I promise I still love you!

I just wanted to apologize for being a terrible friend lately. I feel like I have been so busy with work and school and marathon training that I haven't really had much of a social life. And I miss it! And I miss you! And I need it! Anyway, I really would like to make an effort to be a better friend and actually talk to people and see people more. So just know that I love you and miss you!

May 16

I just wanted to let you know that Saturday, May 16 is the day of our marathon, so we're inviting you to clear your calendars for that day (at least in the morning) and join our marathon fan club. That means you come and cheer for us at the race because we're gonna need all the help we can get! Making signs is optional, but highly encouraged! :)

Just a small update on our training. We did 13.5 miles on Saturday. The last 1.5 miles or so we were shuffling along the road like old grannies, but we made it. We collapsed on the floor immediately afterwards, but after about 45 minutes or so and some peanut butter sandwiches we were completely fine. And we're not even sore. Yay for us!

The Woes of Dating

So when you get married, the awkward dating scene is over right? WRONG-O! Now, when you want to go out with other couples, you not only have to coordinate 4 people's schedules instead of 2, but you have to match 4 (or more) people together instead of 2. And quite frankly, that is sometimes hard to do.

Sometimes with the other couple, the husband is weird...sometimes the wife is weird. Sometimes one or both of them probably think one or both of us is weird. (Heaven forbid!) Sometimes you just don't click with one or both members of the couple. Couple dating is hard! And still awkward...you still have to call and invite the other couple while fearing rejection. You still have to make the crappy first-date small talk with the other couple. You still have to worry about what the other couple will think of you. It never ends!

We have been trying to couple date more. It has been hard for us to put ourselves out there. Luckily most of our attempts have been really fun. We just need to do it more. But I'm just saying...the whole awkward dating thing is so not over when you get married!!!!

Spoiled

This Valentine's Day was the best ever! I felt so spoiled. Matt spoiled me the whole day long and I loved every minute of it. In the morning, he gave me a Snuggie. It's because I'm always cold and walk around the house with a blanket wrapped around me. Now I can use my hands and still be wrapped up! And it's just hilarious!

And it makes me look like a Jedi. He also got me some super cute Mickey PJ pants and some chocolate dipped strawberries and a gift certificate for a massage! Spoiled!

I got him a Sugar Bowl champion Tshirt.

We made Valentines for each other later in the day. It was so much fun. I love how hard Matt is concentrating in this picture.

And then he got me these pretty flowers. I love those big tiger lilies!

We wanted to do something a little different for our Valentine's Day date, so we donned our western wear and headed off to the Showtime Utah Old West Dinner Theater. It was a blast!

We had a chuckwagon dutch oven dinner of pulled pork & BBQ chicken, baked potatoes, corn and biscuits. It was great.

While we ate, we were serenaded by a lovely bluegrass band. They were awesome! There was also a dance floor up front and so people could get up and dance when they felt so inclined.

There was also an old west show with a sherriff, an outlaw, a saloon girl, and a deputy. It was very interactive with the audience so we were whooping and hollering along with them.

Some of the audience members got to be "can-can girls". It was hilarious! Anyway, it was really fun.

These were our dining partners. They were awesome. The old guy in the hat was wearing this awesome bird shirt with a bolo tie and suspenders. He was pretty stuffy most of the night, but then he made a few really funny comments that were totally unexpected. The guy sitting by Matt was hilarious. His girlfriend had flown in from LA for Valentines Day, and they were totally getting into the whole old west thing. As we were talking to them, it turns out that this guy composes music for TV. He did the music for Saved by the Bell, Seinfeld, and a bunch of others. He was telling us that last year he composed the music for the Super Bowl at home in Lehi in his PJs. It was so great!

I would definately reccommend this place....it was fantastic.

Matt was pouting a little bit because we kept trying to take a good picture of us, but they kept not turning out very well.

This is the best one we got. (out of like 12 attempts.) Anyway, it was a rip-roarin' good Valentine's Day! I'm such a lucky girl!

