be big chief?
S: Then me no little squire. Me big chief. We make little squire.

And it went downhill from there. So, imagine Steven talking to me in Indian terms, complete with hand gestures and some form of sign language. There you go, ladies and gentlemen! The real reason we don't have kids: little squire isn't ready to be big chief haha.

PS Don't read anything into this.

Anniversary Trip

For our very FIRST anniversary, we decided to road trip to Las Vegas. We stayed in the Stratosphere. The strip was a dirty, filthy place. We liked the temple. It was cold, but we had fun. We ate our wedding cake at 12:01 AM on our anniversary. Steven rode the rides on top of the stratosphere and I thought I was going to be a widow.