Share the love

With it almost being Valentine's Day and all, I just wanted to post some of the things I love about Matt. I know it's cheesy, but I want everyone to know how much I love him. These are some of the reasons why:

1. He does the dishes.
2. He cooks dinner when I get home late from work.
3. He gives me a big hug every time he leaves in the morning and when I come home at night.
4. He lets me decorate the house (except for the man room) any way I want.
5. He fixes my bike and car.
6. He takes care of things that I don't want to take care of, like calling rude businesses.
7. He cleans up after himself.
8. He cleans up after me!
9. He sends me silly text messages during the day that make me smile.
10. He tries to do what's right.
11. He chases the Primary kids.
12. He is training for the marathon with me.
13. He sometimes warms up my side of the bed by laying in it until it gets warm so I don't have to get into cold sheets.
14. He always gives me the best compliments.
15. He supports my goals. Even the weird ones.
16. He puts the toilet seat down and doesn't leave shaving or toothpaste gunk in the bathroom sink.
17. He makes me laugh every day.
18. He inspires me to get my lazy butt out of bed and to the gym in the morning. (well, most mornings!)
19. He is a very hard worker and takes pride in a job well done and does a good job at what he tries.
20. He thinks of fun things for us to do together and with other people.
21. He wants me to be happy and is always asking how he can help me be happy.
22. He goes to ward choir with me.
23. He listens to me vent.
24. He quotes my favorite movie.
25. He drives a long way to work every day so that I can have a job I like.

...and I could go on. I love you Matt!

Where to draw the line

So I'm standing in line at the bookstore yesterday and some guy turns to me and asks me my name and starts making small talk. I go along with it because I am all about people being friendly. He was in front of me in line and when he was done, instead of leaving he waits til I'm done and continues the conversation. This is when it kinda got weird because it felt like he was flirting with me. He asks how old I am and then if I'm off to somewhere. I tell him I work here at BYU and then he proceeds to ask me about work. I felt like I was giving him enough hints that I was unavailable, and I tried to wave my left hand around enough so he would catch on to the fact that I am married, but he just kept going.

So, at what point in conversations such as these do I say I'm married...back off? You'd think he would do a ring check. Isn't that proper flirting ettiquette? I'm just wondering where the line is between being rude and having a nice normal conversation with someone in the bookstore line. I think though that it would probably be different in any other setting than BYU because BYU is kind of known as the dating ground.

I just thought it was pretty funny, so I thought I'd share.

My temple

On Saturday we had the opportunity to go to the Draper Temple open house. Before an LDS temple is dedicated, the temple is open to the public. Anyone can come and take a tour of the temple and see the inside. It is a really neat experience.

Anyway, I call it "my temple" because this particular temple is especially meaningful to me because when I was about 13 years old I had a dream that I looked out my bedroom window and saw a temple there. My bedroom window in my parents' house faces the east mountains and looks out to where the temple now is. So imagine how neat it was 15 years later when they announced that a temple really would be built there. I never thought that would happen because when I look out the other window in my bedroom, I could see the Jordan River Temple.

Anyway this dream was really special and so now since the temple part of it is now a reality, I feel like the other part may be a reality soon. And that is so cool! So I was really excited to finally see it completed. And it is beautiful.

Here is the celestial room. This is where people come and are able to sit and ponder and pray after they have completed the ordinances they have come to do.

This is an ordinance room. I LOVE the gorgeous murals on the wall that depict typical Utah nature.

This is a sealing room where families can be sealed together for eternity. Matt and I were married in a similar sealing room in the Jordan River Temple, and I am so grateful to be sealed to him forever!

This is the waiting room in the lobby where people enter the temple. The temple is such a peaceful and wonderful place where I feel so close to my Heavenly Father and learn so much. I'm so grateful to have so many nearby and to be able to make covenants there and receive so many blessings because of it.

Note: All photos were taken from the lds.org website. You can go there for more photos and more explanation about the Draper Temple and temples in general.